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prunechips's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma
malphassador's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
More action-packed than the previous book in the series, but with somewhat weaker characterization. There's some uncharacteristic behaviour to advance the plot, much drama and emotional outbursts, and I must say I would have preferred a little more grinning and bearing it. Of course, it's supposed to be dramatic, and it's probably unfair of me to wish for more stoicism from people who undergo torture on a regular basis. It's just... all those feeeelings. It's still good fun though, and I do want to find out what becomes of everyone after a very dramatic ending.
devirtualized's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Misogyny, War, Confinement, Death, Grief, Slavery, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Ableism, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Torture, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Abortion, Medical content, Vomit, Animal death, and Drug use
writinwater's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
books17's review against another edition
4.0
Jesus christ, I simply can't believe that [a:Jo Spurrier|5344384|Jo Spurrier|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1343620843p2/5344384.jpg] hasn't had anything published before these - they are simply fantastic.
Especially in this one, probably because the characters were developed well in the first novel [b:Winter Be My Shield|13092515|Winter Be My Shield (Children of the Black Sun, #1)|Jo Spurrier|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337996595s/13092515.jpg|18264359], nearly every character was relatable and likable at some level - especially the villains, a lot of whom turn out not to be so villainous, which is exactly how a good villain should be.
A few negatives this time around - the ending, although intense and awesome, felt a bit rushed - I'm not sure if there's a third or more novels planned? I hope there is, but the ending didn't really hint at that. Don't get me wrong this isn't necessarily a bad thing, nothing worse than a cliffhanger.
The other thing that irked me was the amount of sex - that makes me sound like some prude or something, which I'm not, but a lot of it just seemed unnecessary. Especially when the concept of being able to share/effect power via climax was introduced - that seemed a bit like something from a fantasy porn fanfiction.
Nevertheless, a great read - I look forward to hopefully, sequels, or failing that other novels from this talented Adelaidian.
Especially in this one, probably because the characters were developed well in the first novel [b:Winter Be My Shield|13092515|Winter Be My Shield (Children of the Black Sun, #1)|Jo Spurrier|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337996595s/13092515.jpg|18264359], nearly every character was relatable and likable at some level - especially the villains, a lot of whom turn out not to be so villainous, which is exactly how a good villain should be.
A few negatives this time around - the ending, although intense and awesome, felt a bit rushed - I'm not sure if there's a third or more novels planned? I hope there is, but the ending didn't really hint at that. Don't get me wrong this isn't necessarily a bad thing, nothing worse than a cliffhanger.
The other thing that irked me was the amount of sex - that makes me sound like some prude or something, which I'm not, but a lot of it just seemed unnecessary. Especially when the concept of being able to share/effect power via climax was introduced - that seemed a bit like something from a fantasy porn fanfiction.
Nevertheless, a great read - I look forward to hopefully, sequels, or failing that other novels from this talented Adelaidian.
eecee's review against another edition
3.0
This review is informed by having finished all the series, but I'll just repeat the review in each one.
Overall I'm glad to have read to the end of the third book, I thought the story was worthwhile and well done, the character development definitely improved over the series, and the magic system was pretty original (I would really like to read a series set later in time that explored the magic a lot more).
Warning for spoilers ahead.
Characters:
Sierra – did we ever really get to know her? Motivations were often a little unclear and seemed more to suit the plot than actually fit her character, and her character moved further and further from the limelight as the series continued. The character development was limited in a way because the reader never really got to know much about any of the characters. While avoiding info-dumping is important, I really wish I could have got a sense of each character’s back story fairly early in the book, because I was still trying to piece together exactly where everyone was from and how they fit together halfway through the third book. Having said that, Rasten's character arc was fantastic and the characterisation of his mental state mostly very believable.
Magic system:
Totally lacking in clarity! A bit like characters – there was an info dump on how magic worked somewhere in I think the third book. This should have been somewhere near the start of the first because it was never completely clear til then. The reader needs to understand the system so it’s not a distraction wondering if you understand it yet.
Torture:
Torture was a central theme of the book. Questionable whether it was perhaps too much, too often. Was it really believable? Especially, is it believable that anyone can put up with that much? The author does a fairly good job of showing the post-traumatic injury done to everyone by the torture, especially in the second and third books. But is it realistic?
Slavery:
I could just about cope with the torture scenes, but the whole depiction of slavery was a bit too much – made me want to throw the book against the room. I don't really enjoy slogging through those 'how much awful can we put the character through before they rise in triumph on the other side' type books (although the redeeming feature here I guess is the lack of rising in triumph...)
I didn't really find the behaviour of the ‘slavers’ group that believable. It felt at times like the author had read the worst accounts of child abuse, torture and slavery and decided that in societies where these things happened, they must happen in their worst form, all the time, to everyone. Real people and societies are much more varied, their motivations and personal convictions clash. I didn’t feel this came through well in the first book in particular.
Disability, acquired injury, trauma:
The way the author deals with the mental and physical trauma and disability acquired through a traumatic incident seems good (although speaking from limited experience or research). At least she doesn’t have them get over it and get better, and especially not within an unrealistic timeframe. Because it’s such a trope of fantasy books, I kind of expected Sierra’s power would actually turn out to be a power to heal, so it was nice to be surprised here (even though her power was never really well explained).
Relationships and romance:
I liked the diversity of relationships, and especially a whole culture where monogamous relationships were not the norm (although it was never quite explained how the family system worked). The development of relationships between the characters, whether romantic or not, was one of the best bits of character development in the books and one of my favourite parts of the books.
Overall I'm glad to have read to the end of the third book, I thought the story was worthwhile and well done, the character development definitely improved over the series, and the magic system was pretty original (I would really like to read a series set later in time that explored the magic a lot more).
Warning for spoilers ahead.
Characters:
Sierra – did we ever really get to know her? Motivations were often a little unclear and seemed more to suit the plot than actually fit her character, and her character moved further and further from the limelight as the series continued. The character development was limited in a way because the reader never really got to know much about any of the characters. While avoiding info-dumping is important, I really wish I could have got a sense of each character’s back story fairly early in the book, because I was still trying to piece together exactly where everyone was from and how they fit together halfway through the third book. Having said that, Rasten's character arc was fantastic and the characterisation of his mental state mostly very believable.
Magic system:
Totally lacking in clarity! A bit like characters – there was an info dump on how magic worked somewhere in I think the third book. This should have been somewhere near the start of the first because it was never completely clear til then. The reader needs to understand the system so it’s not a distraction wondering if you understand it yet.
Torture:
Torture was a central theme of the book. Questionable whether it was perhaps too much, too often. Was it really believable? Especially, is it believable that anyone can put up with that much? The author does a fairly good job of showing the post-traumatic injury done to everyone by the torture, especially in the second and third books. But is it realistic?
Slavery:
I could just about cope with the torture scenes, but the whole depiction of slavery was a bit too much – made me want to throw the book against the room. I don't really enjoy slogging through those 'how much awful can we put the character through before they rise in triumph on the other side' type books (although the redeeming feature here I guess is the lack of rising in triumph...)
I didn't really find the behaviour of the ‘slavers’ group that believable. It felt at times like the author had read the worst accounts of child abuse, torture and slavery and decided that in societies where these things happened, they must happen in their worst form, all the time, to everyone. Real people and societies are much more varied, their motivations and personal convictions clash. I didn’t feel this came through well in the first book in particular.
Disability, acquired injury, trauma:
The way the author deals with the mental and physical trauma and disability acquired through a traumatic incident seems good (although speaking from limited experience or research). At least she doesn’t have them get over it and get better, and especially not within an unrealistic timeframe. Because it’s such a trope of fantasy books, I kind of expected Sierra’s power would actually turn out to be a power to heal, so it was nice to be surprised here (even though her power was never really well explained).
Relationships and romance:
I liked the diversity of relationships, and especially a whole culture where monogamous relationships were not the norm (although it was never quite explained how the family system worked). The development of relationships between the characters, whether romantic or not, was one of the best bits of character development in the books and one of my favourite parts of the books.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
colossal's review against another edition
4.0
A very satisfying conclusion to the duology wait, what? This is a trilogy isn't it? A very clever way of subverting the "boring second book" of a trilogy.
Sierra, Mira and Isidro are slaves of the Akharans at the start of the book, and about to enter the Demon's Spire, the great store of ancient Ricalan magic. Not far away is the Ricalan army and the Mesentreians are also in the mix. Isidro grows into his magic, Rasten continues to be a complex character and Sierra becomes more tragic. Delphine is something of a revelation as well. It's difficult to describe much of the situation here without spoiling the hell out of this book and the previous one. The marketing blurb is a precise example of this, basically giving away half the plot of the book.
Gone is the plodding pace of the first book. The plot in the first half is dizzying in its progress, and the second half is a surprise too, in that it covers stuff that you don't expect to be addressed until the final volume. Ultimately, the trilogy is not what you expect it's going to be from the point of view of the first book.
Looking forward to the next one.
Sierra, Mira and Isidro are slaves of the Akharans at the start of the book, and about to enter the Demon's Spire, the great store of ancient Ricalan magic. Not far away is the Ricalan army and the Mesentreians are also in the mix. Isidro grows into his magic, Rasten continues to be a complex character and Sierra becomes more tragic. Delphine is something of a revelation as well. It's difficult to describe much of the situation here without spoiling the hell out of this book and the previous one. The marketing blurb is a precise example of this, basically giving away half the plot of the book.
Gone is the plodding pace of the first book. The plot in the first half is dizzying in its progress, and the second half is a surprise too, in that it covers stuff that you don't expect to be addressed until the final volume. Ultimately, the trilogy is not what you expect it's going to be from the point of view of the first book.
Looking forward to the next one.