Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsSolid world building, lack of true character development
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2018
N. K. Jemisin creates a wonderful world in "Dreamblood." One that I'd love to see again! A multifaceted city with cultures, religions, and politics to create a city more alive than even some of our own!
I really really wanted to love "Dreamblood" but I had a few issues with it, issues I will outline book by book.
Book 1: Jemisin does a terrific job introducing us to the world without making it boring or overwhelming. Right when you think you've got a handle on things, that's when the story takes off. Unfortunately, I found myself not caring about the protagonist's much. In simple storytelling terms, a character wants something and what or who is stopping them from getting it. Throughout book 1 I felt that the characters were just moving from one event to the next, with little discernible goals for us to commiserate and relate too. If this was there I would have totally given a 5/5.
Book 2: Book 2 is much more interesting and improves upon some of the issues book 1 had in regards to character development. However it doesn't go all the way. The main protagonist, the only character who actually wants something, is not likable until the last 50 pages and all the others, like book 1, are simply existing and not doing much of anything. Jemisin does a great job of further expanding the world and building off of book 1 without it feeling like a direct sequel (which I loved) but I can't get behind characters that aren't relatable in any sense.
I was brought to this book by the amazing Broken Earth Trilogy (which holds the spot for my favorite books of all time) but it is clear that Jemisin learned a lot from her mistakes in Dreamblood to create such a work of art with the Broken Earth Trilogy.
Dreamblood is not bad. It's far better than many other books I've read, but it's not as good as BE (then again what is). So if, like me, you are thinking of reading this because of BE, I say go ahead! Just lower your standards for strong character development (if you care about that sort of thing) and you'll love it.
I sincerely can not wait to see what Jemisin creates next! Her prose and world building is unparalleled!
