Hello!
Woah! I can’t believe I finished this monster of a book!
As much as I loved this book and the journey it took me on, I can’t close my eyes to its faults. This and many more I will be discussing in this review. Okay, I will not ignore the fact that I finished this book over 5 months ago and I am just getting around to write this review. Procrastination is a friend of mine.
Review
Let’s start with the simple fact that this book is a multi-perspective high fantasy that takes place in a world where there are dragons, magic and queens, virtue and loyalty, betrayals, alliance, history, love, and death. It is told from the perspective of Loth, Ead, Niclays, and Tane.
For me, this book started quickly and I was suddenly thrust into this world that it seems the author wants me to figure everything out on my own, I was a lost wandering with no clue where I was headed. This is no world introduction, it just what it is and I had to accept it.
We start this book in the East which is where we met Tane a lowly girl who is training in hopes of being chosen by a dragon to become a dragon rider. Here we also meet Niclays who is an anatomist and thriving alchemist who was banished from Inys by the Queen Sabran. We also meet Sulyard who has travel from the west without permission from Queen Sabran and he is hiding out in Niclays home.
Then we take a journey to the west to the queendom of Inys which has only queens’ seating on the throne for hundreds of years and the people believe that as long as the royal line continues that evil will be kept a bay (or rather asleep). The people propositioned Sabran to get married so that she can produce a female heir.
Reading further, we realize that there is a conspiracy going on to remove the queen from the throne that’s where we are introduced to Ead who is one of the queen’s loyal servants who is trying to find out rebels behind the conspiracy. This way we find out that she had magic but she is hiding it, the reason for this at this time remains unknown.
So as you can see the first two chapters are like a tease, dropping hints but never really saying anything, not giving any backstory, it’s like we are just supposed to know everything!
High fantasy is something I rarely read and as much as I claim I had issues with this book, I am glad I read this.
Rating
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars
Thanks for reading
I can’t wait to read this! But just the size of it is throwing me off. Great review 🙂
The size is just monstrous but once you start reading it, the pages fly so fast
I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while and although I really want to read it, the size os a little intimidating. I’m hoping I’ll eventually go for it and give it ago especially because the story involves dragons and I love dragons. I’m really hoping to enjoy this book and it’s the first book of Samantha Shannon’s that I will be reading and I know she’s a popular author so fingers crossed I won’t be let down. Reading your review, I now know to be prepared to be thrown straight into the book and hopefully it won’t be a confusing read as I find that really off putting. Thanks for sharing this review!
Thank you for reading my review. Once you start reading it, you just won’t be able to put it down