I once watched an Asian drama and was super confused until I reached the end and found out it was a director’s cut. Something about The Gilded Wolves reminded me of the experience. It was like reading an abridged version of a 1000 page book where someone had taken all the important scenes, slapped them together, and decided to call it a story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book, it’s just…a lot.
If I had to describe The Gilded Wolves in one word, it’d be “exhausting.” This is definitely a plot-driven book, and it’s one where it feels like Chokshi hits the accelerator after finishing the prologue and doesn’t let up until the very last page. It’s action-packed and an avalanche of events propels the story forward at a breakneck speed. I usually have a hard time putting a book down—even if it’s a bad one—because I have this annoying compulsion to keep going until I either find what happens or just get to the end. So it’s kind of a big deal when I say I didn’t have a problem putting this down multiple times.
The Six of Crows comparison is what initially brought this to my attention and while I don’t know if I’d make the same comparison myself, I can see why people make it. There’s a diverse crew setting against the backdrop of a gritty fantasy, but while Six of Crows had a good mix of action and character development, The Gilded Wolves is heavily skewed toward the former. Unfortunately, I was never able to fully immerse myself in the world or invest myself the story.
Chokshi moves through the story at a relentless pace, so there’s no room for the story to breathe. I kept thinking the story was winding down and Chokshi kept raising the stakes to the bitter end. There’s seriously no break in this book until you hit the acknowledgements page, and there are even a few time skips in the epilogue which seems horribly unnecessary.
Because the story is so jam-packed with action, there’s little room for anything else. The character development is limited and the world building is done in pretty broad strokes. The story is supposedly set in Paris in 1889, but you wouldn’t know it if it weren’t for the frequent mentions of the revolution and exhibition.
There were some fun bits of banter, but overall, I thought the writing was a bit on the dry side. The multiple POVs don’t add anything to the story, especially when the characters were often in the same place experiencing the same thing. Either pull a Jane Austen omniscient narrator or give your characters more distinct voices so readers can distinguish between them. The flashbacks which weren’t incorporated particularly well and felt pretty unnecessary. (This is more of a personal pet peeve, but I also wasn’t a fan of all the visual puzzles Chokshi included. The diagrams and pictures scattered throughout the book reminded me of a textbook, telling me to “see Figure 1” for an example. I don’t mind illustrations or art in between chapters, but sudden interruption interfered with the story and made the reading experience awkward. If I wanted to look at pictures, I’d read a graphic novel or watch a movie. Just use your words, describe the scene, and let my imagination do the rest. I guess if you really want to include it for the sake of reader interaction, tack on an appendix or something.)
There were some sparks of brilliance, but ultimately, this was a bit of a letdown. I can see why people like this and will definitely be reading the sequel, I just don’t think it lives up to the hype.