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katiescho741's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent sequel to Court of Broken Knives. I love Marith and Thalia, both as a couple and individually - they're such intriguing characters in their own ways and all the other main characters are brilliantly written as well. Everyone is morally grey and often just a terrible people.
I love these books for their violence and gore too. I feel like the depictions of war are visceral and dark and show the horrifying side of fighting, but they also have the awesome spectacle of a fantasy battle.
I found myself cheering for one side, not quite sure if I was rooting for the villain or hero.
I've come to enjoy the writing style for it's very immediate feel and I like the changes of perspectives between sections. It means you focus on one set/location for the section instead of hopping around like some fantasy books do.
These books are just a great fantasy series. So dark and grim, while also being infused with epic magic and stories.
I love these books for their violence and gore too. I feel like the depictions of war are visceral and dark and show the horrifying side of fighting, but they also have the awesome spectacle of a fantasy battle.
I found myself cheering for one side, not quite sure if I was rooting for the villain or hero.
I've come to enjoy the writing style for it's very immediate feel and I like the changes of perspectives between sections. It means you focus on one set/location for the section instead of hopping around like some fantasy books do.
These books are just a great fantasy series. So dark and grim, while also being infused with epic magic and stories.
darkskybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Do you like your grimdark with extra grim and extra dark? Anna Smith Spark does not hold back and this, the second in her Empire of Dust trilogy is possibly grimmer and darker than her first.
Continuing the story of Thalia and Marith this one starts off pretty soon after the first book finished. Marith is following in the footsteps of his forebear Amrath, one slaughter/betrayal/invasion at a time. This seems him on the campaign from his birthplace to the titular Tower of Life and Death, the old capital of Amrath. On the way he brutally kills as many people as he can, quite often just for the hell of it.
Things aren't much better in Sorlost where the varying political betrayals seem to gradually erode the city from within.
This book is a rollercoaster of brutality. Everyone here is pretty objectionable. Everyone is morally compromised. This is about the grimest darkest thing I have read and ultimately, I loved every second of it!
Continuing the story of Thalia and Marith this one starts off pretty soon after the first book finished. Marith is following in the footsteps of his forebear Amrath, one slaughter/betrayal/invasion at a time. This seems him on the campaign from his birthplace to the titular Tower of Life and Death, the old capital of Amrath. On the way he brutally kills as many people as he can, quite often just for the hell of it.
Things aren't much better in Sorlost where the varying political betrayals seem to gradually erode the city from within.
This book is a rollercoaster of brutality. Everyone here is pretty objectionable. Everyone is morally compromised. This is about the grimest darkest thing I have read and ultimately, I loved every second of it!
kayshiddenshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Anna Smith Spark growth as an author shows as she excels in storytelling, character work and expanded the story with incredible skill. Easily making this one of the best sequels I've read.
Full review to come
Full review to come
deehaichess's review against another edition
I don't know why but I've been trying to push through this book since I starte it quite some time ago. I remember getting through the first book fine but for some reason I'm just not feeling it with this one. Maybe I'm just not in the right space for this kind of prose, or maybe while I like it dark this is just too so. No shade on Anna's writing, but I'm DNFing this.
sonice's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This was a tough one to rate. It was… aww shit man, BLEAK is the word here. Good fucking God. Hell on friggin earth. Absolutely no hope at all. I made similar comments about book 1, but in retrospect that book felt like a jaunty adventure in comparison to this. This book feels like a goddamned black hole. I swear it made me physically tired at times. But I couldn’t look away, and I couldn’t put it down.
We have a mostly returning cast of characters, who are even more despicable (somehow) than before. We have wars being fought not for freedom, or conquest (in the normal sense), but for complete annihilation and genocide to satisfy the whims of a lunatic. We have geysers of gore, rivers of blood, mountains of the dead. We have Gods and Dragons and DEATH, DEATH, DEATH!!! The problem is that that’s nearly all we have. The characters didn’t really develop any, just carrying on doing whatever vile things they were doing, or trying to do. The plot this time, for that reason, is slightly weaker that the first one.
So, you know, I don’t think I could ever recommend this to... well, anyone. Not really. I feel most people would be super put off by the vulgarity, the relentless violence, and the irredeemable characters. I feel dirty having read the whole thing, like I need to give my mind a metaphorical shower. It’s easy the most relentlessly gruesome and nihilistic thing I’ve encountered to this point.
But am I going to pick up part 3? Bet your ass I am, because despite all that I am also sickly fascinated by this series. Marith and Thalia’s relationship has had my brain spinning in circles since page one. They’re both just SO COMPLETELY BATSHIT. I might just take a month or two before I do so, however. Maybe I’ll go hug some puppies, or fly a kite.
We have a mostly returning cast of characters, who are even more despicable (somehow) than before. We have wars being fought not for freedom, or conquest (in the normal sense), but for complete annihilation and genocide to satisfy the whims of a lunatic. We have geysers of gore, rivers of blood, mountains of the dead. We have Gods and Dragons and DEATH, DEATH, DEATH!!! The problem is that that’s nearly all we have. The characters didn’t really develop any, just carrying on doing whatever vile things they were doing, or trying to do. The plot this time, for that reason, is slightly weaker that the first one.
So, you know, I don’t think I could ever recommend this to... well, anyone. Not really. I feel most people would be super put off by the vulgarity, the relentless violence, and the irredeemable characters. I feel dirty having read the whole thing, like I need to give my mind a metaphorical shower. It’s easy the most relentlessly gruesome and nihilistic thing I’ve encountered to this point.
But am I going to pick up part 3? Bet your ass I am, because despite all that I am also sickly fascinated by this series. Marith and Thalia’s relationship has had my brain spinning in circles since page one. They’re both just SO COMPLETELY BATSHIT. I might just take a month or two before I do so, however. Maybe I’ll go hug some puppies, or fly a kite.
spellsandspaceships's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
2801km's review against another edition
I can't seem to get the emotions right when reading this book. It seems that my whole attention is out of place. This book is not for me.
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
4.0
The Tower of Living and Dying is absolutely EVERYTHING you could want in a fantasy novel. Epic scope and an imagination that never quits for anything.
When I read The Court of Broken Knives a couple of weeks ago, I was blown away by the sheer force of Smith Spark’s writing. The characterisation, the passion, and the endless possibilities of the worldbuilding. It’s been a breath of fresh air from the usual fantasy novels I’ve been known to read. I love Grimdark in all its devious nuances and deplorable characters but this feels different somehow, addictive and binge worthy.
The Tower of Living and Dying continues straight on from The Court of Broken Knives. It felt like seeing an old friend again. The pages opened up like a door into a far away world. I took the journey willingly even although I knew I was in for a fair bit of danger I knew the story would be worth the bloodshed I’d have to endure. It’s a known fact that the second book in a series usually ends up feeling like filler, this really isn’t the case, its fresh, its new and nothing felt forced.
In The Court of Broken Knives we were introduced to a whole cast of characters, some I liked and some I despised. Spark delves further – more motivations, action, and consequence, what makes them tick, what is their Achilles heel? I enjoyed getting to know Thalia more (a personal favourite), I loved how she has now come full circle and has become a bad ass in her own right. She knows her worth and doesn’t bow down to anything, she has developed from being a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly – the Queen of the White Isles with Marith at her side is a force to be reckoned with.
Marith is now King of the White Isles, there’s been a deep personal cost to him ascending his birth right. His Brother and mother are now dead and at his own hands. I don’t care how desensitised you are to war and bloodshed, that’s a cut that is going to scar deep. His reputation precedes him, he’s a drug (Hatha) addict and a bit of a drunk, he’s known for his murderous rampages but is determined to bring back the infamy of his house and he will do it by any means necessary. His public and private life are very different and it made me ponder where exactly he is more comfortable, is it on the battlefield or behind closed doors with Thalia by his side? The thing that I love about epic fantasy is the worldbuilding. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing this world for what it is. Sorlost under the current empire is on its last legs. Things cannot continue as they are. We see more of the land around the White Isles and I was totally there for it. I can’t wait to get stuck into the third and final chapter in this tale of grimdark.
When I read The Court of Broken Knives a couple of weeks ago, I was blown away by the sheer force of Smith Spark’s writing. The characterisation, the passion, and the endless possibilities of the worldbuilding. It’s been a breath of fresh air from the usual fantasy novels I’ve been known to read. I love Grimdark in all its devious nuances and deplorable characters but this feels different somehow, addictive and binge worthy.
The Tower of Living and Dying continues straight on from The Court of Broken Knives. It felt like seeing an old friend again. The pages opened up like a door into a far away world. I took the journey willingly even although I knew I was in for a fair bit of danger I knew the story would be worth the bloodshed I’d have to endure. It’s a known fact that the second book in a series usually ends up feeling like filler, this really isn’t the case, its fresh, its new and nothing felt forced.
In The Court of Broken Knives we were introduced to a whole cast of characters, some I liked and some I despised. Spark delves further – more motivations, action, and consequence, what makes them tick, what is their Achilles heel? I enjoyed getting to know Thalia more (a personal favourite), I loved how she has now come full circle and has become a bad ass in her own right. She knows her worth and doesn’t bow down to anything, she has developed from being a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly – the Queen of the White Isles with Marith at her side is a force to be reckoned with.
Marith is now King of the White Isles, there’s been a deep personal cost to him ascending his birth right. His Brother and mother are now dead and at his own hands. I don’t care how desensitised you are to war and bloodshed, that’s a cut that is going to scar deep. His reputation precedes him, he’s a drug (Hatha) addict and a bit of a drunk, he’s known for his murderous rampages but is determined to bring back the infamy of his house and he will do it by any means necessary. His public and private life are very different and it made me ponder where exactly he is more comfortable, is it on the battlefield or behind closed doors with Thalia by his side? The thing that I love about epic fantasy is the worldbuilding. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing this world for what it is. Sorlost under the current empire is on its last legs. Things cannot continue as they are. We see more of the land around the White Isles and I was totally there for it. I can’t wait to get stuck into the third and final chapter in this tale of grimdark.
thedashdude's review against another edition
5.0
The Court of Broken Knives: 5/5
The pacing was all over the place, but in the best possible way. I never quite understood what direction the story was going, but it always went there with spectacle and wonderful writing.
The Tower of Living and Dying: 5/5
Delivered on the epic conclusion to book 1, intrigue and bloodshed aplenty. Always delivered well.
The House of Sacrifice: 5/5
Epic conclusion to the series. Meandering and with enough atmosphere to carry it through to an ending that shouldn't have worked but landed perfectly and was practically comical in its aptness.
The series never had normal pacing, but was always entertaining. The endings were always great. Anna Smith Spark has an impeccable sense of style. Moody, poetic, and grand.
Why we march and why we die,
And what life means... it’s all a lie.
Death! Death! Death!
The pacing was all over the place, but in the best possible way. I never quite understood what direction the story was going, but it always went there with spectacle and wonderful writing.
The Tower of Living and Dying: 5/5
Delivered on the epic conclusion to book 1, intrigue and bloodshed aplenty. Always delivered well.
The House of Sacrifice: 5/5
Epic conclusion to the series. Meandering and with enough atmosphere to carry it through to an ending that shouldn't have worked but landed perfectly and was practically comical in its aptness.
The series never had normal pacing, but was always entertaining. The endings were always great. Anna Smith Spark has an impeccable sense of style. Moody, poetic, and grand.
Why we march and why we die,
And what life means... it’s all a lie.
Death! Death! Death!
randomseed's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0