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kurbito's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lavendermarch's review against another edition
5.0
Ha! Sonea was totally awesome and won the duel! I'm so glad I'm rereading this series!
zacharysell's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
You can see the improvement in Trudi Canavan's writing with this second book in the Black Magician Trilogy. The world was greatly expanded and characters started to have stronger personalities. An overall enjoyable book. I'm diving right into the finale!
danielvanbeethoven's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
uutopicaa's review against another edition
4.0
Un libro excelente.
A diferencia de la precuela, en este libro se ve más acción. La historia se complica y se explican varias cosas nuevas sobre el mundo de los magos.
Lo único que no me gustó fue la totalmente innecesaria historia de amor. No lo tomen a mal, el personaje masculino es genial, pero innecesario.
Mi edición tenía varios errores de tipeo. Eso me molestó porque se trata de un libro de una editorial muy conocida.
A diferencia de la precuela, en este libro se ve más acción. La historia se complica y se explican varias cosas nuevas sobre el mundo de los magos.
Lo único que no me gustó fue la totalmente innecesaria historia de amor. No lo tomen a mal, el personaje masculino es genial, pero innecesario.
Mi edición tenía varios errores de tipeo. Eso me molestó porque se trata de un libro de una editorial muy conocida.
books_in_the_clouds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
spyralnode's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The second installment of the series was absolutely phenomenal. From the first page it was evident that Trudi Canavan's writing has improved, not only in prose and word choice, but especially in the emotions she creates in the reader. I reacted very strongly especially to the bullying scenes that Sonea experiences, which was both a visceral reaction to cruelty as well as a a response of the mind to the classism that these acts propagated.
There are multiple storylines in this book, and shockingly for such a construction, they are all very interesting. Sonea is as ostracised socially as always, with the intensity of her bullying only increasing as the strength of her peers increases too. She suffers from violent attacks initiated by groups of novices, that amount both to battle as well as humiliating acts and tricks that endanger her academic performance. Dannyl, now an ambassador, is travelling the Otherlands, unknowingly researching the source of the High Lord's black magic. And Rothen and Lorlen each try in their own way, disconnected from their allies, to find a solution that will protect those around them.
I really enjoyed seeing how much the world opens. I am generally not a fan of stories of adventures, especially on ships, but Dannyl's personality, his discoveries and discussions with his scholar friend reminded me of looking for the Deathly Hallows (which actually came out in 2007, this book was released in 2002). There is an aspect of puzzles, putting unknowns together and restablishing Akarrin's route, and I also admired how the author introduced the question of LGBTQ+ into this world. We come to understand how in some societies, including Kyralia, being gay is ridiculed by the community and leads to exclusion, though illegal, and yet how in other countries it leads instead to death. As Dannyl explores his own feelings, it raises a lot of empathy as to the confrontation with themselves that many people experience in the real world.
I celebrated wins with Sonea when it came to taking action against her bullies, but I mostly felt anger and even tears due to the hatred she was experiencing for nothing that she did, but just for being different. And it's not just the young ones. Magicians treat her with disdain due to her not coming from the Houses but the slums instead. They all choose to ignore her fear and suffering at the hands of other novices, especially Regin. It was anger not just towards Regin, but towards the systems that encourage this kind of discrimination, and naturally I couldn't help make a comparison with intolerances I see around me and asking myself what I would do to protect seemingly weaker ones.
This book was brilliant, both for what was written on the page and the reflections it stirred in me. I was reading breathlessly through!
There are multiple storylines in this book, and shockingly for such a construction, they are all very interesting. Sonea is as ostracised socially as always, with the intensity of her bullying only increasing as the strength of her peers increases too. She suffers from violent attacks initiated by groups of novices, that amount both to battle as well as humiliating acts and tricks that endanger her academic performance. Dannyl, now an ambassador, is travelling the Otherlands, unknowingly researching the source of the High Lord's black magic. And Rothen and Lorlen each try in their own way, disconnected from their allies, to find a solution that will protect those around them.
I really enjoyed seeing how much the world opens. I am generally not a fan of stories of adventures, especially on ships, but Dannyl's personality, his discoveries and discussions with his scholar friend reminded me of looking for the Deathly Hallows (which actually came out in 2007, this book was released in 2002). There is an aspect of puzzles, putting unknowns together and restablishing Akarrin's route, and I also admired how the author introduced the question of LGBTQ+ into this world. We come to understand how in some societies, including Kyralia, being gay is ridiculed by the community and leads to exclusion, though illegal, and yet how in other countries it leads instead to death. As Dannyl explores his own feelings, it raises a lot of empathy as to the confrontation with themselves that many people experience in the real world.
I celebrated wins with Sonea when it came to taking action against her bullies, but I mostly felt anger and even tears due to the hatred she was experiencing for nothing that she did, but just for being different. And it's not just the young ones. Magicians treat her with disdain due to her not coming from the Houses but the slums instead. They all choose to ignore her fear and suffering at the hands of other novices, especially Regin. It was anger not just towards Regin, but towards the systems that encourage this kind of discrimination, and naturally I couldn't help make a comparison with intolerances I see around me and asking myself what I would do to protect seemingly weaker ones.
This book was brilliant, both for what was written on the page and the reflections it stirred in me. I was reading breathlessly through!
pwhite5's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75