Sjenn is part of an ancient group of nomads that brave the cold of the frozen north day after day. She can tell you what the weather will be like by the sound of the wind and she knows that ice and snow has more then just one form. What she doesn't know about is the lands to the south and the empire that has brought guns to the shores of her homeland.
When Sjenn must protect her family and release her animal spirit, she is shipped to the south and thrown in a prison. In order to go home she must teach a southern solider how to release his own animal spirit or she will never see her homeland again. First she must convince the solider that animal spirits exist and he must accept that he has one.
I thought this book sounded really interesting from the blurbs, so I picked it up soon after it came out. I should have waited til I could see some reviews of it. The magical system and world took me a while to get into and I spent the first 100 pages trying to figure everything out. Then I was in and I enjoyed the middle section...only to be very disappointed by the ending. I just felt like it was rushed and that it didn't really resolve any issues within the book. I know this is part of a series (and if it isn't, then I don't at all understand how this book could end how it did), but because of how it ended, I don't feel like this book was anything more then an introduction to the world/magic/characters. While I'm mentioning characters, I like books where I like at least the main character. I started out liking Sjenn but she seemed to change and not in a good way throughout this book and I stopped liking her. In fact, I didn't like anyone. I disliked a few characters (the "bad guys") but I never really enjoyed the three main ones. At moments I felt pity for Sjenn's plight, I couldn't get over some of her behavior nor could I understand it.
When Sjenn must protect her family and release her animal spirit, she is shipped to the south and thrown in a prison. In order to go home she must teach a southern solider how to release his own animal spirit or she will never see her homeland again. First she must convince the solider that animal spirits exist and he must accept that he has one.
I thought this book sounded really interesting from the blurbs, so I picked it up soon after it came out. I should have waited til I could see some reviews of it. The magical system and world took me a while to get into and I spent the first 100 pages trying to figure everything out. Then I was in and I enjoyed the middle section...only to be very disappointed by the ending. I just felt like it was rushed and that it didn't really resolve any issues within the book. I know this is part of a series (and if it isn't, then I don't at all understand how this book could end how it did), but because of how it ended, I don't feel like this book was anything more then an introduction to the world/magic/characters. While I'm mentioning characters, I like books where I like at least the main character. I started out liking Sjenn but she seemed to change and not in a good way throughout this book and I stopped liking her. In fact, I didn't like anyone. I disliked a few characters (the "bad guys") but I never really enjoyed the three main ones. At moments I felt pity for Sjenn's plight, I couldn't get over some of her behavior nor could I understand it.
The story switches back and forth between Sjenns point of view and that of Jarretts, capturing the two main cultures. Set in a gaslight world of seven deities and warring tribes and the ever pressing Sairlanders, Karin Lowachee transports the reader into the hearts and minds of two complicated characters. This book took my respect for Lowachees works to a new level. Her ability to capture another culture and mindset and transport the reader into those hearts and minds is well demonstrated in this book. This book will be one of those that I return to again and again over the years, each time gaining some new insight from it. The book ends on an open note and I am very much hoping that Orbit (or another publisher) publish the rest of the series. I have a need for more Lowachee. Orbit, Ill be sending you a memo. MORE LOWACHEE.
The only slightly negative note is:
As long as I could give the book its due of 20-50 pages at a time, I absolutely loved this novel. In shorter increments, I felt slightly out of place, like I was trying to engage in a foreign language briefly at the corner cafe.
The only slightly negative note is:
As long as I could give the book its due of 20-50 pages at a time, I absolutely loved this novel. In shorter increments, I felt slightly out of place, like I was trying to engage in a foreign language briefly at the corner cafe.
