half_sugar's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable book, the world is really interesting and for war times it has a shocking lack of war. Which is I think is rather refreshing.
A note though, it is written for teens/young adults and it most certainly has that writing style to it. Bad people are just bad people unless they will become main characters. But the characters are still very much likeable and the story is solid.
A note though, it is written for teens/young adults and it most certainly has that writing style to it. Bad people are just bad people unless they will become main characters. But the characters are still very much likeable and the story is solid.
Spoiler
Really didn't like that they broke into Urtho's tower to find out about Gryphon mating and physiology because I feel like it didn't fit the character's beliefs. It also just felt random given the setting and what was discussed before. Also bloody convenient that Urtho dies and therefore they know how breeding works :/starlireads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
sylda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.0
sandrimeth's review against another edition
3.0
Good read overall, though not quite what I was expecting. I started reading this because I wanted to read books in the Valdemar series and this was the first chronologically. I get the impression that this was meant for fans of the other books in the series rather than new fans.
auora1484's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
2.75
This was a disappointment. I found it largely dull and juvenile, despite some interesting characters and concepts. Maybe if I was more familiar with this world, that would have covered up the storytelling gaps but as it was it was slow for a book all about a huge war and filled with characters who formed relationships before I could even care enough about them to want those relationships to happen.
shadowcas's review against another edition
4.0
The Black Gryphon was the first Mercedes Lackey book I had ever read. I chose it off the library shelf solely because of the cover and I was hooked. Jody Lee was the artist behind the cover art and frankly, I love it. It doesn’t really have much to do with the actual story, other than featuring one of our heroes, Skandranon, and the anatomy is questionable. But I couldn’t help but be intrigued.
One of the biggest things that makes The Black Gryphon so unique is the fact that it’s focus is war times told through the eyes of the civilians, soldiers, and healers. It doesn’t dwell so much on the battles being fought, rather the story spends more time on the battles’ aftermaths. It’s a perspective that doesn’t get a lot of attention and is still very important. Most war stories don’t spend pages on the downtime for the soldiers and finally, the readers get a bit of an idea of what may actually happen. Unfortunately, with the lack of battle excitement, the story tends to drag at times and it definitely isn’t a story that races forward. The lack of real progression made it seem to go a lot slower than it actually was. Lackey and Dixon spent a lot more time world and character building than actual plot movement. With that being said, once the story took off it moved almost too fast to keep up with.
And something should be said for the characters themselves. Their distinctive personalities were engaging and interesting even when they’re development was sometimes cookie cutter and predictable. The typical finding confidence, accepting leadership, and finding the One are universal for most character development but they are wrapped in such amazing packages that it seems to be an entirely new creation. The POV switches also work to make the story interesting even at it’s slowest points.
One of the biggest things that makes The Black Gryphon so unique is the fact that it’s focus is war times told through the eyes of the civilians, soldiers, and healers. It doesn’t dwell so much on the battles being fought, rather the story spends more time on the battles’ aftermaths. It’s a perspective that doesn’t get a lot of attention and is still very important. Most war stories don’t spend pages on the downtime for the soldiers and finally, the readers get a bit of an idea of what may actually happen. Unfortunately, with the lack of battle excitement, the story tends to drag at times and it definitely isn’t a story that races forward. The lack of real progression made it seem to go a lot slower than it actually was. Lackey and Dixon spent a lot more time world and character building than actual plot movement. With that being said, once the story took off it moved almost too fast to keep up with.
And something should be said for the characters themselves. Their distinctive personalities were engaging and interesting even when they’re development was sometimes cookie cutter and predictable. The typical finding confidence, accepting leadership, and finding the One are universal for most character development but they are wrapped in such amazing packages that it seems to be an entirely new creation. The POV switches also work to make the story interesting even at it’s slowest points.
littlepanda's review against another edition
4.0
Full review here: https://littlepandareads.wordpress.com/2017/08/23/black-griphon-review/
m_kayk's review against another edition
4.0
I love the detail behind the characters that the authors put in the story.