siddharthageorge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
riven010101's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
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
mousie_books's review against another edition
1.0
Same as the last few books; the magic constraints confuse me, and it's slow going and hard to remember the plot threads.
majkia's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book through the Early Reviewer program. I decided not to just pick it up and read it but instead decided to read the entire series in order first. I'm very glad I did. This is not the sort of series you can jump around in. Each book builds upon the previous one, with consequences from earlier actions affecting not only the individuals but the overall course of the plot.
The characters are multi-layered and complex. They grow, they evolve, they make a LOT of mistakes, and then they have to live with those mistakes and, where possible, right wrongs done or at least try to mitigate the unfortunate fallout. But that isn't always possible. Sometimes you just have to accept.
The world is well-drawn and with many hidden, or little-understood or long-forgotten complexities. It's a fantasy world, but one with tightly drawn rules and when something surprises you, you can remember, far back in a previous book, there was a hint of this to come.
If you love fantasy, love your characters tricksy and smart, determined, sometimes nefarious, and you love a world you have to work at to get a grasp on, then this is a series for you.
Me, I'm loving it.
The characters are multi-layered and complex. They grow, they evolve, they make a LOT of mistakes, and then they have to live with those mistakes and, where possible, right wrongs done or at least try to mitigate the unfortunate fallout. But that isn't always possible. Sometimes you just have to accept.
The world is well-drawn and with many hidden, or little-understood or long-forgotten complexities. It's a fantasy world, but one with tightly drawn rules and when something surprises you, you can remember, far back in a previous book, there was a hint of this to come.
If you love fantasy, love your characters tricksy and smart, determined, sometimes nefarious, and you love a world you have to work at to get a grasp on, then this is a series for you.
Me, I'm loving it.
mandolinsbooks's review against another edition
1.0
I won this in a goodreads giveaway a long time ago. When I received it, I noticed that the font is way smaller than a normal book. I debated for a long time about whether or not to read it and have decided that I don't want to risk going blind just to review a book I received for free. I would gladly read it if it was readable. Until then, its getting one star from me.
tanguera's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I missed a whole book somewhere, but this is the next in the series. Have no clue how Arithon wound up where he starts this books, and that question is never really answered. I went back and re-read the ending of Stormed Fortress to see what I'd missed, but although the potential "why" is sort of set up, the "how" is never only sort of hinted at. It was a bit frustrating, as there were clues throughout the book, but no real answers. Kind of like I was supposed to know, but I don't have a clue.
Also, I'd give this my usual four star rating if it wasn't for that. The book itself is really good, just the frustrations was... frustrating.
Also, I'd give this my usual four star rating if it wasn't for that. The book itself is really good, just the frustrations was... frustrating.
pinggaines180's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly powerful and engaging book, especially the closer to the end you get. I finished it in a nine-hour reading session, and regretted nothing. It was fantastic.
mpatel66's review against another edition
3.0
Initiate's Trial Star rating may change depending on the second book of this ARC, but it's good to see Lysaer getting some attention!
snd1101's review
4.0
Received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program
Reading this book had me worried, because it's been a while since I'd read anything in this series AND I hadn't read books in between Curse of the Mistwraith/Ships of Merior/Fugitive Prince and this one... So needless to say, everything here was really only vaguely familiar.
Reading the first chapter made me remember why I had mixed feelings about the books a long time ago (and why they took me an inordinate amount of time to read)—Wurts very much enjoys the use of convoluted sentence structures, long sentences, and adjectives. This was fine while the story was building, but in the various battle scenes I found myself skimming ahead because reading these long, twisting sentences was slowing down the scene.
Throughout the book, I didn't feel as "left behind" as I think I could have, but there were surely things that would have made more sense or become richer in meaning had I not skipped from the beginning of the series to the end. There were quite a few references that I had to leave behind because I just didn't understand them, and while I feel okay doing that every so often, I realize other readers may not feel the same.
What I really admired about the book is that instead of turning me off the series (for various reasons—too difficult to read quickly, the typeset is too small, I've missed a lot in between the last of these books that I've read and this one, and so forth), reading this book made me really want to go back and get caught up. I enjoyed the multifaceted characters, and I really enjoy series where a set of characters are developed over the course of thousands of pages. This is certainly an intriguing read, and at some point I'll get my hands on the rest of the books to have it all make sense!
Reading this book had me worried, because it's been a while since I'd read anything in this series AND I hadn't read books in between Curse of the Mistwraith/Ships of Merior/Fugitive Prince and this one... So needless to say, everything here was really only vaguely familiar.
Reading the first chapter made me remember why I had mixed feelings about the books a long time ago (and why they took me an inordinate amount of time to read)—Wurts very much enjoys the use of convoluted sentence structures, long sentences, and adjectives. This was fine while the story was building, but in the various battle scenes I found myself skimming ahead because reading these long, twisting sentences was slowing down the scene.
Throughout the book, I didn't feel as "left behind" as I think I could have, but there were surely things that would have made more sense or become richer in meaning had I not skipped from the beginning of the series to the end. There were quite a few references that I had to leave behind because I just didn't understand them, and while I feel okay doing that every so often, I realize other readers may not feel the same.
What I really admired about the book is that instead of turning me off the series (for various reasons—too difficult to read quickly, the typeset is too small, I've missed a lot in between the last of these books that I've read and this one, and so forth), reading this book made me really want to go back and get caught up. I enjoyed the multifaceted characters, and I really enjoy series where a set of characters are developed over the course of thousands of pages. This is certainly an intriguing read, and at some point I'll get my hands on the rest of the books to have it all make sense!