I used to be an avid fantasy reader, but after a string of really bad YA fantasy books I essentially gave up the genre. I finally decided to break my hiatus and read Finnikin of the Rock because Melina Marchetta is a total genius.
The beginning was a bit confusing, a little reminiscent of Jellicoe Road. But once I got going, basically after the prologue, I was totally into it. Finnikin was huge deviation from Marchetta’s other books. It felt like I was being flung back centuries, into a different time but not necessarily an alien world. And at the core of this alternate universe was what I’ve come to expect from Marchetta. That is complex characters and brilliant relationships binding them together.
The book follows the journey of a young man, Finnikin, who once belonged to the thriving kingdom, Lumatere. When the story picks up the kingdom has been cursed, the royal family murdered and its people, now exiles, scattered across the surrounding nations. When he meets a mysterious girl, Evanjalin, he begins a quest leading him back to his fallen kingdom.
The world that Marchetta creates is both barbaric and tragic. It is definitely not for the faint at heart. Marchetta describes the brutal acts against the exiles in such a way that the inhumanity of the acts comes across but it’s not overly graphic. She paints a broad picture and lets your imagination fill in the details. At first, I thought some of the violence in the story was a bit unnecessary and too much. But it all goes towards the feel of the book. Finnikin’s world is definitely not a 21st century alternate universe, yet it isn’t exactly an Anglo-Saxon era either. But it is a time period that is definitely uncivilized.
The story had a perfect balance of shatteringly tragic moments and then heart warmingly happy moments. It seems strange to say, but the tragedy within the story makes the happy moments all the more emotional. You can’t really understand how important a reunion is unless you know what kind of sacrifices it required to get to that point.
I loved how Marchetta was able to create dimension in her characters. Sometimes they would be light-hearted comedic relief and yet other times they’d have this soul-breaking vulnerability. One of my favorite characters was Frio, a young Lumatere thief prisoner turned companion to Finnikin’s group. He’s a prickly character, hateful and suspicious of people. And yet there’s another side to him that’s almost naïve, vulnerable and fiercely loyal. A couple of times the story was told from his perspective and those were among my favoritest parts.
I absolutely loved the parts in which Finnikin was a blockhead and Eva was a jealous bint. And while Finnikin is the title character in the story, Marchetta maintains her girl power-ness in Eva and other strong female characters. Eva is a complex character, conniving and manipulative yet she is also compassionate and vulnerable. The whole mystery was pretty obvious from the beginning, but like Jellicoe Road the journey was totally worth it.
Finnikin was a so different from Marchetta’s books in some ways- fantasy genre, title male character. Yet she maintained her penance for developing strong relationships, couples and characters you can’t help but root for and a story you wish would never end. And of course she provided fuel for my latest conspiracy theory – Perridora. No idea what I’m talking about? Read the book. It’s totally there and almost as awesome as Dramione.
The beginning was a bit confusing, a little reminiscent of Jellicoe Road. But once I got going, basically after the prologue, I was totally into it. Finnikin was huge deviation from Marchetta’s other books. It felt like I was being flung back centuries, into a different time but not necessarily an alien world. And at the core of this alternate universe was what I’ve come to expect from Marchetta. That is complex characters and brilliant relationships binding them together.
The book follows the journey of a young man, Finnikin, who once belonged to the thriving kingdom, Lumatere. When the story picks up the kingdom has been cursed, the royal family murdered and its people, now exiles, scattered across the surrounding nations. When he meets a mysterious girl, Evanjalin, he begins a quest leading him back to his fallen kingdom.
The world that Marchetta creates is both barbaric and tragic. It is definitely not for the faint at heart. Marchetta describes the brutal acts against the exiles in such a way that the inhumanity of the acts comes across but it’s not overly graphic. She paints a broad picture and lets your imagination fill in the details. At first, I thought some of the violence in the story was a bit unnecessary and too much. But it all goes towards the feel of the book. Finnikin’s world is definitely not a 21st century alternate universe, yet it isn’t exactly an Anglo-Saxon era either. But it is a time period that is definitely uncivilized.
The story had a perfect balance of shatteringly tragic moments and then heart warmingly happy moments. It seems strange to say, but the tragedy within the story makes the happy moments all the more emotional. You can’t really understand how important a reunion is unless you know what kind of sacrifices it required to get to that point.
I loved how Marchetta was able to create dimension in her characters. Sometimes they would be light-hearted comedic relief and yet other times they’d have this soul-breaking vulnerability. One of my favorite characters was Frio, a young Lumatere thief prisoner turned companion to Finnikin’s group. He’s a prickly character, hateful and suspicious of people. And yet there’s another side to him that’s almost naïve, vulnerable and fiercely loyal. A couple of times the story was told from his perspective and those were among my favoritest parts.
I absolutely loved the parts in which Finnikin was a blockhead and Eva was a jealous bint. And while Finnikin is the title character in the story, Marchetta maintains her girl power-ness in Eva and other strong female characters. Eva is a complex character, conniving and manipulative yet she is also compassionate and vulnerable. The whole mystery was pretty obvious from the beginning, but like Jellicoe Road the journey was totally worth it.
Finnikin was a so different from Marchetta’s books in some ways- fantasy genre, title male character. Yet she maintained her penance for developing strong relationships, couples and characters you can’t help but root for and a story you wish would never end. And of course she provided fuel for my latest conspiracy theory – Perridora. No idea what I’m talking about? Read the book. It’s totally there and almost as awesome as Dramione.
~Ja~
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