dragoninwinterfell's reviews
103 reviews

The most important parts of any book for me are the characters. This trilogy features a large cast of very unique characters who are brimming with personality, flaws, virtues, vices, pridefulness, insecurities, and humanity. The character work in this is second only to George R. R. Martin in its depth and authentic feel. MR really makes a world full of dragons and fire wielding makes them feel believable and rich as the characters are going through struggles, forming friendships, experiencing losses and hard truths, and striving toward triumph. Through each twist in the narrative, the characters are guiding the way rather than just being pushed forward with the plot. Every action has consequences and things that happen in the first novel were still strongly impacting the last.
My only complaint with the trilogy as a whole is the handling of rape. In the first novel, a character is raped, but afterward that rape is framed as though he was the rapist rather than the victim. I'm wondering if MR knew a rape had occurred but couldn't fathom the idea that a man could be raped by a woman. So she referred to it as him raping the woman who kidnapped, drugged, and forced sex on him. Since this was written decades ago, I wonder if the author's views have changed on this subject.
Changing views from different eras aside, this series has been excellent. I'm surprised I don't see it discussed more often.

Morgan Is My Name is far from the first Arthurian novel I've read and even far from the first novel with a heavy focus on Morgan. But somehow, Sophie Keetch managed to make the well-known details of this legendary figure feel fresh and new. The way she delved into the culture the character lived -- showing how she was formed and restrained -- gave added depth to the character that had me forgetting that she wasn't entirely the author's own creation.

I particularly loved how Morgan's development and struggle centered on the realities of life for women in her time period. While her social status gave her access to education and resources to further her interests, her ability to pursue her goals and ambitions was controlled by the men around her whether it was her stepfather or husband. This, of course, is a well-tread topic in fiction. What sets this novel's depiction of women's struggles above many others is the way the female characters were able to persevere and continue to find joy in ways that still felt realistic to the culture and universe they lived in. For example, when Morgan is sent away from home by her stepfather as a punishment, her mother -- who can't stop him -- arranges for her to be sent to a nunnery that she has a long history of providing charity to as well as a good relationship with the nuns. In this way, though she is powerless to stop her husband from doing many things, she is able to work around him in helping her daughter find a happy home that also provides her with a quality education in the subjects she's interested in. As an echo of this, Morgan must also find workarounds to pursue her interests that are within her power when she is limited by her husband. These types of situations where women had to find ways to support each other and themselves while being forced to navigate within restrictions they had no control over were very common. In showing the character dealing with struggles in this way, Morgan's story felt very real even with the magical elements.

And it goes without saying that Vanessa Kirby's narration of this was flawless. She brought a very atmospheric tone to the novel that felt otherworldly. As the series continues, I hope Kirby remains the narrator throughout.

I DNFed this one. It wasn't even a rage quit. I just gradually stopped going back to it until I realized that I wasn't reading it anymore when I noticed that it was still listed on my Goodreads profile.

The characters were very shallow and one-note. Nothing that happened felt like it held any weight since it was impossible for me to get attached to any of the characters. This is a real shame for me because I was excited to start this one because the cover is gorgeous and the summary sounded interesting.