Review: The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 stars.

“𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓸𝓸𝓻𝓼 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷, 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓷.”

TL;DR:
Characters: Small cast, strong connection, complex relationships
Writing: Simple but beautiful prose, mythic/folklore feel, not a fan of the interjections from the "other book"
Plot: Combination of historical fiction and fantasy, integrates ideas of colonialism and "progress" into a fantastical plotline, quieter plot but no less entertaining

As I mentioned in the TL;DR, this novel is a little quieter than you might imagine when you first read the synopsis. If you're expecting a breakneck pace and exciting action, you may be disappointed. However, the beautiful prose and intriguing view on portal fantasy absolutely makes up for it, in my opinion.

The pros:
-interesting concept
-complicated and multi-faceted characters
-commentary on colonialism and progress

The cons:
-the alternating of the narrative and inserts from another book
-the pacing every once in a while?

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