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peterkeep's review against another edition
4.0
Django Wexler has a really enjoyable series going on! I read The Thousand Names 7 months ago and really enjoyed the book for its original setting, interesting characters, and realistic battles. So as I was waiting for my copy of the second installment to come in the mail, I began looking forward to revisiting the military camps in the sandy desert cities they campaigned through.
This book doesn't have those. At first, I was a bit disappointed - I really enjoyed the two main POV characters (there were a few other spread through The Thousand Names, but Winter and Marcus are the two main ones), and an extra character or two in The Shadow Throne meant that I had to split my time with Winter and Marcus. Also, the setting moved back to more standard city, and the action moved away from firing muskets and a haze of gunpowder smoke to political scheming and a tug-of-war of government power.
Essentially, Wexler decided that instead of repeating the same type of thing from his first, he would swing in the other direction. After finishing the book, it's clear that it worked. Moving away from some of the strong points of the first book allowed him to explore and show off different aspects of his world as well as his writing. There even were a couple of small battle scenes that helped satisfy my craving for cavalry charges and military tactics. While this story was pretty separated from the events preceding it, it seems like the series still has an overall direction.
The larger story seems to be lurking just below the surface even though it's hard to see all of the details of what Wexler has planned for the rest of the series
(I think there are supposed to be 3 more books). That should be plenty of time to split between the old favorite characters and the new ones in different, fresh settings.
This book doesn't have those. At first, I was a bit disappointed - I really enjoyed the two main POV characters (there were a few other spread through The Thousand Names, but Winter and Marcus are the two main ones), and an extra character or two in The Shadow Throne meant that I had to split my time with Winter and Marcus. Also, the setting moved back to more standard city, and the action moved away from firing muskets and a haze of gunpowder smoke to political scheming and a tug-of-war of government power.
Essentially, Wexler decided that instead of repeating the same type of thing from his first, he would swing in the other direction. After finishing the book, it's clear that it worked. Moving away from some of the strong points of the first book allowed him to explore and show off different aspects of his world as well as his writing. There even were a couple of small battle scenes that helped satisfy my craving for cavalry charges and military tactics. While this story was pretty separated from the events preceding it, it seems like the series still has an overall direction.
The larger story seems to be lurking just below the surface even though it's hard to see all of the details of what Wexler has planned for the rest of the series
(I think there are supposed to be 3 more books). That should be plenty of time to split between the old favorite characters and the new ones in different, fresh settings.
songwind's review
4.0
This was an excellent continuation of the story. Very different in many ways from The Thousand Names, it was equally engaging.
We continue to see the perspectives of Winter and Cpt. Marcus, but also the added viewpoints of the Princess of the realm, and the shadowy Duke Orlanko. A few other minor characters act as the viewpoint for a short period, but those 4 are the most prominent.
We learn a lot about Winter's past and Marcus' family in particular. It was very enlightening.
The only real objection I can raise about the text is that the Last Duke is a bit to mustache-twirlingly evil. And the other ministers of the cabinet a bit too stupid - everyone knows Orlanko is not to be trusted, and yet they keep taking him at his word with no real explanation why.
The audio portion was largely excellent, with 3 or 4 instances of bad edits, leaving in restarts and hesitations.
We continue to see the perspectives of Winter and Cpt. Marcus, but also the added viewpoints of the Princess of the realm, and the shadowy Duke Orlanko. A few other minor characters act as the viewpoint for a short period, but those 4 are the most prominent.
We learn a lot about Winter's past and Marcus' family in particular. It was very enlightening.
The only real objection I can raise about the text is that the Last Duke is a bit to mustache-twirlingly evil. And the other ministers of the cabinet a bit too stupid - everyone knows Orlanko is not to be trusted, and yet they keep taking him at his word with no real explanation why.
The audio portion was largely excellent, with 3 or 4 instances of bad edits, leaving in restarts and hesitations.
cannizzo's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
capincus's review against another edition
5.0
The first book in the series was good. A solid fantasy novel but without anything particularly original. In the second book Wexler comes into his own. Instead of sticking to the classic fantasy plots this entire book is about politics, and occasionally finance, yet I still had as much fun as any fantasy book filled with great wars and dragons. Finally a refreshing original fantasy series and I can't wait for the next one.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Even better than the first book! While this story had very little focus on magic, it was packed with political intrigue, conspiracy, tension, and deception. The story was excellently woven and I was immersed throughout. We were introduced to new, awesome characters like Raesinia and my personal favourite, Jane. Raesinia has an excellent secret that she carries with her that makes her highly interesting to me, and Jane is one of the toughest, coolest characters in flintlock fantasy. Old favourites like Winter and Marcus returned, and had their backstories furthered and deepened, which I really appreciated, especially in terms of Marcus. One thing that I truly loved was the realistic portrayal of women during the times, and watching those women knock down every barrier placed in their path, which made the ending even more satisfying and something I want to see grow in future books. This continues to be a great series for fans of military fantasy, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
khazbin's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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? No
3.75
colindalaska's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing after the fantastic first volume.
The characters make illogical decisions, nobody’s plan seems to be particularly thought through and there’s something about the main characters being possessed by demons that makes me uncomfortable.
A real shame.
The characters make illogical decisions, nobody’s plan seems to be particularly thought through and there’s something about the main characters being possessed by demons that makes me uncomfortable.
A real shame.
theduchess93's review against another edition
5.0
Am I biased because queer women and morally grey archives during a French Revolution-esque setting is the center of my Venn diagram of interests? Yes. But everyone should still read this book!!
tani's review against another edition
5.0
I could not put this book down. Every single character had something exciting going on, all the time. I was both happy and upset every single time that the book swapped perspectives, simply because I wanted to keep reading about the current character at the same time that I wanted to know what would happen with the new character.
This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read all year. And the ending! I am so looking forward to the next book in the series!
This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read all year. And the ending! I am so looking forward to the next book in the series!