Alex Keane reviewed Floating World by Axie Oh
Really Fun Fantasy
4 stars
The pitch I read for this book was "Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in a Korean Mythology Retelling". Shadow and Bone isn't a familiar one to me, but the other two really came through.
Ren is an orphan running from a tragic past, performing in a troupe with her adopted family. Sunho is a mercenary who awoke two years ago with no memory of his past except for his need to find his lost brother.
When Ren needs to leave home to find a cure for her Uncle after a demon attack and her hidden powers cause Imperial soldiers to hire Sunho to find her, can they both achieve their goals?
I really liked the parallel stories told from Ren's and Sunho's points of view, and the way that reveals about Ren's and Sunho's pasts unfolded in intertwined ways. The side characters of Tag and Yurhee, rebellious scoundrels who …
The pitch I read for this book was "Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in a Korean Mythology Retelling". Shadow and Bone isn't a familiar one to me, but the other two really came through.
Ren is an orphan running from a tragic past, performing in a troupe with her adopted family. Sunho is a mercenary who awoke two years ago with no memory of his past except for his need to find his lost brother.
When Ren needs to leave home to find a cure for her Uncle after a demon attack and her hidden powers cause Imperial soldiers to hire Sunho to find her, can they both achieve their goals?
I really liked the parallel stories told from Ren's and Sunho's points of view, and the way that reveals about Ren's and Sunho's pasts unfolded in intertwined ways. The side characters of Tag and Yurhee, rebellious scoundrels who worked with Sunho before are well fleshed out just as Ren and Sunho are.
As someone who's played through Final Fantasy 7, the titular Floating World and the Under World, the slums beneath, really felt like a great homage to Midgar and there were a couple of scenes with details you could tell were added with love for other fans.
Overall, this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to the next book.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley