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A review by mspilesofpaper
Set Fire to the Gods by Kristen Simmons, Sara Raasch
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The day her mother, Char, died in the arena during a manipulated fight, Ash swore to get revenge. On the gladiator from the Earth kingdom but also on her own god whom she blames for the poverty of their own kingdom. During the war, a large event held with multiple gladiator fights to find out the Champion of each kingdom, she meets Madoc. Madoc who just got into the war to pay for his family's debts. Madoc who doesn't even have Earth magic, which will automatically disqualify him if anyone finds out. Getting thrown into Ash's path of starting a rebellion isn't what he wanted for himself. All he wanted was to survive long enough to have the money to pay off his family's debts. Unfortunately, powers are moving in the background that are larger than the two young adults.
Set Fire to the Gods is a YA fantasy inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Gladiator, which should result in a good book that has the reader hooked from the first few pages. Unfortunately, the execution of the premise falls short. The entire book is extremely lacklustre and boring with one-dimensional characters that lack any characteristics to tell them apart aside from their magic (if they wield the same kind of magic, then it's difficult to remember who is who). I didn't care if Madoc would manage to pay off his family's debt. I didn't care about Ash's revenge scheme. I didn't care about one of the side character's grief and his ultimate suicide. In addition to the lack of interesting characters, the book's pacing is exhausting. Mostly, it just meanders like a slow river and suffers from a writing style that's more "tell than show". I don't know why these two authors decided to collaborate but it's noticeable because their respective chapters don't fit together.
Given the fact that it took me 22 days to finish the book (and having around 450 pages is nothing), it says a lot. Whenever I didn't read the book, I wasn't tempted to pick it up and whenever I read it, I struggled so much with reading it because it didn't grab me. I didn't hate it, it's just ... boring and forgettable.
TW: death of a parent, toxic family relationship (father - son), general violence, class differences (magic-wielder vs. non-magic wielder), poverty and lack of resources.
Set Fire to the Gods is a YA fantasy inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Gladiator, which should result in a good book that has the reader hooked from the first few pages. Unfortunately, the execution of the premise falls short. The entire book is extremely lacklustre and boring with one-dimensional characters that lack any characteristics to tell them apart aside from their magic (if they wield the same kind of magic, then it's difficult to remember who is who). I didn't care if Madoc would manage to pay off his family's debt. I didn't care about Ash's revenge scheme. I didn't care about one of the side character's grief and his ultimate suicide. In addition to the lack of interesting characters, the book's pacing is exhausting. Mostly, it just meanders like a slow river and suffers from a writing style that's more "tell than show". I don't know why these two authors decided to collaborate but it's noticeable because their respective chapters don't fit together.
Given the fact that it took me 22 days to finish the book (and having around 450 pages is nothing), it says a lot. Whenever I didn't read the book, I wasn't tempted to pick it up and whenever I read it, I struggled so much with reading it because it didn't grab me. I didn't hate it, it's just ... boring and forgettable.
TW: death of a parent, toxic family relationship (father - son), general violence, class differences (magic-wielder vs. non-magic wielder), poverty and lack of resources.