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nahlaaly56's review against another edition
4.0
***Contains spoilers***
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Why does Chris Wooding do this to us? Is nothing sacred? You get us to fall in love with characters and then just GRRM them off like that? I'm not ok after this! I think I need something light to cleanse my pallette before I go back to finishing The Poppy Wars trilogy. *sigh*
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Why does Chris Wooding do this to us? Is nothing sacred? You get us to fall in love with characters and then just GRRM them off like that? I'm not ok after this! I think I need something light to cleanse my pallette before I go back to finishing The Poppy Wars trilogy. *sigh*
mitchclacko's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.5
blackwaterlilly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
feathre's review against another edition
I just couldn’t get into this one, and I found myself actively avoiding it to read something else. Although it’s relevant to the plot, this book didn’t have the momentum of the first one, and it often felt like the characters were regressing rather than growing. I wouldn’t expect every character to experience positive change, but when almost every point of view feels like a negative character arc, I don’t connect with them anymore.
writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition
3.0
After reading The Ember Blade several Years ago and then doing a reread of it earlier this year, I was looking forward to reading this book and finding out what happened next. Despite my reread earlier this year, I still needed a reminder of how a few people and things fit into the story, but I quickly caught up.
While the first book in the series had some dark elements to it, it felt very much like a traditional Lord of the Rings type fantasy. This book ended up going even darker, with quite a few deaths, betrayals, and murders. And that doesn't include the horrible things the Krodans do in the book. It got a little depressing for a while, but I stuck with it.
“Treachery was an axe, not a scalpel. It was hard to make a clean cut.”
There were several new characters added to this book, some I never really warmed up to. Most of the characters in this series have been very gray, with a lot of them motivated for their own self-serving reasons. This made it hard for me to really like some of them. Grub is still my favorite, as he provides the much needed comic relief, and I very much enjoyed reading his point of view.
"Right now, all the people want is a leader, a warrior: the hero with the bright blade. Hope is simple, and they want hope. But afterwards, after we’ve won– they’ll want to know every piece of it. Then your tale will be told. Grub the Cunning. Grub the Strong. Grub the Brave. And it will be passed from one generation to the next, just like Orica’s song will."
Fen's character irritated me throughout most of the book, and I felt her character in particular, did not go in a direction I liked. In the end I was ok with her but there were some things concerning her character that were just skipped over. She went from very upset and uncertain (to put it mildly), to happy and content without the reader getting to see how that came to be. We are just told a brief explanation. That didn't work for me at all.
Surprisingly, I liked reading about Klyssen, who might be on the wrong side of things, and may have done some bad things, but his love for his daughters was something I couldn't fault him on. He's one of the best written characters in the series. I really would love to see him switch sides!
“The things we value make us weak, he thought. Or they can make us unstoppable.”
In the end, I'm on the fence about continuing this series. I would like to see how a few things end up playing out, but I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to, so I'm hesitant to continue. I doubt I need to hurry and decide though, because I've probably got several years to think about it before the next book is published.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and on Facebook.
While the first book in the series had some dark elements to it, it felt very much like a traditional Lord of the Rings type fantasy. This book ended up going even darker, with quite a few deaths, betrayals, and murders. And that doesn't include the horrible things the Krodans do in the book. It got a little depressing for a while, but I stuck with it.
“Treachery was an axe, not a scalpel. It was hard to make a clean cut.”
There were several new characters added to this book, some I never really warmed up to. Most of the characters in this series have been very gray, with a lot of them motivated for their own self-serving reasons. This made it hard for me to really like some of them. Grub is still my favorite, as he provides the much needed comic relief, and I very much enjoyed reading his point of view.
"Right now, all the people want is a leader, a warrior: the hero with the bright blade. Hope is simple, and they want hope. But afterwards, after we’ve won– they’ll want to know every piece of it. Then your tale will be told. Grub the Cunning. Grub the Strong. Grub the Brave. And it will be passed from one generation to the next, just like Orica’s song will."
Fen's character irritated me throughout most of the book, and I felt her character in particular, did not go in a direction I liked. In the end I was ok with her but there were some things concerning her character that were just skipped over. She went from very upset and uncertain (to put it mildly), to happy and content without the reader getting to see how that came to be. We are just told a brief explanation. That didn't work for me at all.
Surprisingly, I liked reading about Klyssen, who might be on the wrong side of things, and may have done some bad things, but his love for his daughters was something I couldn't fault him on. He's one of the best written characters in the series. I really would love to see him switch sides!
“The things we value make us weak, he thought. Or they can make us unstoppable.”
In the end, I'm on the fence about continuing this series. I would like to see how a few things end up playing out, but I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to, so I'm hesitant to continue. I doubt I need to hurry and decide though, because I've probably got several years to think about it before the next book is published.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and on Facebook.
gphifer's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
vkadic's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-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
3.25
Like I said I really loved the world the author has created, I think it is one of the most interesting worlds I read in a while, it feels rich, diverse, interesting and unique. The rest of the book I did not really like that much. If I didn't believe this to be the last book of the series, I wouldn't have finished it. Sadly even the story ends in a way it is likely it will be continued, not all mysteries are answered but still I do not believe I will pick the next one up. After this one I am done.
The characters are morally grey, which I do usually like, but there is something about the way they are written here that doesn't make them that appealing. There are interesting conflicts and dynamics though, but nothing that wows me.
The plot itself I found mostly boring and reading most parts really felt like a chore. I did have high hopes at the beginning, there was a revolution planned, there were nice set ups for different plots and then I feel everything went right as I did not want it to go. I do like long books but this one was just too long and many things felt too pointless. Like the whole quest the book was named after.... I really do not understand the point of that at all. Some of the twists felt really cheap. Like none of Cade's information helping the bad guys... And I was very excited how that will affect the story and the characters... The romances were just terrible, all of them, I do not understand why we had any of them... The deaths made me feel nothing.
Writing all this I even feel my rating might be too high but I did really like the world so I will leave it there.
The characters are morally grey, which I do usually like, but there is something about the way they are written here that doesn't make them that appealing. There are interesting conflicts and dynamics though, but nothing that wows me.
The plot itself I found mostly boring and reading most parts really felt like a chore. I did have high hopes at the beginning, there was a revolution planned, there were nice set ups for different plots and then I feel everything went right as I did not want it to go. I do like long books but this one was just too long and many things felt too pointless.
Writing all this I even feel my rating might be too high but I did really like the world so I will leave it there.
tobirobit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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
4.5
esh0nai's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
4.75