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acinonyx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This installment was about as delightful as the last! The bit of misogyny was still present, sometimes in new and more direct ways, but also more often challenged by the characters.
Despite all the revelations and drama that occurred in the story, each was sprinkled slowly throughout the book, so that even the final climax felt almost lackluster. The climax itself also came on incredibly sudden and was resolved even quicker, it felt. Then, the time jump in the final chapter seemed to gloss over the momentous action in the previous one, mentioning the aftermath in passing, and served only to set up the plot for the next book. These being relatively short novels, I would have loved to see the final climax be given space to reverberate through the other characters and allowed some reflection before wrapping up the story.
Fortunately, the overall effect of the story was still quite charming and the plot as interesting as always! I’m excited to see what else the characters uncover about their planets past in the next one.
Despite all the revelations and drama that occurred in the story, each was sprinkled slowly throughout the book, so that even the final climax felt almost lackluster. The climax itself also came on incredibly sudden and was resolved even quicker, it felt. Then, the time jump in the final chapter seemed to gloss over the momentous action in the previous one, mentioning the aftermath in passing, and served only to set up the plot for the next book. These being relatively short novels, I would have loved to see the final climax be given space to reverberate through the other characters and allowed some reflection before wrapping up the story.
Fortunately, the overall effect of the story was still quite charming and the plot as interesting as always! I’m excited to see what else the characters uncover about their planets past in the next one.
aradne's review against another edition
2.0
I know that this is a classic, but I just don't enjoy these like you're supposed to, but as Sherwood Smith pointed out, these books haven't aged very well.
I read Dragonsinger and Dragonsong in 2010, and liked them quite a bit, so I'm wondering if it's because in this series you aren't inside someone's head about emotional matters.
I read Dragonsinger and Dragonsong in 2010, and liked them quite a bit, so I'm wondering if it's because in this series you aren't inside someone's head about emotional matters.
phasingphoenix's review against another edition
4.0
A good, well-thought book. The ending had me literally gripping my chair.
My only complaint happens to be a big one. I was fully into Lessa's character in the first novel. Clever, conniving, bold, and honestly dangerous. There is none of that here. Nearly every scene she's in through the first half of the book, she must ensure that everyone (mostly the men) have eaten, go to bed on time, and have their wounds treated. That's it. We are not treated to her perspective until late in the book, when she just stands there watching everything. The only time she DOES anything is a roundabout way of getting someone ELSE to do the big heroic charge. Frustrating, after everything we saw of her in Dragonflight.
Most of this I chalk up to publisher pressure to appeal to a wider audience, who had little interest in strong female leads at the time. Though I have no way of proving that, I choose to believe it in favor of believing Anne simply nerfed her chaos goblin queen for the hell of it.
The book remains a good one, a fascinating look at the political and cultural ramifications of the first book's events. This is just a fair warning for those who enjoyed Lessa's schemes from before.
My only complaint happens to be a big one. I was fully into Lessa's character in the first novel. Clever, conniving, bold, and honestly dangerous. There is none of that here. Nearly every scene she's in through the first half of the book, she must ensure that everyone (mostly the men) have eaten, go to bed on time, and have their wounds treated. That's it. We are not treated to her perspective until late in the book, when she just stands there watching everything. The only time she DOES anything is a roundabout way of getting someone ELSE to do the big heroic charge. Frustrating, after everything we saw of her in Dragonflight.
Most of this I chalk up to publisher pressure to appeal to a wider audience, who had little interest in strong female leads at the time. Though I have no way of proving that, I choose to believe it in favor of believing Anne simply nerfed her chaos goblin queen for the hell of it.
The book remains a good one, a fascinating look at the political and cultural ramifications of the first book's events. This is just a fair warning for those who enjoyed Lessa's schemes from before.
heathssm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
badgersaurus's review against another edition
DNF for now; weird to go right from the time-travel adventure and camaraderie of the first book to the cynical dragonrider politics of this one. Maybe I'll come back in a few months or something.
henne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mdpenguin's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Can we please stop being so rapey? It's strange what I am and am not recognizing from this rereading and that was one of the things that I saw coming and didn't want to. Otherwise, this was a lot better than the first book. F'lar is less of an ass and I think that I can see why I don't remember hating him from my first read. There were also more perspectives and questions being raised, which made it a lot more interesting. That said, it was a little overfilled with subplots. It kept breezing through good stopping points and there were a lot of things that I think that I'd have enjoyed seeing fleshed out a little more; it really could have been two or three novels or at least novellas.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape