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lukas_42's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
4.0
equleart's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a very fun read. The book had me guessing for pretty much the entire first half where it was gonna go, the way the story jumped back and forth over so much time was incredibly interesting and ended up coming to very cool conclusions.
The flipside of that is the very strong for today's conventions emphasis on destiny and combined with the way souls end up reborn, it makes for some extremely questionable relations further down the line, if you think about it a bit too much. Even more a product of a different time, there's a lot of slapping women and children, always for the "right reasons" but yknow. Not great.
All of that said, it was a remarkably positive and lighthearted book considering the content and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely gonna read the following entries in the series.
The flipside of that is the very strong for today's conventions emphasis on destiny and combined with the way souls end up reborn, it makes for some extremely questionable relations further down the line, if you think about it a bit too much. Even more a product of a different time, there's a lot of slapping women and children, always for the "right reasons" but yknow. Not great.
All of that said, it was a remarkably positive and lighthearted book considering the content and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely gonna read the following entries in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse
emnmhodgy5's review against another edition
I tried to get engaged with this book; I really did. However, it felt like I was missing some prequel that explained the backstory. There also wasn't a ton of characters that I felt completely sympathetic with, and I didn't particularly like how women were represented in it. It felt like a real effort to re-engage with the story each time I picked it up.
topdragon's review against another edition
5.0
This is actually a re-read for me. I had read the first two books in this series way back, probably over 25 years ago. At that time I was a neophyte when it comes to reading fantasy fiction and I don't remember liking either book very well. They were more complicated than the easier-to-read Dragonlance-style stuff I was into at that time and I think I had built up a sort of negative attitude towards them. But over the years, through one form or another, I have accumulated the entire series with the idea of one day reading through them all. So this was the week that I finally put aside my previous prejudices and began anew.
Wow, I'm so glad I did. I was intrigued with the central idea of reincarnation mixed in a fantasy realm and but I also found the story and the characters to be very interesting. It certainly kept my interest throughout the novel and while the ending was satisfying it certainly sets up the follow-on novels well.
In the past I've found that novels, particularly fantasy novels that have lots and lots of characters, are a problem for me. I just lose track of who's who. Perhaps my mind isn't what it once was but I think I've always been this way and I simply find keeping track of them all to be a turnoff. I realized with this novel (and the entire series of 15 novels), that I would need a way to keep track of them all, especially given that we're dealing with reincarnations of the same characters over many time periods and mostly with different names. After all, just knowing that Garreant in the year 643 is the same person (in reincarnated form) as Cullyn in the 1060s isn't enough because that character will have 8 other reincarnations over the entire series, all with different names. So I made myself a cheat sheet. I am happy to be living in the age of Wikipedia and so I did a quick search for Deverry characters and found a great table that has been developed and posted there. It cross-tabulates all of the major characters and their timeframes so it's actually pretty easy to keep track of. I printed it, cut it out and will carry it in each book as I read through them. It worked great and I felt much more connected to the story this time around.
This is definitely a keeper and I look forward to my further adventures in the land of Deverry.
Wow, I'm so glad I did. I was intrigued with the central idea of reincarnation mixed in a fantasy realm and but I also found the story and the characters to be very interesting. It certainly kept my interest throughout the novel and while the ending was satisfying it certainly sets up the follow-on novels well.
In the past I've found that novels, particularly fantasy novels that have lots and lots of characters, are a problem for me. I just lose track of who's who. Perhaps my mind isn't what it once was but I think I've always been this way and I simply find keeping track of them all to be a turnoff. I realized with this novel (and the entire series of 15 novels), that I would need a way to keep track of them all, especially given that we're dealing with reincarnations of the same characters over many time periods and mostly with different names. After all, just knowing that Garreant in the year 643 is the same person (in reincarnated form) as Cullyn in the 1060s isn't enough because that character will have 8 other reincarnations over the entire series, all with different names. So I made myself a cheat sheet. I am happy to be living in the age of Wikipedia and so I did a quick search for Deverry characters and found a great table that has been developed and posted there. It cross-tabulates all of the major characters and their timeframes so it's actually pretty easy to keep track of. I printed it, cut it out and will carry it in each book as I read through them. It worked great and I felt much more connected to the story this time around.
This is definitely a keeper and I look forward to my further adventures in the land of Deverry.
aerinelf's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The structure of this book didn't work very well for me, personally. With the three timelines and all of the characters that are also other characters that are also other characters (reincarnation) I found it confusing. And some of the combinations of content warnings were upsetting to me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy
hrm's review against another edition
Main character with ideas like a woman should follow her man anywhere, and inappropriate sexual content made it a definite stop.
cashdst's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
dmoony's review against another edition
I'm only 5% in so can't really judge yet, but it just didn't grab me, seemed kinda generic. Reading the reviews here, doesn't seem like it's for me anyway.