![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbtl;dr I liked this book enough -- it took me a few tries to start, but I got 15% of the way through and then sped through to the end -- but probably won't seek out the rest of the trilogy.
The backdrop of the story is: the city of Bulikov (and the Continent generally) once benefitted from the presence of Divinities and regular miracles to rule and oppress the rest of the world. Then, one of its colonies, Saypur, rises up and kills the Divinities and the colonizers become the colonized. Several generations later, Saypuri spy Shara comes to Bulikov to investigate the murder of a historian who's widely reviled by the Continentals.
What worked for me: I loved that it was a psuedo-historical fantasy novel that was distinctly NOT European inspired. The magic was distinctly Western fantasy, but with enough of a twist that it didn't feel like the same old. I enjoyed most of the characters, who felt like they had personality and didn't just serve the narrative; they were flawed in ways that felt realistic. Some of the ending plot bits were planted very early on in clever ways; to me, it felt like being nicely ahead of the characters instead of wanting to shake them and tell them they were supposed to be observant, though YMMV.
What didn't work for me: I felt that the author struggled to keep characterization, worldbuilding, and general violence level stable through the novel. I think a lot of reviews didn't like Shara or didn't really feel like they knew her, but I felt it was more like, sometimes the author wanted her to Be This Way and other times Be This Other Way? So it led to some confusion. For the worldbuilding, I never quite felt like the world was completely fleshed out, just more like, these are the bits that the author found interesting to describe; though those bits /were/ interesting. The violence was sometimes so callously treated and sometimes not; it does try to address the violence of colonialism, and I think it kind of fluctuated in how well it hit the mark there.
The backdrop of the story is: the city of Bulikov (and the Continent generally) once benefitted from the presence of Divinities and regular miracles to rule and oppress the rest of the world. Then, one of its colonies, Saypur, rises up and kills the Divinities and the colonizers become the colonized. Several generations later, Saypuri spy Shara comes to Bulikov to investigate the murder of a historian who's widely reviled by the Continentals.
What worked for me: I loved that it was a psuedo-historical fantasy novel that was distinctly NOT European inspired. The magic was distinctly Western fantasy, but with enough of a twist that it didn't feel like the same old. I enjoyed most of the characters, who felt like they had personality and didn't just serve the narrative; they were flawed in ways that felt realistic. Some of the ending plot bits were planted very early on in clever ways; to me, it felt like being nicely ahead of the characters instead of wanting to shake them and tell them they were supposed to be observant, though YMMV.
What didn't work for me: I felt that the author struggled to keep characterization, worldbuilding, and general violence level stable through the novel. I think a lot of reviews didn't like Shara or didn't really feel like they knew her, but I felt it was more like, sometimes the author wanted her to Be This Way and other times Be This Other Way? So it led to some confusion. For the worldbuilding, I never quite felt like the world was completely fleshed out, just more like, these are the bits that the author found interesting to describe; though those bits /were/ interesting. The violence was sometimes so callously treated and sometimes not; it does try to address the violence of colonialism, and I think it kind of fluctuated in how well it hit the mark there.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 03:46 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 15:04 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-15 15:30 (UTC)But anyway, about Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, I read it when it first came out (holy shit, 11 years ago) and it deals with the idea that there is this central empire from the perspective of a woman who is in one of it's colonies and ends up visiting the seat of power and getting involved in politics. At least, I think. To be honest, there are some real weird things going on in the book about, well, being into god sex is the way that I remember it, but it does also deal with the collapse of empire and what comes next, which I found interesting.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 19:29 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 05:54 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 15:08 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 18:22 (UTC)Most of the mytharc background built up in the first book is never mentioned again.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 19:07 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 15:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 19:08 (UTC)