chelseyas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
liisp_cvr2cvr's review against another edition
5.0
There’s no denying it, R.S Ford can write a book. My journey into the War of the Archons trilogy started with A Demon in Silver [myreview] – and what a great start to the trilogy it was. Happy to report that Ford continues the story strongly and on a consistent wave.
Whilst book 1 delivered more on the unexpected and exciting twists (it truly was like a rollercoaster ride with every page turn), Hangman’s Gate doesn’t simply rely on the element of surprise and rather crashes the scene like a solid, gym-going middle sibling who will take the same respect as the older sibling, thank you very much. Sometimes the middle books in trilogies are used a bit like ‘fillers’ in between the awesome start and roaring finish, giving the reader just enough to keep them hooked but not enough to satisfy. Hangman’s Gate does not trick the reader so, it delivers it’s full-bodied adventure complete with balls and brawl and heart.
With the trilogy so far, Ford shows his strength in creating the interesting relationship dynamics, the world of the gods interlacing with the world of the humans. Actually, the banter and skill to weave a lovely web of a world and setting aren’t the only strengths of writerly Ford – he does battle scenes in a way that could keep the most uninterested interested. Just enough to feel the whoosh of a battleaxe, but not so much as to make the eyes glaze over of the fairer sex.
I enjoyed that characters from book 1 were making their presence known, especially as they continued their storylines where they left off at the end of A Demon in Silver. And the new characters made their entrance with a bang, in Ctenka’s case with a weak squealy puff of air, but hey – there are great bloody things to look forward to in book 3… I simply cannot wait! And wait long I must not- book 3, The Spear of Malice, will be published in June this year! Woot-woot!
As this is a sequel, there isn’t much I will be revealing in terms of plot… #aintnobodygottimeforspoilers There are quite a few interesting twists and a solid progression of the story. Know this – with gods at war and humans meddling in between – anything can happen.
Now… If I do have one criticism, it’s that I would have loved more of Josten on a pirate ship with the crazies- that shit was wicked entertaining! XD
Whilst book 1 delivered more on the unexpected and exciting twists (it truly was like a rollercoaster ride with every page turn), Hangman’s Gate doesn’t simply rely on the element of surprise and rather crashes the scene like a solid, gym-going middle sibling who will take the same respect as the older sibling, thank you very much. Sometimes the middle books in trilogies are used a bit like ‘fillers’ in between the awesome start and roaring finish, giving the reader just enough to keep them hooked but not enough to satisfy. Hangman’s Gate does not trick the reader so, it delivers it’s full-bodied adventure complete with balls and brawl and heart.
With the trilogy so far, Ford shows his strength in creating the interesting relationship dynamics, the world of the gods interlacing with the world of the humans. Actually, the banter and skill to weave a lovely web of a world and setting aren’t the only strengths of writerly Ford – he does battle scenes in a way that could keep the most uninterested interested. Just enough to feel the whoosh of a battleaxe, but not so much as to make the eyes glaze over of the fairer sex.
I enjoyed that characters from book 1 were making their presence known, especially as they continued their storylines where they left off at the end of A Demon in Silver. And the new characters made their entrance with a bang, in Ctenka’s case with a weak squealy puff of air, but hey – there are great bloody things to look forward to in book 3… I simply cannot wait! And wait long I must not- book 3, The Spear of Malice, will be published in June this year! Woot-woot!
As this is a sequel, there isn’t much I will be revealing in terms of plot… #aintnobodygottimeforspoilers There are quite a few interesting twists and a solid progression of the story. Know this – with gods at war and humans meddling in between – anything can happen.
Now… If I do have one criticism, it’s that I would have loved more of Josten on a pirate ship with the crazies- that shit was wicked entertaining! XD
vailynst's review against another edition
3.0
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
Good narration by Derek Perkins.
Variety of POV's, some are better than others. Few of the vignette style POV's were great, but the writing quality & crafting was not consistent throughout the story.
Annoyed by the fact that book #2 was another setup phase for the series.
*Read series if on Audible + or library. Also, may be better to wait until the series is complete because the endings are like wannabe cliffhangers.
Currently on Audible Plus
Good narration by Derek Perkins.
Variety of POV's, some are better than others. Few of the vignette style POV's were great, but the writing quality & crafting was not consistent throughout the story.
Annoyed by the fact that book #2 was another setup phase for the series.
*Read series if on Audible + or library. Also, may be better to wait until the series is complete because the endings are like wannabe cliffhangers.
hobbleit's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 but it's getting bumped up to five stars for Goodreads because the cover is so damned pretty.
Hangman’s Gate picks up from the end of A Demon in Silver with a warlord under the rather badass name of The Iron Tusk on a conquering mission after having deposed (killed) the Emperor of the Shengen Empire.
Oh, and the Gods that haven’t been seen in a century have returned.
This is a recipe for a nice helping of violence.
One part of the story isn’t really touched on a great deal, which is that of Innellan. It is mentioned that she is amassing power in the north several times but that is a story for the next book as this one focuses almost solely on the threat of the Iron Tusk. Ford did a similar thing in Steelhaven and he pulled that particular style of storytelling off well there so I have no doubt he’ll do the same with this story too.
I immensely enjoyed reading about the characters. Josten is a great character and I always enjoy reading about him and I liked the way Livia’s story continued after the end of the end of A Demon in Silver and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens with her in the next book. I also really liked Ctenka’s journey throughout the course of the book. Another thing that I liked is that Ford takes a character you didn’t give two shits about in book one *cough*Harrow*cough* and makes you give a shit about him. I actually enjoyed reading his POV sections in this book and I thought his journey over the course of the story to be very well written.
On the whole, Hangman’s Gate was an excellent read. I really like Ford’s writing style and he has a good balance between characters, plot and violence which is something I really like. The pacing is mostly good, there were a few places where I thought it was suffering a little from middle book syndrome and it dragged a little but then something utterly exciting would happen and I’d forget that it had dragged. It was a very quick read which I didn’t want to put down and I ended up devouring it. The end of the book sets up the final book and it makes me want to finish this series desperately.
I cannot wait to see how it ends.
Hangman’s Gate picks up from the end of A Demon in Silver with a warlord under the rather badass name of The Iron Tusk on a conquering mission after having deposed (killed) the Emperor of the Shengen Empire.
Oh, and the Gods that haven’t been seen in a century have returned.
This is a recipe for a nice helping of violence.
One part of the story isn’t really touched on a great deal, which is that of Innellan. It is mentioned that she is amassing power in the north several times but that is a story for the next book as this one focuses almost solely on the threat of the Iron Tusk. Ford did a similar thing in Steelhaven and he pulled that particular style of storytelling off well there so I have no doubt he’ll do the same with this story too.
I immensely enjoyed reading about the characters. Josten is a great character and I always enjoy reading about him and I liked the way Livia’s story continued after the end of the end of A Demon in Silver and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens with her in the next book. I also really liked Ctenka’s journey throughout the course of the book. Another thing that I liked is that Ford takes a character you didn’t give two shits about in book one *cough*Harrow*cough* and makes you give a shit about him. I actually enjoyed reading his POV sections in this book and I thought his journey over the course of the story to be very well written.
On the whole, Hangman’s Gate was an excellent read. I really like Ford’s writing style and he has a good balance between characters, plot and violence which is something I really like. The pacing is mostly good, there were a few places where I thought it was suffering a little from middle book syndrome and it dragged a little but then something utterly exciting would happen and I’d forget that it had dragged. It was a very quick read which I didn’t want to put down and I ended up devouring it. The end of the book sets up the final book and it makes me want to finish this series desperately.
I cannot wait to see how it ends.
yarvi's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
I mean… it’s not bad, the writing definitely improved compared to [b:A Demon in Silver|35958480|A Demon in Silver (War of the Archons #1)|R.S. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519850249i/35958480._SY75_.jpg|57515530] (which is awesome!) and there were some entertaining scenes that kept me going.
However, while the first book in the series was a rollercoaster, [b:Hangman's Gate|45719967|Hangman's Gate (War of the Archons 2)|R.S. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557599371i/45719967._SY75_.jpg|65584629] suffers from middle book syndrome and becomes what I like to call a bland main course. Specifically, you have a great beginning (appetizer), a thrilling ending (dessert) and a not as satisfying main course – which should be, really, the only reason you’d get a three course meal in the first place.
The best way to summarize the book would be:
Couple that with some info dumps and loose plotlines (that will be resolved in the next book, I guess?) and you’ve got a rather dull adventure with characters you really don’t care about – which is why I’m a little bumped.
Although, the most disappointing part was
Actually, I think my only true issue with the series would be the world building. It’s probably the only series where I badly need a map because I still am not sure of the setting and the names feel so random and borrowed from so many cultures, that there’s nothing logical with how they were picked.
Either way, I would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to read a light fantasy.
Looking forward to the third installment!
I mean… it’s not bad, the writing definitely improved compared to [b:A Demon in Silver|35958480|A Demon in Silver (War of the Archons #1)|R.S. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519850249i/35958480._SY75_.jpg|57515530] (which is awesome!) and there were some entertaining scenes that kept me going.
However, while the first book in the series was a rollercoaster, [b:Hangman's Gate|45719967|Hangman's Gate (War of the Archons 2)|R.S. Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557599371i/45719967._SY75_.jpg|65584629] suffers from middle book syndrome and becomes what I like to call a bland main course. Specifically, you have a great beginning (appetizer), a thrilling ending (dessert) and a not as satisfying main course – which should be, really, the only reason you’d get a three course meal in the first place.
The best way to summarize the book would be:
Characters X and Y: *doing something* *meet character Z*
Character Z: ABRACADABRA!
Characters X and Y: Woah! How did you end up here?
*proceed to Character Z flashbacks*
Couple that with some info dumps and loose plotlines (that will be resolved in the next book, I guess?) and you’ve got a rather dull adventure with characters you really don’t care about – which is why I’m a little bumped
Spoiler
(Josten!With!Pirates! – why couldn’t we get more of that?)Although, the most disappointing part was
Spoiler
the lack of Innellan. She barely gets mentioned and then the book ends. You simply cannot give her such importance in the first book and then never show her again – you have to build up the excitement for when Josten and Silver/Siff finally clash with her again and you do that by showing what she’s up to rather than telling us. Grow the villain, not only your heroes.Actually, I think my only true issue with the series would be the world building. It’s probably the only series where I badly need a map because I still am not sure of the setting and the names feel so random and borrowed from so many cultures, that there’s nothing logical with how they were picked.
Either way, I would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to read a light fantasy.
Looking forward to the third installment!
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