Book Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Apr. 11th, 2016 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: Uprooted
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: New York: Del Rey, 2015
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 430
Total Page Count: 183,310
Text Number: 540
Read Because: enjoyed the author's story "Araminta, Or, The Wreck Of The Amphidrake", ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Every ten years, the Dragon, a local wizard who guards the land against the encroach of the magical Wood, takes one girl to live with him. This time, the girl has magic of her own. Uprooted is ridiculously engaging, a book to lose time to. It has a vivid protagonist and almost universally well-drawn cast, and convincing interactions (although I didn't care about the romance). Action sequences are endless, exhausting, and have undeniable momentum, and engage a flexible and dynamic magic system. But I'm not sold on the ending: the Wood is an intelligent, intimidating adversary, but discovering more about it decreases it in scope rather than providing a climax that pays out the plentiful buildup. I loved the first two thirds, and liked the last; that's enough to warrant a recommendation but it leaves me with some lingering regret.
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: New York: Del Rey, 2015
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 430
Total Page Count: 183,310
Text Number: 540
Read Because: enjoyed the author's story "Araminta, Or, The Wreck Of The Amphidrake", ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Every ten years, the Dragon, a local wizard who guards the land against the encroach of the magical Wood, takes one girl to live with him. This time, the girl has magic of her own. Uprooted is ridiculously engaging, a book to lose time to. It has a vivid protagonist and almost universally well-drawn cast, and convincing interactions (although I didn't care about the romance). Action sequences are endless, exhausting, and have undeniable momentum, and engage a flexible and dynamic magic system. But I'm not sold on the ending: the Wood is an intelligent, intimidating adversary, but discovering more about it decreases it in scope rather than providing a climax that pays out the plentiful buildup. I loved the first two thirds, and liked the last; that's enough to warrant a recommendation but it leaves me with some lingering regret.
