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A review by nahret
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Will you look at that, I found just the right book to get me out of my reading slump!
I inhaled this book. Which means it managed to grab my attention and keep it, to the exclusion of everything else. Also, I seamlessly picked up the next one in the series, because I need to know. The cliffhanger would have seriously upset me if I hadn't already purchased the subsequent books.
The world-building was so engaging that I didn't even notice that, for half the book, nothing actually happens apart from Orion's heroics (this is not a spoiler). In order to appreciate what is about to happen, we first need a solid understanding of the magical system, the wizarding world outside of school, the philosophy of balance, etc. Fortunately, that's the kind of thing I like. Not least, because I play RPGs; this is relevant because it feels that the author is familiar with the setting of Mage: The Ascension by White Wolf. What she calls "mundanes" in here, we call "sleepers", but the effect is the same.
Whenever I am faced with a protagonist who is a de facto teenager, I try to be understanding. Especially in the case of a teenager who has been shunned by people for as long as she remembers. Sometimes the absolute obstinacy of El was extremely grating. But I've met teenagers, and the author can only be commended on writing such faithful representations of humans who are at a stage in their evolution where they are super smart and catastrophically stupid at the same time.
As mentioned above, I'm already 60 pages into the next one, but I have to sleep at some point. No notes, carry on!
I inhaled this book. Which means it managed to grab my attention and keep it, to the exclusion of everything else. Also, I seamlessly picked up the next one in the series, because I need to know. The cliffhanger would have seriously upset me if I hadn't already purchased the subsequent books.
The world-building was so engaging that I didn't even notice that, for half the book, nothing actually happens apart from Orion's heroics (this is not a spoiler). In order to appreciate what is about to happen, we first need a solid understanding of the magical system, the wizarding world outside of school, the philosophy of balance, etc. Fortunately, that's the kind of thing I like. Not least, because I play RPGs; this is relevant because it feels that the author is familiar with the setting of Mage: The Ascension by White Wolf. What she calls "mundanes" in here, we call "sleepers", but the effect is the same.
Whenever I am faced with a protagonist who is a de facto teenager, I try to be understanding. Especially in the case of a teenager who has been shunned by people for as long as she remembers. Sometimes the absolute obstinacy of El was extremely grating. But I've met teenagers, and the author can only be commended on writing such faithful representations of humans who are at a stage in their evolution where they are super smart and catastrophically stupid at the same time.
As mentioned above, I'm already 60 pages into the next one, but I have to sleep at some point. No notes, carry on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore