Cover Image: Simantov

Simantov

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Member Reviews

Interesting but not immersive. I may write a longer review in the future, for now, I'll just list things I liked and things I disliked.

+ Unique setting
+ Interesting take on Jewish mythology and Nephilim
+ Interesting story

- lack of relatable characters
- detached omniscient narration (sometimes third person limited)
- slow pacing
- I couldn't relate to anyone and had to force myself to finish it

All told, not a bad book, it just didn't wow me.

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The translation killed it for me to be honest. But it does have potential and it is a good and fast paced story. This book was provided to me by NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

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Intriguing story based on Jewish mythology

I enjoyed this book. The story was mostly well-paced, with good character development and action. The story was compelling, and different from a lot of similar books in that it looks at Jewish lore. On the other hand the story did lag at times and I was sometimes confused by the many characters. Overall though, it was still a good read.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

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This story started out strong, but unraveled fairly quickly. I couldn't tell how much was a translation issue or part of the original, but I struggled to stay connected with the characters and action. I loved the use of scripture as intermittent dialogue, and all the work of the Soothsayer unit was a lot of fun to read. There were plot points I never quite understood, and the end lost dramatic punch because I never fully grasped the stakes or understood the significance of what was happening. At times, the translation obviously missed the mark, and that made me suspect some of the problems I found in following the story were related more to this than the story itself. Overall, this is a brilliant and fascinating idea, I just didn't feel like it the writing lived up to it.
This book was provided to me by NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

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