Their is so much potential in this series and the author has excellent prose. It's a fantastic start to a series. But while not perfect. It has a lot of good about it. The world building and lore is rich and lush. The characters are unique and the prose is great. The dialogue is snappy and reads well.
My biggest issues is theirs a lot of set up. And it feels like we get established and things start making sense and we go to another world it's like starting over which breaks the pacing down. Some parts seemed a bit unnecessary or could've been trimmed down but I feel like it will come full circle later possibly.
I also find the main character frustrating sometimes and makes decisions that are there only to move the plot so I hope he grows more and we see it in the next book.
Theirs a ton of inspiration from Dune and book of the new sun and you can see the attention to detail that Ruocchio puts into his universe.
3.75/5
This book was a really fun surprise to read. Picked on a whim and had a great time reading it. My favorite parts about it are the dragons and the unique spin the author puts on them. I also enjoy the world building in this book. The character POVS I enjoyed the most are Fenn, Torston and Apollo.
The book is fast paced and each POV is enjoyable to read and manages to keep the narrative going at all times and never drags the story.
The weakest part in my opinion is Calidra. She's extremely frustrating at times and while it's never bad. Her outbursts and anger towards anyone besides her partner is kinda feels purposely placed to create conflict. It never feels quiet organic.
I'm very excited to follow this story. Theirs a lot of promise and I'm very interested to see how the story unfolds
3.5/5
Maybe the most conflicted novel I've ever read. Theirs some aspects I loved. Like the writing, the characters and the ideas put forth. All well done. Nick cutter is so good at describing characters and horrific scenery. I love it. Reminds me of classic King.
My cons are pretty reader dependent. I didn't not care for the structure of this novel. It time jumps but you have the present story and just when things get ramping up. You have a whole middle portion that stops that momentum and starts over. The back story is good. But you keep wanting to know the other half going on in the present state.
Also. The parallels to Jonestown were a bit much. Obviously we got some supernatural stuff. That's excellent but the Jonestown stuff, you know where it's going.
Also. The ending. It's bleak. But I don't think it's earned. And it's kinda not as impactful as it should be.
I love a good chunky novel. But at almost 500 pages. This could've been trimmed. I love the ideas and overall story. I just didn't care for the execution.
I really loved this novel. It was such a delight and a very unique tale. It's carefully crafted and well written. Definitely a favorite of this year. The characters are all great and fleshed out and the plot moves along. This story is dark, somber and melancholic at times. Definitely check it out.
Thank you net galley and tor nightfire for this arc.