michael_gallipo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.5
cheloboo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
gipanu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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
5.0
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Brian Staveley sure knows how to write but this series still misses that magical ingredient that makes me fall in love with a book. But I am sure that all who loved Emeperor's Blades are going to love this one.
argentrabe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
disastrouspenguin's review against another edition
4.0
Still quite good, but not quite as enjoyable as the first. You know those series where characters start making poor decisions and you're screaming "NO!! NO!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT!!" but they ignore you and do it anyways and then everything turns into a sort of cluster-you-know-what? This book sort of devolves into that. Still, really interesting development of characters and turns of the plot make the torture worth the while. So far so good.
ornithopter1's review against another edition
3.0
Given the promise of the first book, I was surprised at how little direction this volume had ... and I'm left wondering, Who am I supposed to be rooting for here?
thedashdude's review against another edition
1.0
The Emperor's Blades: 3/5
The Providence of Fire: 3/5
Maybe I was in a bad mood but this sucked and I gave both books 3 stars because they were good enough and maybe it would get better but it didn't and the more I think about them the less I like them. Might read book 3 just to see if I've been unfair in retrospect but might not.
The idea of evil buddhism was pretty cool and I dig the lore surrounding the early history of man but the plot was lame and monk boy was a cool idea and weak in practice and edgy bird man and worthless princess were not fun either conceptually or in practice.
The Providence of Fire: 3/5
Maybe I was in a bad mood but this sucked and I gave both books 3 stars because they were good enough and maybe it would get better but it didn't and the more I think about them the less I like them. Might read book 3 just to see if I've been unfair in retrospect but might not.
The idea of evil buddhism was pretty cool and I dig the lore surrounding the early history of man but the plot was lame and monk boy was a cool idea and weak in practice and edgy bird man and worthless princess were not fun either conceptually or in practice.
zivan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed The Providence of Fire. Action packed, epic, dark. Brought to vivid life by Simon Vance's excellent narration.
I must admit though that I was triggered by all the Gaslighting by bad faith actors. Seeing the protagonists maneuvered into bad decisions by fake news was just a bit too much for me at times and I had to take a break.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting