/lit/ - Literature

This was a slow starter, but worth it by the end, I think. It took me a while to understand what the book was really about, and I think it aids in enjoyment to go in knowing that it's simply a story about a boy growing into his role as an enlightened warrior. The first half of the book is entirely taken up with his childhood, sheltered from the politics and major events of the world outside his training halls, the only focus on the lives of a band of boys being trained for war. I felt that the story picked up considerably, however, once he no longer had teachers whom he could trust implicitly. Being forced to go out into the world and make his own choices with the lessons he'd learned as a boy, and the difficulty of these choices is heightened for the reader as a result of having been present for his formative moments. I don't know that the book ever becomes really exciting or heart wrenching, but I was invested in the main character and was satisfied as it came to a close.

My only serious complaint is that the author has a habit of giving the main character revelations that he thinks about only in fragments, so it's clear that he understands what's going on but as a reader it's difficult to be sure whether the writer is being purposefully obscure or alluding to something obvious that you missed. The pinnacle of this was when he met a young girl, and after hearing her name asked her age while in shock. He proceeds to repeat her age over and over in his head. I could not for the life of me figure out what any of this was supposed to mean until it was spelled out in the next chapter that this girl was a secret half sister he didn't know he had. Very confusing.

Still, distinctly, stolidly enjoyable book, 8/10.