Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Nov. 29th, 2018 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaI liked it.
I feel like the overall jut of my comments is that it was enjoyable, I liked the characters, loved the whole feel of the story and the fairytale aspects but that a lot of things really needed a little more expanding and time given to development to really make them land more successfully.
+ I love how the story is a mix of different tales. Mainly Rumplestiltskin but with elements of others all mixed together with a more real life base. I love when novels do that.
+ I liked Miryem a lot.
+ The whole thrice challenged thing with the Staryk king, how Miryem succeeded in it and the way it gave her powers in his world was all excellent.
+ Miryem/Staryk king was a little sketchily developed and almost no time was given to them actually falling in love which made the resolution for them a little hand-wavey. That said I liked it. I like him asking permission to court her and her 'well finally' reaction. Overall it hit tropes I like and my id enough that it worked for me.
+ I liked Irina/Mirnatius as a romance somewhat less. The fact that he had a demon in him for literally his entire life and seemingly had only terrible influences, isolation and disregard doesn't actually remove the fact that he did a lot of terrible things and that now that he's free of the demon he doesn't even know who he is. I liked how awed he is by Irina but their relationship needed a lot more development. With them it definitely felt more like the beginning of potential. I like to think that the first year of their marriage is mostly romance free as he discovers who he is, as does she, and they find an equilibrium as co-rulers.
+ I think the addition of Stepon, Mirnatius and Magreta POVs in the latter half of the book weren't really necessary and I kind of wish that they had concentrated more on the POV's of Miryam, Wanda and Irina. Of the three Mirnatius were the most interesting, Stepon the least.
+ I liked the Staryk culture. The whole thing about names and how Miryem inadvertently gained a godchild and followers. The way she dealt with the treasure vault challenge.
+ I loved Miryam's family and her relationships with them. I liked her grandfather's pride in her and that he never once doubted her ability to be a moneylender. I liked that she confided in him. I liked her closeness with her parents. I really loved that none of Miryam's female cousins were made into a bad guy or antagonist who looked down on her or were shallow/snobbish about her poorer circumstances. That was so great.
+ I really liked that Miryam being a girl was never used against her, as a reason why she couldn't be a moneylender.
+ I wish a little more time had been given to developing Miryem/Wanda as genuine friends/people who care about each other/have a bond/whatever at the beginning.
+ I really like that Wanda's plot had no romance and was all about her gaining/finding family and a home.
+ I love that Irina turned out to be so politically savvy and intelligent, and the fact that she was so clearly suited to being a queen/tsarina, but I wish that had been set up in her first couple chapters. That was not the sense at all I got of her, and considering it was in her POV, that felt off.
+ I was so sure the beginning of the book was setting up Irina to become the Staryk queen so it was a surprise when it didn't go that way.
+ I loved Irina's defeat of Chernobog, and how she was able to use her deal with him, and "leave me and mine alone", to save everyone because she was Tsarina and they were all hers, and that it also enabled her to save Mirnatius.
I feel like the overall jut of my comments is that it was enjoyable, I liked the characters, loved the whole feel of the story and the fairytale aspects but that a lot of things really needed a little more expanding and time given to development to really make them land more successfully.
+ I love how the story is a mix of different tales. Mainly Rumplestiltskin but with elements of others all mixed together with a more real life base. I love when novels do that.
+ I liked Miryem a lot.
+ The whole thrice challenged thing with the Staryk king, how Miryem succeeded in it and the way it gave her powers in his world was all excellent.
+ Miryem/Staryk king was a little sketchily developed and almost no time was given to them actually falling in love which made the resolution for them a little hand-wavey. That said I liked it. I like him asking permission to court her and her 'well finally' reaction. Overall it hit tropes I like and my id enough that it worked for me.
+ I liked Irina/Mirnatius as a romance somewhat less. The fact that he had a demon in him for literally his entire life and seemingly had only terrible influences, isolation and disregard doesn't actually remove the fact that he did a lot of terrible things and that now that he's free of the demon he doesn't even know who he is. I liked how awed he is by Irina but their relationship needed a lot more development. With them it definitely felt more like the beginning of potential. I like to think that the first year of their marriage is mostly romance free as he discovers who he is, as does she, and they find an equilibrium as co-rulers.
+ I think the addition of Stepon, Mirnatius and Magreta POVs in the latter half of the book weren't really necessary and I kind of wish that they had concentrated more on the POV's of Miryam, Wanda and Irina. Of the three Mirnatius were the most interesting, Stepon the least.
+ I liked the Staryk culture. The whole thing about names and how Miryem inadvertently gained a godchild and followers. The way she dealt with the treasure vault challenge.
+ I loved Miryam's family and her relationships with them. I liked her grandfather's pride in her and that he never once doubted her ability to be a moneylender. I liked that she confided in him. I liked her closeness with her parents. I really loved that none of Miryam's female cousins were made into a bad guy or antagonist who looked down on her or were shallow/snobbish about her poorer circumstances. That was so great.
+ I really liked that Miryam being a girl was never used against her, as a reason why she couldn't be a moneylender.
+ I wish a little more time had been given to developing Miryem/Wanda as genuine friends/people who care about each other/have a bond/whatever at the beginning.
+ I really like that Wanda's plot had no romance and was all about her gaining/finding family and a home.
+ I love that Irina turned out to be so politically savvy and intelligent, and the fact that she was so clearly suited to being a queen/tsarina, but I wish that had been set up in her first couple chapters. That was not the sense at all I got of her, and considering it was in her POV, that felt off.
+ I was so sure the beginning of the book was setting up Irina to become the Staryk queen so it was a surprise when it didn't go that way.
+ I loved Irina's defeat of Chernobog, and how she was able to use her deal with him, and "leave me and mine alone", to save everyone because she was Tsarina and they were all hers, and that it also enabled her to save Mirnatius.
