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The Spear Cuts Through Water

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The Spear Cuts Through Water

By: Simon Jimenez
Narrated by: Joel De La Fuente
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About this listen

WINNER OF THE IAFA CRAWFORD AWARD - ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, Vulture, Polygon, She Reads, Gizmodo, Kirkus Reviews, The Quill to Live

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family--the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors--hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace. But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom--and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined. Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you--and is like nothing you've ever heard before.

©2021 Simon Jimenez (P)2021 Random House Audio Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Royalty
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This is a really inventive and excellently written fantasy that is a better exercise in literary composition than it is a story. It’s still very good, but I felt it lacked a really strong central momentum. The story itself just wasn’t, for this reader, all that engaging.

Good ideas, pretty original, but doesn’t quite maintain a momentum

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An interesting take of an epic journey, just not for me. The tone is very odd, with 2nd person narration and constant changing POVs, which I don’t think added anything to the book despite having to wade through thoughts of dead bodies or random strangers constantly. I also didn’t feel much connection with the characters.

Bizarre

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The story telling felt immersive as if you yourself had been written into it. I enjoyed the novel way it was told from three different perspectives. The prose was which I both enjoyed and did not enjoy at the same time. The narrator really brought the tale to life, without the audiobook I do not think I would have finished it or at least it would’ve taken that much longer to complete. I both liked and disliked the how descriptive the writing is, I felt I could clearly imagine the world/s in my mind, but it was sadly not a page turner for me as the writing felt somewhat disjointed and was difficult to read through. I thoroughly enjoyed the telling through the audiobook format and recommend those who like the story/concept and were not the biggest fan of the writing style to listen to the audiobook. I feel like it shines when spoken rather than read on a page.

Fantastical multi-faceted telling of a tale of long ago

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Does some unique narration with semi second person and inner monologues which I imagine might be a bit jarring but stick with it as its worth it.

sticks the landing

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The story is good, but it is written in a very poetic way, which means it includes unnecessary descriptions or tangents around the main story. That makes it a bit tricky to listen as an audiobook. 2 or 3 minutes to describe what a side character, that we don't know and we frankly don't care about, is doing. It makes for a beautiful use of language, but quite difficult to follow as an audiobook, because it moves very slowly.

Good story, lots of unnecessary tangents

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