rxh05d's review against another edition
I don't know if this is a difference with the format or the books, since I read the first two in the print version and listened to this one. But this was SO ANNOYING. The readers just sounded way overdramatic and it made it obvious how repetitive the writing was. (Spoiler for book 2)
The characters didn't at all sound like they took the situation seriously. Pressia went around telling every single adult what she planned to do instead of being diplomatic. And acting like the line between pure and fused people is just about prejudice instead of actual lives being on the line because they're on two sides of the war. Partridge had no sense of subterfuge. Where he should have recognized he wasn't actually in charge and tried to play along while finding allies to do the things he wanted quietly, he just went around ordering people to do things they clearly weren't going to do like if he said "that's an order" it magically made them do what he said.
I read a few reviews and the ending didn't sound like it was worth continuing.
Spoiler
He had killed his father. He couldn't stop thinking about how he'd killed his father. Should he feel guilty for killing his father? What if they knew he'd killed his father. Was his father alive? But he killed his father!The characters didn't at all sound like they took the situation seriously. Pressia went around telling every single adult what she planned to do instead of being diplomatic. And acting like the line between pure and fused people is just about prejudice instead of actual lives being on the line because they're on two sides of the war. Partridge had no sense of subterfuge. Where he should have recognized he wasn't actually in charge and tried to play along while finding allies to do the things he wanted quietly, he just went around ordering people to do things they clearly weren't going to do like if he said "that's an order" it magically made them do what he said.
I read a few reviews and the ending didn't sound like it was worth continuing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Ableism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Confinement
Minor: Genocide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Self harm, and Suicide
atjude's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
How awful that a series with such promise would be capped off by this poorly paced and badly plotted book. The character development that took place in books 1 and 2 was nowhere to be seen in this book. Many times throughout this book the beginnings of something fantastic come to a grinding halt and then are abandoned.
It’s utterly disappointing that the book is a slog that ends abruptly with everyone doing wild things that are out of character. The forced, heavy handed conflict at the end of the book is so unnecessary and the behaviour of those involved is bizarre. I’m not disappointed that there wasn’t a happy ending, in fact I adore books that end with consequences and continued struggle—I am upset by the rushed, neglectful finale to a series of world-building glory, full of unique characters.
Spoiler
For instance, why did we travel all the way to Ireland, experience a whole new culture, and then abandon it? The clues left behind brought us across the ocean, which was so exciting, but nothing about this new culture mattered. What did we learn there? The clues might as well have led them to DC, where they find the formula and dip out to the Dome.It’s utterly disappointing that the book is a slog that ends abruptly with everyone doing wild things that are out of character. The forced, heavy handed conflict at the end of the book is so unnecessary and the behaviour of those involved is bizarre. I’m not disappointed that there wasn’t a happy ending, in fact I adore books that end with consequences and continued struggle—I am upset by the rushed, neglectful finale to a series of world-building glory, full of unique characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
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