Reviews

This is a complicated book to review. I enjoyed this series overall--the depth of the world(s), the connections between the characters, Tremaine's sarcastic self. But this book (as well as the others) suffered pacing problems. Too slow in the beginning... Too quick at the end. I also would have liked a stronger character arc from Tremaine.

That being said... I'm glad I read the series, and this book. And I will continue to read Martha Wells in the future!

jvilches's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

humvee's review against another edition

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5.0

A solid conclusion to The Fall of Ile-Rein story arc

I simply love Martha Wells' writing. Her characters are protagonists that I like, and wish I could get to know in the real world. I've read lots of stories from other authors where I didn't like the protagonist at all. Her settings are rich, and the plot keeps me up reading long after I should have gone to sleep. In this third book in the story arc, things get dire for our heroes, but most of them win through. By three-fourths of the way through the book, I just couldn't see how Martha Wells could wrap up the story in the pages remaining. But she does it, and without making the ending feel rushed. I'm only sad the story is over. But I will look forward to the next title from Martha Wells that I find!

hagbard_celine's review against another edition

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4.0

Series gets a cumulative 4 for being engrossing and sufficiently distracting during the Plague. This book resolves the story nicely, with the help of an Absolutely Enormous Exposition Bomb that goes off about four fifths of the way through.

frostfeather's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

ceridwenanne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense

4.25

I never really felt like I was having my socks blown off throughout this series, but something clicked in this final book in the trilogy, and I was completely invested. So much so I'd sit in the garage after my commute home, in the dark, freaking out while I listened. I loved how imperfect and flawed in their own ways everyone was, and how well fleshed even minor characters were (and there are *a lot* of characters.) I also appreciated how shitty the war was, and how, even having turned the tide in the end, it was a mess and nothing was going to be like it was.

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