Scan barcode
abigcoffeedragon's review
1.0
OK - well, this is "exactly what it shows on the tin" - the character with the mask? That is a plot devise throughout this novel. And it is not an interesting one at that. I like the premise behind what the novel was trying to do, but the characters had zero qualities for me to enjoy. Again, I got sucked into a novel that everyone raves about online, but I feel that our standard of what we expect is too low these days, and we will read anything if it has a gimmick or a creature that is cool, or something without actual merit or plot device. I was sorely disappointed in this and look forward to what I can do with the money that I won't be spending on future works of Michael Stackpole.
imyerhero's review
2.0
My husband recommended this book for me, and generally I trust his recommendations. And this book was certainly fabulous for most of my reading experience. I very much enjoyed the world Stackpole created for us to immerse ourselves in - the masks were an interesting and enriching part of the story. But I felt like I couldn't really get close to any of the characters. I wanted to, but they felt formal and distant. Tarrant a little less than the others, obviously.
My biggest problem with this book was the ending. Stackpole led us into this fantastic geographical area, set up the bones for an amazing plot, and then had the main character lose consciousness. Then, the author gilded over what could have been a chance for great character and plot development and simply ended the book. Maybe this was because this book is meant to be a prequel to another series, but it was completely frustrating to myself as a reader and soured my desire to read the next book in the series.
My biggest problem with this book was the ending. Stackpole led us into this fantastic geographical area, set up the bones for an amazing plot, and then had the main character lose consciousness. Then, the author gilded over what could have been a chance for great character and plot development and simply ended the book. Maybe this was because this book is meant to be a prequel to another series, but it was completely frustrating to myself as a reader and soured my desire to read the next book in the series.
erickalundry's review
2.0
This was a VERY slow read for me. I would pick it up to try and read it, but I could never read more than a few chapters at a time. I didn't start getting emmersed in the story until about 2/3rds of my way through the book. Somewhere around the first 1/3rd I realized that the main character (Tarrant) really bored me, but I stuck around for Leigh and Nay because I actually liked them.. they seemed more versatile as characters.
I still enjoyed the story as a whole. It's really different than what I usually read. I didn't plan on reading the trilogy that follows until around the last 100 pages. It's weird to see how other people in the reviews took the ending. I'm seeing a few people hated on it, but I actually really liked it.
I still enjoyed the story as a whole. It's really different than what I usually read. I didn't plan on reading the trilogy that follows until around the last 100 pages. It's weird to see how other people in the reviews took the ending. I'm seeing a few people hated on it, but I actually really liked it.
More...