I just ... didn’t care at all, about any of this. I cared so little I was barely even mad that (view spoiler)[the main character’s love interest dies I just ... didn’t care at all, about any of this. I cared so little I was barely even mad that (view spoiler)[the main character’s love interest dies and becomes a magical artifact to act as a guardian to the library, so the main character can move on, and. you get zero points for guessing who is the dude and who is the lady in that scenario. (hide spoiler)]
I guess I’m happy that the few characters I still liked mostly got a happy ending, but golly, none of that made slogging through this worth it. ...more
When I put this book on my library holds list, things were — well, a pandemic wasn’t ravaging the country, for a starHalf of the problem here was me.
When I put this book on my library holds list, things were — well, a pandemic wasn’t ravaging the country, for a start. And I also did not realize, from the recommendation I got, that it was set in a dystopia. (I thought it was a AU Old West.) I am never in the mood for a dystopia, but I’ve been extremely, actively anti-dystopia for the last four years. And I’ve been absolutely anti-dystopia since the pandemic started. So I was not in a very receptive state, here.
Also, the book starts — fucking starts — with a queer teenaged girl being hanged, and while I’m sure writing about that was salutory for Gailey (and no, that isn’t some backhanded thing — writing about your own worst fears can be cathartic!), reading about it sure was not even remotely good for me. Honestly, I should have put the book down right there; it’s not like it wasn’t telling me what it was.
But I kept on. I soldiered on through the dystopia and the hopelessness and my growing suspicion that this entire book was written because the author learned a lot of Horse Facts and deeply wanted to share them and a quasi romance that never really set for me. And in the end, my biggest problem with this book wasn’t a me thing at all. It’s the way it is written.
I get what Gailey is trying to do here, but it does not work for me at all. There’s too much of the story missing. The transitions are either jagged and jarring or just completely absent. There’s chunks of sensory description missing. And wow, Gailey is not just not a user of end effects — she seems to actively abhor them. All of that adds up to a skeleton book that doesn’t make a bit of effort to keep you reading or reward you when you do.
I am disappointed, and honestly, given my “rate by enjoyment alone” policy, this book should get two stars from me. But I’m giving it an extra one because, well. Wrong book, wrong time. Still: while I might not have been so repelled by this book at a different time in my life, I never would have enjoyed it, because there’s just not enough here to like. ...more
Okay, so. Let us say you are leading a small, ragtag band of rebels against a hugely powerful empire with extreme magical and technological superioritOkay, so. Let us say you are leading a small, ragtag band of rebels against a hugely powerful empire with extreme magical and technological superiority. You are in a trap (because you spend all your time lurching from trap to trap), but you’ve figured out an escape plan! It is complicated and requires a lot of your allies to do difficult things perfectly. Do you:
1. Tell your allies your plan and get their input, and also make sure that the people you’re signing up to be tortured are okay with that? Or 2. Tell two allies, keep it a secret from everyone else, let them think you betrayed them, and just hope they figure out your plan and do all the things they’re supposed to?
If you picked one, good news: you have the potential to be a good rebel leader! If you picked 2, you are, alas, Jess, the hero of this book. Also, your plan is not gonna work. I’m just going to warn you of that right now.
And the thing is, I know why the author went this route. It was for DRAMA and OH NOES BETRAYAL. Unfortunately, it — doesn’t actually make sense. And, indeed, it turns this entire plot into a series of problems that would never have happened if Jess had actually made any good choices OR told people what they needed to know. AND, better yet, this is not the first time (or the second) that Jess has made this mistake and seen his plans fall apart because of it. It’s one thing when characters make mistakes, learn from them, and do better next time. It’s entirely another when characters keep making the same mistake over and over and OVER. I dislike it immensely.
I spent the entire novel thinking JUST COMMUNICATE! Just MAKE USEFUL WORDS COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! OH GOD NO DON’T DO THAT! I also spent the entire novel thinking that, uh, Jess is really, really not good at this planning and leadership thing, so it’s a pity that he won’t call on the skills of the master strategist on his side OR the Hermione of the team.
This book, in other words, is full of the characters doing things because the plot needs them to, not because it actually makes sense. And, honestly, the justifications for why they do these things are — bad. Bad is what they are.
As a side note, this book also set me up for massive personal disappointment. There’s a whole subplot about Morgan not being sure she loves Jess the way Jess loves her — that she’s not in love with him, really. And I was SO EXCITED. At last, a book that acknowledges that maybe, just maybe, you won’t end up with the first person you date! A book that says hey, two people can be good people and care about each other a lot and still not be together forever just because they got into a lot of danger together in the their teens! But no. It was just a fake out, to raise some will they, won’t they romantic tension in book four of the series, long after that ship has not so much sailed as caught on fire and sunk.
At this point, I’m cursing myself for having checked the last three books of the series out of the library all at once. But I did, so I’m soldiering on, despite increasing dislike for some of the characters and a total lack of faith that the plot will ever improve. Honestly, though, if you want to read this series, read the first book and stop there. The first book was good. The rest is just watching the entire series race downhill to Mediocre Town....more
This book was definitely a More of the Same sequel, and the sameness in question was:
1. “Oh no! We’re in a trap!” 2. “We have an escape plan!” 3. *bystaThis book was definitely a More of the Same sequel, and the sameness in question was:
1. “Oh no! We’re in a trap!” 2. “We have an escape plan!” 3. *bystander body count rises* 4. “Oh no! Our plan led us into another trap!”
This is starting to get old — maybe “starting” isn’t the word I mean here — but I think possibly the next book will end the sameness. There are hope-inducing signs at the end of this one. And in the meantime, at least the pacing remains solid and the characters remain (mostly) interesting and enjoyable.
Unfortunately, the one character I enjoyed less in this book is Jess, and he’s the protagonist and the point of view character, so that was a problem. The thing is, this book does develop Jess and Morgan’s relationship a lot more, and for some reason Caine decided to express this via Jess a) getting more jealous and possessive and b) doing that fun thing where he’s like, “Yes, we are all in terrible danger, and we will all definitely die if you, the Woman I Love, do not do the important thing only you can do, but you MUST NOT DO THE THING.” He does get better about this over the course of the book, but wow I was frustrated with him allllll through the middle.
(And it’s doubly frustrating because he has in front of him basically at all times a perfect example of how to be lovers in a dangerous time. Pay attention to Wolfe and Santi, Jess! They’re good at this! Also they would be WAY more interesting protagonists, but I guess we can’t have everything.)
I continue to have the sense that this is not the most interesting story in this universe. But it is *an* interesting story, and after a short break I’m going to soldier on with this one.
(Warnings: Brief animal abuse, loads of off-screen child harm and death, just a stunningly high body count, lots of discussion of rape and forced impregnation.)...more
I’m still really interested in this series, but there’s a few things going on in this particular book that are making it not work quite as well for meI’m still really interested in this series, but there’s a few things going on in this particular book that are making it not work quite as well for me as the first one did.
First, obviously, this is a sequel. There’s less new worldbuilding to be entranced by (though this book does expand nicely on stuff from the first book), for one thing. Also, the plot is very “we have to go here, we have to do this, oh wait we have to do this other thing” seasoned with “oh wow, exactly the person we need to be here showed up exactly when we need them to, with no specific reason or explanation, even though they should never in a million years be here.” It’s plotting by yanking the characters around (and off) the stage with a cane, rather than organic plotting.
Also, it’s never entirely a good sign when I start thinking about the more interesting stories happening in a novel’s world around the story I’m being told. (It’s not entirely a bad sign, either, because it means the worldbuilding is great, but we knew that from book one.) Wolfe and Santi have a more interesting story than Jess’s star-crossed love. The Iron Tower is a more interesting story than this random band of teenager’s blundering adventures in railroaded plot. I want THOSE stories.
But that isn’t to say I’m not still enjoying the story I actually got. I like learning more about this fascinating world. I like the pacing of this novel; Caine knows how to make things MOVE. I enjoy the found family (and the contrast between that and blood family). There’s a lot of fun here! It’s just — qualified fun. ...more
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