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Loading... Uprooted (edition 2016)by Naomi Novik (Author), Katy Sobey (Narrator), Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd. (Publisher)
Work InformationUprooted by Naomi Novik
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I love a good fantasy read with an emphasis on nature and magic. It is well written and reads like a fairy tale with lots of delightful imagery. ( ) Part of what sets this novel apart from others in the fantasy genre is its Eastern European setting, on the border between a thinly-disguised Poland and Russia. But much of it also treads familiar fantasy themes. I enjoyed it a lot, nonetheless. [Audiobook note: The reader has a heavy East European accent, which I thought added a lot to the story. But she also has a short, choppy cadence to her reading (as if perhaps she was still learning English?), which I thought diminished a bit from the story. So be forewarned: some patience is required on your part, but is rewarded overall.] Is this a YA novel? The protagonist is 17, but has some pretty hot sex with her wizard teacher who is over 100 years old(but looks young). I liked the magic story, I liked so much of this book, but had a hard time with the Dragon wizard being a total ass to the heroine and she still falls for him. I get a gruff male lead, I am all about Jane Eyre, but how many times does he need to call her an idiot before she just writes him off? Sure their combined magic is hot, and yes, they help each other in numerous life threatening situations, but he is a jerk through the whole story. So, mixed feelings about the romance aspect, but i did like the story and the worldbuilding was amazing. The war scenes were very violent and graphic also. I think i skimmed through a few chapters and got enough of the story without having to hear about the bloody details.
Uprooted is not, as I thought it might be after those first three chapters, any of the following: a Beauty and the Beast story; a somewhat quiet tale about learning one’s magical abilities and negotiating a relationship with one’s teacher; or a story that includes intrinsically-gendered magic. What it is, is a kingdom-level fantasy with great magic and an engaging narrator—which packs a surprising amount of plot into its single volume. I recommend it highly. The pages turn and the Kindle screens swipe with alacrity. An early expedition into the Wood to rescue a long-missing Queen is particularly white-knuckle. Temeraire fans will be pleased to know that a superb tower-under-siege sequence demonstrates that Novik has lost none of her facility for making complex battle scenes clear and exciting. And Agnieszka remains a scrappy, appealing hero throughout. It’s just that one can’t help but be reminded that Novik’s Temeraire series will conclude next year as a nine-novel cycle and wonder why a writer so skilled at pacing a long, complicated chronicle over multiple books has crammed this story into one. It’s as if Novik is overcorrecting for the kind of Hollywood bloat that causes studios to split fantasy-novel adaptations into multiple films. Here, she packs an entire trilogy into a single book. Agnieszka’s corridors-of-power adventures in Polnya’s capital have kind of a middle-volume vibe to them, while some fascinating late-breaking revelations about the nature of the Wood definitely feel like they deserve their own dedicated installment. I felt this most particularly in Agnieszka’s evolution as a character. While it’s thrilling in the book’s final third to read about her taking control of her own magical identity as a latter-day Baba Yaga, it does feel as though it’s happened without giving her the opportunity to explore a few blind-alley identities on the way there. Is contained inHas as a studyAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows--everyone knows--that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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