After getting a sneak-peak at the first 5 chapters a few months ago, I was really excited to see how this one unfolded. There was a murder mystery wrapped up in a magical matriarchy--sounds great to me!
I think my first issue was with Keralie, the master thief & heroine that gets roped into the royal drama. She is unnaturally flippant about everything and it started to grate on me. She's always smirking and rattling off 'clever' one-liners in a way that I found really annoying. Any point where we're supposed to empathize with her struggles or trauma is immediately undercut by her own attitude. I just don't care for this type of character. I don't think it adds anything of value and it just feels like the author trying to drive home how 'cool' or 'relatable' we're supposed to find her. It happens with male characters too, and I hate it in them as well.
The other thing that I didn't care for was what I've come to refer to as The Vibranium Solution. I see it more in pseudo-scientific fantasy stories like this one. Like how in Black Panther Vibranium is used to MacGyver new inconceivable technology with no real coherent explanation, the kingdom of Eonia has nearly magical capabilities, but is explained away as "science", while their neighboring kingdoms are still using horses as their main mode of transportation. I think when authors try to retain both old societal and cultural structures that don't really exist anymore, while also taking advantage of new science-fiction possibilities (with a sprinkle of magic), there's a high chance of this occurring.
Spoilers: The example that most bothered me was when a technology that records memories can suddenly, seemingly for plot reasons, record someone's intentions and plans in vivid imagery as well. This is totally possible, but nobody had ever considered doing it before. And then later it can control your mind for similar ~*pLoT*~ reasons. I don't have a problem buying into new worlds and realities, but I hate when the rules change mid-play. It feels lazy.
The murder mystery portion, though, thought was compelling enough. I went into Part 4 (of 4) with vague suspicions, but no real idea who it was. I was wrong in about every possible way, but the ending was so out of left field that I don't know who could have accurately come up with it. I didn't love the conclusion of it all to be honest. It's not bad, it's just kind of weird and nonsensical.
It was fine. I wish I liked it more, but for me it didn't live up to the concept.
I think my first issue was with Keralie, the master thief & heroine that gets roped into the royal drama. She is unnaturally flippant about everything and it started to grate on me. She's always smirking and rattling off 'clever' one-liners in a way that I found really annoying. Any point where we're supposed to empathize with her struggles or trauma is immediately undercut by her own attitude. I just don't care for this type of character. I don't think it adds anything of value and it just feels like the author trying to drive home how 'cool' or 'relatable' we're supposed to find her. It happens with male characters too, and I hate it in them as well.
The other thing that I didn't care for was what I've come to refer to as The Vibranium Solution. I see it more in pseudo-scientific fantasy stories like this one. Like how in Black Panther Vibranium is used to MacGyver new inconceivable technology with no real coherent explanation, the kingdom of Eonia has nearly magical capabilities, but is explained away as "science", while their neighboring kingdoms are still using horses as their main mode of transportation. I think when authors try to retain both old societal and cultural structures that don't really exist anymore, while also taking advantage of new science-fiction possibilities (with a sprinkle of magic), there's a high chance of this occurring.
Spoilers: The example that most bothered me was when a technology that records memories can suddenly, seemingly for plot reasons, record someone's intentions and plans in vivid imagery as well. This is totally possible, but nobody had ever considered doing it before. And then later it can control your mind for similar ~*pLoT*~ reasons. I don't have a problem buying into new worlds and realities, but I hate when the rules change mid-play. It feels lazy.
The murder mystery portion, though, thought was compelling enough. I went into Part 4 (of 4) with vague suspicions, but no real idea who it was. I was wrong in about every possible way, but the ending was so out of left field that I don't know who could have accurately come up with it. I didn't love the conclusion of it all to be honest. It's not bad, it's just kind of weird and nonsensical.
It was fine. I wish I liked it more, but for me it didn't live up to the concept.