Profil

Un court roman, percutant comme un coup de fusil, plein de ces choses qu'on sait peut-être déjà mais qui font du bien de voir écrites comme ça.

This is an ode to books, the power and poetry of words and stories, and it's gorgeously written, without pretention, in a way that takes the reader seriously and transports them instantly into the maze of the author's imagination. The world created isn't a typical western-middle-age fantasy world, it's strongly influenced by south asia, and north and east africa. If you're longing for something poetic and vivid, it's a rewarding read.

It feels like the author took his dream RPG and wrote it as a novel. There's magic, and of course, dwarfs and half-elves, wizards who need to sleep to recuperate all their capabilities, small side-quests leading to the big one, an engaging heroin and queer flavours added here and there. All in all, not revolutionary, but entertaining.

Un roman en forme de WTF frénétique, improbable, brillant, traversé d'un humour subtil, sans doute moins accessible que les autres romans de l'autrice.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the mix of classic space opera and magic was weird. There were fun moments, some action and a few relatable characters, but the worldbuilding was lacking (when you can't say for sure if a place is a planet or a city at the end of a book, maybe something is missing). Some characters were flat, and it also felt like there were discrepancies, notably with the vilain(s), their goal and motivation.

There are a few interesting elements in this classic premise of "a bunch of different people are stuck at the edge of the universe and must save it", and while the worldbuilding and powers at play aren't bad at all, there's just something missing. It isn't badly written either (although writers need to ban the words groaning/grunting forever), but again, it isn't very special. Not sure I'll dig in the second volume.