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DID NOT FINISH
DNF'd at 41% on 10/10/18
I really tried to power through this book but it just wasn't working for me.
The first reason for my DNF was the main character. Auben is an asshole. I aknowledge that this is a major part of the worldbuilding and plot, but I need to find the protagonist of a story sympathetic to really enjoy the story especially if it's in first person. The fact that he was an asshole made the moments we were supposed to sympathise with him fall flat.
Auben's motivations were also unclear throughout the story. I couldn't pin down what he ultumately wanted or what motivated him. Each of his actions all seemed to be driven by many different desires that were often contradictory and changed on a whim. Auben's lack of solidly defined motivatons made it even harder to connect with him.
I also had major problems with the worldbuilding. There was very little pause in the book to explain how this extremly unique fantasy world worked. I can understand the desire to avoid exposition dumps, but, in not explaining key elements of the worldbuilding I was left very confused. By the time I got close to half way in the book I understood some of the world but for a long time it felt like I was being dragged into a completly new world with no context or explanation given making the reading experience very frustrating. I never felt immersed in the world as the question marks I had (and still have) about the foundation of this world left it very difficult for me to feel part of it.
Finally, the most significant reason for my DNF was the plot. The plot felt like vaguely connected scenes placed together. This is
tied to the switching motivations of our MC; it felt like we were just moving for location to location with no clear drive or connective tissue between scenes. I didn't have a sense of where the story was going making me unintrested in the story.
There were still some interesting aspects within this novel. I adored Kasim; honestly, if he was the main character I probably wouldn't be DNF'ing the book (though I do get what Drayden was going for with Auben). I also really liked the elements of South African culture sprinkled within the book. I can say I've never read a book mentioning pap, mopane worms, and samp and it was really nice to see my culture represented in a book.
Overall I just couldn't push through with this one. I lacked the motivation to pick it up every time I put it down and couldn't imagine finishing it.
I really tried to power through this book but it just wasn't working for me.
The first reason for my DNF was the main character. Auben is an asshole. I aknowledge that this is a major part of the worldbuilding and plot, but I need to find the protagonist of a story sympathetic to really enjoy the story especially if it's in first person. The fact that he was an asshole made the moments we were supposed to sympathise with him fall flat.
Auben's motivations were also unclear throughout the story. I couldn't pin down what he ultumately wanted or what motivated him. Each of his actions all seemed to be driven by many different desires that were often contradictory and changed on a whim. Auben's lack of solidly defined motivatons made it even harder to connect with him.
I also had major problems with the worldbuilding. There was very little pause in the book to explain how this extremly unique fantasy world worked. I can understand the desire to avoid exposition dumps, but, in not explaining key elements of the worldbuilding I was left very confused. By the time I got close to half way in the book I understood some of the world but for a long time it felt like I was being dragged into a completly new world with no context or explanation given making the reading experience very frustrating. I never felt immersed in the world as the question marks I had (and still have) about the foundation of this world left it very difficult for me to feel part of it.
Finally, the most significant reason for my DNF was the plot. The plot felt like vaguely connected scenes placed together. This is
tied to the switching motivations of our MC; it felt like we were just moving for location to location with no clear drive or connective tissue between scenes. I didn't have a sense of where the story was going making me unintrested in the story.
There were still some interesting aspects within this novel. I adored Kasim; honestly, if he was the main character I probably wouldn't be DNF'ing the book (though I do get what Drayden was going for with Auben). I also really liked the elements of South African culture sprinkled within the book. I can say I've never read a book mentioning pap, mopane worms, and samp and it was really nice to see my culture represented in a book.
Overall I just couldn't push through with this one. I lacked the motivation to pick it up every time I put it down and couldn't imagine finishing it.