I loved her previous books but just couldn’t do Scholomance. I don’t mind the Harry Potter derivation, but she tripled down in the life is so unfair vibe that annoyed me in Potter. Still, glad to see her recognized, Spun Silver and Uprooted are amazing books.
I thought the magic system and world building of that series was so great, but it was so stymied by YA bullshit. The cliffhanger at the end of the first book had my eyes rolling out of my head.
I love the Hugo awards, I am almost never disappointed by their best novel nominees and winners. I went on a spree earlier this year and was amazed by some of the books I read, like The Goblin Emporer, A Memory of Empire and its sequel. Going to enjoy checking some of these books out.
Novik doesn't just copy the teen-angst-life-is-so-unfair vibe, but efficiently includes it in her world building. She justifies it. By the end of the series it's clear that the her universe is indeed impressively unfair ... which is core to her protagonists' motivation to do something about it and drives the plot.
Agreed, but from my perspective as very very far removed from adolescence, I had to give up because I found it whiny and predictable. As a teenager I probably would have related more. God knows I was whiny and predictable enough.
Even as a teenager, I knew that "it turns out all your emotional angst is vindicated by objective reality!" was a bullshit fantasy, but even knowing that, I needed it to sometimes be the answer. The older I get, the more I'm able to revisit that stuff without cringing and appreciate that it was just an emotional outlet.
