Shayna > Recent Status Updates

interesting world and characters absolutely handcuffed by the frequency of massive info-dumps. no reader interpretation or independent thought necessary; novik just does not trust her reader whatsoever to understand her point without marking it with a giant neon sign. if you SOMEHOW missed the completely obvious themes of the book, it is just stated for you outright by the narrator. on the plus side: monsters

a few chapters in and i'm finally warming to the characters. the atmosphere is very good but the prose constantly verges on unbearable (why are there so many comma splices? did this not go through a proofreader?), plus the info dumps are massive and frequent. but by far the most baffling choice is to have all of the action in past tense and the narrative commentary in present! just why!!