A book I wanted to like, but didn’t. I found it slow and mired in stereotypes despite the protagonists including several very strong and powerful women and societies of women. It didn’t work as well as it could have done.

There’s also a stylistic element that I found frustrating. The story, and the history of the world, are revealed as they’re learned by the young-adult central characters, who are sufficiently rural and provincial to not have know much of it before. As a style it means that the reader shares their ignorance (and emerging knowledge) – but also means that events often only make sense in retrospect (or not at all). Perhaps this is a semi-realistic take on how the “quest” narrative would actually be experienced from the inside, but it doesn’t enhance the storytelling.

2/5. Finished Friday 4 March, 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)