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A review by darkskybooks
The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
4.0
Final books of trilogies are always challenging - how to wrap up a story in a satisfying way whilst honoring everything that has gone before. The Bone Shard War does an admirable job, with the stakes and action levels raised suitably high. The politics takes a bit of a backburner and we instead have a questing dynamic, racing about across the world. The conflict, when it arrives, is on a suitably epic scale.
That being said I do miss the dank and dingy atmosphere of particularly the first book. There is significantly less of that aesthetic in this final novel. The bone shard magic itself is very much out of focus (although what influence it does have is very much malign), the focus instead being on the grander Alanga magic.
The Polynesian/Asian cultural touchstones do give the story an interesting vibe that I really do enjoy. The world here is interesting, although despite the large amount of journeying in this story there is not too much distinctive about each island.
The characters are really the driving part of the plot. Each of them are flawed, but those flaws are well realised and add to the character rather than detracting from them, and provide a lot of the motivation for the plot.
Overall I find myself sad to be saying goodbye to this world. It was distinctly different, and the characters really were ones I fell in love with. Ultimately it is a very satisfying denouement to the series.
That being said I do miss the dank and dingy atmosphere of particularly the first book. There is significantly less of that aesthetic in this final novel. The bone shard magic itself is very much out of focus (although what influence it does have is very much malign), the focus instead being on the grander Alanga magic.
The Polynesian/Asian cultural touchstones do give the story an interesting vibe that I really do enjoy. The world here is interesting, although despite the large amount of journeying in this story there is not too much distinctive about each island.
The characters are really the driving part of the plot. Each of them are flawed, but those flaws are well realised and add to the character rather than detracting from them, and provide a lot of the motivation for the plot.
Overall I find myself sad to be saying goodbye to this world. It was distinctly different, and the characters really were ones I fell in love with. Ultimately it is a very satisfying denouement to the series.