Review: The Jasmine Throne

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Meh.

If that review is good enough for you, then don't read any further. For those who require some context of discontent, please proceed.

There are books that get middling reviews because I don't get them and fail to connect to the final product. Then, there are middling reviews when I get it exactly as intended but feel it wasn't particularly good. This is the latter. It's not bad in many ways, but it's also not good in just as many.

Prose-wise, it's fairly good in this department. Everything is correct and written creatively. The writing doesn't become fully engaging, but I feel that isn't the prose's fault. There is plenty of blame to spread around. The characters, for example, are trope and just not that interesting. The book writes in a way that tries to convince you to care about them but fails to understand that this has to happen organically. A reader either cares about the characters or they don't, and no amount of the characters complaining about their feelings/problems will change that.

I think the book's biggest problem is the pacing. It starts too early and feels like it's taking its time. And it's not in a wasting time kind of pacing, but rather a slow burn sort of way. Imagine talking to two people. One takes random pauses because they don't have much to say, and the other speaks slowly, words are pronounced in a long drawn-out fashion, and takes forever to get to the point. This book is the second person.

The sluggish plot seems to be a result of either bad writing or deliberate padding to make a thin story into a book series. Because everything has to be a fucking series/trilogy. Protip: Don't write three books when a novella will do.

To be honest, the southeast Asian influences are the only thing it has going for it. Strip all that out, and you have just another mediocre book in an endless sea of mediocrity. If you get something from it, good for you. Just don't @ me saying it's good, because it's not. It's meh.

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Review: The Sins of Our Fathers

The Sins of Our Fathers by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novella really only exists to answer a couple of questions. Your interest will vary based on how badly you want those questions answered. Pacing is a little on the slow side but it is otherwise competent in its writing. Personally I feel what happens towards to the end should have been more of a middle act that unfolds a more interesting adventure. What we get is more of a non-ending that tries to be cool as it walks away while putting its sunglasses on.

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Review: Leviathan Falls

Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The entire plot of this book is to very slowly hang a 'Sorry, We're Closed" sign on the universe. Because (spoiler I guess?) that's pretty much what happens. There really isn't that much of an overall plot that doesn't directly involve ending the series. And I don't mean a plot that drives us to an ending, but rather an ending that drives the plot. This is particularly true in the latter half where it feels like the book is looking at the plot and wordlessly taps its watch in a passive-aggressive way to tell it to hurry up we got to go.

Honestly, I was just disappointed in the book overall. The aliens that killed off the ring builders had always been left as super vague and I was hoping for at least something in the way of explaining who, what, and why. Vagueness can be used to generate intrigue but it can also be a symptom of lacking in creativity or simple laziness. It feels more like the latter in this case. Add in a slow plot that mostly involves hacking Amos's dreams in a series that flaunts white-knuckle space battles, and we have a book that isn't 'bad' but just kind of a loose letdown.

Since endings, especially to long-running series, can make or break one's emotions on it, I'll skip over more nuanced critiques and focus mainly on that. Bottom line: It's okay. It's one of those endings that looks great in a one-page synopsis or outline. As it plays out, however, it feels trope and more of a purposeful ending than a genuine one. Or maybe it's just because everyone feels surprisingly chill about what is going on that it prevents the narrative from selling it. The ending feels more correct than it does good.

I think that sums up my feelings on this particular book. I want to write up an overall review of the series, but I have one more novella to get through. Also, I have to find the time for it. The two people who follow my blog might skim it but that doesn't mean I don't have thoughts on the subject. I also watched the TV series and might have thoughts on comparing that as well. We'll see.

I know this kind of ended on me just talking about my blog plans, but it was still a more genuine ending than to the Expanse.

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