#155 in Fantasy
The Spear Cuts Through Water
- 373
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel
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About the book
The Spear Cuts Through Water is a 2022 fantasy novel by Filipino-American writer Simon Jimenez. The novel contains a frame story about a grandchild listening to stories of the Old Country; it also tells the story of two men who journey across the Old Country with a dying goddess. It is Jimenez's second novel. The novel received critical acclaim, winning the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel as well as the Crawford Award. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Ignyte Award and Ursula K. Le Guin Prize.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 244 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 57% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 8.3 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 244 | 100% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“4.25🌟 A book that takes you on a journey, through its brilliant and unique prose. The most striking part of this book is its innovative use of perspective and prose. It's unlike anything else I've read in terms of storytelling, and can take a bit of disorientation and re-reading to grasp how the story's being told- an investment well worth it in my opinion. The prose lent itself to creating a immersive and magical reading experience that left me feeling entangled with the characters and story. The stories of established characters and the relationships they had with themselves, each othe…”
“I really wanted to love this book, but clearly, since it took me two months to read, something didn’t quite click. The book is written as though you’re in the audience of a play watching the story unfold on stage, with occasional fourth wall breaks. I’d never read something written this way and maybe that played into my struggle with this. Despite the bad rating, I wouldn’t tell someone to stay away from this book. There are a lot of really cool elements to it, particularly in the worldbuilding, and I could see some people finding an instant connection to the story and flying right through it.…”
“Look, I'd been thinking of leaving my book club because we'd just had a run of duds, and I hadn't really attached to anything they picked this year. But this? This is a book that I might have passed up that has become definitely in my top three books this year. Someone in the club referred to it as a dream within a play within a myth, and that's the best I can describe it. The writing is fantastic, the mythology raw, and the romance subtle and beautiful. I love the chorus elements. I love the weave of the different narratives. I loved this book. It took me a long while to get through because…”
Frequently asked
What is The Spear Cuts Through Water rated?
8.3 out of 10, from 244 reader ratings across 1 independent sources.
Is The Spear Cuts Through Water worth reading?
Readers give it 8.3/10 from 244 ratings, which puts it ahead of 23 % of the Fantasy shelf.
How long does it take to read The Spear Cuts Through Water?
About 7 hours at an average reading pace — 373 pages.
Where does The Spear Cuts Through Water rank?
#155 in Fantasy on the current snapshot.
How long is The Spear Cuts Through Water?
It has 373 pages — shorter than 74% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 8.3, the closest to this book.
