Author: Keira DrakeEdition: ARC I borrowedRating: 4 Stars
I've already published a discussion about this book tackling the racism aspect. In the end of that discussion I do admit that I think there are veins of racism in the book and that's unacceptable, though I think the reaction of some people was over the top. I'm very glad the publisher is taking it back in to deal with these aspects, because they do need to be dealt with. However, I do believe books deserve to be taken on their own, as well, and looked at from a plot, character, and writing perspective. This is the same respect and honor we give to classics. I'm not saying this is a classic, but I think it should be given some respect in the same regard.
The Continent is about a girl from the privileged country called the Spire who ends up on the Continent, a land still caught in a deadly war. Unprepared for this tragedy she must carve a new life and find a way to survive.
First of all, the writing is beautiful. I was stunned by the language used and the elegant strokes used to define and describe that still let my mind wander and create them on my own. The dialogue in particular was some of my favorite. There was a specific cadence to the writing and language that was like music in my mind. This aspect of the book truly blew me away.
As for the plot, I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I expected this book to be much closer to dystopian than fantasy and so I was thoroughly surprised that it was straight up fantasy. I appreciated it, because I'm not a huge fan of dystopian. Because it is fantasy there was a great deal of world building, and while there was some very interesting world building, I wish more time had been spent exploring the world building aspects of it, especially since the main character was a map maker.
Character-wise I liked everyone, but I didn't love anyone, which is where the book falters a lot. I didn't feel particularly connected to anyone, nor did I swoon over anyone. They weren't flat, per se, but they weren't alive enough for me to really feel invested or worried about them or their fates.
TL;DR?
Excluding discussion of racism; the writing itself is beautiful and it's a pretty good fantasy, minus the world building and characters, who I just couldn't connect with.
Posts
Very interesting review. I've seen reviews all over the place for this one. Thanks for doing that discussion earlier.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I wanted to keep the two balanced because it seemed fairer to the book itself.
DeleteSo glad to see your review with the problematic portions set aside. It's probably getting rewritten anyway. I hope I get a chance to read it for myself soon.
ReplyDeleteI know they're addressing the issues but I don't think they'll do a whole rewrite, it's just not economical. More likely I think that key phrases and parts will be changed, probably by adding things or just rephrasing. I imagine they just don't want to miss anything and that's what will take the longest and they'll have to do these same edits on the later ones in the series too. I hope it's not changed too much because the core story and the writing is just so good!
DeleteAlso, I just sent your copy back the other day so I hope it arrives quickly and isn't delayed by the winter weather :) Thanks again for letting me borrow it!