squirrelking's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was good, but a bit overly long. It seemed to just sort of end and certain characters were not given a satisfactory conclusion. Overall, it does a decent job of wrapping up the story and throwing in some surprises.
tylarfrench's review against another edition
3.75
Overall I did enjoy this book and series. I struggle with Adears character, I feel like she could have been more. Same with Kaden, although he does have a weird history with the monk upbringing. Valen and later Gwinna, the kektral in general are so incredibly interesting. I could have seen more and in more detail.
thepocketwolfies's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
I felt like this final book really could have been great, but some parts really just dragged on and it didn't need to be nearly as long as it was. That said, there were a lot of elements that I genuinely loved and felt invested in.
- Spoilers -
I enjoyed all 3 siblings POVs in the first book, got a little annoyed with Adare in the second book, and straight up loathed her in this third book. Every time it switched to her POV I audibly groaned and it was just such a slog to get through.
Kaden also lost my interest in this book. The final 5 chapters fixed his character arc for me, but everything up until that point was also.. getting dull. And considering he's the "kent-kissing" emperor, isn't he kind of the main character? lmao (What even was the point of bringing back Rampuri Tan if his whole prediction was wrong? Was there not a better way to give Kaden the god? )
VALYN, however, oh my god give me more Valyn. Unhinged murderous killer let loose? yes please.
Gwenna - she's basically the only one that really grows as a character and I love her. Everything about her arc makes sense and although I wish some of her backstory was better developed in earlier instalments, better late than never. I love her and would follow her to death
I felt like this final book really could have been great, but some parts really just dragged on and it didn't need to be nearly as long as it was. That said, there were a lot of elements that I genuinely loved and felt invested in.
- Spoilers -
I enjoyed all 3 siblings POVs in the first book, got a little annoyed with Adare in the second book, and straight up loathed her in this third book. Every time it switched to her POV I audibly groaned and it was just such a slog to get through.
Kaden also lost my interest in this book. The final 5 chapters fixed his character arc for me, but everything up until that point was also.. getting dull. And considering he's the "kent-kissing" emperor, isn't he kind of the main character? lmao (What even was the point of bringing back Rampuri Tan if his whole prediction was wrong? Was there not a better way to give Kaden the god? )
VALYN, however, oh my god give me more Valyn. Unhinged murderous killer let loose? yes please.
Gwenna - she's basically the only one that really grows as a character and I love her. Everything about her arc makes sense and although I wish some of her backstory was better developed in earlier instalments, better late than never. I love her and would follow her to death
djhobby's review against another edition
4.0
Great series! 7.9 stars out of 10 for the overall series.
Liked the setting, loved the action, and lots of interesting characters. Kind of sad that I'm finished reading it....
I really liked the story of Valyn and the Ketrel, I would love to read more about them. Maybe a prequel about The Flea and his wing? Adare and Kaden's stories are just as important to the books, but sometimes I found myself not really caring about their characters. Not exactly sure why, but sometimes their places in the story seemed sloppy. I would have liked a little more information about how Leeches worked their powers, their limitations, how they are trained etc... And probably the same could be said about the Ketrel birds. But those are small petty observations about an otherwise great series.
Staveley's writing is excellent, he really knows how to set a scene. I always felt like I was in the room with the characters. And it was sometimes surprising. The scene with the young Valyn, and the blind man with the axes was excellent.
If you are a fan of Dark Epic Fantasy this should be right up your alley. (and yes it is dark) At times it is very bloody, very violent, very gruesome. It seems like every culture we get introduced to in these books are all about torture. It would have been nice to see a few more peace, love and nature gods in their pantheon, but evidently the Annurian Empire is hard place, and it takes hard people to live there.
I look forward to reading more by Brian Staveley.
Liked the setting, loved the action, and lots of interesting characters. Kind of sad that I'm finished reading it....
I really liked the story of Valyn and the Ketrel, I would love to read more about them. Maybe a prequel about The Flea and his wing? Adare and Kaden's stories are just as important to the books, but sometimes I found myself not really caring about their characters. Not exactly sure why, but sometimes their places in the story seemed sloppy. I would have liked a little more information about how Leeches worked their powers, their limitations, how they are trained etc... And probably the same could be said about the Ketrel birds. But those are small petty observations about an otherwise great series.
Staveley's writing is excellent, he really knows how to set a scene. I always felt like I was in the room with the characters. And it was sometimes surprising. The scene with the young Valyn, and the blind man with the axes was excellent.
If you are a fan of Dark Epic Fantasy this should be right up your alley. (and yes it is dark) At times it is very bloody, very violent, very gruesome. It seems like every culture we get introduced to in these books are all about torture. It would have been nice to see a few more peace, love and nature gods in their pantheon, but evidently the Annurian Empire is hard place, and it takes hard people to live there.
I look forward to reading more by Brian Staveley.
maitrey_d's review
3.0
I'll be honest enough in saying I only finished this because the audiobooks of the entire series were very good. The narration and production were top notch.
Overall the series doesn't stand out as anything revolutionary, but as another reviewer put up somewhere this is easy fantasy, and hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Some of the themes about what makes us human made me think, so that was probably the only thing that stood out. The characters are quite cliched, and the plot also resolves itself pretty predictably.
Read only if you are a fantasy buff and run out of everything else.
Overall the series doesn't stand out as anything revolutionary, but as another reviewer put up somewhere this is easy fantasy, and hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Some of the themes about what makes us human made me think, so that was probably the only thing that stood out. The characters are quite cliched, and the plot also resolves itself pretty predictably.
Read only if you are a fantasy buff and run out of everything else.
faehistory's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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? No
3.0
wfyoungblood's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kitvaria_sarene's review
4.0
I liked this one, but it didn't have me amazed as much as the first two.
I absolutely adore the Kettral (listened to the audio, so I hope the spelling is right..).
Especially Gwenna and her wing were a joy to read!
Adare on the other hand... I sometimes wondered if she somehow lost her brain between books two and three. It gets better again in the end, but at times I wanted to strangle her.
The meetings between the siblings were very bland. I had hoped for way more in that account.
Valyn is broken beyond repair - but at times it didn't feel completely real to me.
There was a lot of walking, running, riding and not so much plot. I only noticed that now while thinking on it though - it wasn't disturbing my reading.
For me the very end felt a bit rushed, while before some parts felt stretched out.
Especially the Balenden part had me rolling my eyes. He is as we know completely evil, but soooo strong, no one can even compare. But he felt like a flood or something to me, not like a person.
All on all it was still a really good book, that had quite some emotional,sucker punches, and kept me well entertained throughout the story, but loving the first two books as much as I did (especially the second!!) I just was expecting full on awesome again.
I absolutely adore the Kettral (listened to the audio, so I hope the spelling is right..).
Especially Gwenna and her wing were a joy to read!
Adare on the other hand... I sometimes wondered if she somehow lost her brain between books two and three. It gets better again in the end, but at times I wanted to strangle her.
The meetings between the siblings were very bland. I had hoped for way more in that account.
Valyn is broken beyond repair - but at times it didn't feel completely real to me.
There was a lot of walking, running, riding and not so much plot. I only noticed that now while thinking on it though - it wasn't disturbing my reading.
For me the very end felt a bit rushed, while before some parts felt stretched out.
Especially the Balenden part had me rolling my eyes. He is as we know completely evil, but soooo strong, no one can even compare. But he felt like a flood or something to me, not like a person.
All on all it was still a really good book, that had quite some emotional,sucker punches, and kept me well entertained throughout the story, but loving the first two books as much as I did (especially the second!!) I just was expecting full on awesome again.
thegreekie's review
5.0
I wish I could give this book 6 stars. I didn't think it was possible, but The Last Mortal Bond is even better than the first book, The Emperor's Blades. This book is a stunning conclusion to Brian Staveley's fantasy epic of three royal siblings, all of whom are on different paths, trying to save their kingdom and their land. This final book is well paced, well written, and has an incredibly satisfying ending. Highly recommended.
Plot (Story / Pacing / Ending): 5/5
Characters (Characters / Development): 5/5
Writing (Prose / Dialogue / Style): 5/5
Other (Enjoyment / Read Pace / Worldbuilding / Etc): 5/5
Plot (Story / Pacing / Ending): 5/5
Characters (Characters / Development): 5/5
Writing (Prose / Dialogue / Style): 5/5
Other (Enjoyment / Read Pace / Worldbuilding / Etc): 5/5
rainydayeuphoria's review
3.0
The pacing is a downgrade from the last book and I felt like some resolutions weren't properly wrapped by the book's conclusion. Nonetheless I enjoyed it enough to finish it. 3.5/5