A powerful tale about oppression and fighting it - with magic! I found the writing to be captivating, and the pacing worked well.
The romance subplot was a bit thin and, to be frank, not believable. Inan as a character seemed to be built specifically for the romance plot. The hand wringing and constant agonizing over how his father would take his actions I could take; his turn into a hero and love affair for the protagonist didn't make sense from the point of view of either of the characters, and his betrayal while continuing the hand wringing was just a welcome end to an annoying affair.
There was one thing in the book that really made me raise my eyebrows, though, and not in the good way. It was torture. As a tool for the oppressing regime - and as a tool for the author to highlight the regime's …
User Profile
Koodinikkari, pyöräilijä, taukoa pitävä boulderoija. Vapaalla luen scifiä, paitsi silloin, kun luen fantasiaa.
This link opens in a pop-up window
Sami Sundell's books
To Read (View all 41)
Read (View all 338)
User Activity
RSS feed Back
Sami Sundell rated Locke & Key: 4 stars
Locke & Key by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodríguez (Locke & Key, #2)
Following a shocking death that dredges up memories of their father's murder, Kinsey and Tyler Locke are thrown into choppy …
Sami Sundell rated Marvel 1602: 4 stars
Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman
Marvel 1602 is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written …
Sami Sundell rated The Burning God: 4 stars
Madeline Miller: Circe (2018, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc)
Circe: The No. 1 Bestseller from the Author of the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe …
Sami Sundell rated The Monster Baru Cormorant: 3 stars
The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Even more sweeping and heart-wrenching than its 2015 prequel, The Monster Baru Cormorant is the epic follow-up to the critically …
Sami Sundell reviewed Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us.
Now we …
Review of 'Children of Blood and Bone' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A powerful tale about oppression and fighting it - with magic! I found the writing to be captivating, and the pacing worked well.
The romance subplot was a bit thin and, to be frank, not believable. Inan as a character seemed to be built specifically for the romance plot. The hand wringing and constant agonizing over how his father would take his actions I could take; his turn into a hero and love affair for the protagonist didn't make sense from the point of view of either of the characters, and his betrayal while continuing the hand wringing was just a welcome end to an annoying affair.
There was one thing in the book that really made me raise my eyebrows, though, and not in the good way. It was torture. As a tool for the oppressing regime - and as a tool for the author to highlight the regime's murderous actions against a minority - it's acceptable as part of the tale. But it doesn't end there: also the protagonist uses torture, and whenever people are tortured, the story implies it's an effective way to get information. It's not. It's violence and a violation of basic human rights, and it should be portrayed as such.
Sami Sundell reviewed Space opera by Catherynne M. Valente (duplicate)
"Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny. They must sing. A century ago, …
Review of 'Space opera' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
One of my rare DNFs. I've seen this compared to Hitchhiker's Guide, and I see the similarity: both have levels of absurdity that don't quite manage to cross the threshold to funny and end up being just tedious. I'm also tempted to compare this with Robert Rankin's books, some of which have musical themes, absurdity and also are on the short list of my DNFs.
So yeah, I bounced back hard and stopped reading after about 50 pages.
Sami Sundell rated Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders: 4 stars
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard (Dominion of the Fallen, #3.5)
Lunar New Year should be a time for familial reunions, ancestor worship, and consumption of an unhealthy amount of candied …
Sami Sundell rated Trail of Lightning: 3 stars
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, Tanis Parenteau
"While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo …
Sami Sundell rated Blood Is Another Word for Hunger: 3 stars
Sami Sundell rated Emergency Skin: 4 stars
Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin (Forward Collection, #3)
What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award–winning …
Sami Sundell rated The Archronology of Love: 3 stars
Sami Sundell rated For He Can Creep: 2 stars
Sami Sundell rated Exhalation: 3 stars
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.
In “The Merchant and …