Scan barcode
A review by anmaridocarmo
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
3.0
Read the full review on thebooktrovertblog.wordpress.com
This book left me with so many mixed feelings. At first I loved it; I loved the concept, I loved the fact that it was Chinese inspired, I loved the richness of the world, I loved the main character, Hesina. But the further I read, the more conflicted I became as problems arose.
Hesina was my favourite part of this book. She is gutsy and smart and a true queen; not just a little girl. She understands politics and diplomacy and scheming and yes, she makes mistakes, but she matures over the course of the novel and her actions impressed me again and again. I felt so much love and admiration for her as a character.
The world of Descendant of the Crane is rich and imaginative and I love the Chinese elements, which is a refreshing change from the majority of fantasy worlds based on Western cultures.
I liked the whole concept and the plot, for the most part, was well paced and kept me interested. There were several plot twists that stunned me and I was intrigued by the entire story.
Sadly, the ending left me feeling disappointed. An open ending is fine, but there still needs to be a certain level of closure. The ending of this book felt like the end of a first book in a series – not like the end of a standalone, which this is.
Another problematic element was the lack of character development. Aside from Hesina, all the other characters were unconvincing and should have been much more fleshed out. Unfortunately the lack of depth to many characters resulted in many scenes that should have packed a huge emotional punch falling flat.
As a whole this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely read a sequel if there was one, as I loved the story world and I feel the ending leaves a lot (too much?) room for further exploration.
This book left me with so many mixed feelings. At first I loved it; I loved the concept, I loved the fact that it was Chinese inspired, I loved the richness of the world, I loved the main character, Hesina. But the further I read, the more conflicted I became as problems arose.
Hesina was my favourite part of this book. She is gutsy and smart and a true queen; not just a little girl. She understands politics and diplomacy and scheming and yes, she makes mistakes, but she matures over the course of the novel and her actions impressed me again and again. I felt so much love and admiration for her as a character.
The world of Descendant of the Crane is rich and imaginative and I love the Chinese elements, which is a refreshing change from the majority of fantasy worlds based on Western cultures.
I liked the whole concept and the plot, for the most part, was well paced and kept me interested. There were several plot twists that stunned me and I was intrigued by the entire story.
Sadly, the ending left me feeling disappointed. An open ending is fine, but there still needs to be a certain level of closure. The ending of this book felt like the end of a first book in a series – not like the end of a standalone, which this is.
Another problematic element was the lack of character development. Aside from Hesina, all the other characters were unconvincing and should have been much more fleshed out. Unfortunately the lack of depth to many characters resulted in many scenes that should have packed a huge emotional punch falling flat.
As a whole this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely read a sequel if there was one, as I loved the story world and I feel the ending leaves a lot (too much?) room for further exploration.