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sophia_sol) wrote2015-05-10 09:24 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2015-05-10 09:24 pm
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
I got my hands on an ARC of this aww yeah. And oh wow, what a good book!
I really liked that it was clearly set within the (alternate world) history of an actual specific country, and a country that doesn't often get this kind of fantasy written about it that I've seen. Yay Poland go! I was amused to note, however, how although all the names did sound Polish to me, there were none of the impenetrable-to-English-speakers names that proliferated in that book on Polish history I read.
I loved the genuine creepy ever-present power of the Wood. This was really well done.
I loved the way the light of the Summoning cracked open all the petty jealousies and frustrations between Agnieszka and Kasia, and yet they remained friends without difficulty. Though I did think that after Kasia's corruption and healing, the book wasn't very interested in showing a lot about the specifics of their friendship (instead it just dwelt a lot on the fact that they WERE very close friends), which was too bad because I was super invested in their relationship.
Agnieszka and the Dragon doing magic together was EXTREMELY COMPELLING - like, that first time they do a spell together, with that rose illusion? Oh dude that was great stuff. But I was not actually there for their romance/sex/whatever. Idk, 17 year old girl with 150 year old man is not an age difference I enjoy.
I really loved the different ways different wizards/witches do magic, and how the Dragon couldn't handle the thought of Agnieszka's way because it's way too different from what he sees as the fundamental way magic works. And she keeps doing new things and every time he's just like I CAN'T EVEN. Every time he's horrified by what she's somehow managed to do, I am delighted. But even while he is horrified he makes the effort to teach her what she needs to do magic her way! Awwww good job Dragon.
However, although early on in the book it's made clear that even after Agnieszka discovers that Jaga's magic style works for her, doing magic is still very hard work and also she is in fact still following specific spells. And yet by the end of the book Agnieszka's doing a million different totally-out-there things by magic, making things up as she goes along, and without apparently having to, like, make an effort to make things work as she wants them to. I found this disappointing because it felt to me like it made Agnieszka a little too super-special as opposed to just deeply unusual, and it felt like it was breaking the rules of magic as they'd been set up.
As I began nearing the end of the book I was clearly very tired (I read the majority of the book between midnight and three a.m.) so I frankly didn't follow whatever that all was with the history of the Wood and how it went wrong. I will have to reread once the book is actually released.
Anyways, although as you see above I did have some complaints about the book, overall I loved it a great deal. It was a compelling read and I cared about the characters and I loved the worldbuilding and I loved the continual building of consequences after every action. Overall: super great book. Thank you Aria for lending it to me!
I really liked that it was clearly set within the (alternate world) history of an actual specific country, and a country that doesn't often get this kind of fantasy written about it that I've seen. Yay Poland go! I was amused to note, however, how although all the names did sound Polish to me, there were none of the impenetrable-to-English-speakers names that proliferated in that book on Polish history I read.
I loved the genuine creepy ever-present power of the Wood. This was really well done.
I loved the way the light of the Summoning cracked open all the petty jealousies and frustrations between Agnieszka and Kasia, and yet they remained friends without difficulty. Though I did think that after Kasia's corruption and healing, the book wasn't very interested in showing a lot about the specifics of their friendship (instead it just dwelt a lot on the fact that they WERE very close friends), which was too bad because I was super invested in their relationship.
Agnieszka and the Dragon doing magic together was EXTREMELY COMPELLING - like, that first time they do a spell together, with that rose illusion? Oh dude that was great stuff. But I was not actually there for their romance/sex/whatever. Idk, 17 year old girl with 150 year old man is not an age difference I enjoy.
I really loved the different ways different wizards/witches do magic, and how the Dragon couldn't handle the thought of Agnieszka's way because it's way too different from what he sees as the fundamental way magic works. And she keeps doing new things and every time he's just like I CAN'T EVEN. Every time he's horrified by what she's somehow managed to do, I am delighted. But even while he is horrified he makes the effort to teach her what she needs to do magic her way! Awwww good job Dragon.
However, although early on in the book it's made clear that even after Agnieszka discovers that Jaga's magic style works for her, doing magic is still very hard work and also she is in fact still following specific spells. And yet by the end of the book Agnieszka's doing a million different totally-out-there things by magic, making things up as she goes along, and without apparently having to, like, make an effort to make things work as she wants them to. I found this disappointing because it felt to me like it made Agnieszka a little too super-special as opposed to just deeply unusual, and it felt like it was breaking the rules of magic as they'd been set up.
As I began nearing the end of the book I was clearly very tired (I read the majority of the book between midnight and three a.m.) so I frankly didn't follow whatever that all was with the history of the Wood and how it went wrong. I will have to reread once the book is actually released.
Anyways, although as you see above I did have some complaints about the book, overall I loved it a great deal. It was a compelling read and I cared about the characters and I loved the worldbuilding and I loved the continual building of consequences after every action. Overall: super great book. Thank you Aria for lending it to me!
no subject
I set out expecting to be bothered by the Agnieszka/Dragon romance and then ended up not minding and actually liking it -- I think because as she grew into her power, she began to feel somewhat ageless like all the other wizards, a little apart from the world in the same way they all are (but of course her own unique forest-guardian/village-guardian version of it). However, I like May/December relationships generally and also Beauty & the Beast type stories, so YMMV.
That said, I would have been equally happy with a Agnieszka/Kaskia romance, or with no romance at all; I think the book would've worked just fine with any of those things.
And yet by the end of the book Agnieszka's doing a million different totally-out-there things by magic, making things up as she goes along, and without apparently having to, like, make an effort to make things work as she wants them to.
hahahaha .... you are very right. XD I was too caught up in the story to notice this at the time, but looking back on it, this is 100% accurate. I suppose in a way it's a side effect of the story's constant escalating of tension and magical danger -- I was surprised when the Worst Possible Thing (Agnieszka having to fight her way into the Wood to rescue Kaskia, and then freeing Kaskia from the Wood's influence at great cost) happened right off the bat, and then it was just a steadily escalating spiral of characters pushing themselves to their limits and Worst Days Ever. But yeah, looking back on it, it felt like the amount of magical development and character growth for Agnieszka was something that should have taken a decade to accomplish, rather than a few months. (Which might be part of my eventual reaction to the romance, too -- by the end of the book, I was thinking of her as a great deal older than she actually was.)
Anyway, yes, I like reading your thoughts about it, and agree with most of them, I think. IMHO you should read it again sometime for the final resolution with the Wood, because I was pretty happy with it -- I liked that it turned out to be a lot more complicated and nuanced than just "evil thing is evil, hero slays it".
no subject
Yeah, if all that magical development had happened over the course of many years I would find it a lot more believable. Ah well. No book is perfect.
And I definitely intend to reread it, just as soon as it manages to successfully jockey for top spot among all the other books I want to read...!