elijahs_bookshelf's reviews
90 reviews

Fans of dystopian sci-fi might find a new favorite in "The Talismans of Teregrine", with its high-action pacing and funny characters.

I would call the plot this novel's strongest selling point. Each sequence feels tightly related to what led up to it, every scene moved the plot forward effectively, and the author has an excellent control over when and how they reveal information to us across the novel. We start the book with a lot of unknowns, and we're fed just enough information a little bit at a time to be continually satisfied with each reveal while still feeling suspense while waiting for the next piece of information. Each reveal makes sense: interesting without being contrived, surprising but undeniably fitting.

I really enjoy the character work in this book as well. Gemma and Oliver were written believably as siblings. And, I liked both of their separate struggles they faced while working through their powers. Their growth throughout the book was really compelling to watch. Between the two, though, Oliver has to be the standout character to me--his funny personality gives him the edge in this case. His humor wasn't too much, but it was a consistent force throughout the story that added a lot of necessary brevity, as well as just overall personality to the book.

My biggest critique for the book comes out of my background in biology. Without giving away too many spoilers, as we start to learn more about the framework of the situation the characters have found themselves in, some of the scientific backing to the worldbuilding doesn't work for me. I get the definite sense that the author does not have a strong understanding of genetics or evolution. It doesn't break the narrative, by any means, but if you do know much about science, then certain parts of the premise might break your suspension of disbelief just a bit. (I believed everything about the premise when I was interfacing with this story as fantastical, but the author's attempts to bolster believability by moving the story more into the realm of technological science fiction actually had the opposite affect on me.)

But overall, I'm looking forward to seeing where the series takes Oliver and Gemma next! Anyone looking for a fast-paced story or for their next light-dystopia read should definitely consider "The Talismans of Teregrin."

This book gripped me by the throat. The tension that continually ramps up throughout the entire book is incredible, with every plot twist and philosophical quiet moment alike giving me lots to think about and unable to continue reading fast enough. I think the (social) worldbuilding might be my favorite aspect of this book, if I had to choose; the Deist culture is so messy and logical and horrible and complete. The magic is also really cool, especially the history behind the magic and how it leads into the premise of the book. The writing style itself also really appeals to me. It's easy to read, yet still sophisticated and beautiful when and where it needs to be--there are a lot of great lines and such all throughout the book. I really connected well with all the characters, too. Joan is probably my favorite--she's hilarious and her relationship with Win was dynamic and complex. Pider is another standout among the side/secondary characters, as well as Sallier. The way the author writes antagonism feels really nuanced throughout all the different antagonistic relationships. The ending felt *somewhat* predictable, but the pathway that it took to reach that ending, as well as what is forthcoming in the rest of the series, feels fresh and unpredictable, so I wouldn't really hold it against the book.

Well, this review has been a bit all over the place, but hopefully it portrays how enthusiastic I feel about the book.

Gotta love yourself a good heist! The plot was well paced and chock full of complications and twists without ever feeling contrived, which was nice. And the worldbuilding supports the narrative quite well--I like the physical relationship between the mortal and heavenly realms. But the highlight of the story, for me, has got to be Farrin. I thought his personality was delightful, his flaws sympathetic, and his character growth steady yet substantial. I similarly liked Mara, and especially appreciated her narrative role of moving the plot forward (in a natural way). Mara seemed a bit shallow at first, but my worry here was quickly remedied, as the story did a good job of unveiling her complexities throughout the book, creating several satisfying moments/scenes as we grow to understand her better. To me, the third character, Gristle, is the clear weakest member of the trio in how he was written: he effectively fills the clever leader trope for a heist plot, but I have a hard time ascribing any further depth to him. I like him fine, but he certainly wasn't as compelling as Farrin or Mara. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a new fantastical heist story to enjoy, and especially anyone looking for a quicker or lighter read. The writing style was really digestible, allowing me to devore the book in a matter of hours, which I thought was a lot of fun.

I loved the first book's social worldbuilding and secondary characters; learning about the world, meeting new characters, and trying to figure out who and what to trust was very engaging! This second book had very little of that. It's probably to be expected, given its nature as a sequel, but I was still a bit disappointed by the fact. And despite not needing to take time to introduce the complex worldbuilding pre-established from the first book, the pacing was also fairly slow. The combination of these two things made the book feel sort of "hollow" in my opinion. I also felt like this was missing the prosaic moments from the first book -- there were several lines that were just *good* lines that made me stop and think in the first one, but there were much fewer of those in this one, which doesn't help its hollowness.

But despite all of these critiques, I'm still rating the book 3 stars, which is a good rating by my book...

[next part of review contains light to medium spoilers for BOOK ONE]

I'll admit I was a bit critical about the splitting of Etherwin at the end of book 1, but I think the author did an excellent job of justifying the in-world logic of the split, as well as continuing to make both characters compelling. Both Ether and Win felt like the character we knew and loved from the first book, so the way they very quickly diverge in viewpoint was very compelling. So if you're here for the character work, this book certainly won't disappoint. The magical worldbuilding has also been expanded in an interesting direction, initiating a main point of curiosity for the third book.

So in summary, I think this book suffered from being the middle in a trilogy, where so much time needed to be dedicated to characters reacting and regrouping from the revelations and climax from book 1 and preparing the narrative for the finale -- but I'm easily forgiving of a weak middle, given that I loved the first book, and I have high hopes again for the third book. Given how various worldbuilding, character work, and plot points are now set on a collision course, I think the author has set themselves up to hit a homerun with the conclusion to this series.

I love that this book leans fully into its zany worldbuilding. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but it didn't take too long to convince me. The way the author introduces the worldbuilding bit by bit, slowly layering it in, is done with a lot of care, and for me, a lot of success. I also always enjoy when magical worldbuilding, social worldbuilding, and the actual plot all collide as we accumulate information throughout a story, which this book certainly does. The worldbuilding might be a bit much for some, but for me, it landed well.

The character work was also done quite well--Ilis felt deep, and she is dealing with a lot of inner turmoil that I think would have come across as melodrama in the hand of a lesser author. Her conflicts felt weighty without being overbearing, and important without taking over the book. There was also a lot of internal movement within Ilis, which gave the emotional narrative some great texture. It added to both her authenticity and development as a person.

I also quite like this author's writing style. The prose was consistently fun to read, which is always a definite benefit to a story.

The character work in this book is fantastic. Cass has relatable motives and attitudes and all of her actions feel very understandable and sensical. The pressure applied on her by the plot all feels natural. The secondary characters are also all fantastic; I especially love how the culture divide between Meridian and Loyala is set up and portrayed. Grandam is a great source of personal antagonism, Cass' relationship with Andie is so sweet, and the romance with Rollie is cute. Day is also a powerful villain, even if she's somewhat predicable/cliche in my mind.

Stemming from Day's cliche role, the entire plot structure of the book feels rather predictable to me, too, which would be one of my bigger critiques. At the same time, though, if you like stories about a talented underdog who feels trapped by the machinations of an evil corporation, well... this narrative structure is popular for a reason. This is an excellent delivery of this common premise. I would say that the worldbuilding does add just enough newness into the equation that I wouldn't harp too much on this point--I'm very fascinated by the setting that's just far enough in the future to give rise to foreign cultural components and technologies while still being close enought to today's world that I can easily see where these parts of the culture came from.

While I still loved this one, I think it's the weakest of the three in the trilogy, especially in how it highlights Hobb's weak plotting. The plot meanders from event to event instead of feeling like a coherent, single narrative in and of itself.

That said, the character work is as wonderful as ever. If you've read the first two, then you probably know what to expect from this book in terms of quality of character writing. They continue to face interesting challenges, fall victim to their individual weaknesses, and grow in meaningful ways.

The ending was fitting for the trilogy, which is satisfying, of course.

Toni Morrison's writing is beautiful. This book is heavy, thought-provoking, and showcases characters and situations and decisions from which you cannot look away. Beloved is a very deserving classic.

This series continues to impress me with its complex character relationships. Despite the high physical stakes and all the action, the truest tension in this book is consistently centered around character conflicts. Each character seems to have goals and motivations that conflict with both each other and themselves, giving rise to complicated relationships. This book continues to keep relationships dynamic, while also doing a great job of developing characters by forcing them to peel back their layers until they confront their deeper fears, regrets, and insecurities. If I have one complaint, it’s that there might be a touch too much romantic plot for my own personal tastes, but I’d say that it’s still handled well overall.

This book is also very strong in how it functions as a part of the larger series. You can really tell how things are ramping up and will be coming to a head soon—mysteries mentioned in previous books without much attention are continued here, where more light is shed on some of these worldbuilding secrets. At the same time, many of these secrets are answered in ways that just cause more questions in a way that I think will really energize the next book. Especially given the stinger at the end of the book, I’m so excited to continue reading this series. The author gave me just enough to be satisfied with this book while also leading me on and making me impatient for more answers!

This is a story with a lot of personality! The character, worldbuilding, and plot are all crafted to fit together perfectly--each story element really belongs with all the other story elements. The structure of the book is also well done; the pacing feels immaculate, and that sort of thing.