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A review by heartscontent
The Dead Saint by Kathryn Trattner
4.0
You can find this review of The Dead Saint on my blog, Heart's Content!
When I saw the blurb for The Dead Saint, I expected it to be a typical fantasy with an anti-hero, a feisty heroine and a typical storyline that I’d likely seen before and loved and would most probably love again.
But. BUT. Oh. My. God. But The Dead Saint is truly like no other book I’ve ever read before. Possibly like no other book you’d read after this. I will say, that there’s been a general fantasy story template that’s been flying around that once in awhile some stories break. But as a reader we’ve come to generally expect and love these templates. *shrug* It’s a well-known formula that for the most part works (with some modifications) and it will, of course, with time lose its steam. The reason I mention this is because The Dead Saint follows none of these templates, creating a groove of its own in the world and in your brain.
TDS hits the floor running in the most brutal and heartbreaking way. The world-building in this book is consistent and extends ’til the very last page; and the world that Trattner has created is so very different from anything I’d ever read before. I will admit that understanding the world of TDS is a slow process that builds with each page, but the foundation it builds is strong and stays that way ‘til the end. It also helps that a lot of the stuff that happens the FMC and MMC are also learning with us.
The writing in TDS is seven hundred and fifty percent the strongest, most powerful aspect of the book. In a book that’s so different, so new in what it brings to the reader, it would have been so easy for the reader’s mind to wander. But Trattner’s strength, I believe, lies in the way she’s able to wrap her fingers around the mind of the reader and drag us right down the deep end with her. The book played out in my head like a movie; like the sound I heard in my head of the fire crackling when there’s a bonfire, or the lash of the winds on a particularly bad weather day or just all the emotions that spill from the pages into our hearts. The lyrical and poignant notes of the writing is one of the biggest reason that this review is now a favourite quotes review. You can see Trattner knows her craft and she wields that ability with extreme finesse.
The plot of TDS is really clear from page one. However, with every chapter that unravels, you see more and more. The author has incorporated many aspects into this book that are entangled with the plot. The deeply emotional aspects, the physically gruelling aspects, the mentally strenuous elements and all this braided neatly into the fabric of the larger plot.
I’ve said this about five billion times and of course, I’m going to say it again: dual person POVs have never been my favourite. Even if I’ve read many many books with it being done well, I’m still big on single person POVs. That being said TDS follows dual person POV that shifts between the FMC Sorcha and the MMC Adrian. There are some moments where it gets a little confusing because the chapters don’t have titles indicating whose perspective we’re diving into. However, there was a definite distinction in their personalities and thus their perspectives that offered a lot of aid in differentiating whose mind we were in as we start the chapter.
The characters in this book are the other pillar that hold the strong structure of this book up. Delving into the minds of the main characters and seeing their completely different worlds and back-stories added so much to the experience of the book and ensured that we saw the two different situations that define the characters’ reactions and choices. So, two times the heartbreak and pain. Yay.
The book was a sucker-punch to every one of my senses. Four stars! Check trigger warnings as always! TDS is on such a wonderful deal right now on Amazon (India), so definitely check it out right now if you’re interested.
When I saw the blurb for The Dead Saint, I expected it to be a typical fantasy with an anti-hero, a feisty heroine and a typical storyline that I’d likely seen before and loved and would most probably love again.
But. BUT. Oh. My. God. But The Dead Saint is truly like no other book I’ve ever read before. Possibly like no other book you’d read after this. I will say, that there’s been a general fantasy story template that’s been flying around that once in awhile some stories break. But as a reader we’ve come to generally expect and love these templates. *shrug* It’s a well-known formula that for the most part works (with some modifications) and it will, of course, with time lose its steam. The reason I mention this is because The Dead Saint follows none of these templates, creating a groove of its own in the world and in your brain.
TDS hits the floor running in the most brutal and heartbreaking way. The world-building in this book is consistent and extends ’til the very last page; and the world that Trattner has created is so very different from anything I’d ever read before. I will admit that understanding the world of TDS is a slow process that builds with each page, but the foundation it builds is strong and stays that way ‘til the end. It also helps that a lot of the stuff that happens the FMC and MMC are also learning with us.
The writing in TDS is seven hundred and fifty percent the strongest, most powerful aspect of the book. In a book that’s so different, so new in what it brings to the reader, it would have been so easy for the reader’s mind to wander. But Trattner’s strength, I believe, lies in the way she’s able to wrap her fingers around the mind of the reader and drag us right down the deep end with her. The book played out in my head like a movie; like the sound I heard in my head of the fire crackling when there’s a bonfire, or the lash of the winds on a particularly bad weather day or just all the emotions that spill from the pages into our hearts. The lyrical and poignant notes of the writing is one of the biggest reason that this review is now a favourite quotes review. You can see Trattner knows her craft and she wields that ability with extreme finesse.
The plot of TDS is really clear from page one. However, with every chapter that unravels, you see more and more. The author has incorporated many aspects into this book that are entangled with the plot. The deeply emotional aspects, the physically gruelling aspects, the mentally strenuous elements and all this braided neatly into the fabric of the larger plot.
I’ve said this about five billion times and of course, I’m going to say it again: dual person POVs have never been my favourite. Even if I’ve read many many books with it being done well, I’m still big on single person POVs. That being said TDS follows dual person POV that shifts between the FMC Sorcha and the MMC Adrian. There are some moments where it gets a little confusing because the chapters don’t have titles indicating whose perspective we’re diving into. However, there was a definite distinction in their personalities and thus their perspectives that offered a lot of aid in differentiating whose mind we were in as we start the chapter.
The characters in this book are the other pillar that hold the strong structure of this book up. Delving into the minds of the main characters and seeing their completely different worlds and back-stories added so much to the experience of the book and ensured that we saw the two different situations that define the characters’ reactions and choices. So, two times the heartbreak and pain. Yay.
The book was a sucker-punch to every one of my senses. Four stars! Check trigger warnings as always! TDS is on such a wonderful deal right now on Amazon (India), so definitely check it out right now if you’re interested.