Summary
They enslaved humanity three thousand years ago. Tall, strong, perfect, superhuman and near immortal they rule from their glittering palaces in the eternal city in the centre of the world. They are called Those Above by their subjects. They enforce their will with fire and sword.
Twenty five years ago mankind mustered an army and rose up against them, only to be slaughtered in a terrible battle. Hope died that day, but hatred survived. Whispers of another revolt are beginning to stir in the hearts of the oppressed; a woman, widowed in the war, who has dedicated her life to revenge; the general, the only man to ever defeat one of Those Above in single combat summoned fourth to raise a new legion; and a boy killer who rises from the gutter to lead an uprising in the capital.
Review
Those Above was a very different read for me, I love reading about Empires and times before the 21st Century and one of my all time favourite is Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. I can read that book a number of times and still love it.
Those Above has a number of unique qualities about it, the characters, their past and the build up to what they all want. Throughout this novel we see the perspective of four characters; the God-Killer, Bas. Reverend Mother, Eudokia. Calla of the Red Keep and Thistle, a boy born in poverty but has so much to learn. At certain points of the novel I felt confused because of the alternating views, from Aurelia to the Roost and many others, that's not all, it felts like four novels put into one book. The characters don't meet one another, don't interact and I was waiting to see more of that, yes at times Bas and the Reverend Mother met, but that was only ONE time. The most interesting view points were from Bas and the Reverend Mother, she is totally bad-ass and I love it. Bas, I need more to read about him, every chapter I finished I hoped the next one would be of his, yup I love his character. I see the reason behind having Calla POV, because she is the only one who works for one of the Eternal, one of Those Above, and was needed in this book. Thistle... I did not see the point of him even being in the novel at first, however after 3/4 of the novel we see a change and one that I feel will impact a lot in the second novel.
The first few chapters were mainly focused on who the characters were, their characteristics and their thoughts on everything going on, but we don't know what's going on until a couple of more chapters. The plot line doesn't change, throughout the novel it keeps the same pace and builds up to next to nothing. Though the plot-line doesn't change much, you want to finish it and makes you want the next book because this novel feels like a build up to something much bigger. And I want to know what that is. We see the characters in their own habits but certain event in the last few chapters change that, characters that are merely a supporting one change, turn on the main protagonist.
Daniel Polansky has done a great job at setting the atmosphere, the battlefields, the parties, the Roost and so much more. I felt the change in each perspective to fit the characters whereabouts and I loved that. Each characters had so many different qualities and that brought something to the novel, despite the slow plot-line, I wanted to know what happens to each of them, how they change and react to events. Though this novel is slow-paced and a tad confusing, I hope the second novel has more action and the main protagonists interact more. I for one will be reading the next novel, because who doesn't like a bad-ass Arch-priestess/ Reverend Mother and a Caracal who hates being called that, also known as Bas.
The first few chapters were mainly focused on who the characters were, their characteristics and their thoughts on everything going on, but we don't know what's going on until a couple of more chapters. The plot line doesn't change, throughout the novel it keeps the same pace and builds up to next to nothing. Though the plot-line doesn't change much, you want to finish it and makes you want the next book because this novel feels like a build up to something much bigger. And I want to know what that is. We see the characters in their own habits but certain event in the last few chapters change that, characters that are merely a supporting one change, turn on the main protagonist.
Daniel Polansky has done a great job at setting the atmosphere, the battlefields, the parties, the Roost and so much more. I felt the change in each perspective to fit the characters whereabouts and I loved that. Each characters had so many different qualities and that brought something to the novel, despite the slow plot-line, I wanted to know what happens to each of them, how they change and react to events. Though this novel is slow-paced and a tad confusing, I hope the second novel has more action and the main protagonists interact more. I for one will be reading the next novel, because who doesn't like a bad-ass Arch-priestess/ Reverend Mother and a Caracal who hates being called that, also known as Bas.
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