Lauren OK
4.25⭐️
I feel like I lived many lifetimes reading this book.
True to form, Karin Slaughter writes much more than a murder mystery. There's a lot of character study, interpersonal drama, and complications. Many, many complications.
This was so good, and had me guessing the entire time. I will say there was a point around the 60-70% mark where I began to feel impatient—like, I get it but can we keep this moving please? Maybe you could have shaved 30-50 pages off and I wouldn't have missed them. But that's a small issue compared to how much I enjoyed this overall!
4.25⭐️
I feel like I lived many lifetimes reading this book.
True to form, Karin Slaughter writes much more than a murder mystery. There's a lot of character study, interpersonal drama, and complications. Many, many complications.
This was so good, and had me guessing the entire time. I will say there was a point around the 60-70% mark where I began to feel impatient—like, I get it but can we keep this moving please? Maybe you could have shaved 30-50 pages off and I wouldn't have missed them. But that's a small issue compared to how much I enjoyed this overall!
“Someone, after all, must do the undignified labor to keep the grand works of our era from tumbling down.”
Well I read this book two years too late! This murder mystery is set in a fantasy world where sea walls are built to keep out leviathans, people are augmented or altered with certain physical and/or mental prowess, and contagions are more dangerous than ever.
In the height of wet season (where leviathans are ready to breach the wall), mysterious murders abound. Din, our narrator, must aid Ana in figuring out how all these engineers died from a plant-based contagion. Din is this bumbling rule-follower augmented for perfect memory recall, and Ana is…overstimulated. She wears a blindfold at virtually all times, and relies on Din to be her eyes and ears.
But Ana is fantastic. My favorite part of this book by far. Through Din’s POV we’re given a front row seat to her antics and witticisms. She’s sarcastic, pointed, and philosophical at times, and poor Din is trying to keep up all the while harboring a secret.
I had so much fun with this, and I’m curious to see if we get any more insight into the leviathans in future books 👀
“Someone, after all, must do the undignified labor to keep the grand works of our era from tumbling down.”
Well I read this book two years too late! This murder mystery is set in a fantasy world where sea walls are built to keep out leviathans, people are augmented or altered with certain physical and/or mental prowess, and contagions are more dangerous than ever.
In the height of wet season (where leviathans are ready to breach the wall), mysterious murders abound. Din, our narrator, must aid Ana in figuring out how all these engineers died from a plant-based contagion. Din is this bumbling rule-follower augmented for perfect memory recall, and Ana is…overstimulated. She wears a blindfold at virtually all times, and relies on Din to be her eyes and ears.
But Ana is fantastic. My favorite part of this book by far. Through Din’s POV we’re given a front row seat to her antics and witticisms. She’s sarcastic, pointed, and philosophical at times, and poor Din is trying to keep up all the while harboring a secret.
I had so much fun with this, and I’m curious to see if we get any more insight into the leviathans in future books 👀
This book centers on its quest, not its destination. Not an inherently bad thing, but if you're going to focus on traveling from one place to another, while mercilessly referencing lore and lands I am hearing about for the FIRST time, at least let me get close to your characters!
Kinch has a fun inner monologue. He's a thief and naturally irreverent and cheeky in the way he comments on the world around him. But he spent most of his time explaining things to me. At one point his family gets threatened, but we never learn about his family, or his previous emotional ties or investment in this world. It felt all very surface level.
I loved how well-realized Manreach was, but at times it felt like the author was trying to prove how good of a worldbuilder he was...like, yeah, I get that there are two different card decks for the nobility and the working class, but did you have to bring it up so many times?
Where Between Two Fires focused on two very different people learning to trust and provide aid for each other, this just felt like going through the motions of plot. We meet Galva in the very first chapter, and yet by the end of the book we don't know much more about her other than facts.
Overall I enjoyed it, but it could've been so much more than hitting points on a map.
This book centers on its quest, not its destination. Not an inherently bad thing, but if you're going to focus on traveling from one place to another, while mercilessly referencing lore and lands I am hearing about for the FIRST time, at least let me get close to your characters!
Kinch has a fun inner monologue. He's a thief and naturally irreverent and cheeky in the way he comments on the world around him. But he spent most of his time explaining things to me. At one point his family gets threatened, but we never learn about his family, or his previous emotional ties or investment in this world. It felt all very surface level.
I loved how well-realized Manreach was, but at times it felt like the author was trying to prove how good of a worldbuilder he was...like, yeah, I get that there are two different card decks for the nobility and the working class, but did you have to bring it up so many times?
Where Between Two Fires focused on two very different people learning to trust and provide aid for each other, this just felt like going through the motions of plot. We meet Galva in the very first chapter, and yet by the end of the book we don't know much more about her other than facts.
Overall I enjoyed it, but it could've been so much more than hitting points on a map.
Okay, good stuff first, then we'll get to the issues I had with it:
- Xiala. No surprise there. If it hadn't been for Serapio I wouldn't have been opposed to her putting a saddle on that Kraken, ya know? - Balam. I love a good villain, and I really feel like we got some great context as to why he is the way he is. His character was chiiiiiiilling. - Naranpa. While I have issues here...I've loved seeing how she's changed through this series. - BETRAYAL. - I love a good prophecy (although some might argue this would've been better drawn out over multiple books)
This trilogy has been amazing, but the ending did not land for me. There was so much build up and anticipation and it all felt like it fizzled out a little bit? There was a lot of great setup and character development with very poor follow-through, in my opinion.
I'm genuinely disappointed in Naranpa's storyline. She was such an important character, and I did not get any closure on what happened to her. I also felt like Okoa's POV was ultimately frustrating and unnecessary. You made him go through all that, and for what? 😭
I actually docked my rating .25 stars because I got frustrated all over again writing this. The reason being is because I have LOVED this series and its characters, and the author pulled so many punches by the end.
With that being said, a lot of people loved the ending. I'd still recommend it and will still be thinking about it, which goes to show the amount of talent Rebecca Roanhorse has!
Okay, good stuff first, then we'll get to the issues I had with it:
- Xiala. No surprise there. If it hadn't been for Serapio I wouldn't have been opposed to her putting a saddle on that Kraken, ya know? - Balam. I love a good villain, and I really feel like we got some great context as to why he is the way he is. His character was chiiiiiiilling. - Naranpa. While I have issues here...I've loved seeing how she's changed through this series. - BETRAYAL. - I love a good prophecy (although some might argue this would've been better drawn out over multiple books)
This trilogy has been amazing, but the ending did not land for me. There was so much build up and anticipation and it all felt like it fizzled out a little bit? There was a lot of great setup and character development with very poor follow-through, in my opinion.
I'm genuinely disappointed in Naranpa's storyline. She was such an important character, and I did not get any closure on what happened to her. I also felt like Okoa's POV was ultimately frustrating and unnecessary. You made him go through all that, and for what? 😭
I actually docked my rating .25 stars because I got frustrated all over again writing this. The reason being is because I have LOVED this series and its characters, and the author pulled so many punches by the end.
With that being said, a lot of people loved the ending. I'd still recommend it and will still be thinking about it, which goes to show the amount of talent Rebecca Roanhorse has!
Hey so this book was really mean to me.
What a delight this was!
I had semi-low expectations because of other reviews from people I follow, but I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I was just in the right mood.
Black Sun is a steep learning curve, but by the time I got to Fevered Star I was well-versed in the world, its lands, and its clans. The plot sort of settles a bit and is more focused on character depth and revelations, all of which I enjoyed thoroughly. Naranpa has become my favorite. Her character took a lot more agency in this arc, and it was so satisfying to read.
There was also quite a bit of political maneuvering, and by the end all the tension that has been building is clearly set to come to a head in Book 3. ONWARD.
What a delight this was!
I had semi-low expectations because of other reviews from people I follow, but I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I was just in the right mood.
Black Sun is a steep learning curve, but by the time I got to Fevered Star I was well-versed in the world, its lands, and its clans. The plot sort of settles a bit and is more focused on character depth and revelations, all of which I enjoyed thoroughly. Naranpa has become my favorite. Her character took a lot more agency in this arc, and it was so satisfying to read.
There was also quite a bit of political maneuvering, and by the end all the tension that has been building is clearly set to come to a head in Book 3. ONWARD.