rinku's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Spoiler
I loved that at the end, they were all back at Daevabad and that Jamshid saved the day. It was a bit cliché that the villains argue at the end, and it wasn’t really satisfying that Dara was the one killing Manizheh. Can we also talk about the fact that none of the important characters died? Of course, I’m not a fan of killing characters off just for the sake of it, but it just didn’t fell right since the stakes were so highSpoiler
that they are introducing democracy, but I doubt that there will peace since the grievances the different tribes have won’t simply go away, I believeSpoiler
I’m so happy that Nahri chose himSpoiler
I was so happy that he survivedSpoiler
they spared him, Nahri should’ve killed him honestly. But I guess he’s punishing himself in the end, so that’s goodGraphic: Alcohol, Violence, War, Blood, Medical content, Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Dementia, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Body horror
espressoreader's review against another edition
- 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
Beyond this political intrigue, there is also a beautiful story line with friendship, betrayal, reconciliation and ultimately understanding. The story shows the impact of generational abuse post traumatic stress, and gaslighting. It shows the impact of unhealthy relationships at all levels, and it shows very competent people suffering from and overcoming the physical and emotional abuse.
It does all of these things, without appearing to be activist propaganda. It relates real emotion experiences and actions rather than just glossing over everything as he’s racist and he’s too religious. I find that this book was extremely respectful of all ideologies, and showed the strengths and weaknesses inherent with those ideologies, and the flawed ways they were represented by their followers. This was overall a great trilogy, and I would love to see more from this author.
Graphic: Self harm, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Torture, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, War, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Spoiler
my prediction was that Dara would realize what the peri's knife was for, realized Manizheh's life was tied to his own and find a way to commit suicide with the knife, redeeming himself in the process.I will read anything S.A. Chakraborty writes.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Genocide, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Blood
ariel790's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
- Characters are likeable. Nahri is a strong female character, Ali is respectful and determined in his own right. Even the antagonists, Dara and Manizheh, are understandable, if not relatable. The introduction of the myriad was interesting.
- Settings are described beautifully with much detail. An example - " Bathed in starlight, Daevabad was beautiful—the jagged lines of towers and minarets, domes and pyramids—astonishing like a jumble of jeweled toys. Beyond the sliver of white beach, the dappled lake shimmered with movement against the black embrace of mountains."
- Lots of action. Epic duels and chases.
- The story: Emotional. It was nice to see some of the characters get the opportunity to escape. Gave them the choice if they wanted to fight for Daevabad. The internal plights of those choices was very heartfelt and well written. Also enjoyed the backstory for Sobek and his reasonings for helping both Ali and Nahri. Nahri also has some of her lifelong "blanks" filled in.
- The story: Dara's story felt unfinished. He didn't get the redemption he deserves, I feel. Qandisha was also skimmed passed. She had an epic scene when she met Nahri, but nothing came of it. Manizheh's plight felt rushed near the end. She was intricately written in the beginning, only for that care to be lackluster near finish. Much of the finish felt more for convenience, over what would have been messier and taken more pages to flush out properly.
- The structure. The book jumped back and forth between characters. In the past two books, they pushed the story forward, continuing along the timeline. This one, it would crescendo a character's story to a point of action, only to switch to another character taking it back to where they were left off before the first character's point of view. It would be several more chapters before getting back to the plot line that was invested in. Made the book's pacing trudge along in several spots.
Overall a solid read. A good, not excellent, end to a trilogy. Still would recommend and do enjoy S.A. Chakraborty's writing style. They way she writes her characters and has them interact. Love that she found some 'irregular' mythology and creatures to focus on. Is nice to not have the 'same old, same old.' Would definitely like to see more about the ifrit, Dara, the marid and peri from her in the future.
Graphic: War, Death, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
carrie_hanson's review against another edition
- 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
I wasn't sure how it would be possible to wrap everything up in just one last book but it worked and it worked well. Definitely check content warnings on this one as there is a lot of violence.
The characters arcs throughout the series were stunning, the history and politics of the world sometimes got confusing, but often because we didn't yet have all the information, like most of the characters. This book was dripping with dramatic irony at many times especially with Dara, but I'm glad with how his story wrapped up.
Spoiler
and Nahri's grandpa being the Egyptian cook?? So many tears of joy at thatGraphic: Violence, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
theletterdee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Murder
astropova's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think the author did a great job with the final battle and tying up all the loose ends afterwards. I think every character really got the endings that were perfectly tailored to them.
This book was so long, but I think one of its biggest strengths is that it has just *incredible* pacing. There was not a single moment where I felt bored or like there was unnecessary fluff, detail, or just word count padding. Every scene was so sharp and had purpose. An exemplar of epic fantasy!
Graphic: War, Slavery, Violence, Death, Genocide, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Death, Self harm, Murder, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Medical content, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Gun violence, Blood, and Animal cruelty
madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Religious bigotry, Racism, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Blood, War, Sexual harassment, Torture, Slavery, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Vomit, Xenophobia, Violence, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Gun violence, Death of parent, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, and Child death
local_hat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, War, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child death, Xenophobia, Violence, and Torture