Book #46: Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

[grav_ity]

That? THAT IS HOW IT'S DONE.

You guys? There was a map. And rules for magic. And political intrigue. And the fantasy world was multi-cultural. And there was more than one continent. And the dude I am assuming will be my third (fourth) favourite character PROBABLY WON'T EVEN SHOW UP UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK.

This probably calls for a numbered list...

1. Alina. Oh, Alina! Alina of the Power. Alina of the Figuring Things Out. Alina of the Making Choices and Doing Her Best and Reacting Like a Real Person.

2. Genya. UGH, I AM SO HEARTBROKEN FOREVER BECAUSE GENYA AND DAVID CANNOT HAVE BABIES OR AT LEAST NOT FOR A WHILE WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?

3. Mal. I thought for a while he was going to be weird and unlikable, but then he turned out to be really kind of great.

4. OMG, THE SCAR. I CAN'T EVEN. Just, attention to detail and mending pottery and IT'S LIKE THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN FOR MY SOUL.

5. Baghra was amazing. I hope she comes back in the sequels. I mean, if she's alive she has to be super powerful, right? I AM EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

6. The Darkling gets MAD villain points. Has a plan, is a snappy dresser, kind of has a point, is a complete and total nutcase...it's fantastic. Light him up, Alina. Light him up.

(7. That third (fourth) favourite character I was talking about, btw, will probably be the king's second son. Because he is a gunsmith and a ship builder and THAT IS HOW I ROLL.)

8. This is a great book because even if it was a standalone, it would be whole. I like that in a trilogy, particularly one I am reading "live".

(8a. OMG, WHEN THE THIRD BOOK COMES OUT, MY BOOK WILL BE ON A SHELF SOMEWHERE! HOLD ME!)

9. I really recommend the True Blood season 1 score as accompaniment. I listened to it four times to get through. YMMV.

10. Making a numbered list didn't really calm me down. I can't really be held responsible for my reactions when I get a map, a non-monocultural world, a Russian backdrop, politics, smart romance and really good kissing scenes. 10/10, obviously.

Comments

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

*puts on 'to read' list*

[emmy-roo.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize there were mono-cultural worlds in fantasies. I take it that's typical? I've always thought of it as a Star Trek thing, where you only have enough time to meet a few people on a planet, so they set the whole planet up as having the same rules and cultures because otherwise you couldn't fit it all into a 45-minute show. ;)

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

It's the "other continent" thing that really got me. It's true that Fantasy worlds are usually more rounded (pun intended) that sci-fi ones, but even in something like A:tLA, you still get "everyone from this country is [fill in the blank].

And this from the girl who, uh, wrote something that is currently mono-cultured (though, I swear, if it ever gets a sequel, we find out about other places!).