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ninetalevixen 's review for:
The Gilded Wolves
by Roshani Chokshi
3.5 stars
I tried so hard to stop comparing this to [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459]. And I have since been made aware that this is a common critique of diverse fantasy, so I would like to clarify that I honestly do not mean this in a "SoC already did it and better, (marginalized) authors need to create something new" kind of way; scrappy underdog teens pulling off a heist is a classic trope and absolutely fair game for plenty of novels to come. However, I believe that in this particular book there are several more specific similarities ... though that should really should be a selling point considering SoC's popularity, right?
Basically this book was like SoC crossed with [b:The Da Vinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)|Dan Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579621267l/968._SY75_.jpg|2982101] plus some sci-fi bits and some social commentary. Which might sound like a lot — and I personally felt like it was. Though I admire the author's ambitious undertaking and thoughtfully crafted narrative, it might've been better to take fewer elements and explore them more thoroughly.
Archetypes and tropes aside, I did like the characters as individuals, and they comprise a wonderfully diverse cast.
The puzzles ... Even with prior knowledge of some of the fundamentals, such as, for whatever reason the characters' explanations just didn't click, but the plot kept moving and I wasn't really invested enough to pause and figure it out. (Yeah, I'm kind of a lazy reader that way; in my defense, though, I'm currently taking a lit class so I get plenty of literary analysis and discussion.)
FRTC.
content warnings:
rep:
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CONVERSION: 9.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 3 / 5
I tried so hard to stop comparing this to [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459]. And I have since been made aware that this is a common critique of diverse fantasy, so I would like to clarify that I honestly do not mean this in a "SoC already did it and better, (marginalized) authors need to create something new" kind of way; scrappy underdog teens pulling off a heist is a classic trope and absolutely fair game for plenty of novels to come. However, I believe that in this particular book there are several more specific similarities ... though that should really should be a selling point considering SoC's popularity, right?
Basically this book was like SoC crossed with [b:The Da Vinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)|Dan Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579621267l/968._SY75_.jpg|2982101] plus some sci-fi bits and some social commentary. Which might sound like a lot — and I personally felt like it was. Though I admire the author's ambitious undertaking and thoughtfully crafted narrative, it might've been better to take fewer elements and explore them more thoroughly.
Archetypes and tropes aside, I did like the characters as individuals, and they comprise a wonderfully diverse cast.
The puzzles ... Even with prior knowledge of some of the fundamentals, such as
Spoiler
the Fibonacci sequence and the golden spiralFRTC.
content warnings:
Spoiler
rep:
Spoiler
biracial MC, Desi MC, Filipino bi/pan MC, implied-autistic Jewish MC, Haitian/French biracial MLM major character, M/M relationships, (bi/pan) M/F minor romance-----------
CONVERSION: 9.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 3 / 5