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wok's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.25
"Legends of the First Extremely Boring Empire" finally gets a small hint of interesting. Too bad it's too little and too late. Characters and dialogue remain terrible as ever.
writings_of_a_reader's review
4.0
After years of warfare, humanity has gained the upper hand and has pushed the Fhrey to the edge of their homeland, but no farther. Now comes the pivotal moment. Persephone’s plan to use the stalemate to seek peace is destroyed by an unexpected betrayal that threatens to hand victory to the Fhrey and leaves a dear friend in peril. Her only hope lies in the legend of a witch, a forgotten song, and a simple garden door.
I'm very late posting this review. I read this back in July but with vacationing and moving this summer taking up most of my time I am just now getting around to reviewing it. First off, I will say that I ended up really enjoying this book despite the fact that it is probably the weakest one in the series. There are a couple of time jumps in this one, which is different from the previous books in the series. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about that but it ended up not bothering me all that much.
The characters have matured a bit in this book and some have lost their innocence. They've seen some horrible things; gone through some terrible times. There is a revelation about one in particular that left me rather shocked, and it will be interesting to see how this ends up, especially how it will affect the relationship this character has with another one.
Also, there is one part where Suri does something uncharacteristically dumb, but overall I enjoyed the characters just as much as in previous books. The characters are in fact what saved this book for me. Not a whole lot happened for the amount of time that elapsed, but the characters are always well worth reading about in Michael Sullivan's books.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
I'm very late posting this review. I read this back in July but with vacationing and moving this summer taking up most of my time I am just now getting around to reviewing it. First off, I will say that I ended up really enjoying this book despite the fact that it is probably the weakest one in the series. There are a couple of time jumps in this one, which is different from the previous books in the series. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about that but it ended up not bothering me all that much.
What a strange treasure is innocence, a virtue to the old and a curse to the young, so highly prized but eagerly parted with - the riches of beautiful skin traded for the wisdom of calluses.
The characters have matured a bit in this book and some have lost their innocence. They've seen some horrible things; gone through some terrible times. There is a revelation about one in particular that left me rather shocked, and it will be interesting to see how this ends up, especially how it will affect the relationship this character has with another one.
Also, there is one part where Suri does something uncharacteristically dumb, but overall I enjoyed the characters just as much as in previous books. The characters are in fact what saved this book for me. Not a whole lot happened for the amount of time that elapsed, but the characters are always well worth reading about in Michael Sullivan's books.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
cornpoppy's review
4.0
بالاخره کتاب چهارم یه جوری بود که توی یه نشست بخونمش، داشتم از سالیوان ناامید میشدم
evgeorge's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
strangeness's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
After years of warfare, the humans have finally gained the advantage and have now pushed the Fhrey (elves) back to their own homeland. But they’ve reached something of a stalemate. The chance for peace might possibly be at hand but not all factions agree on how, or even if it should take place.
The 4th book in the “Legends of the First Empire” series can also be considered the first book in the second half of that series. The author, himself refers to it in this way and after reading it, I fully concur. Structurally, this book is different than preceding volumes. There are two time jumps that happen in the first half of the book, one of only one year and the second for five years. That makes for interesting story development, especially considering many of the main characters were quite young and are now full-on adults.
I always expect a good fantasy reading experience from Michael J. Sullivan and this one certainly fulfilled my hopes. I feel like I really know these characters so when their journeys are challenging, I worry for them. That happens a lot in this book. It’s an important and intriguing chapter in the series but, as has been noted by everyone, it ends on a cliffhanger. A big one. No spoilers but it’s easy to see why the next volume is titled, “Age of Death”.
Can’t wait to see where this goes from here.
The 4th book in the “Legends of the First Empire” series can also be considered the first book in the second half of that series. The author, himself refers to it in this way and after reading it, I fully concur. Structurally, this book is different than preceding volumes. There are two time jumps that happen in the first half of the book, one of only one year and the second for five years. That makes for interesting story development, especially considering many of the main characters were quite young and are now full-on adults.
I always expect a good fantasy reading experience from Michael J. Sullivan and this one certainly fulfilled my hopes. I feel like I really know these characters so when their journeys are challenging, I worry for them. That happens a lot in this book. It’s an important and intriguing chapter in the series but, as has been noted by everyone, it ends on a cliffhanger. A big one. No spoilers but it’s easy to see why the next volume is titled, “Age of Death”.
Can’t wait to see where this goes from here.
mhockenson's review
3.0
Kind of felt like this was just a filler novel to pass the time until the next book releases.