![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Graceling Review
Aug. 22nd, 2019 01:22 pmGraceling by Kristin Cashore is the only book prompted by the Novel Predictions podcast that was available as an audiobook and it was already in my library so I must have at least started listening to it before, though I don't remember doing so.
It's set in a fantasy world of seven kingdoms where a small percentage of people are 'graced' with a special ability, denoted by them having different coloured eyes. The protagonist is Katsa, niece to a vindictive king and graced with killing. Her uncle uses her as an enforcer but she has set up a secret council of her own, which goes on missions to protect the innocent. During one of her covert missions, Katsa meets Po, another graced fighter, and teams up with him to find out who kidnapped his grandfather and why.
It's a good premise and Katsa makes for a complex, layered, flawed and sympathetic protagonist. I also like a lot of the peripheral characters, but there are other aspects of the book I'm not so keen on. There are long stretches of very little plot, too much rather painful focus on the developing romance, and a perhaps somewhat troubling attitude to domestic violence. This last is down to the fact that the violent party is female - though Katsa's struggles with her temper and her grace are a big part of the story and her violence towards others is never excused or endorsed.
I particularly like Po, as a character, not least because his Welsh accent in the audiobook is delicious. I also really like the Princess Bitterblue, who gets her own book later in the series (looking forward to that one). And the mystery and political intrigue are great. It just feels as if the actual plot is spread out too thinly over too long a period, with too much slogging through wilderness and angst-ridden navel-gazing in between.
I was getting a bit bored towards the end, but also utterly baffled as to how the main plot would be resolved with only two hours to go, when the protagonist was travelling *away* from the conflict, with the intention of hiding for several months. Then - BOOM - there was an unexpected twist that led to an extremely speedy climax, followed by nearly 90 minutes of aftermath, which was great.
So, after thinking there might be a cliffhanger ending and the whole things was just setup for the next book, it all got resolved and it turns out the other two books in the series are about entirely different characters! I'm glad I persevered and have already bought all the other books by this author on audio. I'm also really looking forward to the Novel Predictions episode about this, because there's no way Kales is going to be able to predict how this book works out!
XXXXX
I just found my review of my first read of this book, from February 2009 - just goes to show how your views of something can change over time (though the romance aspect was still my least favourite bit) - also, I can't quite believe how patronising this is!:
"Graceling, by Kristin Cashore - this had early promise. The world it described (seven kingdoms with uneasy alliances, certain people born with superhuman talent at one particular skill - anything from fighting to flower arranging) was well-drawn and interesting; the characters were engaging and likeable, and there was an intriguing mystery at the heart of the plot. Then the romance element was introduced and it all went downhill from there - the protagonist was annoyingly idiotic when she was being oblivious to the love interest's regard, and then it just turned unbearably mushy once they fell into bed together. Even the intriguing mystery petered out like a damp squib, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion where there could have been an excellent book. This is Cashore's first novel - I think, if she dials down the 'icky love stuff' (reference, anyone?) and concentrates on the politics and the action, she might have a career as a good writer."
It's set in a fantasy world of seven kingdoms where a small percentage of people are 'graced' with a special ability, denoted by them having different coloured eyes. The protagonist is Katsa, niece to a vindictive king and graced with killing. Her uncle uses her as an enforcer but she has set up a secret council of her own, which goes on missions to protect the innocent. During one of her covert missions, Katsa meets Po, another graced fighter, and teams up with him to find out who kidnapped his grandfather and why.
It's a good premise and Katsa makes for a complex, layered, flawed and sympathetic protagonist. I also like a lot of the peripheral characters, but there are other aspects of the book I'm not so keen on. There are long stretches of very little plot, too much rather painful focus on the developing romance, and a perhaps somewhat troubling attitude to domestic violence. This last is down to the fact that the violent party is female - though Katsa's struggles with her temper and her grace are a big part of the story and her violence towards others is never excused or endorsed.
I particularly like Po, as a character, not least because his Welsh accent in the audiobook is delicious. I also really like the Princess Bitterblue, who gets her own book later in the series (looking forward to that one). And the mystery and political intrigue are great. It just feels as if the actual plot is spread out too thinly over too long a period, with too much slogging through wilderness and angst-ridden navel-gazing in between.
I was getting a bit bored towards the end, but also utterly baffled as to how the main plot would be resolved with only two hours to go, when the protagonist was travelling *away* from the conflict, with the intention of hiding for several months. Then - BOOM - there was an unexpected twist that led to an extremely speedy climax, followed by nearly 90 minutes of aftermath, which was great.
So, after thinking there might be a cliffhanger ending and the whole things was just setup for the next book, it all got resolved and it turns out the other two books in the series are about entirely different characters! I'm glad I persevered and have already bought all the other books by this author on audio. I'm also really looking forward to the Novel Predictions episode about this, because there's no way Kales is going to be able to predict how this book works out!
XXXXX
I just found my review of my first read of this book, from February 2009 - just goes to show how your views of something can change over time (though the romance aspect was still my least favourite bit) - also, I can't quite believe how patronising this is!:
"Graceling, by Kristin Cashore - this had early promise. The world it described (seven kingdoms with uneasy alliances, certain people born with superhuman talent at one particular skill - anything from fighting to flower arranging) was well-drawn and interesting; the characters were engaging and likeable, and there was an intriguing mystery at the heart of the plot. Then the romance element was introduced and it all went downhill from there - the protagonist was annoyingly idiotic when she was being oblivious to the love interest's regard, and then it just turned unbearably mushy once they fell into bed together. Even the intriguing mystery petered out like a damp squib, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion where there could have been an excellent book. This is Cashore's first novel - I think, if she dials down the 'icky love stuff' (reference, anyone?) and concentrates on the politics and the action, she might have a career as a good writer."
