kmdraijer's review against another edition
2.0
*2.5 stars
**Spoilers for entire series**
** overall series: 3 stars
Overall, this series is ok. This last book gives a somewhat satisfying conclusion, but the pacing was bad and the prose was sub-par. For the first half of the book every character was re-introduced with nearly their entire backstory retold in the most matter-of-fact way; it felt like I was reading a wiki.
Like Twelve Kings, Desert Torn Asunder has a slow first half. However, for Twelve Kings this was excuseable because it laid the groundwork for the entire series' setting and introduced the fascinating world Beaulieu created. In Desert Torn Asunder, I was reminded of the snooze-fest of the Phantom Menace (for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a Star Wars movie which for a large part contains extensive trade negotiations which lead nowhere instead of, y'know, action, or character development).
The whole trial with Hamid was predictable and (to me) lacked any sort of tension. So far it has become clear that Çeda and Emre have plot armor thicker than Lemi's arms, and no matter what the tribes decided it was always going to end in a confrontation with Ashael upon reaching Sharakhai.
However, the final (or rather, penultimate) fight over Sharakhai was great, it was a satisfying conclusion to the character arcs.
So, overall opinion of the series. It's ok. It has a lot of interesting themes and concepts, which is why I finished the series. One theme I enjoyed was the concept that there are no real cookiecutter 'good guys' among the protagonists. Emre hates the Kings so much in the first few books that he becomes a domestic terrorist (let's not forget that the series opens with the Moonless Host burning a marketsquare full of people in an attempt to kill a single King). Ramahd is so consumed by anger and guilt that he spends years chasing vengeance against a man who sees him only as a nuisance and nearly loses himself in the process. Ahya is so hellbent on killing the Kings she abandons her daughter and effectively chooses suicide for the chance to kill a single one of them. Davud starts as a self-righteous know-it-all.
However, when a character becomes a designated villain, they become quite one-dimensional and non-sensical. The Twelve Kings have so little motivation other than "we like power" that they really feel extremely interchangeable. The best motivation any of them delivered for choosing that power was Husamettín, who tells them of the horrors Suad committed on his warpath to Sharakhai 400 years earlier. However, even he is reduced to a simple villain by the last book who never sees reason to give up power even when it's nonsensical.
Meryam, who was one of my favorite characters throughout the series, also loses all sense of believability in Desert Torn Asunder (in my opinion), or at least any sense of relatability, which makes a far less compelling villain.
Çeda is a cool protagonist, one who grows throughout the series. For a "bad ass" protagonist, she has some surprising moments of vulnerability and self-reflection. What Beaulieu does with this character is quite great, because he allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on Çeda's story. It starts out a somewhat stereotypical revenge story, but grows into so much more until both Çeda and the reader realize that it isn't about vengeance anymore, but about the survival and lives of the people she holds dear.
As a final remark on the content, I want to note that nearly all these books have mediocre pacing. If you like slow burn after slow burn, maybe this is for you, but the books start to slow for me. Of all of these books, I enjoyed Beneath the Twisted Trees the most, and coincidentally I thought the pace of the story was definitely the best there.
Now, as a final remark for this series. Dear editors and proof-readers: the amount of textual mistakes in these books is too damn high!
I have seen characters misnamed in the summary and in the main text, I have seen they're/their mistakes, I have seen misplaced letters, you name it. I hope to dear god the newer editions have these eyesores removed.
In the end, I enjoyed these books enough that I recommend them to people who enjoy fantasy series, but if you prefer a bit more depth in your villains and a high-pace story I can't say this book is for you.
**Spoilers for entire series**
** overall series: 3 stars
Overall, this series is ok. This last book gives a somewhat satisfying conclusion, but the pacing was bad and the prose was sub-par. For the first half of the book every character was re-introduced with nearly their entire backstory retold in the most matter-of-fact way; it felt like I was reading a wiki.
Like Twelve Kings, Desert Torn Asunder has a slow first half. However, for Twelve Kings this was excuseable because it laid the groundwork for the entire series' setting and introduced the fascinating world Beaulieu created. In Desert Torn Asunder, I was reminded of the snooze-fest of the Phantom Menace (for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a Star Wars movie which for a large part contains extensive trade negotiations which lead nowhere instead of, y'know, action, or character development).
The whole trial with Hamid was predictable and (to me) lacked any sort of tension. So far it has become clear that Çeda and Emre have plot armor thicker than Lemi's arms, and no matter what the tribes decided it was always going to end in a confrontation with Ashael upon reaching Sharakhai.
However, the final (or rather, penultimate) fight over Sharakhai was great, it was a satisfying conclusion to the character arcs.
So, overall opinion of the series. It's ok. It has a lot of interesting themes and concepts, which is why I finished the series. One theme I enjoyed was the concept that there are no real cookiecutter 'good guys' among the protagonists. Emre hates the Kings so much in the first few books that he becomes a domestic terrorist (let's not forget that the series opens with the Moonless Host burning a marketsquare full of people in an attempt to kill a single King). Ramahd is so consumed by anger and guilt that he spends years chasing vengeance against a man who sees him only as a nuisance and nearly loses himself in the process. Ahya is so hellbent on killing the Kings she abandons her daughter and effectively chooses suicide for the chance to kill a single one of them. Davud starts as a self-righteous know-it-all.
However, when a character becomes a designated villain, they become quite one-dimensional and non-sensical. The Twelve Kings have so little motivation other than "we like power" that they really feel extremely interchangeable. The best motivation any of them delivered for choosing that power was Husamettín, who tells them of the horrors Suad committed on his warpath to Sharakhai 400 years earlier. However, even he is reduced to a simple villain by the last book who never sees reason to give up power even when it's nonsensical.
Meryam, who was one of my favorite characters throughout the series, also loses all sense of believability in Desert Torn Asunder (in my opinion), or at least any sense of relatability, which makes a far less compelling villain.
Çeda is a cool protagonist, one who grows throughout the series. For a "bad ass" protagonist, she has some surprising moments of vulnerability and self-reflection. What Beaulieu does with this character is quite great, because he allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on Çeda's story. It starts out a somewhat stereotypical revenge story, but grows into so much more until both Çeda and the reader realize that it isn't about vengeance anymore, but about the survival and lives of the people she holds dear.
As a final remark on the content, I want to note that nearly all these books have mediocre pacing. If you like slow burn after slow burn, maybe this is for you, but the books start to slow for me. Of all of these books, I enjoyed Beneath the Twisted Trees the most, and coincidentally I thought the pace of the story was definitely the best there.
Now, as a final remark for this series. Dear editors and proof-readers: the amount of textual mistakes in these books is too damn high!
I have seen characters misnamed in the summary and in the main text, I have seen they're/their mistakes, I have seen misplaced letters, you name it. I hope to dear god the newer editions have these eyesores removed.
In the end, I enjoyed these books enough that I recommend them to people who enjoy fantasy series, but if you prefer a bit more depth in your villains and a high-pace story I can't say this book is for you.
down_legends_and_lore's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
laurenslittlelibrary_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beautiful and dramatic conclusion to an epic fantasy series. The way things wrapped up fit what I had in mind basically to the letter and I was really surprised by what happened in the epilogue. I think people who enjoyed GoT would really enjoy this series overall!
stacey332's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.25
A satisfying conclusion to the series!
waltzingmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-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
4.0
reliablepat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
ritikaj1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
soursock's review against another edition
4.0
Great ending. I wish we had more info about all those gods
kvinwtm_'s review against another edition
3.0
Series review
A 6-book series is a commitment so here's my piece of advice to you: how you feel about book 1 is essentially how you're going to feel about the whole series. Of course, some installments may work better (I really liked books 2 and 5), but you're probably not going to feel completely different about any of them. I'll give it that: it is consistent. Another piece of advice: reading the books in a short span of time is perhaps not the best way to go about it. I read the whole series in about a month and read books 4 to 6 back-to-back-to-back and it probably played into my enjoyment of the series. I think it's best to let each book sink in, take time to process what the characters went through before diving back into the world and see how they're doing. Book 6 relies heavily on nostalgia and it didn't work at all on me as I really just met the characters having started the series just a month ago.
A 6-book series is a commitment so here's my piece of advice to you: how you feel about book 1 is essentially how you're going to feel about the whole series. Of course, some installments may work better (I really liked books 2 and 5), but you're probably not going to feel completely different about any of them. I'll give it that: it is consistent. Another piece of advice: reading the books in a short span of time is perhaps not the best way to go about it. I read the whole series in about a month and read books 4 to 6 back-to-back-to-back and it probably played into my enjoyment of the series. I think it's best to let each book sink in, take time to process what the characters went through before diving back into the world and see how they're doing. Book 6 relies heavily on nostalgia and it didn't work at all on me as I really just met the characters having started the series just a month ago.