Josh

CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-8
W-7
P-5
I-5
L-8
E-3
TOTAL-6.43/10

So this is a book i'm DNFing. I'm not proud about it or necessarily happy about it, but it had to be done. I've been reading this book for 2 weeks, but its less reading and more avoiding reading so i don't have to read this book.

I mostly attribute this to myself and not a fault of Seth Dickinson, but there a couple things i'll talk about as to why it didn't fit with me.

CAWPILECharacters.The characters in this book again are excellent. they truly feel like every character is unique and has their own goals and desires, which we so often see them working towards.AtmosphereYou really get the sense that if you were to pull the world out of the book and into the real world, nothing would change, because the world that Dickinson has created is a fully realized world and everything interacts with and changes everything else.WritingStarting this book with a framing story was very interesting to me, but it removed some of the tension knowing that Baru was going to be ok. not that much tension but some. I again hated the flashback scenes to Oriati Mbo. they were unimportant to the story that i was invested in, but felt like extra information Dickinson thought i needed. I also didn't like the continued and expanding Multiple Viewpoints. bringing in more viewpoints didn't help me connect more with who i need to connect with to continue reading. Dickinson's wordplay and skill with writing is still excellent and perhaps even better than the previous 2 books, but wasn't enough PlotThe plot looks good, but takes way to long to deliver on any of its promises and has so many twists and turns, i'm not sure any direction actually takes me forward in plot movementIntrigueThe intrigue just got to be too much for me to keep track of. there are 5 cryptarchs, no wait there are more than 5 you just don't know of them, and can't know of them, because of how secret they are. plans within plans within plans, and you never know what is going on. I liked the idea of splitting Baru's head in 2 so that some info could be kept secret from the reader, without feeling super unreliable, but it didn't work that well for me. Also there now being a bigger fight over baru between Tain Shir and Iscend just pushed me out of the story.Logicthe Characters act according to their information and personalities and nothing was too unlogical for me.EnjoymentMy enjoyment was little and sparse. I really enjoyed seeing Baru being Baru and manipulating and working and doing things to show her intelligence, but in this book she rarely gets the chance to and it frustrated me.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 05/23/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/

CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-8
W-8
P-8
I-7
L-7
E-8
TOTAL-7.86/10

Loved this book like all her others, but if she could stop writing such convincing heartache i'd appreciate it. I liked learning about the Goblin Market

CAWPILE SCORE
C-10
A-10
W-10
P-9
I-9
L-10
E-10
TOTAL-9.71/10

Too much to say. Its worth every second

I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/ on 02/05/2023

CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-7
W-7
P-7
I-7
L-6
E-7
TOTAL-6.86/10

CAWPILECharactersNita Likes to dissect people. Very straightforward. Can change her body. Little bit soft on what she can/can't do.Kovit made rules for himself don't hurt friends/family, no one under 15,no sexual pain, othersReyesBoulder-creep but not really scary Mirella does turn into a pink dolphin with water. Night market is too loosey goosey with their “wares”AtmosphereWe spend most of the book in a cage of some sort, so it did that well, but I never really felt like they were in a ton of danger. WritingThe villains felt mostly incompentant and the market of death not like a big threatPlotGood plot. Nita thinking she had been sold by her mother, because she disobeyed her mother and let Fabricio free, when it was Fabricio that sold her. While at the market of death she attempts to escape. Makes a deal with Kovit and they work together, then get captured by boulder escape and burn down the death market. Then she goes to INHUPInvestmentWanted to see how Nita would change/grow whether to become a better person or a worse person. Was glad to see that Kovit has rules for how he enjoys pain, LogicZannie's have to be the worst business partners though because they can't not eat pain. So it's less like eating and more like something else. Because they don't have a choice of whether to accept it. Plus I don't get high when I eat food. As with anything else, why would eating somebody give you their abilities unless you already take the effects of things you eat. But people are dumb and willing to try the stupidest things.EnjoymentAn enjoyable read, but felt pretty averageMiscThe twist that it was Fabricio that betrayed her was pretty goodThe vampire wants her and her mom. Her dad is dead.Nita and Kovit team up later. Am excited for that
I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/

CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-8
W-5
P-7
I-9
L-6
E-8
TOTAL-7.14/10

A fun book. Takes a little bit to get into it, but once you are there it really keeps you going.

When I picked up this book the thing I had heard over and over again was that Gideon the Ninth was Lesbian Necromancers in Space. This while true is also not true. There is a Necromancer, but the "love" story was definitely a tertiary at best plot line. Didn't hurt the story, but when thats what you hear most about the book when you don't see any indication of it till over 50% through you start to wonder if you're reading the same book.Characters.The Characters did feel real, at least Harrow and Gideon did, some of the other characters were very flat. I felt like the 2nd, and 8th especially.AtmosphereThe Atmosphere is good and really puts you into the same space that the characters are feeling.WritingSometimes I felt like there was a lot of extra thrown in. Random words that didn't need to be there or that felt out place or not important to the story. The parts of her story that were horror were very good. This book needed in my opinion a little bit stronger hand on the editing. PlotThe Plot is well hidden and thought out. IntrigueThe Intrigue was great. I never knew what was coming or who and how. I loved that part of it. Kept me on my toes.LogicNobody makes crazy unrealistic leaps of logic or thought, but the progression between Gideon and Harrow even in life threatening situations felt unrealistically fast for 2 people who hated each other to the core. even with the revelations it still takes more than a minute to process and change those feelings.EnjoymentI enjoyed this book, but it really took me to get to the 50% mark to get invested in it. Then after that it was great. Some parts were horror which was done well.

I will be talking about it on Libromancy 07/11/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/