Murder mystery set in a high-fantasy world. Some standard fantasy tropes, a few original worldbuilding ideas, simplistic characters and plot lead to an underwhelming experience. I am not a fan of the mystery genre so that probably contributed to my lack of enjoyment. ( )

Ann Leckie sa come si scrive un libro! questo è geniale e non mi aspettavo una simile altalena nelle recensioni,bah


(100esimo libro dell'anno) ( )

Wow! I loved this! What a great premise, and great execution. ( )

remarkably original ( )

I had to Work like Dark Souls But it was Worth it

What a ride!

I will be honest and say that that this is not easy listening. Actually, I did say to my partner at one point, "I have no idea what's going on, but the words are pretty and the narration is phenomenal!" So in a sense it is easy listening, but the purposeful stylistic choices, hyper focus on a short period of contemporary action, incredible, but dense worldbuilding, and the remembrances and stories of the god narrating the story did make the story hard to follow and engage with at first. The above quote was from about 30% in. Truthfully, I was still feeling very similar as well as having a good time at the 60% mark. But after that it felt like I broke through and everything I had heard had settled and I was able to follow for the most part (it's worth mentioning I have chronic conditions that affect my capacity and cognition, as well as severe ADHD). It was like the moment you get after a few episodes of The Wire or the many years I spent periodically trying to play Dark Souls and bouncing off it, until one day it clicked and I became completely obsessed.

The stylistic choices are that the bulk of the text, the contemporary, Hamlet-inspired events, are told in second person (you played Scrabble with the rock), which is unexpected and incongruous at first. I saw someone call it "yuck", which is a hilarious response. It absolutely makes sense as it is being told from the perspective of a god to the main character, Ealo. This contemporary story is interjected with the life and history of narrating god, as well as creation myths and stories the god has heard over their long life. These interjections initially feel rather dense as there's a lot to learn, but they are extremely rich and inspired -- seriously, the worldbuilding and theology are incredible. These combined with the hyperfocused present that doesn't exactly hold your hand or jangle keys can appear baffling at first. Looking at reviews some people bounce off this hard (the joys of subjectivity) and I was living in a confused 3/5 for a while, which became a subjectibe 3, but objective 4, before finally falling head over heels for this book, which is a fundamentally incredible undertaking and an uncompromising work of art. A lot of people (myself included) often forget that art doesn't have to be instantly inviting and accessible. Sometimes you have to put work in too (or not if you're not feeling it) and this book, like The Wire and the From Software games, is totally worth that effort.

The performance is truly out of this world! Anjoa Andoh has instantly joined my pantheon of narrations alongside Moira Quirk, Samuel Roukin, and Toby Longworth. The variety of accents and voices are outrageous. I am one who often errs on narrators doing accents (often because they are either just bad or actively offensive), but these are amazing (according to me, I'm no expert).

One thing I see coming up in reviews from both ignorant bigots and those meaning well, but not stopping to think about what they are saying or what they actually expect, is about the main character being a trans man. For the record, I'm a Genderqueer transfemme and I loved Ealo and how he was handled (obviously, I don't speak for all trans and Genderqueer folx). An authentically portrayed trans man given context of the setting, whose gender isn't his defining feature and doesn't have to experience tragedy and trauma because of it. There are moments in which it is discussed and a respectful question is asked, but he's never vilified or made one dimensional by who he is. I LOVE THAT! Don't get me wrong, people can and should write about their experience and pain, and highlight just how awful to and ignorant about us so many people are and that there is literally a trans genocide happening around the world. BUT not every story and character has to be reflect that. I've also seen people claim that this character is jarring in their inclusion or that their inclusion is some kind of stunt or unnatural (honestly, different semantic meaning depending on the person saying it). Again, I don't speak for anyone but myself, but I thought it was brilliant. I think some people don't think about what they are actually saying because it sometimes sounds a lot like they want characters to be stealth or only be revealed in BS ways after the fact like that old citrus sweet enjoying wizard from those books by that hate preacher. Assumptions are made about characters based on experience and other media, so it is generally assumed (by the average reader) that all characters are cishet, white, able bodied, average body, and neurotypical unless stated otherwise. Stating otherwise and having situations relevant to the setting and story that interact with this (not crowbaring things in) is not weird, jarring, or stuffing anything down anyones' throat, regardless of how you personally feel. I don't know if Leckie is Queer/ trans, but her books often appear in Queer lists and her work often includes discussion and transgression of gender norms (which is AMAZING), so she absolutely has form and experience with this and isn't 'inserting a trans character in for the sake of it', unless the sake of it is having trans characters because their are trans people.

My feelings on this have truly been wild. I remember reading reviews and wishing I felt this was a 5/5, before I finally got it and it really did remind me of that aha moment with Dark Souls. Listening to this while playing Elden Ring was rough though, but my conditions and ADHD mean reading is hard and I can't just do nothing and listen to an audiobook. I'm so glad I gave this the chances it dessvered and recognised the issues were with me because I came away absolutely loving it and wanted to devour the rest of Leckie's work!

If I have to say one negative thing, the repetition of "My father did not flee" felt like it was hammering into my brain. ( )