Summary:
The second book of the Graceling Realm series is a prequel to the first book, although barely connected, to my dismay. Fire follows a young woman named Fire as she gets caught up in possibly the biggest war in the history of the Dells and struggles with her father's legacy.
What I liked:
The main character was interesting and both alike and different from Katsa in Book 1. Fire didn't have a short temper and was much less aggressive, both of which Katsa were. They both had a bit against romance, though for very different reasons, and they both fall in love with someone. I liked how Fire changed over the course of the story, because it's interesting to see them learn and change. I really thought this story was very very different from the first book; Katsa didn't really change much over the course of the story but Fire changed a lot, the first book had a lot more action and was more exciting, the second was much slower paced and less physical hardships are endured.
Having read two of Krisitin Cashore's books now, I've realized that her writing style is very different from what I'm used to. The books are much slower paced and less exciting, but I think she tries to put more of an emphasis on emotion or things that make someone who they are, which is probably why I somehow got through the book despite the slow pace. Her books sometimes feel like they're all separate mini stories, but still one big story at the same time, which I didn't think was possible with a book. I guess I'm not used to the writing style.
Like the first book, the descriptions of the environment are frequent and interesting. And we also learn a bit of Leck's past, so that's good too!
What I disliked
The first part of the book was so insanely slow and boring that it took me like two weeks to finish it. I feel like that Kristin somehow took up two hundred or so pages describing a single trip to a castle and back, without any action at all nor any especially interesting interactions between the characters. Although the story probably would've been drier without the first part, as you learn a lot about Fire and her friend Archer, I feel like it should've been faster. At least after the first chunk of the book it got a lot more interesting. I also feel that her books kind of lack a 'climax feeling', and what I mean is that although there is definitely a climax in the books, it doesn't feel like there is, probably because her books sometimes feel like a big story with multiple mini side stories happening at the same time, where the side stories merge with the big plot and then separate again...I don't know how to explain it better than that.
None.
Final Remarks:
It's pretty good, as long as you don't mind slow-paced stories. I really got caught up after the first chunk of the book, because it became really interesting, and in the places where nothing in the main plot was happening much, you learn about other characters through mini side stories that don't feel like they are out of place. I think I liked this book, even though I was hoping Katsa and Po would be in it.
Rating: 7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment