/r/Fantasy Discussion Group discussion

Discussion for those halfway through the book. Arbitrarily, the spoiler cutoff for this thread is the end of Chapter 31.

What I'm finding most interesting is the book's examination of rape as a weapon of war, and the lasting societal implications from living, walking products of such events. It's powerful stuff.

I honestly can't believe I made it through the book. It felt much more like a political statement than a fantasy novel.

I kept trying to come up with a well written review of this book that completely encompasses how I felt about it - but this reviewer did a much better job than I could:

"A number of reviewers have talked about how they struggled with how dark the book was; how difficult it was to read accounts of rape and genital mutilation and racial genocide. There would, I think, be something wrong with me if I didn't find reading about that sort of thing viscerally unpleasant, but all were integral parts of the book's world building, and while they may have made reading some sections an uncomfortable experience, they didn't detract from my appreciation of the work as a whole.

What did detract was the characters, or more specifically their relationships with each other. The main character's relationship with her parental figures is positive, but they're soon pushed out of the spotlight--not unsurprising, in a coming of age novel. That leaves us with her relationship with her teacher (who hates her) her friends (who continually mistrust and abandon her) and her paramour (who calls her "woman" instead of her name, tells her she's stupid, and orders her to shut up with distressing regularity). All are constantly fighting and rarely seem to like or care for one another.

The protagonist's romantic relationship was pretty much the breaking point for me. I felt like I was constantly being told they were passionately in love, and then shown a couple that was, at best, passionately in lust and violently abusive toward one another. And I simply couldn't reconcile Onye's actions toward Mwita with her presentation as a determined crusader against their society's misogyny.

The plot itself was fairly standard prophecized quest fantasy until the end, when it veered off into metaphysics that seemed unsupported by anything that came before. The world, in contrast, was unusual for the genre, and well-drawn. If the protagonists had been more pleasant to spend time with, I would have appreciated the travelogue experience. As it was, I had to grit my teeth to get through it.

I might try something else by this author, if I was promised characters who actually enjoyed each other's company, but it wouldn't be high on my priority list." --- Ambyr

She gave it 2 stars, I gave it 3. I tend to be generous with my reviews and I round up if I think it's a 2.75 (which is what I would have given if it I could be more precise).

I did like the writing style, I thought the prose were pretty at points. The world building was well done -- but the character development was a big weak point, at least for me. It would have been a solid 3 if the ending was done better.

I am at the half-way point and I am so conflicted. I feel about as torn apart as the group is. I really enjoy the writing style and I find the subtle futuristic feel to the world to be interesting. But I am conflicted on the characters.

Right now I find most of them annoying. Especially Binta and Diti. I like Onye but sometimes I feel... she has too many answers. It feels like she can fix anything so if she succeeds in the end then it won't be surprising. Usually when I read a book I am wondering if and will the main character succeed. For this book I am just wondering when it will happen and I'm not sure if I like that.

But I'm going to keep reading. I am enjoying it I just feel conflicted about it.

I'm at about the halfway point as well and I find this novel to be really moving and really powerful. I don't see this novel as a political statement more so than a critique but maybe that'll change the more I read it. I sincerely feel for Onye and the struggles that she faces. The way the book looks at weaponized rape is really powerful and shocking. I find myself having to walk away from this book every few chapters because it was a bit too much.