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ice119's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
duffypratt's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
My love/hate relationship with this series has taken a decided turn towards hate. I was starting to struggle with this book about 200 pages in, but I figured it wouldn't be a problem if I could just read a chapter a day. That's about 40 pages per/day. That lasted for about three days, and I slowed down to about half a chapter per day, and sometimes couldn't make that. By the end, with only 20 pages left, I wasn't sure that I would be able to finish. My reading speed, which is never fast, slowed down to a glacial pace.
What was the problem? The writing and the bloat. As the series goes on, it seems like Wurts has the freedom to do just what she wants. And since fans of the series seem to think it's beautifully written, and that she is a wordsmith without parallel, it makes perfect sense for her to give those fans what they like. Except it's awful.
She repeats herself endlessly. She constantly reminds us that Arithon is "trained." She has pet words, and seems to add a few new ones with each book. This book saw a lot of emphasis "hale" and "wracked" which joined the ranks of "rank" and "stark" and "rife." At least the overuse of "hale" was correct. The same can't be said for "wracked." How does someone have a "wracked braid"?
She also likes to take words that typically appear one way, and wrench them out of that way for no reason. Here, several people got knocked out by blows to their "napes." In ordinary English, when that word is used, it's "the nape of the neck." The French use it as its own noun, but even the dictionary, in all of its examples includes the whole thing. It's sort of like referring to a "lima bean" as a "lima." You could do it, but all it does is call attention to your writing, and doesn't add anything, while it disrupts the flow.
Then there are the adjectives that serve no purpose at all. My favorite in this book is when she talked of the "living survivors." As opposed to what? The "dead survivors."
There were several sections that took place on a ship. And she overloaded this with precise nautical terms. I've read Moby Dick several times, and Whitejacket, and other nautical fiction. They didn't cause that much difficulty in terms of jargon (even from the 19th century). But here she kept sending me to the dictionary. I finally concluded that she must have had some sort of dictionary of nautical terms at her side, and she was using obscure words here to bog down the prose and make it seem like she knew what she was talking about. Mostly, the words she chose made sense, but sometime they didn't.
And then there's her descriptions of things that can't be described. One that stuck out for me here is "subsonic harmonics." I'm fairly well convinced that she doesn't care what a harmonic is, because she almost never uses the word correctly. It refers to the overtone series as it relates to the fundamental frequency of some pitch. Now, it's entirely possible for their to be a subsonic vibration. Hearing begins at about 20 hz. So something could create a vibration at 5 hz, and that would have its first harmonic at 10hz, which would be subsonic. But you wouldn't hear it, so it's not music, and for it to do anything, it would have to be extremely strong and you would feel it, and the fundamental as a rumble.
But that's not what she's talking about. Rather, it's just part of a word salad that's supposed to be evocative, but doesn't capture any image at all. In another place, she says that when a dragon took flight she did not "traverse time and distance," because those bounds did not limit the dragon's dreams. Sounds cool, but I have absolutely no idea what this is supposed to mean. If the dragon is not limited by space or time, then it could go anywhere and anywhen, so it could simply go back in time to resolve the problems that it's trying to resolve. But that's not what happens, and the dragon does actually seem to act in accordance with our ideas of time and space. So, what is she saying here? Again, word salad.
The unfortunate thing about all this is that a lot of cool things happen in this book. There are some great character moments, some real surprises, and some emotional scenes. Moreover, there was a kind of depth given to Lysaer that has hitherto been absent. But this is weighed down by bloat and by Wurt's insistence on making everything go to 11. For example, the Duke in the sieged castle spends the entire book in a frothing rage, spitting out elaborate and ridiculous curses about every thing no matter how large or small. The Korathian Prime is even worse. And Arithon and Eliara are just as extreme, on the side of good.
That leaves me liking some of the less important characters: Dakar, Sulfin Evend, Davien, even Fionn Areth. And I like the idea that Arithon has determined to resolve the conflicts here without engaging in violence. I'm just not sure about the hocus hocus at the heart of the mechanisms that allow him to succeed. After eight books, I have little to no grasp on the practical limitations of the magic involved here, and so the resolution seems to have a whiff of deus ex machina. He can do what he does because new magical power.
And finally a spoiler about the end: the sex scene that ultimately rescued Arithon was very creepy. He's saved by rape? But it's ok, because the body that's raping him is being possessed by the woman he actually loves, so he maybe would have consented to it. But if he would have consented to it, why are they keeping it secret from him? And worse, they will be hiding his child from him. And why? It makes no sense. Maybe to keep it secret from Lysaer, but the Koriani Prime already knows about it, and surely one of the Fellowship, or Eliara should be aware at least of this possibility.
Writing this, it seems like I've talked myself into disliking this more than I actually did. It's going to be a while before I pick up the next book, and I may decide never to get around to it. But I'm eight books in and there are only three to go, so I will probably relent sometime after the last one is finally published.
What was the problem? The writing and the bloat. As the series goes on, it seems like Wurts has the freedom to do just what she wants. And since fans of the series seem to think it's beautifully written, and that she is a wordsmith without parallel, it makes perfect sense for her to give those fans what they like. Except it's awful.
She repeats herself endlessly. She constantly reminds us that Arithon is "trained." She has pet words, and seems to add a few new ones with each book. This book saw a lot of emphasis "hale" and "wracked" which joined the ranks of "rank" and "stark" and "rife." At least the overuse of "hale" was correct. The same can't be said for "wracked." How does someone have a "wracked braid"?
She also likes to take words that typically appear one way, and wrench them out of that way for no reason. Here, several people got knocked out by blows to their "napes." In ordinary English, when that word is used, it's "the nape of the neck." The French use it as its own noun, but even the dictionary, in all of its examples includes the whole thing. It's sort of like referring to a "lima bean" as a "lima." You could do it, but all it does is call attention to your writing, and doesn't add anything, while it disrupts the flow.
Then there are the adjectives that serve no purpose at all. My favorite in this book is when she talked of the "living survivors." As opposed to what? The "dead survivors."
There were several sections that took place on a ship. And she overloaded this with precise nautical terms. I've read Moby Dick several times, and Whitejacket, and other nautical fiction. They didn't cause that much difficulty in terms of jargon (even from the 19th century). But here she kept sending me to the dictionary. I finally concluded that she must have had some sort of dictionary of nautical terms at her side, and she was using obscure words here to bog down the prose and make it seem like she knew what she was talking about. Mostly, the words she chose made sense, but sometime they didn't.
And then there's her descriptions of things that can't be described. One that stuck out for me here is "subsonic harmonics." I'm fairly well convinced that she doesn't care what a harmonic is, because she almost never uses the word correctly. It refers to the overtone series as it relates to the fundamental frequency of some pitch. Now, it's entirely possible for their to be a subsonic vibration. Hearing begins at about 20 hz. So something could create a vibration at 5 hz, and that would have its first harmonic at 10hz, which would be subsonic. But you wouldn't hear it, so it's not music, and for it to do anything, it would have to be extremely strong and you would feel it, and the fundamental as a rumble.
But that's not what she's talking about. Rather, it's just part of a word salad that's supposed to be evocative, but doesn't capture any image at all. In another place, she says that when a dragon took flight she did not "traverse time and distance," because those bounds did not limit the dragon's dreams. Sounds cool, but I have absolutely no idea what this is supposed to mean. If the dragon is not limited by space or time, then it could go anywhere and anywhen, so it could simply go back in time to resolve the problems that it's trying to resolve. But that's not what happens, and the dragon does actually seem to act in accordance with our ideas of time and space. So, what is she saying here? Again, word salad.
The unfortunate thing about all this is that a lot of cool things happen in this book. There are some great character moments, some real surprises, and some emotional scenes. Moreover, there was a kind of depth given to Lysaer that has hitherto been absent. But this is weighed down by bloat and by Wurt's insistence on making everything go to 11. For example, the Duke in the sieged castle spends the entire book in a frothing rage, spitting out elaborate and ridiculous curses about every thing no matter how large or small. The Korathian Prime is even worse. And Arithon and Eliara are just as extreme, on the side of good.
That leaves me liking some of the less important characters: Dakar, Sulfin Evend, Davien, even Fionn Areth. And I like the idea that Arithon has determined to resolve the conflicts here without engaging in violence. I'm just not sure about the hocus hocus at the heart of the mechanisms that allow him to succeed. After eight books, I have little to no grasp on the practical limitations of the magic involved here, and so the resolution seems to have a whiff of deus ex machina. He can do what he does because new magical power.
And finally a spoiler about the end: the sex scene that ultimately rescued Arithon was very creepy. He's saved by rape? But it's ok, because the body that's raping him is being possessed by the woman he actually loves, so he maybe would have consented to it. But if he would have consented to it, why are they keeping it secret from him? And worse, they will be hiding his child from him. And why? It makes no sense. Maybe to keep it secret from Lysaer, but the Koriani Prime already knows about it, and surely one of the Fellowship, or Eliara should be aware at least of this possibility.
Writing this, it seems like I've talked myself into disliking this more than I actually did. It's going to be a while before I pick up the next book, and I may decide never to get around to it. But I'm eight books in and there are only three to go, so I will probably relent sometime after the last one is finally published.
tstreet's review
5.0
I have 2 more books to go. I am sad. I love this book and this series. I love Lysaer and Arithon so much. I can't pick a favorite cause I like them about the same. I felt so bad for Arithon when he has to stand by himself againjst Lysaer. I hate how Lysaer has teamed up with such an evil person and all the hurt it is doing to him. I can't wait to continue the series. Definitely, as usual, 20 out of 10 stars.
brinstarre's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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
varmint3's review
5.0
Lovely ending to the arc - wraps up so many secondary story lines (many in surprising ways), yet leaves me hungry for the finale! And beautiful writing...
siddharthageorge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mousie_books's review
3.0
Lysaer rouses his warhost against the fixed target of Alestron. Prescient knowledge of the cost of the siege causes Arithon to withdrawn his support and the Fellowship to entreat the s'Brydion to abandon their ancestral home. Bransian s'Brydion refuses, and instead, seeks to entangle Arithon in the war against his will.
I love the intricacy of the characters and the story threads of the series, and oddly, I enjoy these books more in retrospect, after finishing a book and pondering it, than while reading it. It's one of the more unique fantasy series. However, as a product of Arithon's pacifistic stance, the plots have been relying increasingly on Athera's mysteries. I respect his views and their necessity, but I've never really understood what is possible or permissible in the magic system of this world. When the characters are in the midst of daring or disrespectful acts, I'm just accepting it as part of the narration, but I don't really feel the drama. I enjoyed it in the past books where the story revolved around Arithon's cleverness or the tragedy of his fate. The writing is beautiful but slow. I definitely will be picking up the next book, but I need a breather first.
I love the intricacy of the characters and the story threads of the series, and oddly, I enjoy these books more in retrospect, after finishing a book and pondering it, than while reading it. It's one of the more unique fantasy series. However, as a product of Arithon's pacifistic stance, the plots have been relying increasingly on Athera's mysteries. I respect his views and their necessity, but I've never really understood what is possible or permissible in the magic system of this world. When the characters are in the midst of daring or disrespectful acts, I'm just accepting it as part of the narration, but I don't really feel the drama. I enjoyed it in the past books where the story revolved around Arithon's cleverness or the tragedy of his fate.
Spoiler
I have no idea why the Fellowship wants Glendien's pregnancy to be a secret. Obviously, Arithon will find it devastating, but I would imagine when he finds out later, he'll be even more... upset... not to mention, betrayed.majkia's review against another edition
5.0
This book represents all the things I love about reading a series as opposed to individual works. Change, based on learning, experience and exposure to events, the world deepening and revealing before unknown depths, the characters having to survive mistakes and the vagaries of plans gone awry because of things not understood or known, or simply because neither people nor plans are perfect.
Wonderful ending to this arc. Looking forward to finding out where in the universe the rest of the series goes I have no idea! And that’s brilliant.
Wonderful ending to this arc. Looking forward to finding out where in the universe the rest of the series goes I have no idea! And that’s brilliant.
katmarhan's review against another edition
5.0
The Alliance of Light arc in the War of Light and Shadow comes to a close in Stormed Fortress. The author clearly knows and loves her characters, with their strengths & their flaws--all the qualities that make each of them uniquely themselves. There is not a cardboard character in the bunch! The "secondary" characters develop with as much depth as the main characters, and each plays a critical role.
Many questions are answered and the story takes many unexpected twists and turns on its way to those answers. Yet searing questions remain.
At times, the complexity of the multi-layered story overwhelms my mind as the chord of the Paravian-wrought stones as Alestron or the star-song of Alithiel when drawn from its sheath.
Much to ponder as I await the final three books in this series.
Many questions are answered and the story takes many unexpected twists and turns on its way to those answers. Yet searing questions remain.
At times, the complexity of the multi-layered story overwhelms my mind as the chord of the Paravian-wrought stones as Alestron or the star-song of Alithiel when drawn from its sheath.
Much to ponder as I await the final three books in this series.
hypatian's review
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25