hue
Didn't shed a tear until the last paragraph of the acknowledgments, and then they wouldn't stop flowing. I have so enjoyed sitting in this world with these characters, even in all their hard places. If The Priory is what introduced me to fantasy, then The Jasmine Throne is what got me hooked. These books will live forever in my heart. I look forward to returning to this beautiful and lovingly crafted story again and again and again.
This is my first true dip into communist literature despite my own beliefs (largely informed by Black revolutionary thought) being extremely left. It was a relatively quick read and I found myself surprised with how accessible it is. It was also quite funny in places, particularly where Lenin's sassiness was on full display.
Only just now adding this though I stopped reading a long while ago. It was driving me up a wall just how frequently the author used “x said” after a piece of dialogue.
Real excerpt:
“Beautiful, isn't it?” Maksim said. “It is,” I said.“And depressing as hell,” Dave said.“It's Siberia,” Maksim said. “We didn't realize Clara had a daughter,” Dave said. “Maybe he doesn't want to talk about this,” Maksim said.”
It happens throughout the book, this is just the most egregious example I caught and it's what ultimately made me put down the book. If it's some sort of stylistic choice that I'm just not hip to, that's fine. Still hate it.