The Throne of the Five Winds by S.C. EmmettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have a love/hate relationship with this book, and it would have gotten 5 stars from me if not for a couple of peculiar choices the author or editing team has made. It was unputdownable if not for those. Number 1 mistake: footnotes instead of glossary for terms the author tells me there are no English words for. Really? A colorful bird that fans its tail and has a horrific voice? And you need to tell me that "sleepflower" makes a potion that makes people sleep? (And an overdose can kill.) Really? That needs a footnote of explanation? Those are the most egregious examples, but most of these terms are understandable enough to glean from context, and footnotes throw me out of the story, breaking a rhythm of reading I'd rather not break. Glossary, front or back, would let people make their own choice to look up the fake words or not.
Number 2 mistake: the foreword where you tell me these terms need to be explained. Lots of folks do these seemingly historical footnote projects, but usually they are done in books that have an obviously alien setting and context, whereas this book is obviously a mashup of the stories of Genghis Kahn and Tamerlane with an authentic historical flavor, and in the afterword, the author thanks authors and actors she has read and watched for research (without naming any of them).
Anyone with any experience watching or reading Chinese sagas will recognize this time period. It isn't a flaw, except for the attempt to disguise it by the aforementioned intro and footnotes.
The storytelling is great, the characters believable, would be 5 stars if not for stupid choices.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment