’She was Atia. The Last of the Nefas.
And the Gods did not like it.
’The Night Hunt’ is the third book that I’ve read by Alexandra Christo and unfortunately it’s also my least favourite of them. I didn’t dislike it as such – there were definitely elements of it that I enjoyed – but it certainly felt weaker and lighter than the other books that I’ve read by the author. If you want a light fantasy novel and don’t plan to take it too seriously then you may well find this a fun read. Personally I would advise checking out the author’s ’The Hundred Kingdoms’ novels first though.
On the positive side of things I did like the ideas behind this book and enjoyed exploring its world. Promises of Gods and monsters always draw me in and it was interesting to learn about the punishment that the Gods would pass down to various wrong doing monsters. I found the Herald system and places such as the Sorting Room fascinating, although I do wish that they’d been explored in a bit more depth. The general path of the plotline was intriguing too.
Similarly I do think that the writing works well, particularly for the tone of the novel. There are some things that are captured beautifully yet the writing feels very fast and seems to flow quickly, meaning it’s a fairly swift and light feeling read that still has some segments that you could happily pull out as quotes.
Which brings me onto one of the aspects that I had mixed feelings about: the characters. Both Silas and Atia fascinated me initially, and I did enjoy seeing them interact with one another, yet overtime I couldn’t help but find little flaws with them. I won’t say much about Silas as mostly I’m uncertain as to exactly how I feel about his big revelation but Atia felt a bit contradictory to me at times. One minute she seems to find herself queasy around violence, the next she almost revels in the idea of it. Her fighting skills seemed similarly clashing too. The connections that she formed with certain individuals also seemed to form too swiftly. Then there’s Vail and Pythia; two individuals who I’m sure were meant to be older than Atia and her comrades yet felt like teenagers yet again. A fact that did irk me truthfully.
Certain obstacles felt a bit too easily overcame and I really do feel that one answer fell into Atia’s lap in a much too convenient manner. Other than that I suppose I just found certain things a little bit weak or cliché; it’s almost as if the whole novel needed a bit more oomph.
Altogether I do advice checking ’The Hundred Kingdoms’ books out before this one, if you’re in the mood for a quick, light, fantasy novel then this could be worth giving a try. It’s not a story that I think you can take too seriously but the friendships formed throughout may manage to make you smile.
And the Gods did not like it.
’The Night Hunt’ is the third book that I’ve read by Alexandra Christo and unfortunately it’s also my least favourite of them. I didn’t dislike it as such – there were definitely elements of it that I enjoyed – but it certainly felt weaker and lighter than the other books that I’ve read by the author. If you want a light fantasy novel and don’t plan to take it too seriously then you may well find this a fun read. Personally I would advise checking out the author’s ’The Hundred Kingdoms’ novels first though.
On the positive side of things I did like the ideas behind this book and enjoyed exploring its world. Promises of Gods and monsters always draw me in and it was interesting to learn about the punishment that the Gods would pass down to various wrong doing monsters. I found the Herald system and places such as the Sorting Room fascinating, although I do wish that they’d been explored in a bit more depth. The general path of the plotline was intriguing too.
Similarly I do think that the writing works well, particularly for the tone of the novel. There are some things that are captured beautifully yet the writing feels very fast and seems to flow quickly, meaning it’s a fairly swift and light feeling read that still has some segments that you could happily pull out as quotes.
Which brings me onto one of the aspects that I had mixed feelings about: the characters. Both Silas and Atia fascinated me initially, and I did enjoy seeing them interact with one another, yet overtime I couldn’t help but find little flaws with them. I won’t say much about Silas as mostly I’m uncertain as to exactly how I feel about his big revelation but Atia felt a bit contradictory to me at times. One minute she seems to find herself queasy around violence, the next she almost revels in the idea of it. Her fighting skills seemed similarly clashing too. The connections that she formed with certain individuals also seemed to form too swiftly. Then there’s Vail and Pythia; two individuals who I’m sure were meant to be older than Atia and her comrades yet felt like teenagers yet again. A fact that did irk me truthfully.
Certain obstacles felt a bit too easily overcame and I really do feel that one answer fell into Atia’s lap in a much too convenient manner. Other than that I suppose I just found certain things a little bit weak or cliché; it’s almost as if the whole novel needed a bit more oomph.
Altogether I do advice checking ’The Hundred Kingdoms’ books out before this one, if you’re in the mood for a quick, light, fantasy novel then this could be worth giving a try. It’s not a story that I think you can take too seriously but the friendships formed throughout may manage to make you smile.