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thistlechaserShadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
When I reviewed the first Seraphina book, I loved it so much I couldn't decide which reason for loving it to write about first. Unfortunately, for book two, I have the opposite problem.
There were two main reasons this book didn't work for me. In no special order:
In the first book, it was the dragons ("saar" -- a dragon in human form) that were the most interesting element of the story. They were such an fascinating, utterly foreign culture. In Shadow Scale, the saars were absent for literally half of the book -- the first 50% of the book was about the half-dragon Seraphina and her search for others like her. Even when they started showing up again in the second half, they still had very little screen time.
The driving force of this book was conflict with a villain. Unfortunately the character never for a moment worked for me. I did not believe she was ever a threat. I didn't believe the power she had could be used the way she used it. I did not believe how the entire world reacted to her. Basically she came off as a boogeyman to me, but the story characters treated her like the most powerful creature that ever walked the planet.
Unfortunately the story dragged so badly. While I flew through the first book, it felt like this one took months to read. (Though by the date on my previous review, it took "only" three weeks.)
There were a number of good elements to the story, but unfortunately they weren't enough to save it for me:
The quigutl: Lizard-like people. Their culture was amazingly interesting. I wish the whole book had been about them instead of just a couple chapters. I loved them to death -- I felt about them in this book as I had the saar in the first book. While I have no desire to reread this book, I'd happily reread their chapters over and over.
The writing: The technical writing, I mean. Rachel Hartman constructs very nice sentences, she's really clever with her wording, and has an enjoyable vocabulary.
(Edit: I forgot a good part. Spoilers for details about characters.One of the characters, a strong female character, was transsexual. I don't think I've read a YA book with a trans character before! And one of the main female characters was lesbian, which was quite cool as well. )
The ending of the book was the biggest letdown for me, though the epilogue was touching. In a world where every YA book seems to be part of a trilogy, it seems like this series might just be the two books.
As a final note: It's possible my expectations were so high that there's no way this book could have lived up to them. I loved the first book on a "Best book ever!" level. I know a number of people reading this are either looking forward to the second book or are intending to read the both of them; I hope that my review can reset expectations so you all are able to enjoy Shadow Scale more than I did.
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
When I reviewed the first Seraphina book, I loved it so much I couldn't decide which reason for loving it to write about first. Unfortunately, for book two, I have the opposite problem.
There were two main reasons this book didn't work for me. In no special order:
In the first book, it was the dragons ("saar" -- a dragon in human form) that were the most interesting element of the story. They were such an fascinating, utterly foreign culture. In Shadow Scale, the saars were absent for literally half of the book -- the first 50% of the book was about the half-dragon Seraphina and her search for others like her. Even when they started showing up again in the second half, they still had very little screen time.
The driving force of this book was conflict with a villain. Unfortunately the character never for a moment worked for me. I did not believe she was ever a threat. I didn't believe the power she had could be used the way she used it. I did not believe how the entire world reacted to her. Basically she came off as a boogeyman to me, but the story characters treated her like the most powerful creature that ever walked the planet.
Unfortunately the story dragged so badly. While I flew through the first book, it felt like this one took months to read. (Though by the date on my previous review, it took "only" three weeks.)
There were a number of good elements to the story, but unfortunately they weren't enough to save it for me:
The quigutl: Lizard-like people. Their culture was amazingly interesting. I wish the whole book had been about them instead of just a couple chapters. I loved them to death -- I felt about them in this book as I had the saar in the first book. While I have no desire to reread this book, I'd happily reread their chapters over and over.
The writing: The technical writing, I mean. Rachel Hartman constructs very nice sentences, she's really clever with her wording, and has an enjoyable vocabulary.
(Edit: I forgot a good part. Spoilers for details about characters.
The ending of the book was the biggest letdown for me, though the epilogue was touching. In a world where every YA book seems to be part of a trilogy, it seems like this series might just be the two books.
As a final note: It's possible my expectations were so high that there's no way this book could have lived up to them. I loved the first book on a "Best book ever!" level. I know a number of people reading this are either looking forward to the second book or are intending to read the both of them; I hope that my review can reset expectations so you all are able to enjoy Shadow Scale more than I did.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 04:36 pm (UTC)What you say about the antagonist sounds very much like something that bugged me about the Graceling books, and is apparently a real turn-off for me *sigh*
But I am happy to hear we get to see more of the quigutl -- I thought they were really neat in book 1!
Definitely appreciate the warning to adjust expectations downward, though of course I wish it weren't necessary....
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 04:43 pm (UTC)The quigutl were so great! I really, really want to see more about them. I might actually like them more than the saar.
I'll be interested to hear what you think, once you read it!
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Date: 2015-03-02 05:01 pm (UTC)Oh, and regarding your character-spoilers ETA: Is Grisselda the lesbian character? Because I thought I was getting more-than-friendly vibes from her and Millie in the first book, and also it is, of course, a narratively convenient way for why Seraphina and Kiggs can get together even though he's supposed to marry Selda...
And interesting about a trans character! Is this a new character introduced in book 2, or someone we already know? Trans characters have started showing up in (mainstream) YA genre books I've noticed -- The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black has a secondary character who I thought was done really well, and Tamora Pierce's latest Tortall series has another one whom I'm a bit more ambivalent on. But definitely still very rare!
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 05:17 pm (UTC)The trans character was basically new. She had been mentioned in the first book, but no details at all on her character were given at the time. I really enjoyed her story and how the whole trans matter was handled -- again very mature and believable.
Deleted and reposted twice because OMG I can't get the spoiler tag right. Sheesh!
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 07:03 pm (UTC)Heh, I find the spoiler-cut fairly counterintuitive, too, because it's "title" instead of "text" as for the regular cut... dunno why they couldn't have just kept them the same.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 07:26 pm (UTC)I hadn't guessed the spoiler about Selda at all, so it was a great out-of-left-field surprise for me!
no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-02 08:14 pm (UTC)