Paula

New personal record!

Revisado: 07-22-24

My new record is that this is the most inane story I’ve ever read all the way through—complete with a shallow and detestable protagonist, ridiculous anachronisms you do not (by far) need to be a historian to notice, scientifically impossible adventures, inconsistent magical phenomena, painful ethnic and racial stereotypes, romanticization of barbaric misogyny, and morally questionable priests who willfully misinterpret Catholic doctrine to (in the one case) condemn the main character to an unjust death by burning at the stake and (in the other) absolve her of an unforgivable crime that also happens to be a mortal sin. The reader is brilliant. The sex scenes are fun. But I don’t think I’ll purchase even part two of this very long series.

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A guilty pleasure (but an audio problem)

Revisado: 09-15-23

This is a ridiculous and tawdry book that makes loose with every historical and scientific fact you can imagine. And of course I will be downloading the next one post haste!

As for the narration: it was actually top notch … so why one star? It’s not the narrator’s fault but rather the fault of the sound quality. The narrator speaks very softly at several of the most dramatic points in the plot, including in a French accent a few times. Though the part I could actually hear was brilliant, the unintelligibility in several important moments marred the experience—especially when listening while driving, where no matter the speaker volume, I could not hear the words and also could not easily flip back to try again.

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Good world building and plot; excellent sequel setup

Revisado: 08-12-23

I really enjoyed this portrayal of a world that has witches, magicians, technologically advanced high-caste wizards, and “demon” possession that occurs when the family of a dying person invites a being from the Under Earth to inhabit the body when the loved one dies.

The titular character is able to command powers from three of these four magical categories because of a weapon of mass destruction that cuts off his access to his true body in the Under Earth, leading him to desperate acts that result in gradual accumulation of more power.

But this isn’t just some rando fantasy novel with a well structured plot. It’s that. But it’s also a compassionate and thoughtful story of friends and friendship and loyalty and trust and lovers and trauma and betrayal and the nature of empires and just plain old death.

Btw, after the first few minutes you’ll completely forget that the name “witch king” was applied to a completely one-dimensional “character” in the Lord of the Rings cycle. (Not that I dislike Tolkien, but aside from Worm Tongue and Saruman, his bad guys have no character or personality or even clear motivations. And before you mention Sméagol/Gollum, his bad-guy status is repeatedly questioned, making him probably the only interesting character.)

I also really appreciated a spectrum of both skin colors and genders just being taking for granted and treated as nbd. Good stuff, and I’m hoping I’m right that it’s clearly positioned to have a sequel. (Soon, please?)

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Highly recommend

Revisado: 03-17-23

Good story and narration. An especially interesting look into the breakdown of class distinctions during WWII, though it’s not pedantic about it or anything. It just feels true.

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Better than the first one

Revisado: 01-28-23

Still annoyed by the weird phrases that sideways thinks in, but overall I think the story and the narration were both better than book 1.

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Gawd.

Revisado: 01-16-23

The sexism of this sci fi era did not age well. Echoes of Heinlein in that regard (not in a good way).

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Supremely goofy

Revisado: 01-08-23

It’s hard to articulate why I kept listening to this. The writing is weirdly off and the reading is emotionally off kilter. But the world and plot were interesting enough for me to keep going. What’s more, I’ll probably also listen ti the next one! No accounting for (my own) taste, I guess.

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Far fetched but a good thriller

Revisado: 01-02-23

It’s not just the “science” that is far fetched here, but the plot is such a fast-paced adrenaline fest that it’s easy to ignore that and just go along for the ride.

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Good but difficult

Revisado: 12-25-22

Really hard to listen to this, but it was worth it. Great narration and a story that makes you think.

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This is a very silly book.

Revisado: 12-15-22

Decent brain candy but really quite goofy, and the ending is clumsy and pretty disappointing.

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