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ashybear02's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pemdas97's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
merrinish's review against another edition
1.0
No, okay. I had to give up. I really disliked this book. The main character was absolutely hateful, and HELLO, this book is 700 pages long. How can I be expected to care for 700 pages about someone I actively dislike?
But I read more than half of it before I gave up, so I'm still counting this in the win category.
But I read more than half of it before I gave up, so I'm still counting this in the win category.
ankonyx's review against another edition
3.0
2,5 stars. This was really disappointing. The writing was hard to get into, but really made it read as a translated text from a far off land, so I'll give it points for that. Getting into this book, I thought it was going to be about a poor slave girl overthrowing the patriarchal society. Boy was I wrong. The main character Hekat, is objectively the villain. She's abusive, manipulative and selfish, and nothing in her backstory made me care for her as she progressed. The last fifty or so pages were really weird. It suddenly siften POV and completely changed. It was weird, and seems like set up for a sequel. I don't know if I'll pick up the sequel anytime soon or ever.
mkpatter's review against another edition
4.0
Technically, a 3.5 star (I don't understand why we can't do half stars here).
It starts out as an interesting story that begins with the origins of its villain, and leads up to the creation of its hero. Unfortunately, Miller isn't as good at painting shades of grey as say, George Martin or Scott Bakker, and you never really like Hekat even if you do maybe understand where she's coming from. Mijak is an interesting land though, a little bit of Mayan, Middle Eastern and even Ancient Rome a bit, so that at least keeps you coming back for more. Also unfortunate is the next two books in the series, which get more standard fantasy than the first book lets on.
It starts out as an interesting story that begins with the origins of its villain, and leads up to the creation of its hero. Unfortunately, Miller isn't as good at painting shades of grey as say, George Martin or Scott Bakker, and you never really like Hekat even if you do maybe understand where she's coming from. Mijak is an interesting land though, a little bit of Mayan, Middle Eastern and even Ancient Rome a bit, so that at least keeps you coming back for more. Also unfortunate is the next two books in the series, which get more standard fantasy than the first book lets on.
lizthedragon's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a while since I've read these books, so I'm writing this review based on my memory of them.
I thought this trilogy was incredibly well written--as a trilogy. When I read book 2 I had to check a couple times that I was in fact reading the sequel to this book, but then book 3 ties everything together.
Warning: There is some extremely adult content in these books. Not just in acts described but also in motivations and nuance. And I don't mean "erotically describe happy sex times", I mean "careful description of sex times that maybe shouldn't be happy" and, iirc, torture as well. I think that if you can stomach that, the trilogy is definitely worth reading.
Trilogy spoiler below.
I thought this trilogy was incredibly well written--as a trilogy. When I read book 2 I had to check a couple times that I was in fact reading the sequel to this book, but then book 3 ties everything together.
Warning: There is some extremely adult content in these books. Not just in acts described but also in motivations and nuance. And I don't mean "erotically describe happy sex times", I mean "careful description of sex times that maybe shouldn't be happy" and, iirc, torture as well. I think that if you can stomach that, the trilogy is definitely worth reading.
Trilogy spoiler below.
Spoiler
Hekat is one of the few examples of a female villain in epic fantasy. She's the protagonist of book one--but throughout the series it becomes obvious that she is the actual villain. That transition is masterfully written.meganmassey's review against another edition
4.0
After reading so many fantasy books in an afternoon or an evening it was delightful to land on a fantasy book that I had to work at a bit. I was also pleased to find a trilogy that didn't go like this: Book 1: blah blah blah PAUSE; Book 2: RESUME blah blah PAUSE; Book 3: RESUME FINAL BLAHS that could have all fit into one freaking book!!! Amirite ppl?
Anyway, I loved Hekat and the mighty and mean old testament style god who actually speaks to his congregation and leads them on their destructive path. I could not get enough of the smiting and blood and sacrificing.
Anyway, I loved Hekat and the mighty and mean old testament style god who actually speaks to his congregation and leads them on their destructive path. I could not get enough of the smiting and blood and sacrificing.
mthevice's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Hekat is a horrible person, who many will despise, despite the fact you must like her to some extent if you want to enjoy the book. Oh but if you do like her you will enjoy this book and only this book because she is the villain in the rest of the series and nothing actually matters in this book. This story really should have spent more time on her sons. . But my real problem is that the book series verges on bigotry. Hekat is the villain of the entire series along with her nation. Which wouldn't have been a problem if they weren't the only people of color in the story. Their culture is seen as barbarous by the European-inspired heroes and there's an entire arc that's dedicated to showing a character the errors of their culture. If you're apart of any black and brown communities you probably know exactly why this bothered me.
the_bookroyal's review against another edition
Gonna have to come back to this and think of a full review