wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
4.0
The series shifts to the next generation in The Hollow Crown. It lost some of my interest in the end when the big bad seems a bit uninteresting, but hopefully it will all be explored in the rest of the series.
agruenbaum's review against another edition
3.0
More a 3.5. Finishing the series, but it is not as good as others I have enjoyed.
kerttuli's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
habeasopus's review against another edition
3.0
More of the same from Jeff Wheeler on his Kingfountain series, but the same is pretty good!
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
4.0
Doing this one like the last set of three;
2018 Spring:
Book 1 - I was very pleased to see this book focused suddenly on a girl character and not a boy, if in the same family and thus making use of some of the same 'powers.' I found the switching pieces of politics and change a breath of fresh air. I loved the addition of the Oath Maidens. I liked that the ages were different in this one. I do find the reliance on stories/experiences from the earlier trilogy a little too often and heavy-handed in places.
Book 2 - I'm a little disappointed in the same kind of love plot twist happening at the end of this book as happened in the last one. But I did appreciate the Oath Maidens here, again, and I nearly teared up at the point where the entire force was seen for the first time, by the King. That whole scene was divine. I feel a little uninterested in the wizrs, and very certain about what is happening with Morwenna (especially since she's Morgaine in these Arthurian Tales).
Book 3 -
2018 Spring:
Book 1 - I was very pleased to see this book focused suddenly on a girl character and not a boy, if in the same family and thus making use of some of the same 'powers.' I found the switching pieces of politics and change a breath of fresh air. I loved the addition of the Oath Maidens. I liked that the ages were different in this one. I do find the reliance on stories/experiences from the earlier trilogy a little too often and heavy-handed in places.
Book 2 - I'm a little disappointed in the same kind of love plot twist happening at the end of this book as happened in the last one. But I did appreciate the Oath Maidens here, again, and I nearly teared up at the point where the entire force was seen for the first time, by the King. That whole scene was divine. I feel a little uninterested in the wizrs, and very certain about what is happening with Morwenna (especially since she's Morgaine in these Arthurian Tales).
Book 3 -
sch91086's review against another edition
5.0
Why do these books make me feel this way? I'm just reading along, everything is hunky dory and then BAM. It ends and I need a good cry. Wheeler does an excellent of job of making you care about his characters. He also puts them through hell and back which I think is what makes these books so emotional for me.
This book continues the Kingfountain series' Arthurian legend theme, with Owen's daughter Trynne being a reimagined Lancelot, the "King's Protector". Trynne, like her parents, is fountain blessed. Her gift seems similar in nature to Owen's. She is able to predict attacks and can thus defend herself against them, as well as sense other people's weaknesses. Her mother, Sinia, wants her to be a Wizr, but she wants to be an Oath Maiden. She wants to fight in the war like the men, and of course, in Kingfountain this has never been done before. She has an uphill battle ahead of her, but the Fountain is helping her out a little.
I absolutely loved Trynne. She's a no nonsense sort of girl, which fits perfectly with who her parents are. She is clever and determined, and refuses to let anything stand in the way of her destiny and her dreams. She also dual wields swords and daggers... which makes her just about the awesomest heroine ever. I don't know how realistic it is, but it's a fantasy. To hell with realistic. Dual wielding swords all the way.
We are introduced to new characters, new enemies and new kingdoms, and we also see many of the original characters in a less integral part of the plot. The storytelling and the writing are both excellent. Wheeler is wonderful at showing and not telling. He lets the reader decide for themselves what to think about other characters. He gives subtle clues as to where the story might be headed, but nothing is ever fully revealed. You want to trust certain characters, but you're never really sure if you should. It keeps you on your toes and turning the pages, looking for answers.
This book ends on a massive cliff hanger and with a huge twist. I can't stress this enough, I am DYING to get my hands on a copy of the next book. Thank goodness I only have to wait for August, and then it will be another few months until the next installment. The wait is already killing me.
I do want to leave a note about how this book fits in with the Kingfountain series in general. This book mostly happens about 15 years after the events of [b:The King's Traitor|29469165|The King's Traitor (Kingfountain, #3)|Jeff Wheeler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459586497s/29469165.jpg|52006338]. The plot of this story is not dependent upon the first three books, but many of the events and characters referenced as well as the fountain magic are explained in the first book. The author does not insult his readers with repetitive explanations or info dumps. Do I think you could read this book and get by okay? Yes. Do I recommend it? Absolutely not. The first three books are so magical anyway, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to skip them. There is also a prequel, [b:The Maid's War|32488960|The Maid's War (Kingfountain #0.5)|Jeff Wheeler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475776052s/32488960.jpg|53078059], which I haven't read, but fully intend to pick up.
Thank you to 47North and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book continues the Kingfountain series' Arthurian legend theme, with Owen's daughter Trynne being a reimagined Lancelot, the "King's Protector". Trynne, like her parents, is fountain blessed. Her gift seems similar in nature to Owen's. She is able to predict attacks and can thus defend herself against them, as well as sense other people's weaknesses. Her mother, Sinia, wants her to be a Wizr, but she wants to be an Oath Maiden. She wants to fight in the war like the men, and of course, in Kingfountain this has never been done before. She has an uphill battle ahead of her, but the Fountain is helping her out a little.
I absolutely loved Trynne. She's a no nonsense sort of girl, which fits perfectly with who her parents are. She is clever and determined, and refuses to let anything stand in the way of her destiny and her dreams. She also dual wields swords and daggers... which makes her just about the awesomest heroine ever. I don't know how realistic it is, but it's a fantasy. To hell with realistic. Dual wielding swords all the way.
We are introduced to new characters, new enemies and new kingdoms, and we also see many of the original characters in a less integral part of the plot. The storytelling and the writing are both excellent. Wheeler is wonderful at showing and not telling. He lets the reader decide for themselves what to think about other characters. He gives subtle clues as to where the story might be headed, but nothing is ever fully revealed. You want to trust certain characters, but you're never really sure if you should. It keeps you on your toes and turning the pages, looking for answers.
This book ends on a massive cliff hanger and with a huge twist. I can't stress this enough, I am DYING to get my hands on a copy of the next book. Thank goodness I only have to wait for August, and then it will be another few months until the next installment. The wait is already killing me.
I do want to leave a note about how this book fits in with the Kingfountain series in general. This book mostly happens about 15 years after the events of [b:The King's Traitor|29469165|The King's Traitor (Kingfountain, #3)|Jeff Wheeler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459586497s/29469165.jpg|52006338]. The plot of this story is not dependent upon the first three books, but many of the events and characters referenced as well as the fountain magic are explained in the first book. The author does not insult his readers with repetitive explanations or info dumps. Do I think you could read this book and get by okay? Yes. Do I recommend it? Absolutely not. The first three books are so magical anyway, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to skip them. There is also a prequel, [b:The Maid's War|32488960|The Maid's War (Kingfountain #0.5)|Jeff Wheeler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475776052s/32488960.jpg|53078059], which I haven't read, but fully intend to pick up.
Thank you to 47North and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
laurelrose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
5.0
secre's review against another edition
2.0
So the focus on the children just didn't quite work for me. Neither did the reliance on prophecy related tellings and Fountain given gifts to push the story along. For the first point, the children are simply not as interesting as their parents. None of their characters gripped me in the same way and made me feel as though I had to be part of their story. This is perhaps because having spent three books with the parents they are, quite understandably, the focus of my attention... but they are not the authors.
On my second point, there was far less of a reliance on people figuring things out for themselves; it is replaced by knowledge from the Fountain, or visions of the future. This really impacted on the character development as Wheeler no longer uses the Fountain to supplement his characters but actively changes his characters based on generic data dumps from either the Fountain or the visions. Whereas the Fountain gifts had previously been used with subtlety, here there was all the tact and subtlety of an adolescent moose.
It's a lazy way of writing in short. In all of the previous novels, the people were more important than the powers. Here, the power changes the person completely. If you want your character to become a superb swordsman, then let her learn and train and damn well earn it... instead of getting to a middling level and then going the Fountain grants you awesomeness. It's a tactic that drives me mad when it is overly relied on, and it is relied on far too much here. There isn't any cleverness or wiliness to the characters and nobody has to work to get better at anything; the Fountain provides. There isn't any other description than this is lazy writing. This novel is the story of an author who has figured out how he can make a few more bucks from a story without being heavily invested in the characters. It reads in the way I would anticipate mediocre fanfiction to read, rather than a serious entry in a continued series.
My final issue is that the story stops halfway through. Essentially you could condense the first half the book and then whatever the sequel is to be - and there is definitely no. 5, no doubt about that - it should be the same book. This just stops rather than finishes and it shouldn't which is once more a sign of an author whose heart simply isn't in it. It leaves the story unfinished, closing on an inhale rather than an exhale. It's not even a proper cliff hanger, it just stops and leaves you dangling rather than hanging.
On my second point, there was far less of a reliance on people figuring things out for themselves; it is replaced by knowledge from the Fountain, or visions of the future. This really impacted on the character development as Wheeler no longer uses the Fountain to supplement his characters but actively changes his characters based on generic data dumps from either the Fountain or the visions. Whereas the Fountain gifts had previously been used with subtlety, here there was all the tact and subtlety of an adolescent moose.
It's a lazy way of writing in short. In all of the previous novels, the people were more important than the powers. Here, the power changes the person completely. If you want your character to become a superb swordsman, then let her learn and train and damn well earn it... instead of getting to a middling level and then going the Fountain grants you awesomeness. It's a tactic that drives me mad when it is overly relied on, and it is relied on far too much here. There isn't any cleverness or wiliness to the characters and nobody has to work to get better at anything; the Fountain provides. There isn't any other description than this is lazy writing. This novel is the story of an author who has figured out how he can make a few more bucks from a story without being heavily invested in the characters. It reads in the way I would anticipate mediocre fanfiction to read, rather than a serious entry in a continued series.
My final issue is that the story stops halfway through. Essentially you could condense the first half the book and then whatever the sequel is to be - and there is definitely no. 5, no doubt about that - it should be the same book. This just stops rather than finishes and it shouldn't which is once more a sign of an author whose heart simply isn't in it. It leaves the story unfinished, closing on an inhale rather than an exhale. It's not even a proper cliff hanger, it just stops and leaves you dangling rather than hanging.
makenna_1842's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
onceinabluemoon88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5