Reviews

A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve

ivaisreading's review against another edition

3.0

it’s… very long.

I don’t know, I just really couldn’t get into this one as much as the previous ones. The events are really drawn out and I wasn’t invested at all - I missed pivotal events in the plot and had to flip back through the book to find them!

I guess it was just a bit long-winded. If it had been a similar length to the first three, it might have been an easier read - this took me such a long time to finish.

I’d recommend reading for closure, but it’s not the best in the series. I’ll probably still try the prequel series though.

d_liountris's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jelbertie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

jarvo_666's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

5.0

gabydeppe's review against another edition

2.0

i rushed through the first three books and absolutely loved them. however, book four was a struggle and it continued to be a struggle. the only reason i managed to finally finish it after months is because i wanted to see how it ends. to see if tom and hester got back together.

robert_sandmann's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

5.0

nutmegcollects's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

librariancollections's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

zenithharpink's review

4.0

This is ABSOLUTELY the book I've been waiting for in this series. I really didn't enjoy the first book, and it got worse from there, but I realize it was all setting the stage for this book. It absolutely could have been done better, but I suppose it is what it is.

This book is by no means perfect, and Hester never managed to redeem herself as far as I was concerned. Additionally, Mr. Reeve couldn't really decide who this book was about, Wren or Tom. As a result, the narrative was at times a little awkward, and the ending was a little more...epic than the story deserved.

Otherwise, I enjoyed this book. It was chaotic in the best possible way, the narrative and characters were interesting, and generally there was a satisfying wrap-up for the characters in this series.

I would recommend this to fans of the series, as well as those looking for an enjoyable dystopian YA read. Strictly speaking, the book is better if you have the earlier books in the series under your belt, but in my opinion, they're such a slog I can't really recommend it.

kelpipie78's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.0