_pearl_'s review against another edition
4.75
I don't like war stories, but I'll accept it from Daniel O'Malley
heatherjm's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
user226's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This was a struggle to be honest. I’m not a huge fan of wartime literature, even with a supernatural twist, so that meant half the book wasn’t as interesting as Lyn’s present day experience. The 3 historic characters just didn’t particularly grab me either. I also feel like the bits of Pratchett-esque hyperbole didn’t gel with the overall world, which is something I didn’t like about the previous books, either, but those worked because the protagonist was so endearing and the central mysteries more thrilling. I also felt the book was far too long - I got the sense that by the end even the author was a bit tired with the material and Lyn’s story was very much sped up to close it out - aside from the weirdly detailed family backstory that stuck out like a sore thumb.
ruthreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I love this series! Just wish there were more of them
tacanderson's review against another edition
4.0
I've been waiting for the next instalment of O'Malley's Rook series. This was well worth the wait. A great continuation of the series.
ugoglen's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
forlightandpages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
3.5
ashercsb's review against another edition
4.0
In many ways, Blitz is very like the first two volumes of this series. It's endlessly inventive and full of weird and wonderful anecdotes while also inheriting the same structural and stylistic things that I took issue with in [b:Stiletto|25695756|Stiletto (The Checquy Files, #2)|Daniel O'Malley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433883952l/25695756._SY75_.jpg|24809605].
In some ways, I felt it improved over Stiletto. Where I felt that that book sometimes went darker and more grimdark with agent deaths than I might think necessary, the focus in this one on the training process meant that the adventures were more fun. There was still plenty of death, on page and off, but it felt less and less like it was only there for shock value.
The problem I had, though, was that the anecdotes and digressions of related stories didn't fit in nearly so neatly. [b:The Rook|10836728|The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)|Daniel O'Malley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561584006l/10836728._SY75_.jpg|15750881] had the alternative chapters of messages as a framing device, and it worked there. Here, however, I felt on a handful of occasions that the inclusions of these stories derailed the narrative flow.
The narrative flow was also sometimes hampered by some basic structural stuff. I more or less felt that the two narratives had enough in common to justify their pairing, but the problem was that they didn't have the same pacing or arc, with one of them taking a lot longer to reach a comparable level of tension. This had the effect of occasionally derailing an otherwise effective buildup, which I found frustrating.
As usual, O'Malley has left a small handful of threads untied, and I'm hoping that we get another book in the series that can address some of them. I'll definitely read anything else that comes my way.
In some ways, I felt it improved over Stiletto. Where I felt that that book sometimes went darker and more grimdark with agent deaths than I might think necessary, the focus in this one on the training process meant that the adventures were more fun. There was still plenty of death, on page and off, but it felt less and less like it was only there for shock value.
The problem I had, though, was that the anecdotes and digressions of related stories didn't fit in nearly so neatly. [b:The Rook|10836728|The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)|Daniel O'Malley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561584006l/10836728._SY75_.jpg|15750881] had the alternative chapters of messages as a framing device, and it worked there. Here, however, I felt on a handful of occasions that the inclusions of these stories derailed the narrative flow.
The narrative flow was also sometimes hampered by some basic structural stuff. I more or less felt that the two narratives had enough in common to justify their pairing, but the problem was that they didn't have the same pacing or arc, with one of them taking a lot longer to reach a comparable level of tension. This had the effect of occasionally derailing an otherwise effective buildup, which I found frustrating.
As usual, O'Malley has left a small handful of threads untied, and I'm hoping that we get another book in the series that can address some of them. I'll definitely read anything else that comes my way.
hannah_t_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
joe_balcony's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25