jd_jinkies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laviskrg's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Mediocre.
This book suffers from Second Book syndrome. It is worse than its predecessor which, although not flawless was significantly superior due to the fact that the powers mostly made sense, the world building was done right, the dialogue was above average and the description had deep musings in it. This second installment went haywire because it tapped into something I personally cannot stand in 95% of fantasy books, and this is MAGIC. Although I no longer like Harry Potter, nor am I able to fathom why any adult would, I consider HP the epitome of magic in literature. It was done right, it made sense and it was so connected to the world building, right from the start.
I also like magic in Game of Thrones, where it is mostly metaphorical and based on old world cultures and myths and where it does not possess a front-line seat in the grand scheme of things.
I HATE it when magic is used as a lack of something better, as a lack of science and actual shit. When it is used in a language where it should not exist as a term in the first place. I hate it when it violates other words, especially in a book with a lot of complex description. I feel that the interpretation of things one cannot understand as magic is very similar to religion and that just makes me gag.
The first book was better because the powers of orogenes made sense. They were immense, capable of tearing the world a new anus, but they were still in certain ways, limited and could be measured on a scale of sorts. In the second installment everything and everyone knows orogeny, everyone is beyond godlike, everyone is capable of so much random shit. I understand that orogeny has evolved from so much more than simple earth bending, but hell, when it becomes matter-body-cell-cosmos bending it just seems slightly retarded to me. Because if you have such cheat codes, even if you need to finish some random side quests to achieve them, the game becomes lackluster and boring.
I hated Nassun, as I hate most child/teen characters. Few people are able to write a kid character which does not inspire in me immense hatred every time they spew dialogue. Nassun is too much of a Mary Sue combination of flawless, perfect, powerful, lonely, depressed, confused and starved for love. I still enjoy her mother, the main character so much more.
The trans-sexual character is still annoying and still useless. I am not interested in Tonkee, her spastic, random manifestations of "genius", her love interests or her history. Inclusionism at its best. The gay/bi character of Alabaster was SO ruined and so effing used that I truly see no benefit in having an LGBT main character. It is far more homophobic to add randomly gay characters as main leads only to show them as broken, malfunctioning, sad and having shitty personalities. It does nothing to make them all powerful and let's be honest, Alabaster sucked even when times were good.
The only characters I am really attached to are Hoa and Schaffa and I want more of those please.
Overall, this book was slow-paced but with huge amounts of fast-forward such as "Six months passed". This is a very lazy way of not really embracing your own apocalyptic scenario and stretching out your timeline to make way for "epic" battles which are actually more of running around, despairing and then ending an entire population with stupid overpowered abilities. YAWN!
I will let some time pass before jumping in the third book because I need a break from stupid little Nassun and annoying token gay and trans characters thrown under the bus as hysterical and annoying yet special butterfly characters. Give me more science, more physics and LESS magic, please.
This book suffers from Second Book syndrome. It is worse than its predecessor which, although not flawless was significantly superior due to the fact that the powers mostly made sense, the world building was done right, the dialogue was above average and the description had deep musings in it. This second installment went haywire because it tapped into something I personally cannot stand in 95% of fantasy books, and this is MAGIC. Although I no longer like Harry Potter, nor am I able to fathom why any adult would, I consider HP the epitome of magic in literature. It was done right, it made sense and it was so connected to the world building, right from the start.
I also like magic in Game of Thrones, where it is mostly metaphorical and based on old world cultures and myths and where it does not possess a front-line seat in the grand scheme of things.
I HATE it when magic is used as a lack of something better, as a lack of science and actual shit. When it is used in a language where it should not exist as a term in the first place. I hate it when it violates other words, especially in a book with a lot of complex description. I feel that the interpretation of things one cannot understand as magic is very similar to religion and that just makes me gag.
The first book was better because the powers of orogenes made sense. They were immense, capable of tearing the world a new anus, but they were still in certain ways, limited and could be measured on a scale of sorts. In the second installment everything and everyone knows orogeny, everyone is beyond godlike, everyone is capable of so much random shit. I understand that orogeny has evolved from so much more than simple earth bending, but hell, when it becomes matter-body-cell-cosmos bending it just seems slightly retarded to me. Because if you have such cheat codes, even if you need to finish some random side quests to achieve them, the game becomes lackluster and boring.
I hated Nassun, as I hate most child/teen characters. Few people are able to write a kid character which does not inspire in me immense hatred every time they spew dialogue. Nassun is too much of a Mary Sue combination of flawless, perfect, powerful, lonely, depressed, confused and starved for love. I still enjoy her mother, the main character so much more.
The trans-sexual character is still annoying and still useless. I am not interested in Tonkee, her spastic, random manifestations of "genius", her love interests or her history. Inclusionism at its best. The gay/bi character of Alabaster was SO ruined and so effing used that I truly see no benefit in having an LGBT main character. It is far more homophobic to add randomly gay characters as main leads only to show them as broken, malfunctioning, sad and having shitty personalities. It does nothing to make them all powerful and let's be honest, Alabaster sucked even when times were good.
The only characters I am really attached to are Hoa and Schaffa and I want more of those please.
Overall, this book was slow-paced but with huge amounts of fast-forward such as "Six months passed". This is a very lazy way of not really embracing your own apocalyptic scenario and stretching out your timeline to make way for "epic" battles which are actually more of running around, despairing and then ending an entire population with stupid overpowered abilities. YAWN!
I will let some time pass before jumping in the third book because I need a break from stupid little Nassun and annoying token gay and trans characters thrown under the bus as hysterical and annoying yet special butterfly characters. Give me more science, more physics and LESS magic, please.
hetzjani's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kaileeann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
dkai's review against another edition
3.0
It was a solid middle book of the trilogy, I just had some more issues than in the first book. A character who was understandably dodgy and oblique in explanations in the first book felt unjustifiably the same in this book, which felt like a writing choice to maintain suspense rather than how that character would actually behave at this point. I'm also not a huge fan of the young characters who are way smarter and emotionally advanced for no particular reason (which can often happen when writing povs for young characters).
Still, I devoured this book and there was plenty more that was done right in it that kept me going through the minor frustrations. I will probably go through the final book even quicker.
Still, I devoured this book and there was plenty more that was done right in it that kept me going through the minor frustrations. I will probably go through the final book even quicker.
asof's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
karimorton33's review against another edition
5.0
First read was the physical book, second was the audiobook. I think this was a great way to experience the story, as I was already familiar with the world and the audiobook added such a great quality to the storytelling.
indigo_ewenicorn's review against another edition
5.0
The story telling in this book is magnificent.
I'm so glad I am listening to this as the narration is fantastic.
I'm so glad I am listening to this as the narration is fantastic.
ktxx22's review against another edition
4.0
Let’s GOOOOOO!!! This book is gonna bridge the gap (I hope) between a bad ass opening and a kick ass ending! I’m living for this story that is a touch of fantasy, a touch of sci-fi, and a whole lot of dystopian awesomeness. Once again the writing is phenomenal and the representation = FIRE LOL This 2nd Book is considerably slower than the 1st book but it does a lot in the way it moves the story on and sets all the pieces in motion. I’m really enjoying this series and I’m going to give this book 4/5 highly recommend if you’re in a reading slump because the books your reading are stuck in a genre. This series is breaking all the rules!