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A review by abby_ace_of_books
Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty
3.0
Books like this are why I'm scared of adult fantasy.
Sons of Darkness has its roots in Indian mythology in a story that many compare to Game of Thrones (which I have yet to brave). It's a thick book with dense prose and so many POVs that I think reviews claiming they read this without any confusion have to be lying just a bit... Look, I picked up this book after requesting the second on a whim from Netgalley, and while I did appreciate it, my brain is a little bit full right now. It doesn't help that I seem to be digging myself deeper into a reading slump, but I just wanted to mention all this so that everyone can take this review with a grain of salt.
This is a political fantasy story, the kind I have the hardest time following. We're introduced to dozens of characters that take nearly half the book to flesh out to the point where it feels like the plot can truly begin. I feel like I can't even describe what happens because when things DO happen, it's the end of the book and I would be spoiling things. I think if you have a background in the mythology this book is based on, you'll probably enjoy this much more than I did, but I had a hard time following what was happening - and that was WITH me consulting the dramatis personae every five pages.
Speaking of the dramatis personae...I really felt like I could barely tell the characters apart. Karna and Mati intrigued me from the beginning, but then they disappeared for a hundred pages. I really didn't care for Shishupal, Shakuni, or Krishna (who had a super cool wife, but no, we had to get his POV). Nala's chapters were probably my favorite, maybe because she was the only female POV we got that actually felt relevant to the plot. There are so many other characters that I can't fit into this review, but if I didn't mention them, I probably didn't care for them.
Am I going to read the next book? Yes (mostly because I already have it on Netgalley). But I think I wasn't the intended audience for Sons of Darkness.
3.25/5
Sons of Darkness has its roots in Indian mythology in a story that many compare to Game of Thrones (which I have yet to brave). It's a thick book with dense prose and so many POVs that I think reviews claiming they read this without any confusion have to be lying just a bit... Look, I picked up this book after requesting the second on a whim from Netgalley, and while I did appreciate it, my brain is a little bit full right now. It doesn't help that I seem to be digging myself deeper into a reading slump, but I just wanted to mention all this so that everyone can take this review with a grain of salt.
This is a political fantasy story, the kind I have the hardest time following. We're introduced to dozens of characters that take nearly half the book to flesh out to the point where it feels like the plot can truly begin. I feel like I can't even describe what happens because when things DO happen, it's the end of the book and I would be spoiling things. I think if you have a background in the mythology this book is based on, you'll probably enjoy this much more than I did, but I had a hard time following what was happening - and that was WITH me consulting the dramatis personae every five pages.
Speaking of the dramatis personae...I really felt like I could barely tell the characters apart. Karna and Mati intrigued me from the beginning, but then they disappeared for a hundred pages. I really didn't care for Shishupal, Shakuni, or Krishna (who had a super cool wife, but no, we had to get his POV). Nala's chapters were probably my favorite, maybe because she was the only female POV we got that actually felt relevant to the plot. There are so many other characters that I can't fit into this review, but if I didn't mention them, I probably didn't care for them.
Am I going to read the next book? Yes (mostly because I already have it on Netgalley). But I think I wasn't the intended audience for Sons of Darkness.
3.25/5