enbyglitch's review against another edition
4.0
[2nd read]
Following on from Shadow Games, I think I've now read >98% of what I remember from the series. Truly not much clue what is coming in the remaining four books.
This one's a little tough, lacking the real Company vibe in a similar way to "Silver Spike". I enjoyed the Lady's journey with the Deceivers greatly, although -
1) I could do with her being a little more competent and confident. Had she really come to rely on her magic for everything in her life?
2) Need better reasoning behind her not recognizing her pregnancy. Contraceptive spells she had in place with the Dominator, being some form of undead herself, whatever.
3) Show the betrayal at the end!! Cook clearly wanted the pregnancy to be a huge reveal and then to never deal with it again, but man what a shitty way to advance Narayan and these other characters we spent the whole book with.
Could also have used a little more transparency with the great Wizards - as it is a third of this book is just maniacal scheming, laughter, and shrieking with the only real development being the switch Catcher pulled. The lore is excellent, at least.
Better executed than "Spike", but still missed a couple characters, thought Lady could've been handled better, and can't help but feel like not much *happened* here when all is said and done.
Following on from Shadow Games, I think I've now read >98% of what I remember from the series. Truly not much clue what is coming in the remaining four books.
This one's a little tough, lacking the real Company vibe in a similar way to "Silver Spike". I enjoyed the Lady's journey with the Deceivers greatly, although -
1) I could do with her being a little more competent and confident. Had she really come to rely on her magic for everything in her life?
2) Need better reasoning behind her not recognizing her pregnancy. Contraceptive spells she had in place with the Dominator, being some form of undead herself, whatever.
3) Show the betrayal at the end!! Cook clearly wanted the pregnancy to be a huge reveal and then to never deal with it again, but man what a shitty way to advance Narayan and these other characters we spent the whole book with.
Could also have used a little more transparency with the great Wizards - as it is a third of this book is just maniacal scheming, laughter, and shrieking with the only real development being the switch Catcher pulled. The lore is excellent, at least.
Better executed than "Spike", but still missed a couple characters, thought Lady could've been handled better, and can't help but feel like not much *happened* here when all is said and done.
jurdek's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
5.0
zachedwards89's review against another edition
3.0
I'm so confused by how useless all the antagonists of this book were.
comuni's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mysticwarden's review against another edition
5.0
Reading about Lady's conquest in the south is like what I imagine Pat Rothfuss' most zealous fans feel when they reread Kvothe's ridiculous misadventures for the hundredth time. It's an absolutely sublime experience. This is arguably one of the best and definitely my favorite book of the whole lot. Top toot!
gyttja's review against another edition
3.0
Det här var nog den jag tycker är tråkigast hittills. Alldeles för mycket tid och energi lades på truppförflyttningar istället för story och karaktärsutveckling.
shaekin's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of this book is from Lady's perspective was was different and kind of fun. My complaints about the book are more about plot than anything else. Definitely still planning to keep reading, but the books are becoming less and less a story in themselves and more and more just a chapter. I'm fine with that provided it does eventually wrap up.
cheezvshcrvst's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 not for being inferior to or otherwise less fun than previous entries, but the last couple of books have lacked the overall subtlety and malevolent glee of the first three (and one half) books in the series. The Book of Lady is one of a humbled but growing power that has been taken way out of her depth and long-stripped of her resources. It throws aside the veils and trappings of disguise hung up by the former Taken, and it prances as the epic fantasy the initial trilogy spewed black vomit and blood upon with… shadows and suspicious winged creatures. There’s a magic carpet (a welcome possible-portent of events and battles to come?) and the admission of many fears and doubts as motivating aspects of evil and corruption. It’s cool that Cook can write cool stories that tell you the big baddies and righteous warriors are just as human as anyone, capable of failures and carrying flaws. But the shift (ha ha ha) away from these being the story of ordinary men clawing for life and a place in the world amidst the brutalities of the extraordinary (multidimensional gods and channeled hellspawn, nigh immortal wizards corrupt and intent on dominating the world, etc.) definitely leaves a reader of Dreams of Steel with something to be desired. To say nothing of whether or not the cliffhanger endings actually satisfy a complete narrative (because it’s arguable that they’re truly *cool* f**king endings!)
Whatever you may think of the series by now likely won’t change by time you finish reading this book. I myself am very much looking forward to continuing. I do expect a little bit more to happen in these books than DoL and its immediate predecessor gave us, though.
Whatever you may think of the series by now likely won’t change by time you finish reading this book. I myself am very much looking forward to continuing. I do expect a little bit more to happen in these books than DoL and its immediate predecessor gave us, though.
masong63's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5