The Reader [Book Review]

Hello.

So, you may have noticed Blogger has been acting weird lately, so I had to make this a Google Doc, and then transfer it to Blogger, so…..sorry if the quality isn't the best.

Anyway, today I’ll be reviewing the newest book I finished.

This is book one in the Sea of Ink and Gold trilogy.

Genres: YA/sci-fi/fantasy

Author: Traci Chee

Page Count: 437

Summary: Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt, Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal.

But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive.

The only clue left behind to her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd, rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book-a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. 

With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt, and find out what really happened the day her father was killed.

My Thoughts: So…...Traci Chee has created a truly marvelous story. The worldbuilding is impeccable, the characters are great, it ended with such a cliffhanger, and it’s just an amazing book in general.

What I Liked: As I stated earlier, the worldbuilding is extremely well-done, and it’s very creative to see a society, so much like ours, that is mostly illiterate. Not stupid, they just get their information in different ways.

Also, the interesting mix of fantasy with pirates. And it’s done much differently than before.

Most of the chapters are from Sefia’s point of view, or Archer’s, but there are a few from Tanin’s point of view, and Captain Reed’s. 

Another interesting detail is that part of the story is the things Sefia is reading from the book, which only makes it more interesting.

As I said before, the characters are great. They are all very well-written, and interesting.

What I Disliked: There wasn’t much I disliked. However, I did think the beginning was a bit boring, and not particularly gripping. Not bad, just it dragged on.

So, if you can get through that, it’s very good, and a worthwhile way to spend your time.

Characters:

Sefia

Sefia is the main character. Her personality is hard to explain. She’s a very caring person, but isn’t overly emotional. She makes rational decisions most of the time. She is very loyal, but worries about being too cautious or cowardly. 

Sefia really is a great character, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.

I know this looks nothing like him, but it’s hard to find pictures of muscular teenage boys, so just go with it.

Archer

Archer is the other main character. He was raised as a fighter, and a killer----more animal than human.

He also doesn’t speak, but we get a lot of chapters from his point of view, so we know a bit more about him. He’s a very good character, though I don’t like him as much as Sefia. 

Captain Reed

Reed is, obviously, the captain of a pirate ship, He’s a bit gruff, but he means well most of the time. He cares a lot about his crew, but he is very ruthless towards his enemies, and people he doesn’t like.

Reed only has a few chapters from his POV, but they were enjoyable.

Tanin

Ah, yes, Tanin, my personal favorite…...who may or may not be the villain.

Tanin is the Director of the The Guard, a wickedly powerful sorceress, and very skilled at things like fighting and fencing and knife-throwing. 

I liked Tanin from her first page, and I’m glad we got some chapters from her point of view.

She was made pretty sympathetic, from her actually believing she was doing the right thing, to her showing genuine love and affection for certain people, and regret for killing others.

And, yes, I did just fan-cast Michelle Forbes for that role, because she would be absolute perfection.

All in all, I think I’d rate The Reader ten stars. 

It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but it was well-written, I enjoyed it, and I’m already itching to read it again, so if that isn’t a sign of a good book, I’m not sure what is.

I’d highly recommend it, if you find it.

Have you read this book? Do you want to?