charlibirb's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really enjoy the jumping around in time a bunch - it was hard to follow, and I started giving up. I enjoyed the 1st 2 books much more - I wish book 3-4 were more consistent.
Book 3 & 4 come as a pair. You could stop after reading book 2.
Book 3 & 4 come as a pair. You could stop after reading book 2.
thedashdude's review against another edition
3.0
A review of the whole series:
1: Heroes Die is great. The dynamic between the two worlds is great, and all the forces on Caine play off each other in great ways, and Caine himself is a great protagonist. Gritty, bloody, and very funny. This is the best book in the series. The ending is very conclusive, and the book works great standalone.
2: Blade of Tyshalle is good. Shockingly introspective, but still a violent action filled book. The competing forces around Caine are just as good as in the first book, if not better. The black goo felt out of place, and didn't sit well with me as a plot device. Not as good as the first book, but still enjoyable. The ending was so conclusive I wasn't sure how the series could continue.
3: Caine Black Knife is just okay. The flashback sections are great, but the main timeline is pretty weak. Caine doesn't have the tension around his actions that made the first two books so good, and the actual main story isn't super engaging. This book has to be read with book 4, as they are sort of two sides of the same story, with book 4 having the real ending.
4: Caine's Law is the weakest book in the series. While it was interesting trying to figure out how the scenes presented tied back into Caine Black Knife, they didn't make for an interesting story. There was no tension around Caine's actions, and even less of an actual goal. Lots of random scenes trying to justify the ending and talking about how neat horses are. The ending it does give you is not noticeably better than the one in Blade of Tyshalle. Caine is still a fun protagonist, and piecing everything together is neat, but the book isn't great.
I'd treat the first book as a standalone, and if you are interested in reading more and seeing a more fitting conclusion, read the first two as a duology. The last two should really just be read if you loved Caine as a protagonist and would read anything about him. I don't regret reading them, but I can't say I really recommend them.
1: Heroes Die is great. The dynamic between the two worlds is great, and all the forces on Caine play off each other in great ways, and Caine himself is a great protagonist. Gritty, bloody, and very funny. This is the best book in the series. The ending is very conclusive, and the book works great standalone.
2: Blade of Tyshalle is good. Shockingly introspective, but still a violent action filled book. The competing forces around Caine are just as good as in the first book, if not better. The black goo felt out of place, and didn't sit well with me as a plot device. Not as good as the first book, but still enjoyable. The ending was so conclusive I wasn't sure how the series could continue.
3: Caine Black Knife is just okay. The flashback sections are great, but the main timeline is pretty weak. Caine doesn't have the tension around his actions that made the first two books so good, and the actual main story isn't super engaging. This book has to be read with book 4, as they are sort of two sides of the same story, with book 4 having the real ending.
4: Caine's Law is the weakest book in the series. While it was interesting trying to figure out how the scenes presented tied back into Caine Black Knife, they didn't make for an interesting story. There was no tension around Caine's actions, and even less of an actual goal. Lots of random scenes trying to justify the ending and talking about how neat horses are. The ending it does give you is not noticeably better than the one in Blade of Tyshalle. Caine is still a fun protagonist, and piecing everything together is neat, but the book isn't great.
I'd treat the first book as a standalone, and if you are interested in reading more and seeing a more fitting conclusion, read the first two as a duology. The last two should really just be read if you loved Caine as a protagonist and would read anything about him. I don't regret reading them, but I can't say I really recommend them.
mferrante83's review against another edition
3.0
This really only felt like half a book. I've since started Caine's Law and hopefully I'll see a conclusion to the story started here.
jercox's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than book two. Compelling dual story lines, woven together well.
kejadlen's review against another edition
4.0
The first book was by far the best, but I enjoyed Caine Black Knife more than Blade of Tyshalle. The plot is simpler, and it's nice to get both more advancing of the present day story while reading about the adventure that made him Caine.
laura_tenfingers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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
4.0
This is 100% Caine and he is 100% badass. Badass as in, bad guy and a complete asshole. And thoroughly grimdark awesome.
This installment of Caine's Adventures is half creation myth and half I'm too old for this shit. We learn about the Adventure that made him a star way back when, alternating with a present where he's back in that same place seeing the aftermath. Lots of people want him dead and he kicks a lot of ass and gets his ass kicked too.
I enjoyed learning about what he did in the past which is often referenced in the first two books but without explanation. The best part for me were his non-stop quips and his I'm a badass asshole running commentary. Solid gold stuff.
The only thing I didn't love was that for too much of the book his past is being referenced before it has been fully unveiled so we'll meet somebody who wants him dead because of that one thing but we don't know who this person is or what that one thing was. As the book progresses this gets sorted out but as first it's rocky. It definitely made me want to reread the series though.
If you're more a fan of Hari than Caine you will be disappointed. We don't get even a whisper from him. I didn't miss him but some people might.
Definitely reading the next one.
This installment of Caine's Adventures is half creation myth and half I'm too old for this shit. We learn about the Adventure that made him a star way back when, alternating with a present where he's back in that same place seeing the aftermath. Lots of people want him dead and he kicks a lot of ass and gets his ass kicked too.
I enjoyed learning about what he did in the past which is often referenced in the first two books but without explanation. The best part for me were his non-stop quips and his I'm a badass asshole running commentary. Solid gold stuff.
The only thing I didn't love was that for too much of the book his past is being referenced before it has been fully unveiled so we'll meet somebody who wants him dead because of that one thing but we don't know who this person is or what that one thing was. As the book progresses this gets sorted out but as first it's rocky. It definitely made me want to reread the series though.
If you're more a fan of Hari than Caine you will be disappointed. We don't get even a whisper from him. I didn't miss him but some people might.
Definitely reading the next one.
iris_sanguinea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, and Cursing
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Genocide
Caine's origin story is the brutal near-genocide of another species; one wsw female character's magic and strength is tied to her being ~untouched~ by men, and she loses it off-screen via sexual violence;modernwaterrider's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mlejoy's review against another edition
3.0
ugh. I'm conflicted on this one. On one hand, by book three of this series, you know exactly what you're getting into with Caine. On the other hand, this book was far more brutal, unrelenting, vulgar, disgusting and inhuman than the others. At least in the other two books there was a break from Caine being Caine. We had Hari and his relationship with his wife and daughter, we saw him care about people. We saw him have friends and a real life - there were other characters who were in the story.
Caine Black Knife is 99% just Caine being an asshole, killing shit and being tortured. There's pretty much nothing humanizing about him. I'm not one to usually be queasy about violence in books, but this one was just too much for me - which is ironic because I thought Caine was a bit of a cry-baby pussy in book 2. I wish I had just read Heroes Die and stopped there - but I bought all the books, so I'll take a shot at the last one and see how it goes.
Caine Black Knife is 99% just Caine being an asshole, killing shit and being tortured. There's pretty much nothing humanizing about him. I'm not one to usually be queasy about violence in books, but this one was just too much for me - which is ironic because I thought Caine was a bit of a cry-baby pussy in book 2. I wish I had just read Heroes Die and stopped there - but I bought all the books, so I'll take a shot at the last one and see how it goes.
recursivehaiku's review against another edition
4.0
How i rate books:
5- Blew me away
4- Loved it
3- Liked it
2- Disliked it
1- Hated it
Rating: 3.75 / 5
Before we begin, here are some reasons NOT to read this book if you are not into these things:
- Lots and lots of swearing. Very creative swearing, granted. But probably three times more swearing than in other books nonetheless.
- Violence is the solution to everything (due to the attitude of our main PoV).
- Graphic torture scenes.
My two cents:
This book is a lot shorter than the previous installment. It also dispenses with the metaphysical themes. We get a fairly straight forward tale of action, intrigue and betrayal. But, the story is told from two perspectives. One is the 25-year-old Hari Michaelson during his breakthrough mission. The other perspective is the 50-something-year-old Caine (no, not Hari; Caine) being pulled into a hairy situation by one of his acquaintances.
The timeline from the past is well put together and gets resolved satisfyingly. The timeline from the present however feels a bit rushed. We get presented lots and lots of information, which explains the situation that Caine finds himself in. But sadly, the present timeline is somewhat rushed. It could probably have benefitted from around 100 or so more pages. Lots of characters, some of them supposed to be central to the narrative, are briefly introduced only to be never mentioned again or not play a role at all. Maybe this is due to set up for the last book. But still, not elegantly handled here.
Besides the issues of the present timeline, this book is somewhat of a return to form, like in the first installment. However, in terms of the feeling, the first novel was a standalone movie and this book is the third episode of an ongoing show. Much of what happens here is exposition, topped off with a giant cliffhanger. Would this series have ended after this book, it would have left a sour taste in my mouth.
The last point worth mentioning is that this is very much a Caine novel. The distinctive narrative voice is back, and it is great as always. Caine disrespects people, kills people, betrays people, just makes life miserable for people. All while doing it in a highly entertaining way (he is, after all, an actor). Action is always only a few pages away, and it is superbly written, as should be expected from a Caine book.
I hope that the last book is a step up from this novel. All in all this thing could have been longer, but after the last book i can't blame MWS for cutting down on the page numbers. A solid and enjoyable read, but not as good as the first two novels.
5- Blew me away
4- Loved it
3- Liked it
2- Disliked it
1- Hated it
Rating: 3.75 / 5
Before we begin, here are some reasons NOT to read this book if you are not into these things:
- Lots and lots of swearing. Very creative swearing, granted. But probably three times more swearing than in other books nonetheless.
- Violence is the solution to everything (due to the attitude of our main PoV).
- Graphic torture scenes.
My two cents:
This book is a lot shorter than the previous installment. It also dispenses with the metaphysical themes. We get a fairly straight forward tale of action, intrigue and betrayal. But, the story is told from two perspectives. One is the 25-year-old Hari Michaelson during his breakthrough mission. The other perspective is the 50-something-year-old Caine (no, not Hari; Caine) being pulled into a hairy situation by one of his acquaintances.
The timeline from the past is well put together and gets resolved satisfyingly. The timeline from the present however feels a bit rushed. We get presented lots and lots of information, which explains the situation that Caine finds himself in. But sadly, the present timeline is somewhat rushed. It could probably have benefitted from around 100 or so more pages. Lots of characters, some of them supposed to be central to the narrative, are briefly introduced only to be never mentioned again or not play a role at all. Maybe this is due to set up for the last book. But still, not elegantly handled here.
Besides the issues of the present timeline, this book is somewhat of a return to form, like in the first installment. However, in terms of the feeling, the first novel was a standalone movie and this book is the third episode of an ongoing show. Much of what happens here is exposition, topped off with a giant cliffhanger. Would this series have ended after this book, it would have left a sour taste in my mouth.
The last point worth mentioning is that this is very much a Caine novel. The distinctive narrative voice is back, and it is great as always. Caine disrespects people, kills people, betrays people, just makes life miserable for people. All while doing it in a highly entertaining way (he is, after all, an actor). Action is always only a few pages away, and it is superbly written, as should be expected from a Caine book.
I hope that the last book is a step up from this novel. All in all this thing could have been longer, but after the last book i can't blame MWS for cutting down on the page numbers. A solid and enjoyable read, but not as good as the first two novels.