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yayjill's review against another edition
3.0
Three stars is probably generous, but I loved that the story focused entirely on women without being obvious about it.
I disliked this for the same reason that I dislike the Lord of the Rings books. They spent the whole book traveling and never really made it to their destination. (I'd probably feel differently if there had been a fourth book showing what happened when they actually made it to the City of Sorcery.) There was more misery porn than plot and two significant characters died in a way that didn't progress the plot or have any meaningful consequences for the other characters. (To be fair, we were told there would be emotional consequences, but they were never shown.)
If you're into mountaineering or travel-adventure stories and aren't overly concerned with a cohesive plot, you might enjoy this more than I did.
I disliked this for the same reason that I dislike the Lord of the Rings books. They spent the whole book traveling and never really made it to their destination. (I'd probably feel differently if there had been a fourth book showing what happened when they actually made it to the City of Sorcery.) There was more misery porn than plot and two significant characters died in a way that didn't progress the plot or have any meaningful consequences for the other characters. (To be fair, we were told there would be emotional consequences, but they were never shown.)
If you're into mountaineering or travel-adventure stories and aren't overly concerned with a cohesive plot, you might enjoy this more than I did.
nicki_in_nz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
felinity's review against another edition
3.0
Physical and emotional challenges, and the overwhelming need to support friends despite hardship are the main themes here. As they travel into the most uninhabitable area of Darkover in search of what may be a myth, the trials bring confidences and revelation to all.
But despite all that, it didn't quite ring as true to me.
But despite all that, it didn't quite ring as true to me.
Spoiler
In large part because I didn't like the ending, not just Jaelle's death but the whole "search and the true heart will find" aspect that left us hanging.archane's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as a stand-alone, and it may hold up better as part of the overall series.
Overall, it's a fairly good story, but felt like it ended abruptly without any real resolution.
Overall, it's a fairly good story, but felt like it ended abruptly without any real resolution.
eupomene's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best of three major Renunciate novels, in my opinion, but it makes for a decent quest/adventure tale. Especially if you like mountain climbing. I'd forgotten how much I disliked the ending, though.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
bookcrazylady45's review against another edition
3.0
Another anthology. This one had some very good stories and one long almost novel length one about Rohana who is an interesting character. I am reading this entire series in an ass backward manner. I should have read my way through all the novels and then read the filler stories. This also contains stories about Rohana's grandson Dyan. Quite a number of the stories in this book are repeated from other anthologies in the series.
snd1101's review against another edition
3.0
RECEIVED COURTESY OF LIBRARYTHING'S EARLY REVIEWER PROGRAM
While I was so pleased to get this anthology via Early Reviewers, I found it rather disappointing. I had read some of the more recent Darkover books, and it turns out the writing style had changed a lot between the time these stories were written and those other books were published—as happens.
I was, however, much less upset by the writing when I found out that this was not a new post-mortem collection of MZB short stories, but rather an ebook reprint of a collection written in 1993. Several of the stories had clear "feminist" leanings that made me really dislike a lot of the characters, and in others, the writing was too clunky to stand.
On the bright side, I whipped through the second half of the book. The short novella and the following shorts were much more entertaining than the first half.
Overall, it's probably worth reading if you're a big fan of Darkover; if you're a relative noob to Darkover like I am, I don't think it's quite as enjoyable as it could be.
While I was so pleased to get this anthology via Early Reviewers, I found it rather disappointing. I had read some of the more recent Darkover books, and it turns out the writing style had changed a lot between the time these stories were written and those other books were published—as happens.
I was, however, much less upset by the writing when I found out that this was not a new post-mortem collection of MZB short stories, but rather an ebook reprint of a collection written in 1993. Several of the stories had clear "feminist" leanings that made me really dislike a lot of the characters, and in others, the writing was too clunky to stand.
On the bright side, I whipped through the second half of the book. The short novella and the following shorts were much more entertaining than the first half.
Overall, it's probably worth reading if you're a big fan of Darkover; if you're a relative noob to Darkover like I am, I don't think it's quite as enjoyable as it could be.
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