Hello Fellow Journeyers,
After a few weeks since my last review, I dove into this next book after a brilliantly tantalizing prologue. This was by far the best prologue of a story I'd read in awhile and actually felt like a legitimate addition to the story that prologues are (supposed to be) used for. The book also had a cheap Audible narration to accompany it so I was sold.
What's the story about: A Murder of Shadows follows an exiled son and his band of military operatives. The POV switches between the protagonist and a bard that follows the group and each have an interestingly differing perspective. While this story is straightforward in the way it's told, it is fuzzy as to what the actual plot is. There is political machinations at play and villainous people all around, but the actual plot is next to nonexistent. It's about the main character and his life as a deeply experienced veteran doing what it takes to keep his country safe.
This short book was simple to follow in many regards, but also a little overwhelming in the bigger picture aspects. I was always intrigued in what was happening and enjoying what was going on but rarely did I actually understand why things were happening the way they were. Eventually I was able to follow what the characters' purposes were around the 70% mark. 70%, but it did show up. That being said, I am in no way saying that this book is bad! Quite the opposite. For most of the runtime, I was actually loving it. Conroe's writing was truly engrossing from the beginning and I was always very interested in what was happening. I think part of this had to do with the fact that the worldbuilding was done really well alongside the events taking place. There are many aspects to the world that aren't explained, but the things that are revealed are done so really effectively and tantalizingly.
Similarly, the main thing that this story does well is be utterly magnetic in the way the world operates and breathes. It truly feels alive and Conroe does a fantastic job giving the important details when necessary while also speeding events along with each short, fast-paced chapter. There is a great relationship between tension and progression that allows short books to be enjoyed for what they are. Also, the characters feel distinct even though you don't spend a lot of time with any of them too often. The details that are given on the day-to-day life of a town or country is fascinating and enthralling while the way that action takes place is equally satisfying in its execution. Basically, you can tell that Conroe has considerable writing experience and it shows in most every category.
That being said, this isn't a perfect book. One of the biggest issues I realized early on with this story was how disjointed some of the aspects read. One moment the dialogue will be exactly what it needs to be with characterization, intrigue, and realism, and in the next I found it oddly modern, cliché, and off. This didn't plague the story detrimentally, but it did have an impact throughout the book. I get that part of the appeal of the story was to be a (post) post-apocalyptic type setting, but it never seemed to find a consistent tone, it simply flip-flopped between consistency and complete contradiction. Lastly, the second issue that takes the rating down for me was the lack of satisfaction in the end. This is part of an ongoing series, but the ending of this first book is chopped off to say the least. It's not so much a cliffhanger as it literally just stops right when things should be increasing in terms of plot. Not all stories work as shorter tales and I think this book is an example that it deserved to be longer in this initial entry. I liked what was going on but by the end it really didn't culminate into much of anything.
★★★★ 3.5 Stars - A Murder of Shadows was a great book to find randomly. I was immediately engaged with the world and the characters, even when I found that I didn't connect with them or their exploits deeply. While the plot was often unclear or nonexistent, the way in which the story unfolded was truly tantalizing and it engrossed me with each page. A confusing book like this shouldn't be as good as it is but I honestly felt like I was enjoying simply being in the world even when the plot wasn't all that important or necessary. There is some fun, some slice of life, action, and light political intrigue in between. This adventure is low-key in terms of tone with stakes that aren't over the top and I found myself still engrossed the entire time. I'm excited to see where the story goes and think it could really become a satisfying story to engage in further.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book and found nothing wrong with it; it is Essential Reading at its very best!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing. This is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was great; very worth reading and satisfying for the most part; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I loosely enjoyed it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but had many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★★* 1.5 Stars: I finished it, but it was a chore to get through.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads.