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lennartvn's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Absurd goed, zo goed dat je bijna vergeet dat je door een waardeloos tweede boek moet ploegen om hierin te mogen beginnen.
paola_mobileread's review against another edition
2.0
I have read this book withouth having read [b:Sea of Poppies|1330324|Sea of Poppies (Ibis Trilogy #1)|Amitav Ghosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327376395s/1330324.jpg|1319808] nor [b:River of Smoke|9783627|River of Smoke (Ibis Trilogy #2)|Amitav Ghosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310286525s/9783627.jpg|14673463], as I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, so did not want to delay unduly my "duty" of reviewing this novel.
[b:Flood of Fire|21375203|Flood of Fire (Ibis Trilogy #3)|Amitav Ghosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417893813s/21375203.jpg|40675361] however stands on its own as a novel, and though (by necessity) some of the facts referred to here are not detailed enough to grasp all the implications, they are anyway clear enough to provide sufficient background to the various characters.
While I did enjoy the first half, midway through the novel started unravelling for me - what were built as three separate stories (those of Kesri Singh, Zachary Reid and the recently widowed Shireen Moddy) start converging, with these three protagonists surely and not that slowly destined to meet aboard the same Hong Kong bound ship. And here I somewhat lost interest, as it seemed that the pace accelerated just to be sure that all the subplots could be ironed out in the remaining pages.
In terms of the plot, even without the benefit of the previous two books, most of the twist are very predictable. No big deal in itself if one wants to carry the larger picture, but here it felt as the historical background had already run out of steam (after the previous two instalments). I did not found the writing particularly beautiful, and at various points, rather repetitive: Shireen "kneads" the end of her saari countless times when she is under pressure, while most of the male characters cope with stress by trying to loosen their collars. The characters themselves lose credibility as they go along, with Reid rapidly turning from a naive and rather coarse carpenter/sailor to an articulate, shrewd, competent businessman in the space of a few months, and Shireen going from a sheltered stay at home dutiful wife who has hardly ventured outside her home to a decisive, confident woman who does not hesitate to use blackmail to get her way.
As I did not find the writing particularly beautiful, for the second half of the book it was the sheer pace of events that carried it for me.
One exception were the detailed descriptions of the battles, the strategies and the weapons: recounted in great detail, and very sympathetically, I never thought I could have found them so interesting. This however may not be true for all readers.
It is definitely an interesting book, and Ghosh manages to write accurate historical fiction with flair. Yet as a standalone novel it does very much feel as an epilogue, accessory to whatever came before.
[b:Flood of Fire|21375203|Flood of Fire (Ibis Trilogy #3)|Amitav Ghosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417893813s/21375203.jpg|40675361] however stands on its own as a novel, and though (by necessity) some of the facts referred to here are not detailed enough to grasp all the implications, they are anyway clear enough to provide sufficient background to the various characters.
While I did enjoy the first half, midway through the novel started unravelling for me - what were built as three separate stories (those of Kesri Singh, Zachary Reid and the recently widowed Shireen Moddy) start converging, with these three protagonists surely and not that slowly destined to meet aboard the same Hong Kong bound ship. And here I somewhat lost interest, as it seemed that the pace accelerated just to be sure that all the subplots could be ironed out in the remaining pages.
In terms of the plot, even without the benefit of the previous two books, most of the twist are very predictable. No big deal in itself if one wants to carry the larger picture, but here it felt as the historical background had already run out of steam (after the previous two instalments). I did not found the writing particularly beautiful, and at various points, rather repetitive: Shireen "kneads" the end of her saari countless times when she is under pressure, while most of the male characters cope with stress by trying to loosen their collars. The characters themselves lose credibility as they go along, with Reid rapidly turning from a naive and rather coarse carpenter/sailor to an articulate, shrewd, competent businessman in the space of a few months, and Shireen going from a sheltered stay at home dutiful wife who has hardly ventured outside her home to a decisive, confident woman who does not hesitate to use blackmail to get her way.
As I did not find the writing particularly beautiful, for the second half of the book it was the sheer pace of events that carried it for me.
One exception were the detailed descriptions of the battles, the strategies and the weapons: recounted in great detail, and very sympathetically, I never thought I could have found them so interesting. This however may not be true for all readers.
It is definitely an interesting book, and Ghosh manages to write accurate historical fiction with flair. Yet as a standalone novel it does very much feel as an epilogue, accessory to whatever came before.
savaging's review against another edition
3.0
I finally slogged through the final work in this trilogy which has been in my life for the last 3 months.
I would only heartily recommend The Ibis Trilogy to those fascinated by the minutiae of military history, because there are long pages describing battles. These were almost impossible for me to wade through. But the rest of it, with its drama and trauma and political relevance (and a masterful, slow transition of a main character from hero to villain!) was really beautiful.
The Guardian calls this a work of "high seriousness and low humor." It was a delight that a work devoted to exposing the violence of empire and capitalism could devote some time as well to bedroom jokes.
I would only heartily recommend The Ibis Trilogy to those fascinated by the minutiae of military history, because there are long pages describing battles. These were almost impossible for me to wade through. But the rest of it, with its drama and trauma and political relevance (and a masterful, slow transition of a main character from hero to villain!) was really beautiful.
The Guardian calls this a work of "high seriousness and low humor." It was a delight that a work devoted to exposing the violence of empire and capitalism could devote some time as well to bedroom jokes.
dukhtar's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
drjoannehill's review against another edition
3.0
Took a long time to read this. Would have been better to read all three of the trilogy one after the other, because I forgot most of what happened in the previous two. This one didn't feel as powerful as the first two and I found I didn't care so much about many of the characters. It is more a history of the Opium War and the take over of Hong Kong by Britain, than a story about the characters.
It's important to read about the development of the British Empire and the treatment of people around the world - the hypocrisy of the discourse of 'free trade' is made clear here as it is the British navy that is behind the defeat of China and the forcing of British / Indian opium on the people. I'll add the good quote on this when I find it again!
It's important to read about the development of the British Empire and the treatment of people around the world - the hypocrisy of the discourse of 'free trade' is made clear here as it is the British navy that is behind the defeat of China and the forcing of British / Indian opium on the people. I'll add the good quote on this when I find it again!
clara_lotte's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-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? No
3.75
shirlee2024's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting view of colonial India and the First Opium War. It's the third in a trilogy, and I hadn't read the first two. It makes sense as a standalone, but would be better in the series.
lariluna's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/day-827-flood-of-fire/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/day-827-flood-of-fire/