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Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler
Jan. 25th, 2024 11:30 amAshes of the Sun
3/5. First book in a science fantasy trilogy about siblings separated when one is taken away to serve the order of powerful protectors (yes, there’s Star Wars DNA here) and the other vows revenge.
This series is a booktube darling and I thought it would be a good kick off for a (loosely held intention) year of reading all those big doorstop series I put off. Not a great start.
So many buzz words for me – science fantasy, Star Wars inspiration, heist – and yet this alternated between boring and annoying. There’s something about his writing that makes this feel YA even though it isn’t. I think it’s partly the thing where you can tell he assigns each character some sort of distinctive gesture – touching a scar, fiddling with glasses, etc. – and then has them do it incessantly. Did he get this at some 'writing better characters' workshop? Please, mercy. And don’t get me started on how gratingly irritating some of the characters are. One in particular was shooting for interestingly flawed and landed instead in manic pixie dream sociopath. Ick.
Anyway, this was just intersting enough to get me to the end, but I’m out. Booktube, I do not get it.
Content notes: Child harm, violence, some body horror.
3/5. First book in a science fantasy trilogy about siblings separated when one is taken away to serve the order of powerful protectors (yes, there’s Star Wars DNA here) and the other vows revenge.
This series is a booktube darling and I thought it would be a good kick off for a (loosely held intention) year of reading all those big doorstop series I put off. Not a great start.
So many buzz words for me – science fantasy, Star Wars inspiration, heist – and yet this alternated between boring and annoying. There’s something about his writing that makes this feel YA even though it isn’t. I think it’s partly the thing where you can tell he assigns each character some sort of distinctive gesture – touching a scar, fiddling with glasses, etc. – and then has them do it incessantly. Did he get this at some 'writing better characters' workshop? Please, mercy. And don’t get me started on how gratingly irritating some of the characters are. One in particular was shooting for interestingly flawed and landed instead in manic pixie dream sociopath. Ick.
Anyway, this was just intersting enough to get me to the end, but I’m out. Booktube, I do not get it.
Content notes: Child harm, violence, some body horror.
