Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by yourstrulyemi
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
So where to begin? First I wanted to read the Bear and the Nightingale for a long time now, because a friend recommended it me and the name had this nice lil fairy-tale-esque charm and I love both fantasy and fairy tales (at least that's the "phase" I'm going through currently.)
And I was surprised to see Pushkin's poem, because it instantly took me back to my childhood. I spent a few years in Russia when I was young so their fairy tales and poems are the first things I've ever read. So I've started this book with high hopes, but they weren't met.
First of all, the pace of the story... I didn't mind it being slow at first, I liked being guided through different seasons in Lesnaya zemlya, see how people fared there but at some point it got too long!
The story was too passive, until like 75% of the book in, it was all about the winter being harsh, the seasons changing, the food lacking. Yes, the plot advanced alongside it, but it was slow, painfully slow to the point I was thinking of dnf-ing because I couldn't take it anymore. But I didn't because the thing that have been foreshadowed in the first pages hasn't happened yet and I wanted to know what it was about.
Second the interactions between characters, their dialogues were too short. The relationships didn't evolve much. Most of the dialogues happened between characters that got along which made them all sound dull. The only time an interesting one happened, it was always between Vasya and Konstantin, but it was always cut short to the point I wondered if the author struggled writing conflict.
The characters were ok I guess. They weren't well fleshed out for sure. Even Vasya feels like lacking something, but that must be because I didn't see her in action very often. Otherwise, my biggest complaint is Anna. Why have a chapter dedicated to her, showing her pov, if she'll end being such a dumb one-dimensional character who's only there to advance plot when she's convenient???
The pace picked up at the end, as a result the ending was rushed. I didn't feel anything at the final battle, nothing when the foreshadowed thing finally happened, the interactions between Vasya and Morozko left me indifferent. I kept reading for the sake of finishing the book, hoping something interesting will happen that would make me read the next volumes but NOTHING happened.
Also, i wouldn't have noticed the discrepancy in the Russian transliteration if the author didn't point it out at the end. I mean sure she wanted to make the words sound exotic but as a language lover that sounds more like a disrespect to the language itself more than anything else, but that's only my opinion.
It's a shame though, after such a long time, it was the first book that brought me back to the сказки I used to read as a child but it didn't deliver. Still, I don't completely hate this book, but I do regret the time I spent reading it.
And I was surprised to see Pushkin's poem, because it instantly took me back to my childhood. I spent a few years in Russia when I was young so their fairy tales and poems are the first things I've ever read. So I've started this book with high hopes, but they weren't met.
First of all, the pace of the story... I didn't mind it being slow at first, I liked being guided through different seasons in Lesnaya zemlya, see how people fared there but at some point it got too long!
The story was too passive, until like 75% of the book in, it was all about the winter being harsh, the seasons changing, the food lacking. Yes, the plot advanced alongside it, but it was slow, painfully slow to the point I was thinking of dnf-ing because I couldn't take it anymore. But I didn't because the thing that have been foreshadowed in the first pages hasn't happened yet and I wanted to know what it was about.
Second the interactions between characters, their dialogues were too short. The relationships didn't evolve much. Most of the dialogues happened between characters that got along which made them all sound dull. The only time an interesting one happened, it was always between Vasya and Konstantin, but it was always cut short to the point I wondered if the author struggled writing conflict.
The characters were ok I guess. They weren't well fleshed out for sure. Even Vasya feels like lacking something, but that must be because I didn't see her in action very often. Otherwise, my biggest complaint is Anna. Why have a chapter dedicated to her, showing her pov, if she'll end being such a dumb one-dimensional character who's only there to advance plot when she's convenient???
The pace picked up at the end, as a result the ending was rushed. I didn't feel anything at the final battle, nothing when the foreshadowed thing finally happened, the interactions between Vasya and Morozko left me indifferent. I kept reading for the sake of finishing the book, hoping something interesting will happen that would make me read the next volumes but NOTHING happened.
Also, i wouldn't have noticed the discrepancy in the Russian transliteration if the author didn't point it out at the end. I mean sure she wanted to make the words sound exotic but as a language lover that sounds more like a disrespect to the language itself more than anything else, but that's only my opinion.
It's a shame though, after such a long time, it was the first book that brought me back to the сказки I used to read as a child but it didn't deliver. Still, I don't completely hate this book, but I do regret the time I spent reading it.