Tomi Adeyemi: Children of blood and bone (AudiobookFormat, 2018)
[sound recording] /, 18 pages
English language
Published Aug. 25, 2018
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Дуже вайбова і атмосферна книга, якщо не вистачає Африки в вашому житті - вона саме для вас.
Окрім оригінальної мітології, цікаво та детально описаного світу, та непогано прописаних персонажів, книга ефективно висвітлює теми класової нерівності та боротьби за свободу та справедливість.
Overall, a powerful and well crafted book. It made me think. I enjoyed the characters, with their fears and passions.
There was quite a bit more death – let’s be honest and call it “slaughter” – than I am comfortable with, but that’s part of the package. We’re not supposed to be comfortable with it. Likewise some of what happened to the main characters.
The animal names also took some getting used to – the world is very much like Earth, and there are, for example, several species which seem to be a mix of big cat, dragon, and steed.
I enjoyed her descriptions, especially of the people.
It’s just fabulous to read a modern fantasy adventure story that seems to do for Yoruba/Santeria traditions what countless Arthurian fantasies do with Celtic/Arthurian legends. I would be really interested to hear or read what people who are familiar with the Orishas …
Overall, a powerful and well crafted book. It made me think. I enjoyed the characters, with their fears and passions.
There was quite a bit more death – let’s be honest and call it “slaughter” – than I am comfortable with, but that’s part of the package. We’re not supposed to be comfortable with it. Likewise some of what happened to the main characters.
The animal names also took some getting used to – the world is very much like Earth, and there are, for example, several species which seem to be a mix of big cat, dragon, and steed.
I enjoyed her descriptions, especially of the people.
It’s just fabulous to read a modern fantasy adventure story that seems to do for Yoruba/Santeria traditions what countless Arthurian fantasies do with Celtic/Arthurian legends. I would be really interested to hear or read what people who are familiar with the Orishas think about how Adeyemi repackaged them for the general public to read. I imagine I was a not uncommon reader, going into this story having seen the names of a couple of Orishas on various consumer goods (jewelry, art cards, etc.), and knowing nothing of Santeria except the word – so as the story unfolds, it’s not all completely alien territory, but it’s certainly not familiar either.
Now what I really want to know is where QuickDraw McGraw’s sidekick Baba Looey came from, and I think I heard that name in another, equally random, context, decades ago in the forgotten dawn of time …
Anyway, I would love to see these books come out in an illustrated second edition (preferably paperback), with line drawings of the various big cat-like “ryders,” as well as the characters and some of the landscape.
Und wieder mal Fantasy zur Abwechslung. Hier hatte ich eigentlich mehr erwartet - was ich bekommen habe, ist ein Fantasyroman mit einem interessanten Setting, aber relativ eindimensionalen Charakteren und ein bis zwei eher schwachen Liebesgeschichten. Natürlich muss man dazu sagen, dass ich ja auch nicht die eigentliche Zielgruppe bin. Als Jugendliche hätte ich das wahrscheinlich anders gesehen. Aber gerade mit Fantasyromanen und Dystopien aus dem Bereich Young Adult habe ich zuvor schon gute Erfahrungen gemacht, deshalb habe ich es versucht.
This book was amazing. If it weren't for the fact that it was sometimes content heavy (betrayal, assault, abuse), it would have been a novel that I easily devoured as quickly as possible.
But, as it was written as an allegory to police violence (especially that of police brutality toward Black Americans, which is noted in the afterword at the end), it often struck me so much that I had to stop and take breaks.
The entire book is beautiful, though. The setting is gorgeous, and the world-building is striking. The women (Zélie and Amari) are phenomenal characters, and the weakness and vulnerabilities that men like Tzain get to exhibit are the best. It's such a fantastic story, and that's really all I can keep saying. Even Inan is able to be an enchanting character, despite his conflicting emotions.
This is one of the few novels where the deaths of …
This book was amazing. If it weren't for the fact that it was sometimes content heavy (betrayal, assault, abuse), it would have been a novel that I easily devoured as quickly as possible.
But, as it was written as an allegory to police violence (especially that of police brutality toward Black Americans, which is noted in the afterword at the end), it often struck me so much that I had to stop and take breaks.
The entire book is beautiful, though. The setting is gorgeous, and the world-building is striking. The women (Zélie and Amari) are phenomenal characters, and the weakness and vulnerabilities that men like Tzain get to exhibit are the best. It's such a fantastic story, and that's really all I can keep saying. Even Inan is able to be an enchanting character, despite his conflicting emotions.
This is one of the few novels where the deaths of non-focus characters actually hit me really hard, which is most certainly the point.
I literally have no complaints (except the fact that I managed to buy the one book with a weird see-through page), and it's going to be me repeating the same few things over and over again: I love this, and it is among my favourite books involving a fantasy-magic setting.
This book was amazing. If it weren't for the fact that it was sometimes content heavy (betrayal, assault, abuse), it would have been a novel that I easily devoured as quickly as possible.
But, as it was written as an allegory to police violence (especially that of police brutality toward Black Americans, which is noted in the afterword at the end), it often struck me so much that I had to stop and take breaks.
The entire book is beautiful, though. The setting is gorgeous, and the world-building is striking. The women (Zélie and Amari) are phenomenal characters, and the weakness and vulnerabilities that men like Tzain get to exhibit are the best. It's such a fantastic story, and that's really all I can keep saying. Even Inan is able to be an enchanting character, despite his conflicting emotions.
This is one of the few novels where the deaths of …
This book was amazing. If it weren't for the fact that it was sometimes content heavy (betrayal, assault, abuse), it would have been a novel that I easily devoured as quickly as possible.
But, as it was written as an allegory to police violence (especially that of police brutality toward Black Americans, which is noted in the afterword at the end), it often struck me so much that I had to stop and take breaks.
The entire book is beautiful, though. The setting is gorgeous, and the world-building is striking. The women (Zélie and Amari) are phenomenal characters, and the weakness and vulnerabilities that men like Tzain get to exhibit are the best. It's such a fantastic story, and that's really all I can keep saying. Even Inan is able to be an enchanting character, despite his conflicting emotions.
This is one of the few novels where the deaths of non-focus characters actually hit me really hard, which is most certainly the point.
I literally have no complaints (except the fact that I managed to buy the one book with a weird see-through page), and it's going to be me repeating the same few things over and over again: I love this, and it is among my favourite books involving a fantasy-magic setting.
YA really isn't my thing. I first started this book about four months ago, got two chapters in, and tossed it aside. My friend A., who loved it, encouraged me to try a few more chapters - and she was right: it got better. It's still heavyhanded, the characters unlikable, the predicaments improbable, but the story drew me in and hooked me even so.
Loved the worldbuilding, magic system and central premise, but I wasn't a fan of the writing or spelled-out expositions of characters' emotions (maybe this is a YA thing...?). Sometimes the plotting and pacing was spot on, but much of the time things happened too slowly and other times much too quick. Powerful as an exploration of racist oppression and what growing up with that fear and trauma does to you, imagining resistance, and that this isn't always pure and simple.
Sehr solide, aber hat es nicht geschafft, mich mitfiebernd zu halten. Manchmal einfach zu langatmig. Hatte auch den Eindruck, die Protagonistin wird für ihre romantischen/sexuellen Wünsche bestraft, weil auf ,,den falschen" gerichtet. Was mich auch genervt hat, war das ,,Die Schwester von ihm liebt den Bruder von der und andersherum", so n perfekter heterosexueller Plot halt.
Ich liebte die Idee von Todesmagie als nicht negativ, aber leider wurde nicht mehr daraus, als dass die Protagonistin die Toten als Art Wurfgeschosse einsetzte. Da war noch ganz viel Potential meiner Meinung.
4.5/5. A beautifully written fantasy novel that sheds light on the inequalities, injustices and challenges that we face today.
4.99999/5*
My only complaint is that some parts in the middle dragged and I feel like this book could have either been cut down a wee bit, or split into two books with some added padding. I could see the split being somewhere around finding the Diviner settlement. We could perhaps spend a bit more time somewhere in the beginning with Mama Agba learning about all the different forms magic can take, how the clans work(ed) and go more in depth about each of the gods. As it is, I don't think we learn the names of the clans in the narrative, only in the guide at the beginning, and Oya is the only God whose name I remember. Sure, this being a series means we may get to explore this more later on, but I wish it was already present, so I could start feeling a connection of my …
4.99999/5*
My only complaint is that some parts in the middle dragged and I feel like this book could have either been cut down a wee bit, or split into two books with some added padding. I could see the split being somewhere around finding the Diviner settlement. We could perhaps spend a bit more time somewhere in the beginning with Mama Agba learning about all the different forms magic can take, how the clans work(ed) and go more in depth about each of the gods. As it is, I don't think we learn the names of the clans in the narrative, only in the guide at the beginning, and Oya is the only God whose name I remember. Sure, this being a series means we may get to explore this more later on, but I wish it was already present, so I could start feeling a connection of my own to the Gods and this magic system. I think if this book had been split in two parts, we could have been exploring this already, and it would have expanded the world greatly.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT HOLY SHIT?? This book is amazing and I can't wait to read more, what a cliffhanger, dang. I don't have much to nitpick other than wishing there was a bit more worldbuilding, and a time or two where Tzain went from being complex in his conflicting actions, to feeling inconsistent.
I can't say this book got me emotionally(but the author's note did) but damn if it didn't get me on the edge of my seat.
I spent too much time away from this book, and as a result I'm having a hard time diving back in. From what I read, I zoomed through the first third of the book and LOVED it. Seeing as there's a 100+ person hold list, it's time to release this book back into the wilds of the reserve list. I can't wait to come back to these characters though, and highly highly recommend this as a must-read fantasy book.
3.5 rounded up for potential.
Think along the lines of the Avatar world, but one in which the memories of genocide aren't far removed. Characters felt a little predictable, and space that could've been spent on history was directed towards action - which there is a lot of.
Overall, a fun read. And the series has a lot of potential.
Well, it's hard to judge a book by its sneak peek. The storytelling is fairly exciting and compelling, the setting in Africa is a welcome change from pretty much every other book I read, but some things are a bit much... like the strange creatures that are supposedly like giant cats and that can be used as mounts? Also, the escape was a bit heavy on the deus ex machina...
