ashurredly's reviews
453 reviews

So many things happen in this book. There are characters introduced that drive the plot and then die anti-climactically a few pages or several hundred pages later. I enjoyed the world building and there were some genuinely funny moments.

But I hate the overarching theme of the novel, where every friendship or partnership involving two men is torn apart, usually (always?) via betrayal. I hate that this is what happened to Mata and Kuni, especially over something that was insubstantial. Mata being turned away was Rin's fault! Why did Rin go rogue on this? Why did Kuni stay friends with Rin after this happened? It seems like Kuni should have been way angrier at Rin.

In the end, I like the setting. There are some very strong moments in the novel. But I think too many things happen and it'd be better as two books.