There is something interesting and unique about this story that kept be intrigued. And it’s kind of hard to say exactly what. Maybe it’s the characters, or the settings, or even the confusing storyline, but it drew me in.
I don’t want to get into details about the story because really, it’s not the easiest story to summarize. There are a four points of view and each one has their own side of the story, but I found each one of their sides compelling to find out more about.
The interesting thing about this is that the characters in this story aren’t exactly good, but they’re not exactly bad either. However, even if they’ve done the wrong thing, I have this part of me that sympathizes with them and that part wants to root for them. Unfortunately, that’s hard to do when you want to root for them all, despite the problems they cause.
The characters in that sense are quite human and somewhat relatable. Maybe not to the same extent as those in real life, but still, when you read through and learn where each person is coming from and learn of their past, you understand each of their struggles and know why they feel they must do what they have to do, even if it’s the wrong way of doing things.
I kind of liked that about the characters, Quin, Shinobu, John, and Maud. Each one I found something I liked about them, and yes, some of them have something (or some things) I didn’t like about them.
The fantasy aspect of the story is pretty unique as well, and I’m not sure if there’s a specific formula that the author is trying to go by or just mixing different parts of fantasy/sci-fi together, but somehow it works for this story. I can’t even say what time frame this takes place in, if it’s in modern times or maybe in the near future, with some elements of steampunk in there.
The story brings to the spotlight the idea being a Seeker as an honorable position and the responsibility of what that position gives them, whether the Seekers want it or not. The characters have to deal with the consequences of their decisions and the lengths at which they’ll go to right their wrongs or what was taken from them. Sometimes this leads to questionable choices and divided parties and you’re just not sure who’s right and who’s good.
Because of that, I was really interested in the way that the author had the characters develop throughout the story. It wasn’t as clear cut in some way as to who was in the right, if anyone, and if any of them were forgivable.
I felt the book moved forward fairly fast-paced and was full of interesting scenes and locations. However, I think there may have been a couple of times that it would’ve been more helpful to have more answers to some of the questions in my head as I felt just a tad bit confused at times. It wasn’t by any means all too confusing, but there were just a few things where more description or explanation would’ve helped a bit more.
All in all, I found the story familiar in some ways, but different enough that the characters are unique, whether it be their race or culture or background. I felt different about them at different times throughout and yet I was rooting for them all to be better than they were. At the end of it, I felt hopeful and scared for the characters at the same time. And I’ll probably go into the second book feeling about the same.
My Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
The Fandom's GeekGirl 