Sarah Daley
Autor von Obsidian
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Same old, same old. Another fantasy novel of a mage whose powers are unleashed by self-mutilation with puissant blades. The writing here is a bit better than most but really I am so tired of these stories.
I received a digital review copy of "Obsidian" by Sarah Daley from Angry Robot through NetGalley.com.
I received a digital review copy of "Obsidian" by Sarah Daley from Angry Robot through NetGalley.com.
Auszeichnungen
Statistikseite
- Werke
- 1
- Mitglieder
- 37
- Beliebtheit
- #390,572
- Bewertung
- 2.8
- Rezensionen
- 2
- ISBNs
- 3
Content warnings:
A book promising a strong female character fighting for her people with magic and standing up against a church holding all the power? I certainly couldn’t say no to Obsidian when I read the synopsis, and as I read the book I was drawn into a world of gemstone blades and magic that grew more enticing with every word.
Obsidian promised a daring female heroine, a revolutionary who was fighting for her people; “the only witch in a land of wizards”. It certainly delivers in all those areas. Shade Nox is a fun and interesting character, and it’s easy to see why she inspires people to follow her. She’s not just extremely powerful in blood magic, the type of magic prominent on the Island of Malavita, she stands by people, keeps her word and follows through with her promises. In short, she’s nothing like the Brotherhood, the religious church who holds the monopoly on magical veils that protect most of the land from the blight or the Capomaji, powerful bloodwizard warlords who terrorize and extort the local people.
Of course, opposing both of these powerful forces means that Shade is vulnerable without allies and the blight is growing worse in the Wastes, the area beyond the veils; the place her family calls home. With allies of her choice and allies she has no choice but to accept even though her instincts scream at her, Shade attempts to do something that has not been done in centuries; raise a new veil. Prepared to deal with outrage from the Brotherhood and the lust for power of the City-princes and Capomaji, Shade and her allies are willing to do whatever they need to save lives and topple the powerful hold the brotherhood has on the island. What they find are ancient secrets and treacheries that make it difficult to know who friend from foe.
I found Obsidian to be a fast-paced adventure with interesting characters that drew me in and kept my attention from start to finish. However, it was the magic system and world-building that shined brightest for me. As a pagan who collects crystals and gemstones I was fascinated by the crystal blades that Daley equipped the blood wizards and witch with. To use their blood magic they, obviously, need to shed blood and unlike other fantasy novels their power seems to only come from shedding their own blood. Their skin is adorned with intricate magical tattoos which imbues them with faster healing, so they can open various wounds without worrying about blood loss. To open their wounds and to channel their magic they use gemstone blades.
It is mentioned that the Brotherhood Blademasters do not “yield any stone below emerald”, and that most wizards use rare and precious gems for their blades. Throughout the novel combatants are analysed based on their blades, suggesting that the choice of gemstone is connected to the power of the wizard. Shade wields two obsidian blades, and while they are a common gemstone they are much more powerful. She remarks that this is because it is a newer gemstone, suggesting that Daley has also taken into consideration the way gemstones are formed as well. I found the whole system fascinating, especially as Daley made sure it was a staple of Malavita society. Gemstones and their properties are ingrained in their society and their magic.
I’m not quite sure what stops me from giving Obsidian a higher rating. As I’ve mentioned, it has a brilliant magic system, solid world-building and I enjoyed the plot. I think at the end of the day it just did not have that “wow” factor for me. While I liked Shade, I just liked her. I felt the same about the rest of the characters. I didn’t fall in love with anyone in this book, and if I’m honest, I was a little irritated that it started to turn into a bit of a reverse-harem book. I think if this wasn’t a young adult book, it most certainly would be a reverse-harem book. Other than a few secondary characters Shade is the only female main character throughout the book. She is completely surrounded by men, most of which end up adoring her (I’ll get to this is a moment) and the lack of another female character in the group makes the novel feel very unbalanced.
By the end of the novel three of the male characters are in love with her, and while two of those relationships make sense, one of them came out of absolutely no where. Shade is an openly bisexual woman, and Daley has written her as someone who is independent and open about her relationships. It made sense for her to sleep with one of the men in a moment of emotion, but the sudden attraction to him when she had never even given him the slightest look before? It felt like a bad bit of editing. Suddenly she only has eyes for him, the tension that had been building since the start of the novel is completing forgotten as is the relationship with another character. It felt very wishy-washy.
I’m not sure whether Obsidian is designed to be a stand-alone or the first book of a series. It’s not currently listed as a part of a series and the ending could go either way, which is a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. It could have been left open on purpose, or it’s supposed to be wrapped up… and it doesn’t feel that way at all. Overall, Obsidian is a fun read and fantasy fans that love interesting magic systems will get a kick out of this one, but personally I think it lost its way a bit towards the end.
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