Fantasy would probably be one of the genres that will forever put me on edge because of its unpredictability. Not that I expect predictability, but you know what I mean. Like the name of the genre suggests, the possibility of what it is to be offered from a book could be endless. My greatest fear (but not irrational) would be my inability to let myself loose in the story. And it could be for many reasons: plot, characters, lingo. More often than not, a fantasy-based story warrants for out-of-the-world plot (and I meant that in a quite literal sense), characterisation and jargons alien to the readers. It could be overwhelming if the author doesn't know what he/she is doing. It’s a fine line, really. You could thrive on it or send your readers to the opposite direction. Well.
With all that’s been explained, what would Graceling be to me? No doubt my 5 stars would have clued you the obvious. To say Graceling was an enjoyable read is an understatement. To me, this is the book you can never get enough. 471 pages altogether and when it ended, I still wanted more. I was insatiable. Still is, actually. And the fact that I didn't get overwhelmed by the plot, characters and the lingo of the book made it even more an entertaining read.
What I liked about the book
1. It was easy to get into the story and this Grace thing got me hooked.
2. Characters were superb. It almost impossible not to like all of them. And I mean all, even the evil ones. Great characterisation, I would say.
3. Katsa and Po. Katsa's a badass and Po's a charmer. Together, they were hilarious. I nearly died laughing reading their exchange of banters.
4. The story. The plot unfolded rather neatly. Though I wouldn't claim it to be totally unpredictable, it didn't stop me from flipping pages after pages. And the story was set at a nice pace, too. It had been a nice reading experience.
5. Po.
6. Did I mention Katsa was a kickass female lead and I loved everything bout it? I know some people have problem with Katsa and are irritated that she doesn't want to get married and all, but isn't that only reinforced her character even more for what she is? Katsa was truly a badass, that woman was.
This is easily one of my favourite fantasy reads of the year.
