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lthankins94's review against another edition
2.75
I never was really that engaged in any of the characters. I would read a few pages, realize I didn't absorb much and never felt the need to go back and reread, because it didn't seem to matter.
Too much was crammed into it, a million little strings and histories and little reveals that I'm sure will be wrapped up and explained in book 3, but it got tiresome. The author made a lot of unnecessary side quests to get to main tools for the bigger picture. Lots of exposition and flashbacks, but all done in really confusing manners. Lots of geographies and names sound the same that it is hard to keep track of.
I never really worried about any of the characters...ive heard book 3 makes book 2 worth dealing with.
Too much was crammed into it, a million little strings and histories and little reveals that I'm sure will be wrapped up and explained in book 3, but it got tiresome. The author made a lot of unnecessary side quests to get to main tools for the bigger picture. Lots of exposition and flashbacks, but all done in really confusing manners. Lots of geographies and names sound the same that it is hard to keep track of.
I never really worried about any of the characters...ive heard book 3 makes book 2 worth dealing with.
chudleycannons's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
palma92's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
camerontrotter's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
invisible_universes's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.75
Unusually the second book in a fantasy series sort of lags. The fresh excitement of a new world has worn off, the big climax is still far in the future, everything kind of feels like biding time.
That was not the case with this novel.
This book was filled with intense, smart conflicts that felt like they played into the overarching plot. The peril was always believable, and the characters always acted in ways that felt right for who they are. There is a strong sense in this novel that everyone is doing their best, and that makes the victories feel hard won and the defeats gut-wrenching. Quite simply, nothing here felt like filler.
I've been very impressed with this series so far. It remains expansive in scope and yet approachable in tone. It also feels complete-- I know that's a weird thing to say part way through a series, but something about the way it's written just makes me feel certain there's going to be a satisfying resolution and a closed loop for the story. At this point in a fantasy series I'll often be wondering if there's even a way to tie everything together neatly, but Islington has built my trust so solidly that I'm not doubting it for a second.
That said, I'm not totally clear on the moral here. There's a weird throughline with choice vs pre-destination that I can't quite figure out what the takeaway should be, and I think it might be anti-religion? Or staunchly pro-religion? Idk, hopefully book 3 will clear that up for me.
That was not the case with this novel.
This book was filled with intense, smart conflicts that felt like they played into the overarching plot. The peril was always believable, and the characters always acted in ways that felt right for who they are. There is a strong sense in this novel that everyone is doing their best, and that makes the victories feel hard won and the defeats gut-wrenching. Quite simply, nothing here felt like filler.
I've been very impressed with this series so far. It remains expansive in scope and yet approachable in tone. It also feels complete-- I know that's a weird thing to say part way through a series, but something about the way it's written just makes me feel certain there's going to be a satisfying resolution and a closed loop for the story. At this point in a fantasy series I'll often be wondering if there's even a way to tie everything together neatly, but Islington has built my trust so solidly that I'm not doubting it for a second.
That said, I'm not totally clear on the moral here. There's a weird throughline with choice vs pre-destination that I can't quite figure out what the takeaway should be, and I think it might be anti-religion? Or staunchly pro-religion? Idk, hopefully book 3 will clear that up for me.
le_d_green30's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
morgob's review against another edition
4.0
If I had read this book all in one go, I think I would probably give it five stars. But this took me four months to get through! That normally never happens. It's probably not due to any fault of the book, it is just hard to do epic fantasy novels during the school year. I read a lot of shorter books in between February and now, but this one I just couldn't settle into. Compared to the first book in the series, I would say this one was not as great. Even though I blame part of it on my job, it didn't hold my attention like the first one. There was a lot more behind-the-scenes type stuff going on in this book compared to the first one, which was very action-heavy. This one was filled with lots of flashbacks, between Caeden and other perspectives that we get past information from, like Wirr's dad, the library at Deilannis, and a few other minor characters. There were a ton of flashbacks. Totally necessary from Caeden's perspective. We finally get the whole--I think--story from him. The gaps are filled in. Asha's character was good; she kind of went in the direction I expected. There are just still a large handful of questions that need answering! Also, I'm a little confused as to what the point was of having that one augur character towards the beginning, the one who took over the town. Maybe I missed that point (somewhere in these four months).
Other than the fact that this was a bit difficult because I couldn't remember everything that had happened in both the first book and the beginning of this one (character names are often tough for me to remember, so this was especially confusing to follow (thank god for the character index!!)), I really enjoyed this. I mean, I blew through the last three hundred pages of it just today. I'm excited to get to the next one, especially with the huge spoiler that was at the end of this book! Totally took me by surprise.
Other than the fact that this was a bit difficult because I couldn't remember everything that had happened in both the first book and the beginning of this one (character names are often tough for me to remember, so this was especially confusing to follow (thank god for the character index!!)), I really enjoyed this. I mean, I blew through the last three hundred pages of it just today. I'm excited to get to the next one, especially with the huge spoiler that was at the end of this book! Totally took me by surprise.