Reviews

Stalking Darkness, by Lynn Flewelling

elderlingfool's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

Thank you for giving me a character that is a slutty bisexual and another that is having their bi awakening. Amazing that I got two when I usually get zero in other books.

I cried 5 times during this book. It was great.

The first half of the book was mostly quiet slice of life, which gave room for some great character interactions and character development, and then the second half got incredibly sad and dark. It really was the calm before the storm. I asked for more creepy scenes and I sure got them. I didn't think it would get this way after all the fun adventures.

I really like that the chapters are short. It makes these books very quick and easy to read since I keep thinking I have time to read one more chapter after I have just finished 10. It tricks you like that. 

I am not the biggest fan of military fantasy so Beka's chapters bored me a little bit, even though I love her. I didn't got enough information about her friends in order to care about what was happening to them either, but I got the importance it had for Beka's character. I still absolutely love her friendship with Alec and the entire Cavish family is great.

The ages of the two main characters still confuse me a little, especially because Seregil keeps talking about how young Alec is. I would like him to stop just so I can enjoy this relationship. 

Alec is still my favourite character. He really went through a lot, but he is a master at suppressing his trauma. I just get the feeling that he does his best to forget in order to keep on living. I don't know if this will be addressed later on, but I hope so. Seregil has mentioned it at times already ever since the first book.

I got very attached to some of these characters and that makes me even more upset by the lack of development when it comes to others, like Ylinestra. I know that it's impossible to give the same amount of depth to so many characters but I am still sad about her role in this story. I hope to see in the rest of the series more of other characters that had small roles so far.

Overall, I am really enjoying this series. It has been a while since I found books I don't want to put down. 

siobhan74's review

4.0

I love when there are gay fantasy chars. Still a little role-play-ey, but I don't think authors know how important it is to write about love as it is.

straciehniezdo's review against another edition

4.0

4,5/5

Ako mohla byť autorka taká krutá??! No vážne, ako to mohla urobiť??

vcamp's review

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

teargarden's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

great book again aside from the unspeakable 👍

craftingrama's review against another edition

4.0

this was a lot better then the first book

aniya_'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

kanej_'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

linark's review

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

There might be vague spoilers ahead.

What a cute ending. Tied up with a neat little bow with happy prospects ahead. Alec and Seregil is by far the most charming part, and their weird pseudo-relationship makes me cringe and giggle in equal parts. Damn, I will have to read the next book immediately. 

Now, I was a bit silly and read this book and the first one like a year apart, so I forgot a lot of the nitty-gritty details. But it didn't really hamper my exprience. It was fun generally. I admire the way Fleewelling tied together the plotlines so elegantly, the way they glanced off each other a little teasingly and then collided (I'm thinking of the Rhiminee part). Very well-written. 

Unfortunately I found the military parts quite boring—you can bet I skimmed through that. She's not very good at writing a battlefield, or military stuff in general, I feel like. Too many details to frantically memorise that are ultimately insignificant. Beka was a bit of a chore to read about because her character is horribly generic, but I appreciate how she ended up being so vital to the endgame. The foreshadowing and build-up was heavy-handed... I liked that. 

I liked this book. It gets a 3.5 because Alec and Seregil got separated (

Spoiler

even if it was a  remarkably bold move to kill of the beloved NPCs

); they are after all the reason I will read the next book. The premise of book three is terribly promising. It might well get a higher score.

nalakin's review

5.0

Third time reading, the first two book end the first arc beautifully.