I wanted to love this book. I really can't express how much, after reading the author's note at the end, I want to have loved it. The premise, especially in light of the historical significance, is really awesome, the characters are empathetic, and the worldbuilding, while not totally flawless, is still luscious. And I always love a good sibling story. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into and through this book.
I liked it! I did. But it felt messy. There were too many characters, for one, especially in the middle section—too many people that I was expected to keep track of despite them not having developed personalities. Worse, the story seemed to jump around a lot, with no easily followable, well, story—there was very little of the cause-and-effectness that usually draws a plot, inescapably, from the beginning to the middle to the end. There was no sense of building tension, and there was no discernible climax; instead, it just felt like a lot of stuff happening. There was one chapter near the very end—well into what should've been the denouement, in my experience—when so much stuff kept happening, worse and worse things getting thrown at our MCs to the point where it felt almost farcical, that it was exhausting. At that point, I was ready to just be done with the book.
And then the ending was... unsatisfying. I don't mean that there was a cliffhanger, because there wasn't—I see that it's the first in a series, but I actually find that bewildering, since there doesn't seem to be anything left to do in this story. It was just a very abruptly conclusive non-ending, and it left me feeling... not disappointed, exactly, since my expectations for the book had been steadily decreasing for the past fifty-or-so chapters, but disgruntled.
Unfortunately, it seems to me that this book tried to do too much. With a tighter and more focused plot, it could've been awesome.
I liked it! I did. But it felt messy. There were too many characters, for one, especially in the middle section—too many people that I was expected to keep track of despite them not having developed personalities. Worse, the story seemed to jump around a lot, with no easily followable, well, story—there was very little of the cause-and-effectness that usually draws a plot, inescapably, from the beginning to the middle to the end. There was no sense of building tension, and there was no discernible climax; instead, it just felt like a lot of stuff happening. There was one chapter near the very end—well into what should've been the denouement, in my experience—when so much stuff kept happening, worse and worse things getting thrown at our MCs to the point where it felt almost farcical, that it was exhausting. At that point, I was ready to just be done with the book.
And then the ending was... unsatisfying. I don't mean that there was a cliffhanger, because there wasn't—I see that it's the first in a series, but I actually find that bewildering, since there doesn't seem to be anything left to do in this story. It was just a very abruptly conclusive non-ending, and it left me feeling... not disappointed, exactly, since my expectations for the book had been steadily decreasing for the past fifty-or-so chapters, but disgruntled.
Unfortunately, it seems to me that this book tried to do too much. With a tighter and more focused plot, it could've been awesome.