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20sidedbi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
lesserknownhero's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
mseil24's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
laumee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
malus23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
yarrowkat's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up because i liked the ending in spite of myself.
What a complex mess. The worldbuilding is phenomenal. Many of the characters are interesting, dynamic, engaging and at least sometimes relatable. I love both Xiala and Iktun. But the plot turned into a complete trainwreck. Disappointing, especially after the brilliance of Black Sun. Fevered Star was messy but in a "middle book" kind of way that i thought could be resolved by a strong finale. And it could, but, we don't get a strong finale here.
The battles that the whole book is pointing towards, end up happening almost entirely off stage. What. The entire dreamwalking plot fritters out into something that seems almost completely unrelated, and never gets it's resolution. We don't get a final standoff or battle or confrontation or anything between Serapio and Naranpa, and that is just downright strange. I could see it not being a battle, but I cannot see it never happening. All the plot building around Coyote's Maw in book two just fritters out and doesn't go anywhere. We never get a resolution for Okoa and then he's pointlessly dead at the end, leaving his relationship with Serapio unresolved also. We never get a real resolution for Naranpa, either, possibly the most sympathetic character in the whole thing, who just gets conveniently whisked into a coma at the end as though Roanhorse really isn't sure what to do with a retired Sun Priest who has refused her god. The gods themselves are extremely petty. There's plenty of literary precedent for that, but it's still disappointing.
And the worst bit of the whole book is the damn prophesy. It's just cheap. Serapio is floundering around not knowing what he's doing, and Zataya shows up with this convenient prophecy that attaches to nothing else in the plot, and he does a bunch of really idiotic and harmful things to... what? Definitely not further his own character arc. Prove he's morally grey? We already had that memo, from the scene where he kills Xiala's sailors in the first book. It's gruesome and hackneyed and deeply unnecessary for the book in any way. It advances neither the plot (except for Okoa's arc, which could absolutely have been done differently) nor Serapio's character. It feels cheap, like the author also wasn't sure what to do with Serapio while waiting for Xiala to return from Teek, so she threw that in. And speaking of Teek, wtf with everyone conveniently losing access to their magic just in time for Xiala to become a hero and save the island. Also cheap.
So, yeah, there's all that. In spite of these things, I did enjoy the end of the book, though the middle was quite a slog.
What a complex mess. The worldbuilding is phenomenal. Many of the characters are interesting, dynamic, engaging and at least sometimes relatable. I love both Xiala and Iktun. But the plot turned into a complete trainwreck. Disappointing, especially after the brilliance of Black Sun. Fevered Star was messy but in a "middle book" kind of way that i thought could be resolved by a strong finale. And it could, but, we don't get a strong finale here.
The battles that the whole book is pointing towards, end up happening almost entirely off stage. What. The entire dreamwalking plot fritters out into something that seems almost completely unrelated, and never gets it's resolution. We don't get a final standoff or battle or confrontation or anything between Serapio and Naranpa, and that is just downright strange. I could see it not being a battle, but I cannot see it never happening. All the plot building around Coyote's Maw in book two just fritters out and doesn't go anywhere. We never get a resolution for Okoa and then he's pointlessly dead at the end, leaving his relationship with Serapio unresolved also. We never get a real resolution for Naranpa, either, possibly the most sympathetic character in the whole thing, who just gets conveniently whisked into a coma at the end as though Roanhorse really isn't sure what to do with a retired Sun Priest who has refused her god. The gods themselves are extremely petty. There's plenty of literary precedent for that, but it's still disappointing.
And the worst bit of the whole book is the damn prophesy. It's just cheap. Serapio is floundering around not knowing what he's doing, and Zataya shows up with this convenient prophecy that attaches to nothing else in the plot, and he does a bunch of really idiotic and harmful things to... what? Definitely not further his own character arc. Prove he's morally grey? We already had that memo, from the scene where he kills Xiala's sailors in the first book. It's gruesome and hackneyed and deeply unnecessary for the book in any way. It advances neither the plot (except for Okoa's arc, which could absolutely have been done differently) nor Serapio's character. It feels cheap, like the author also wasn't sure what to do with Serapio while waiting for Xiala to return from Teek, so she threw that in. And speaking of Teek, wtf with everyone conveniently losing access to their magic just in time for Xiala to become a hero and save the island. Also cheap.
So, yeah, there's all that. In spite of these things, I did enjoy the end of the book, though the middle was quite a slog.
tyches_dice's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was scared to start this book, because I really liked the first two books and was worried both about Roanhorse's ability to stick the landing and my ability to remember the previous series. Both fears ended up being unfounded. This is a really solid conclusion to a complex epic fantasy, and it would have a cumulative fifteen stars across three books if it weren't for the ending. I understand why the ending is good from a technical aspect, but from an emotional one? It loses a star.
chambersaurusrx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
mlleblanc10's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5