Rating - ⭐⭐
"When a woman with perfect memory sets out to solve a riddle, the threads she tugs on could bring a whole city crashing down. The God-King who made her is at risk, and his other servants will do anything to stop her.
To become the God-King's Amanuensis, Manet had to master all seven perfections, developing her body and mind to the peak of human performance. She remembers everything that has happened to her, in absolute clarity, a gift that will surely drive her mad. But before she goes, Manet must unravel a secret which threatens not only the carefully prepared myths of the God-King's ascent, but her own identity and the nature of truth itself."
The Seventh Perfection is a standalone fantasy novella by Daniel Polansky.
My dislike for this comes down to one thing: the writing style. I get that the author probably just wanted to tell the story in a non-traditional format, but this was not the way. The story is written through a series of interactions the MC has, but the kicker here is that the MC has no POV. You don't get a single line of dialogue from the MC, only the responses from the people they are interacting with.
Now, this doesn't work for several reasons. First of all, you are missing out on so much critical information that could have been provided if the MC was fully present. Second of all, the coherence of the story is thrown out of whack. It's like you're being fed bits and pieces of food and not a full meal.
Also, because of the number of POVs you get, there is a severe lack of character depth and you are not given the chance to feel any sort of emotions for them. There was one chapter that was written traditionally, and I got more information from that chapter than the other 98% of the book.
You tried, but I don't think this was a success.
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