Review: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Series: The Gilded Wolves #1
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Edition: eBook/audiobook (386 pages)
Publisher: Wednesday Books (January 15, 2019)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
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Synopsis

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My thoughts

The Gilded Wolves is a magical adventure featuring a group of outcasts using their talents to acquire magical objects. It’s a sweeping tale about identity, friendships, marginalization and who gets to have access to power.

I mainly listened to The Gilded Wolves as an audiobook and I loved it! Generally, I find that with books with big ensemble casts, audiobooks with at least two different narrators help me in imagining characters as complex people and in keeping them apart. Hearing the different accents of the characters added such a rich texture to the reading experience and made the people and the world feel a lot more alive. So if you’re an audiobook person, definitely give this a shot!

Plot and Pacing

I loved the heist plot! The book immediately throws the reader into the action and remains very fast-paced. Overall, I was fine with the pacing, but I did feel that it was a bit off at the end, there was just too much happening at once and it made it hard for me to follow what exactly was going on.

Something you might not enjoy is that there are quite a few plot threads and themes running parallel to each other. The heist remains at the centre throughout, but as the characters get introduced their pasts and dreams play a bigger role, subsequently complicating the plot. Personally, I enjoy stories that weave their characters firmly into the main plot, but I understand it might take away from the fun of a pure heist story.

The author does a great job of using the fantastical-historical setting to comment on both historical and current real-life issues, weaving the character’s experiences of racism, colourism and antisemitism into the plot and fabric of the world. It’s always in off-hand comments from others and references from the characters themselves that the discrimination is revealed, showing how truly normalised it is for them. 

Overall, I kind of wish there had been more time spent on describing the current world as a whole and not just the historical lore of the order. While all individual places were quite vividly described, I was left wanting to know more about the world at large and the implications of the magic system. So this isn’t really a negative point because it’s me saying “I want more of this!”

Characters

I loved the found-family relationships the characters have to each other, they’re all outcasts for one reason or another and all have their individual wishes, fears and desires that intertwine and create a beautiful mess.

However, I wish there had been stronger character development. The only thing that really happens is that more information is revealed about the characters, which at first glance made me think there had been a proper arc, but looking back there wasn’t really!

While Severin’s grande personality and skill as a treasure-hunter ( he gave me major Danny Ocean vibes) was fun and certainly made for a great lead, my favourite character is Zofia! She’s a Jewish-Polish mathematician and her ability to recognize patterns and think logically comes in handy multiple times, saving everyone around her. Because of this, she truly got to shine in her own unique way and her skillset intertwined with the magic system and the world at large. She’s quiet and introverted and not really the kind of character heists usually feature as complex people, usually being degraded to the nerdy kid, but in The Gilded Wolves Zofia is an accepted member of the team despite her fear that everyone might secretly hate her.

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This book is for you if…

…you enjoy a colourful cast of characters with unique personalities and strengths.
…you enjoy heist plots and magical mysteries.
…you’re looking for a historical fantasy adventure that centres marginalized voices and experiences and interrogates who has the access to power.

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