Week 20
Have I struggled yet with the fact that it’s May? April seemed like it went by completely in a rush, I cannot comprehend the passage of time.
The real tragedy is that I think I missed out on all my chances to make ‘Nsync jokes :(
#30) A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR by Ashley Shuttleworth
Generally, I liked this book. I thought the characters were interesting, and the world was pretty fun.
Basically, A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR is about an ironborn girl (part fae, part mortal), trying to track down the murderer of other ironborns, and meanwhile discovering her own power. That makes the story sound a lot simpler than it actually is, so there’s also politics and other characters running around doing investigative stuff.
I liked the development of the mystery decently well, and it was entertaining to try and put the pieces together. I always like a story based on fairy lore, and the use of the Masquerade in this context was fun. Many of the characters are queer, and their dynamics are pretty well developed. It’s neat to see the “mysterious dark stranger” subtype being played by a queer woman.
Also, this story takes place partially in Toronto! That’s fun!
If I had a criticism, it’s that this book kind of feels like there’s too much going on. There’s a lot of characters, and a lot of different mythologies and folklore coming into play, and as the story goes on I just found it a little distracting. They’ve got fae, and Greek-ish mythology, as well as Dungeons and Dragons style magic dice, and alchemy/Philosopher’s Stones…there’s just a lot happening. Around the time they started talking about the Seven Deadly Sins I was just asking myself (and the book), “Really??”
#31) KING OF SCARS by Leigh Bardugo
FUCK I loved this book.
I’ve read the other Grishaverse books and thought they were fine, generally enjoyable works of fiction. I’m enjoying the Netflix show decently well. I liked Six of Crows, though I haven’t yet read Crooked Kingdom (and, uh, just so you know, this does have spoilers for that, so, oops).
This totally blew those out of the water. It’s a really great combination of the best parts of the original trilogy with the fun heist-y stuff from Six of Crows. All the characters are at their best, including Nina and Nikolai, faves from former books. I also really enjoyed learning more about Zoya and finally getting to read things from her point of view. Furthermore, I was really into the nearly-Shakespearean political intrigue plot.
Without spoiling anything, I also really enjoyed the themes of this book. It really feels as though Bardugo has grown significantly as a writer, and this felt a lot more mature than some of her other books. The discussions of monstrosity, and the focus on expectations and death, are really excellent. They feel like a natural extension of what she’s written before, but with more depth and meaning than I’ve seen from her before.
The more time she spends with the series, too, the more interesting the magic and the theory behind it gets, as well. That’s all really fun to play with, as well as the technology that goes along with it. I perhaps have some minor criticisms, but nothing that really seems significant enough to mention.
In any case, I loved this, and I’m now slavering to get my hands on Rule of Wolves. Also Crooked Kingdom, now.