ilokoipi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lanica's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book immediately following the first book in the trilogy. The first books ends with adventure, conflict, moral dilemmas, strong character interaction and hope that the main character had learned something that will help him in the adventures to come. Instead, this book throws us back into plodding, slow, weary exposition as more sadness befalls Nevare and he travels into a new life that is even more sad and useless than his previous one.
Nevare was frustrating in the first book, but he was young and stupid and there was hope that he'd figure things out as he got older. Nope. He's wishy-washy, bigoted, racist and unlikable through this entire book. Nothing is ever his fault, no one will ever listen to him, his future just isn't what he was expecting it to be and there's nothing he can do about it...boo hoo. I got sick of him and his whining in the first several chapters and it only got worse as the book went on.
Why did I keep reading? Because there was a good story going on around this guy. I wanted to know what would happen to his sister, his cousin, his best friend, and all the other interesting people he met along the way. I needed to know what would happen to Yaril and her children. I wanted to know what the dancing spindle had to do with anything. I needed to know what the heck the Specks were up to. It was unfortunate that I had to hear it all from his perspective.
Nevare was frustrating in the first book, but he was young and stupid and there was hope that he'd figure things out as he got older. Nope. He's wishy-washy, bigoted, racist and unlikable through this entire book. Nothing is ever his fault, no one will ever listen to him, his future just isn't what he was expecting it to be and there's nothing he can do about it...boo hoo. I got sick of him and his whining in the first several chapters and it only got worse as the book went on.
Why did I keep reading? Because there was a good story going on around this guy. I wanted to know what would happen to his sister, his cousin, his best friend, and all the other interesting people he met along the way. I needed to know what would happen to Yaril and her children. I wanted to know what the dancing spindle had to do with anything. I needed to know what the heck the Specks were up to. It was unfortunate that I had to hear it all from his perspective.
izzykate93's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gemgemjackson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leslielikesthings's review against another edition
3.0
And Robin Hobb's grand tradition of torturing her characters continues. Infuriating to read - it took over 700 pages for the main character to stop whining about his fate and figure out what was going on, even though more than one character told him over and over again. Somehow still compelling and hard to put down, unless it was to throw it across the room from frustration.
truthlessofcanada's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.75
Well that was really really good.
So I totally got why the goodreads rating for book 1 was low, it was way to long, but this kicked ass, and is one of the best books I have read this year.
I guess it does still live and die by whether you like Nevare, but in this novel I thought he was a great character. Often when characters are stuck between 2 cultures the obvious conclusion is to just take from both, they can co exist. Robin Hobb takes that and shows how difficult that can be.
This may be the single best plotted Robin Hobb novel. It is very eventful, the set up and payoff is top notch, and the way everything comes together is incredibly brilliant. It is very complicated without being at all convoluted. Not complex in the way of a puppet master, but complex in the way life and humanity is complex, with everyone acting according to their own beliefs, wishes, and needs.
Speaking of all those people, you should all be used to this by now if you know me but the character work for the supporting cast is just on another level. Hobb characterization just hits different man. They are so real, so human, and just so....alive. Nobody else does it the same.
Really the things I could see holding people back from liking this are twofold.
1 is that Nevare is still Nevare, although personality wise he has evolved, and is much much less self righteous, typical annoying lawful good, and I really really loved his character in this novel. But he is still incredibly indecisive, but that didn't stop me from loving the guy.
The second is that there is a lot of fatshaming in this novel. Now, I don't think you could read this novel and reasonably come to the conclusion that Robin Hobb is being mean to fat people, but a character dealing with how society and people treats them because of their weight is a major aspect of this novel, and it can be very uncomfortable and difficult to read. I think it was done very very well, and I don't think a book making you uncomfortable is necessarily a bad thing depending on the reasons, but it is there, you have been warned.
And then oh my the ending, the way it all came together was fantastic, even if it does make me even more annoyed with the pacing Shaman's Crossing in hindsight, because I felt like a lot of it wasn't relevant, because this novel was eventful, and impactful, and was one of the best novels I have read all year. This is not in contention for my favorite Robin Hobb book, but if it is yours, I get it.
9.4/10
So I totally got why the goodreads rating for book 1 was low, it was way to long, but this kicked ass, and is one of the best books I have read this year.
I guess it does still live and die by whether you like Nevare, but in this novel I thought he was a great character. Often when characters are stuck between 2 cultures the obvious conclusion is to just take from both, they can co exist. Robin Hobb takes that and shows how difficult that can be.
This may be the single best plotted Robin Hobb novel. It is very eventful, the set up and payoff is top notch, and the way everything comes together is incredibly brilliant. It is very complicated without being at all convoluted. Not complex in the way of a puppet master, but complex in the way life and humanity is complex, with everyone acting according to their own beliefs, wishes, and needs.
Speaking of all those people, you should all be used to this by now if you know me but the character work for the supporting cast is just on another level. Hobb characterization just hits different man. They are so real, so human, and just so....alive. Nobody else does it the same.
Really the things I could see holding people back from liking this are twofold.
1 is that Nevare is still Nevare, although personality wise he has evolved, and is much much less self righteous, typical annoying lawful good, and I really really loved his character in this novel. But he is still incredibly indecisive, but that didn't stop me from loving the guy.
The second is that there is a lot of fatshaming in this novel. Now, I don't think you could read this novel and reasonably come to the conclusion that Robin Hobb is being mean to fat people, but a character dealing with how society and people treats them because of their weight is a major aspect of this novel, and it can be very uncomfortable and difficult to read. I think it was done very very well, and I don't think a book making you uncomfortable is necessarily a bad thing depending on the reasons, but it is there, you have been warned.
And then oh my the ending, the way it all came together was fantastic, even if it does make me even more annoyed with the pacing Shaman's Crossing in hindsight, because I felt like a lot of it wasn't relevant, because this novel was eventful, and impactful, and was one of the best novels I have read all year. This is not in contention for my favorite Robin Hobb book, but if it is yours, I get it.
9.4/10
jjmbookstam92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The main character is traumatised and indoctrinated by his father and culture's abuses and biases. The fatphobia of that culture seemed an extreme satire of the real world's. At moments I was exasperated at Nevarre's stupidity and stubborn conviction that his view of the 'right' thing to do was the correct one. And yet, as always happens to me with Hobb, once I passed the half way point I had been sucked in and devoured hundred pages per day to see where it would go.
v_neptune's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Fatphobia, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Eating disorder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
additional CW for false rape/sexual harassment accusationselizafiedler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content warning for fatphobia doesn't seem strong enough; fatphobia is the entire plot.
Main character is also pretty freaking oblivious to his character flaws.
Main character is also pretty freaking oblivious to his character flaws.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
bookburningsheep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-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
4.25