A review by kizza
The Etched City by K.J. Bishop
2.0
Beautifully written, devastatingly dull.
There's a reason literary and fantasy fictions are not the same genre. In both genres the reader expects certain tropes and cliches. In literary fiction, there's a certain amount of navel gazing and just moving about the world somewhat pointlessly. In fantasy, there's the expectation of a plot that gives the characters a reason to move about the world. See where the disconnect lies? This book is literary fiction with fantasy window-dressing.
This is for literary fans who don't read much fantasy. Everyone else should avoid it or expect, in some way, to be disappointed.
There's a reason literary and fantasy fictions are not the same genre. In both genres the reader expects certain tropes and cliches. In literary fiction, there's a certain amount of navel gazing and just moving about the world somewhat pointlessly. In fantasy, there's the expectation of a plot that gives the characters a reason to move about the world. See where the disconnect lies? This book is literary fiction with fantasy window-dressing.
This is for literary fans who don't read much fantasy. Everyone else should avoid it or expect, in some way, to be disappointed.