Scan barcode
chocodile28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kat_sanford's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
3.5
crimsoncor's review against another edition
4.0
Wavered between 4 and 5 stars on this. On the one hand, this is a fantastic series and the ending is quite satisfying. On the other, this final volume feels like it is maybe 20% too long and legitimately drags in some places which can't be said of the other two books. Ended up with 4 stars. More a 4.5 but such is life. To catalog some of my issues.
Maroto was a clear floor-raiser: every character who got to spend time around him immediately got more interesting. But splitting Purna apart from him for basically the entire book meant that a) we had to listen to Maroto whine about it constantly, which eventually grated and b) she got much less interesting. Enjoyed her romance with Nemi but how much more fun would it have been with Maroto there to be all weird about it?
You appreciate all the Hell King stuff happening off screen (because book was already too long), but then, again, what was the point of that except to age Ji-hyeon up another 7 years (which also didn't seem to make any difference to the story). In fact, her entire storyline in the First Dark felt super rushed.
There was never any real payoff from Sullen's god encounter. Again, if you took that entire section of the books out does anything really change? His input didn't really sway Zosia at all and it never comes back to mean something to him, so why?
Overall it felt like this third book was maybe 2 or even 3 books worth of ideas wrestled into a single, too long book. Especially with all the dangling bits from the earlier novels that never seem to pay off. Still a fantastic series and super enjoyable. Slot it in right after Kameron's Hurley's Worldbreaker for the second best grimdark series I've read.
Spoiler
I really question what the point of Best was, as a character. It feels like she could have been complete excised from the novel and nothing would have changed. And we spend so long with her in the book only to really end up with none of it mattering. That was disappointing.Maroto was a clear floor-raiser: every character who got to spend time around him immediately got more interesting. But splitting Purna apart from him for basically the entire book meant that a) we had to listen to Maroto whine about it constantly, which eventually grated and b) she got much less interesting. Enjoyed her romance with Nemi but how much more fun would it have been with Maroto there to be all weird about it?
You appreciate all the Hell King stuff happening off screen (because book was already too long), but then, again, what was the point of that except to age Ji-hyeon up another 7 years (which also didn't seem to make any difference to the story). In fact, her entire storyline in the First Dark felt super rushed.
There was never any real payoff from Sullen's god encounter. Again, if you took that entire section of the books out does anything really change? His input didn't really sway Zosia at all and it never comes back to mean something to him, so why?
Overall it felt like this third book was maybe 2 or even 3 books worth of ideas wrestled into a single, too long book. Especially with all the dangling bits from the earlier novels that never seem to pay off. Still a fantastic series and super enjoyable. Slot it in right after Kameron's Hurley's Worldbreaker for the second best grimdark series I've read.
stellarian's review against another edition
4.0
I love all of these characters and this was a good end to a long tale. I especially love that the author took the time to let us know what the characters did AFTER the plot ending. I’m so happy I randomly started reading book one a few years ago. It’s been one of those recent SF and Fantasy books full of queerness - so good to read.
krackenthorpe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.0
evenshadow's review against another edition
5.0
I've gotten to the end of long fantasy epics and been disappointed before. Even if everything ties up nicely, it can feel too predictable or dissatisfying.
This gave me surprises until the very last page. Not just one- but lots. Loose ends were tied up but I felt like I still wanted more. I wanted to see where all the potential spin-offs could land. It was beautifully crafted. I could have done with far less of the major romantic subplot, which felt a little tensionless by the end, but the rest was so tightly woven I can't complain.
This gave me surprises until the very last page. Not just one- but lots. Loose ends were tied up but I felt like I still wanted more. I wanted to see where all the potential spin-offs could land. It was beautifully crafted. I could have done with far less of the major romantic subplot, which felt a little tensionless by the end, but the rest was so tightly woven I can't complain.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
5.0
Flawed heroes, unexpected outcomes, insane magical battles and the words - oh my god the words, or maybe I should say "the sentences", because anyone can say a word, it's the stringing them together that seems to be the hard part.
Another crazy thing about these books. The cast seems to be "pan sexual" with one character having 2 dads, 1 character having a mom who's a man, characters of the same sex who were formerly straight deciding to experiment, bisexual characters, characters into S&M etc... . Okay so that's not so crazy BUT the crazy thing is that NONE of it is extra fluff to sell books. Every word of it adds to the story. There are no ripped bodices and penetrating manhood going on here. It's character development, it's part of what makes the characters more real.
So this is definitely one of my all-time favorite fantasy series, though it's a "different" kind of fantasy. It's definitely not "high fantasy" none of the usual LotR's stuff. it's too much fun to be "grim dark". It's like "grit fantasy" or maybe "High Def Fantasy" because there are heroes, but you're seeing every pimple, blemish and varicose vein on these characters, and though they do win their fair share of battles, they end up getting the shit kicked out of them more often than not.
Last note, if you're into audiobooks, I highly suggest listening to these. The narrator is absolutely amazing.
Another crazy thing about these books. The cast seems to be "pan sexual" with one character having 2 dads, 1 character having a mom who's a man, characters of the same sex who were formerly straight deciding to experiment, bisexual characters, characters into S&M etc... . Okay so that's not so crazy BUT the crazy thing is that NONE of it is extra fluff to sell books. Every word of it adds to the story. There are no ripped bodices and penetrating manhood going on here. It's character development, it's part of what makes the characters more real.
So this is definitely one of my all-time favorite fantasy series, though it's a "different" kind of fantasy. It's definitely not "high fantasy" none of the usual LotR's stuff. it's too much fun to be "grim dark". It's like "grit fantasy" or maybe "High Def Fantasy" because there are heroes, but you're seeing every pimple, blemish and varicose vein on these characters, and though they do win their fair share of battles, they end up getting the shit kicked out of them more often than not.
Last note, if you're into audiobooks, I highly suggest listening to these. The narrator is absolutely amazing.
joosty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5