Author: Daniel Abraham
Published: April 2011
Publisher: Orbit
555 pages
Ahhhh it’s been so long since I finished a book. This happens every year though — I read virtually nothing from January to March (due to school) and then the spring through summer I read like a madwoman. Anyway, I actually read the first 500 pages (that’s pretty much the entire book) in December, but for some reason, stopped at one point. Anyway, I recently remembered about it and plowed through the last 55 pages. I didn’t have any major trouble remembering the plot, so I don’t think it affected my liking of the book very much.
This is the kind of story where there’s multiple plots going on. The chapters are divided by characters. Marcus is a known hero of some sort who has a tragic past. He just wants to stay out of the politics and war, but is unknowingly drawn into the plot when he becomes a mercenary guard for Cithrin. Cithrin is an orphan and raised by a banker. Helping her adoptive uncle/father figure hide a large stash of money, she smuggles it away from the people who need it for war. The last major character I’ll add in is Geder, a noble who is sort of a laughingstock and gets bullied around initially. However, nobody will expect how he will eventually get the last laugh.
What I liked about this book best were the characters. I think they are the strongest part of the novel. I found them multi-faceted, intriguing and complex. While I didn’t have one particularly favourite, I did particularly like reading Cithrin’s chapters in the book. At first she seemed like the typical weak female who rises above and beyond her capabilities, and I suppose, the foundations of her character is based on that, but I really liked how it was about her intelligence and her being a bit of a financial whiz. She experiences moments where she just wants to give up everything and not bother, but manages to pull through anyway.
I quite liked the characters, but I can’t say I was really a fan of the story as a whole. The fact that I sped-read almost the whole book and didn’t bother finishing it for two months says something, I think. I didn’t find it interesting enough to bother with the ending. Some scenes grabbed my interest more than others, but overall, I just wasn’t captivated. The entire book was very political-ly and financial-ly, which isn’t really my cup of tea. I was expecting drama, but it seemed kind of mild.
From what I can tell, most people are generally favorable to this book. I can’t really decide if I liked it or didn’t like it, to be honest. I don’t think it was a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t into the story very much. Perhaps it’s simply not for me.
My Rating: 2.5/5
