Where I Struggled but Mostly Liked It

A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yeah, I liked it.

But I should have liked it more.

I almost gave it a 3. In fact, I almost DNF partway through. Lemme explain.

It's an amazing world with fantastic characters, and it at times is super fun. But I'd be a liar if I said I understood what was really going on most of the time. It actually felt pretty often like the main character was looking for something to do and found about five or six things. The main plot--which is a conspiracy to overthrow the king--is kinda on the periphery for most of the book. Mainly, our characters are looking into weird stuff happening that might be related. Not sure why; they're not private investigators or anything. As far as the king, Grand Leon, he's kind of a jerk who isn't doing much for Isabelle, and I don't really care if he gets deposed.

My other issue with the book is how the world-building is doled out in painfully small bits, so little that I still don't get the picture. I sure could use a map. Or a painting. Or a timeline. Or a listing of the various magical gifts. Or a chart of the families and their trees. It's a lot.

Anyway, it's still fun. It took me ages to finish because I wasn't highly motivated to pick it up sometimes, struggling to figure out what the real main conflict was for the main character, working too hard to understand the minor characters on either side of the coming revolt, but the action at the end was sufficiently exciting that I still want to read the third book, so... that's a win, I guess.

A good summary would sure help, though. Maybe a glossary. Throw me a bone.

High marks for creativity and imagination.

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Where I Worked Hard to Like It as Much as I Did

Kingmaker by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(This was a gift--I didn't read the books that came before. Pretty sure I didn't need to.)

There is some fun to be had in this book. Those who care about the characters from previous stories probably care a lot more, and they likely enjoy it more. But even coming at it in the middle, I could see things to like. The setting is very cool. The ships and dragons and magic are lots of fun.

And, to be honest, there were about 80-100 pages that were exciting and fully entertaining. Five here, ten there. Genuinely good scenes. But most of it was not like that. SO MUCH TALKING. Everything rehashed. Plans gone over time and again. Discussions about how somebody else would feel about the thing they were going to do. You could cut probably half the book and not miss it.

Every great scene was followed by long stretches of cozy chatting. And we flipped from character to character so much I literally don't know who was meant to be the MC. And the main conflict was a moving target. The king is being blackmailed; the dragons are being hunted; there's a treasure that must be found; a ship is being sent into a trap; the capital is being invaded; a dangerous weapon is in the hands of the enemy. These were dealt with one at a time, making half the book feel anticlimactic.

So I didn't love it.

The cover is great, though. And the hardcover is just the size and weight and sturdiness I like when I handle books. Those things together earned it the third star.

It just should have been more fun.

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Where I Bought the Whole Thing, Airships and All

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great book. Super fun to read. I'm a new fan.

A sundered world, made up of floating land masses reached by sailing ships, with royal families distinguished by their unusual family magic, make this an exciting place to explore even before we get to the plot. Such a setting is amazing, full of possibility, and though I've seen *similar* settings I've never found one that seemed so real or felt so possible as this one. The lands are reminiscent of France and Spain and the like, but only enough to suggest nationalities, giving the wild setting a slight grip on familiarity which I appreciated.

Princess Isabelle, born with a defect, is almost killed at birth, and is only saved by Jean-Claude, a musketeer who becomes her lifelong defender and ally. I found them easy to like and root for. Both of these characters are capable in their own way but also flawed, and they face a series of antagonists who are similarly round as well as morally gray. More so than in many novels, the characters here make sense to me; their reactions and their motivations, even speaking of the bad guys, seem to add up, and I credit the author for peopling his wildly imaginative fantasy with actual human beings. Some of them are really, really horrible, but even those characters are not wholly evil or incomprehensible.

The plot is centered around palace intrigue, with many factions working to place the prince of their choice on the throne of Aragoth. This leads to murders, assassinations, kidnappings, battles, ambushes, and all the action a reader could hope for. The airships and sky islands are handled better here than in any novel I can think of, and the unusual magic--blood shadows and mirror walking and the like--are convincing and well used. The same with the bits and pieces of ancient technology.

In fact, I don't really have any notes. It was both a refreshing book and a great read. The next book in the series is ordered.

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