I picked this up because Tamsyn Muir described it as having many of the same cool elements that she put into Gideon the Ninth.
So I started this expecting something Gideon-like. But for the first third of the book or so, it made me think of nothing so much as a (way darker) Goblin Emperor. (And also, for obvious reasons, Tombs of Atuan).
As the narrative goes on, I think the Gideon comparison becomes more and more apt--queer longing, sass, wizards rolling their eyes at each other. I had a great time with this book all the way through.
I enjoyed this a lot! It’s a mix of fast and slow paced, but in a very different way than most SFF. I don’t think it’s a flaw as much as it is just different and therefore prone to be disliked if you want more traditional pacing. There are multiple climaxes in this book that each feel like they could be the climax of their own book. But it’s not pedal to the floor - it’s still slow sometimes. I think each climax just feels plot-wise like something we’re used to being at the end of a book, and here it’s a middle step. That did not make it feel rushed for me as much as it just felt different.
One of my complaints is often that first books feel like giant prologues - here you get something in between. The first quarter of this book is like a prologue. …
I enjoyed this a lot! It’s a mix of fast and slow paced, but in a very different way than most SFF. I don’t think it’s a flaw as much as it is just different and therefore prone to be disliked if you want more traditional pacing. There are multiple climaxes in this book that each feel like they could be the climax of their own book. But it’s not pedal to the floor - it’s still slow sometimes. I think each climax just feels plot-wise like something we’re used to being at the end of a book, and here it’s a middle step. That did not make it feel rushed for me as much as it just felt different.
One of my complaints is often that first books feel like giant prologues - here you get something in between. The first quarter of this book is like a prologue. Which is just not the kind of structure we’re used to, but I liked it.
Also unusual is the minimal info dumping. What’s there is important. The setting can feel a bit fuzzy sometimes because of this. Again, to me this is not a flaw. I really appreciated the concision. But I understand that many, if not most, fantasy readers want to be immersed in a full world.
I found the character arcs all really compelling. By the end no one felt cartoonishly villainous. Characters in conflict with another move in and out of working with each other. Most of them are learning how to be break free from something.
There were times I wanted more from the story. Csorwe gets trained to fight with a mercenary group and she’ll mention missing them, but we don’t see any of her time there. If she didn’t bring it up again afterward, I wouldn’t have cared, but since she does, I wished I had seen why she misses them.
The story includes romance but it’s very innocent and sweet. Appropriate to the lack of experience they both seem to have. It was a romance I could enjoy since it didn’t feel overwrought.
Really fun read, but one that won’t work for all fantasy lovers.
A fantasy book that feels like a rollercoaster. I feel like a trilogy could've been made out of this book alone, for better or worse, it has several major arcs, significant timeskips and radical changes of allegiance. The premise and world are somewhat reminiscent of Earthsea for me, although it doesn't have the restraint or contemplative nature that series has; this is very much an action movie that does not stop. That said, it's well written and a lot of fun, the characters are good (even if I wanted the "camera" to linger on them a bit more at times) and the lore is absolutely my jam.
What a satisfying second-world adult fantasy novel! I haven't experienced one of those in a long time. The worldbuilding is wonderful--lush and layered--the characters are well-drawn and interesting, the plot is perfectly serviceable fantasy plot that is elevated by how good the setting/character stuff is. The end was a bit rushed (which is an extremely common problem with fantasy novels--most writers either rush it or draw it out too much), but that's really my only complaint. Everything else was so enjoyable.
It is, however, lacking that ~something~ that boosts a book up to the 5-star level, at least for me, but I am so excited to keep following Larkwood's career, and I know that someday she's going to write one of my favorite books.
A moody and strongly atmospheric world that skillfully unfurls around the bones of older works to get their flavour, while still being fresh and uniquely its own. The story focuses on the people who carry it and paints the politics and geography it passes though with broad, impressionistic strokes to let characters shine - but you just know if Larkwood wanted to she could fill in those details down to the colour of every grain of sand. The world is fullly fledged, but the author doesn't reveal any more of it than you need to know to enjoy the adventures of Csorwe and even, gods help us, Tal Charossa.
