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A review by chaptersofmads
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
3.0
"You have to decide what matters most: your humanity or your survival."
I am incredibly conflicted on how to review this.
Blood Scion was one of the most difficult reads I've experienced in quite awhile. Opening with a paragraph informing you that this story was inspired by the real life horrors endured by child soldiers, you know what you're getting yourself into. And yet, I don't think you can fully prepare yourself for reading about the terrible things our MC experiences.
With subject matter like this, it's impossible to review the story the same way I would other fantasy novels.
I will say that there are lot of really well-done things about this book. There's never a moment where it's unclear how much this story and its lessons meant to the author. Her meaning is palpable on every page and I admire that.
Despite that, there were so many things I struggled with.
To just name some:
The plotting/world-building/military structures are really, really inconsistent and illogical. For how incredibly violent, present, and terrifying the authorities are, none of the main character's successes make sense. Much of the dialogue is melodramatic to the point of lessening the intensity of the situations, particularly when it's an antagonist speaking. The romance is also between a 15 year old and a 22 year old. (This may have been intentionally uncomfortable, but since his age is never actually stated and the reader has to do the math, this is still a bit odd.)
I don't want to sit here and make it sound like I'm trying to bash this, especially because I can see what it wanted to be and I know a lot of other people really connected with its execution. But - for me - beyond the extremely poignant, powerful messaging, the rest of the book kind of just falls apart.
I don't know if this review made any sense because my thoughts truly feel really incoherent about this. I'm thankful I read it and I admire the author's ability to weave real-world horrors with a fantastical setting, but it didn't work for me.
Don't let this review turn you off of reading it. If it still sounds like something you want to read, please give it a try. I can't overstate how much I appreciate the messaging of this book, even if the rest of it didn't work for me.
I am incredibly conflicted on how to review this.
Blood Scion was one of the most difficult reads I've experienced in quite awhile. Opening with a paragraph informing you that this story was inspired by the real life horrors endured by child soldiers, you know what you're getting yourself into. And yet, I don't think you can fully prepare yourself for reading about the terrible things our MC experiences.
With subject matter like this, it's impossible to review the story the same way I would other fantasy novels.
I will say that there are lot of really well-done things about this book. There's never a moment where it's unclear how much this story and its lessons meant to the author. Her meaning is palpable on every page and I admire that.
Despite that, there were so many things I struggled with.
To just name some:
The plotting/world-building/military structures are really, really inconsistent and illogical. For how incredibly violent, present, and terrifying the authorities are, none of the main character's successes make sense. Much of the dialogue is melodramatic to the point of lessening the intensity of the situations, particularly when it's an antagonist speaking. The romance is also between a 15 year old and a 22 year old. (This may have been intentionally uncomfortable, but since his age is never actually stated and the reader has to do the math, this is still a bit odd.)
I don't want to sit here and make it sound like I'm trying to bash this, especially because I can see what it wanted to be and I know a lot of other people really connected with its execution. But - for me - beyond the extremely poignant, powerful messaging, the rest of the book kind of just falls apart.
I don't know if this review made any sense because my thoughts truly feel really incoherent about this. I'm thankful I read it and I admire the author's ability to weave real-world horrors with a fantastical setting, but it didn't work for me.
Don't let this review turn you off of reading it. If it still sounds like something you want to read, please give it a try. I can't overstate how much I appreciate the messaging of this book, even if the rest of it didn't work for me.