thereadingwren's review against another edition
4.0
I really love the way this was told. It was basically one long conversation and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I really loved the dynamics between characters and I was just thoroughly entertained the whole way through.
lindsy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
joliendelandsheer's review against another edition
3.0
My rating of the 4 novellas averages out to a little more than 4, so that's what I'm sticking with here. As for the individual novellas, here are my ratings:
- The Black Tides of Heaven: 4.5 stars
- The Red Threads of Fortune: 4 stars
- The Descent of Monsters: 4.5 stars
- The Ascent to Godhood: 3.5 stars
Overall, I really enjoyed this series of novellas. The world is fascinating, intricate, yet easy to understand. The characters are complex, flawed and interesting. Out of all the stories, The Black Tides of Heaven was my favorite. It's the longest out of the four, as Neon Yang needed the time to show you the world itself. Akeha was also my favorite character, and this was his/their POV.
What I find interesting is that Neon Yang took the time to try out different writing styles. One is a story spanning many years, allowing you to get to know the world and first characters. One a story spanning only a few days. One is more a collection of investigative reports & letters (which I loved!), and lastly, we have a story that's being told to "us" (wherein the reader is playing the role of a character, if that makes sense). I liked this exploration of different writing styles within the same series and universe, I don't think I've ever read anything like it.
I have to admit that I found the final novella quite disappointing. We've been building up to something for 3 stories and I can't help but feel like we were denied of the story's climax. Especially since it was so short as well!
Overall, I'd highly recommend this series.
- The Black Tides of Heaven: 4.5 stars
- The Red Threads of Fortune: 4 stars
- The Descent of Monsters: 4.5 stars
- The Ascent to Godhood: 3.5 stars
Overall, I really enjoyed this series of novellas. The world is fascinating, intricate, yet easy to understand. The characters are complex, flawed and interesting. Out of all the stories, The Black Tides of Heaven was my favorite. It's the longest out of the four, as Neon Yang needed the time to show you the world itself. Akeha was also my favorite character, and this was his/their POV.
What I find interesting is that Neon Yang took the time to try out different writing styles. One is a story spanning many years, allowing you to get to know the world and first characters. One a story spanning only a few days. One is more a collection of investigative reports & letters (which I loved!), and lastly, we have a story that's being told to "us" (wherein the reader is playing the role of a character, if that makes sense). I liked this exploration of different writing styles within the same series and universe, I don't think I've ever read anything like it.
I have to admit that I found the final novella quite disappointing. We've been building up to something for 3 stories and I can't help but feel like we were denied of the story's climax. Especially since it was so short as well!
Overall, I'd highly recommend this series.
kapellosaur's review against another edition
3.0
A good end to the series, though I felt the ending was quite abrupt. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been more familiar with the previous items in the series - I read them all for the first time within the last three months but even then I found I was having to use my Kindle's search function to confirm who people were and their relationships with each other.
ok7a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
laszloluvr's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
khobb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ninsiana0's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Read THE ASCENT TO GODHOOD if you love drunk protagonists, reminiscing about the past, dancing girls, espionage, ending at the beginning, f**ked up families, young queer love, unlikable people & beginning at the end.
scrow1022's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't review the previous book before reading this one and I should have - I started off not entirely certain of who was speaking, but still interested and enjoying the different perspective to the whole saga. Then I went back and reviewed book 3 and oh, so much more made sense and it's heartbreaking.
katzuyas's review against another edition
2.0
this one did not annoy me as much with it’s plot or characters, those were pretty ok yet not spectacular and utterly predictable, but the format? not my thing at all.
good thing it was such a short read, I’m glad to be done with this series. 2 stars
good thing it was such a short read, I’m glad to be done with this series. 2 stars