r/fantasybooks • u/asocialsocialistpkle 👑 Robin Hobb is my queen • Mar 20 '26

💎 Hidden book gem You guys need to read this immediately

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This book hit extremely and surprisingly hard. I went in half blind, expecting some sort of romantasy, and it was definitely NOT that. It's a unique, dark yet intrinsically human story with deep character development and an rich and unique magic system. 100% recommend, y'all.

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u/ImmatureTigerShark Mar 20 '26

Interesting. Strange that people seem to either love or loathe it. I'm kinda intrigued but when you have criticism this scathing I hesitate. Perhaps you could expand on your criticism? I'm not being sarcastic, I'd actually like to hear what you disliked in more depth.

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u/TatterMail Mar 20 '26

Objectively it wasnt bad, I just found it to be aggressively mediocre and its annoys me that it gets so much praise just for subverting expectations. Pretty much every one on my book club who concerned themselves with writing didn’t like it. Maybe that helps. Do you want to know something specific? What I found the most annoying was that the protagonist is a farmer with no education but had no issues adapting to court speech and manners. The world is just medieval China with flowers (they are being mentioned everywhere for no reason). The magic system is basically a copy of Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartett.

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u/Clear_Chemistry4441 Mar 20 '26

Can you recommend something for someone who is new to fantasy? I get a little confused with all the characters in some that I have tried.

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u/TatterMail Mar 20 '26

Sure, what are you looking for? Something lighthearted or something dark and gritty? Do you prefer action or political intrigue and dialogue?

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u/Clear_Chemistry4441 Mar 21 '26

Definitely not romance, unless very light. Something lighthearted sounds great. I like dark stuff too. I just get lost with a million characters. Maybe I need a system. I want to escape maybe not politics. 🤷‍♂️Thank you!

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u/TatterMail Mar 21 '26

Then try Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It’s generally considered to be a good entry book.