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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Not entirely sure what so many people are complaining about. This book was really good. The hardest parts to get through were Frentis' chapters after a certain important thing happens (until then, they were super interesting to read).
Looking forward to the Queen of Fire.
Looking forward to the Queen of Fire.
FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC!
I am bereft now i'm finished this book...What a cliff hanger.
I know the next one is not out until june 2015..I can't wait!
I am bereft now i'm finished this book...What a cliff hanger.
I know the next one is not out until june 2015..I can't wait!
Well this was a disappointment. This went from a solid 4 stars in [b:Blood Song|13569581|Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)|Anthony Ryan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421573407s/13569581.jpg|19148922] (bk 1) to a weak 2 stars in Book 2.
It was only because I so enjoyed the first that I kept reading. It was told from FIVE points of view and the chapters were entirely too short, never cementing in my mind what had actually happened. Every time I was returned to a character's story line, I had to flip back and re-read some or most of what had previously happened to them. The stories were too drawn out. Too much of nothing happened. The first book was big enough that you would have thought Ryan was done with world-building & that this one would be all meat & potatoes, but no....apparently we needed more world building, much of which seemed unnecessary. (Some of the world building in bk 1 seemed ridiculously unnecessary...like renaming all the days of the week. This was detailed in book 1, and only mentioned once in book 2.)
We have Vernier's story (the scribe from book 1), Vaelin (main character of bk 1), Lyrna (princess), Frentis (Vaelin's brother in arms), and Reva (new character; daughter of a lord who is killed in bk 1). With all these different characters that were scattered around the realm, it was hard to determine if all the events were happening concurrently or at different times.
Lyrna is portrayed over & over in bk 1 as being clever and manipulative, and while Ryan *told* us about her vast intelligence, she rarely *exhibits* it in the story. She glaringly insults and rejects the advances of one of the Fief lords to his face, making an enemy of him...when she herself admits she has no power in her brother's, the king, court. The cold & calculating manipulator behind the throne is nowhere to be seen.
Frentis is a mind-slave to a woman that is inhabited by a spirit that is several hundred years old. She & her conspirators have 'plans' for the realm, and she forces him to accompany her on a world-tour of murder. Once her main plan is accomplished, she's killed off & Frentis' story line mostly fizzled out. He made some efforts in helping with the war that has come to the shores of his home, but his apparent betrayal is never addressed at the end of the book.
Reva is on a holy mission to kill Vaelin, who she blames for her father's death. Her father had become possessed by a spirit and was inciting the people of his Fief into a holy war. She was stolen from her grandparents & had lessons beaten into her (one of which was her lesbianism was a sin). Although only groomed to be a martyr to Vaelin's sword, she instantly becomes a brilliant strategist (better than Lyrna) and saves a city from invaders. Reading the point of view from a misguided cultist is always awkward, even when they eventually redeem themselves.
Vaelin, the hero and main character of the first book, is buffeted by the plot and spends the whole book fighting against using his ability with a sword. He's had enough of killing, and doesn't want to take up his sword, but is sent to the northern wasteland to hold it against barbarians....eventually having to abandon his post to go & rescue everyone in an un-described & vague battle that simply leaves everyone *even more* in awe of him. Blah.
And while it's laudable that Ryan has two of the three storylines from the point of view of women, entirely too much description is dedicated how the women look (gorgeous, of course). And so often they are simply petty & jealous.
There's only one more book in the series, so I'm going to go ahead & see how things are wrapped up, but currently, I'm holding off on recommending this series. The second book was huge (602 pgs), poorly executed, and didn't get interesting until over halfway through.
It was only because I so enjoyed the first that I kept reading. It was told from FIVE points of view and the chapters were entirely too short, never cementing in my mind what had actually happened. Every time I was returned to a character's story line, I had to flip back and re-read some or most of what had previously happened to them. The stories were too drawn out. Too much of nothing happened. The first book was big enough that you would have thought Ryan was done with world-building & that this one would be all meat & potatoes, but no....apparently we needed more world building, much of which seemed unnecessary. (Some of the world building in bk 1 seemed ridiculously unnecessary...like renaming all the days of the week. This was detailed in book 1, and only mentioned once in book 2.)
We have Vernier's story (the scribe from book 1), Vaelin (main character of bk 1), Lyrna (princess), Frentis (Vaelin's brother in arms), and Reva (new character; daughter of a lord who is killed in bk 1). With all these different characters that were scattered around the realm, it was hard to determine if all the events were happening concurrently or at different times.
Lyrna is portrayed over & over in bk 1 as being clever and manipulative, and while Ryan *told* us about her vast intelligence, she rarely *exhibits* it in the story. She glaringly insults and rejects the advances of one of the Fief lords to his face, making an enemy of him...when she herself admits she has no power in her brother's, the king, court. The cold & calculating manipulator behind the throne is nowhere to be seen.
Frentis is a mind-slave to a woman that is inhabited by a spirit that is several hundred years old. She & her conspirators have 'plans' for the realm, and she forces him to accompany her on a world-tour of murder. Once her main plan is accomplished, she's killed off & Frentis' story line mostly fizzled out. He made some efforts in helping with the war that has come to the shores of his home, but his apparent betrayal is never addressed at the end of the book.
Reva is on a holy mission to kill Vaelin, who she blames for her father's death. Her father had become possessed by a spirit and was inciting the people of his Fief into a holy war. She was stolen from her grandparents & had lessons beaten into her (one of which was her lesbianism was a sin). Although only groomed to be a martyr to Vaelin's sword, she instantly becomes a brilliant strategist (better than Lyrna) and saves a city from invaders. Reading the point of view from a misguided cultist is always awkward, even when they eventually redeem themselves.
Vaelin, the hero and main character of the first book, is buffeted by the plot and spends the whole book fighting against using his ability with a sword. He's had enough of killing, and doesn't want to take up his sword, but is sent to the northern wasteland to hold it against barbarians....eventually having to abandon his post to go & rescue everyone in an un-described & vague battle that simply leaves everyone *even more* in awe of him. Blah.
And while it's laudable that Ryan has two of the three storylines from the point of view of women, entirely too much description is dedicated how the women look (gorgeous, of course). And so often they are simply petty & jealous.
There's only one more book in the series, so I'm going to go ahead & see how things are wrapped up, but currently, I'm holding off on recommending this series. The second book was huge (602 pgs), poorly executed, and didn't get interesting until over halfway through.
Another excellent novel from this new author. Loved the first book and whilst this book does not have the pace of the first and lacks the "origin story" of the first it makes up for it in expanding the central mystery and giving us more detail on the main characters. The new characters (Devoka and Reva)introduced in this book are excellent additions. The expansion of the role of the princess also add an unexpected dimension to the narrative.
Really can't wait for the third book!
Really can't wait for the third book!
Reread before [b:Queen of Fire|18405221|Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3)|Anthony Ryan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221._SY75_.jpg|26039753]
I was giving my best to avoid reviews before I started reading book #2 because I wanted to jump blind into it.
Well, it was a huge surprise all around.
And it boils down to that: how will you enjoy this book depends completely on whether you'll like or hate new direction and considerable changes author made compared to first book.
Now, here is the thing: I had troubles formulating my thoughts on this book because on one side I think changes made this story actually grow into more serious and complex fantasy, but on the other hand it had done that by detaching itself from book #1 too much.
Ok, I'll talk about the biggest change: narrative style. Did I mind terribly when I saw multiple povs? No. I was more thrown out of course because the story is changed from being an oral history to pot-boiler pace delivery of current events. THAT was a big change, but not unwelcome one because there was several interesting characters from Blood Song and I am glad I got to know them more. It also made possible to correct one of my biggest peeve from first book: it managed to convey the vastness of world Ryan imagined where first book just couldn't. In Blood Song, too much page time reader is constricted to Sixth Order and when Vaelin finally gets out in the world to perform his duty as Brother of the Sixth Order and Sword of Realm later on, those scenes were shorter,and not as detailed as his life during his training which can be explained partially due to his focus being entirely set on battle. Still, I like when I actually get the vibe of all those places I see on maps at the begging and this is exactly what I got in book #2.
Changing narrative, or rather give more voices to story actually meant we get more experiences and we finally get to see more of Unified Empire. It gave author an opportunity to explore and further develop his world building.
This is one of the reasons I liked we got Frentis as narrator- not just because his fate was left unknown at the end of Blood Song but because his path took a really interesting turn, one that revealed a lot about enemy. Definitely intriguing, but I noticed that he sounded just a touch too similar to Vaelin.
Lyrna, the most intelligent and, I have to say, most resourceful character in bunch probably had the most interesting journey,so I enjoyed her chapters the most. Comparing to first book, book #2 is definitely more diverse in cast; including more female characters who are strong, powerful, and just all around bad-ass and not just victims ( one of my favorites being Davoka). Also big plus for including sexually diverse character who is also a key player.
Reva is a new character. She is a daughter of old Fief Lord Mustor Vaelin killed in a war against Cumbrael mutineers. To be honest, I thought that adding Reva didn't bring much to story until second half. Defending Alltor- Cumbrael city surrounded by wall was by far the most interesting part of the book. Battle was compelling and it kept me at the edge of my seat.
Which brings me to Vaelin and reasons for my rating.
Valin's story is somewhat expected and heavily hinted by title: after the events of book #1 and his infamous trial by battle, he is coming back to Unified Realm tired of fight and completely disillusioned about Faith. King has purpose for him as he ends up as Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches. We got some glimpses about people who live in Northern parts of Realm, but the most distinctive thing I remembered from first book is that Norther Reaches seems to be the place where people who fell out of King's grace usually end up- which means they are more tolerant toward those who think different and they are too far out of King's influence to afford acting somewhat on their own. So,as much as I find his venture and his interaction with Seordah and northern people interesting because they were so loyal to old Tower Lord not even Vaelin's glory can blind them... I was a bit disappointed. He went from the most important character to character in the background who mostly finished things by fame of his name... Including that ending. I just had more fun reading other chapters. His role is considerably diminished in overall war against enemy, against Ally, and I did find him lacking comparing to first book.
And that's the crux of it: There was a certain enjoyment in simplicity of first book and "hero tale" we all read in similar books, but never grow tired of. I liked it despite its obvious flaws (mostly predictability).
I liked book #2 because the story got more complex; more "thinky", I liked that character got more layers and the fact that scope is larger all around.
I liked them separately, but in context of entire series, I cannot overlook some obvious things. As a sequel to Blood Song , I find that book #2 strays far too much from course of story and rules already established in first book. The most obvious part where we can see that is when it comes to characterization: with some characters, I can't say I got character development, but rather character adjustment. Lyrna, Sentes, Janus, Vernier, Hope...they are completely different characters comparing to what we got to know about them in first book. Some of them go from predominately bad to predominately good or other way around...all for the purpose of serving the plot. It's like author had this vision where he wants story to go and he needed to adjust characters we already got to know so he can take the story there (and some of them even cut from the story).
I was mussing a lot about how I like this book on its own, but not in context of series, and decided that for me it was more important if I am still interested in story enough, do I care about characters enough to pick book #3. And I do.
Story ends up with really mean cliff hanger, so I advise you have next book in your near vicinity. :)
I was giving my best to avoid reviews before I started reading book #2 because I wanted to jump blind into it.
Well, it was a huge surprise all around.
And it boils down to that: how will you enjoy this book depends completely on whether you'll like or hate new direction and considerable changes author made compared to first book.
Now, here is the thing: I had troubles formulating my thoughts on this book because on one side I think changes made this story actually grow into more serious and complex fantasy, but on the other hand it had done that by detaching itself from book #1 too much.
Ok, I'll talk about the biggest change: narrative style. Did I mind terribly when I saw multiple povs? No. I was more thrown out of course because the story is changed from being an oral history to pot-boiler pace delivery of current events. THAT was a big change, but not unwelcome one because there was several interesting characters from Blood Song and I am glad I got to know them more. It also made possible to correct one of my biggest peeve from first book: it managed to convey the vastness of world Ryan imagined where first book just couldn't. In Blood Song, too much page time reader is constricted to Sixth Order and when Vaelin finally gets out in the world to perform his duty as Brother of the Sixth Order and Sword of Realm later on, those scenes were shorter,and not as detailed as his life during his training which can be explained partially due to his focus being entirely set on battle. Still, I like when I actually get the vibe of all those places I see on maps at the begging and this is exactly what I got in book #2.
Changing narrative, or rather give more voices to story actually meant we get more experiences and we finally get to see more of Unified Empire. It gave author an opportunity to explore and further develop his world building.
This is one of the reasons I liked we got Frentis as narrator- not just because his fate was left unknown at the end of Blood Song but because his path took a really interesting turn, one that revealed a lot about enemy. Definitely intriguing, but I noticed that he sounded just a touch too similar to Vaelin.
Lyrna, the most intelligent and, I have to say, most resourceful character in bunch probably had the most interesting journey,so I enjoyed her chapters the most. Comparing to first book, book #2 is definitely more diverse in cast; including more female characters who are strong, powerful, and just all around bad-ass and not just victims ( one of my favorites being Davoka). Also big plus for including sexually diverse character who is also a key player.
Reva is a new character. She is a daughter of old Fief Lord Mustor Vaelin killed in a war against Cumbrael mutineers. To be honest, I thought that adding Reva didn't bring much to story until second half. Defending Alltor- Cumbrael city surrounded by wall was by far the most interesting part of the book. Battle was compelling and it kept me at the edge of my seat.
Which brings me to Vaelin and reasons for my rating.
Valin's story is somewhat expected and heavily hinted by title: after the events of book #1 and his infamous trial by battle, he is coming back to Unified Realm tired of fight and completely disillusioned about Faith. King has purpose for him as he ends up as Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches. We got some glimpses about people who live in Northern parts of Realm, but the most distinctive thing I remembered from first book is that Norther Reaches seems to be the place where people who fell out of King's grace usually end up- which means they are more tolerant toward those who think different and they are too far out of King's influence to afford acting somewhat on their own. So,as much as I find his venture and his interaction with Seordah and northern people interesting because they were so loyal to old Tower Lord not even Vaelin's glory can blind them... I was a bit disappointed. He went from the most important character to character in the background who mostly finished things by fame of his name... Including that ending. I just had more fun reading other chapters. His role is considerably diminished in overall war against enemy, against Ally, and I did find him lacking comparing to first book.
And that's the crux of it: There was a certain enjoyment in simplicity of first book and "hero tale" we all read in similar books, but never grow tired of. I liked it despite its obvious flaws (mostly predictability).
I liked book #2 because the story got more complex; more "thinky", I liked that character got more layers and the fact that scope is larger all around.
I liked them separately, but in context of entire series, I cannot overlook some obvious things. As a sequel to Blood Song , I find that book #2 strays far too much from course of story and rules already established in first book. The most obvious part where we can see that is when it comes to characterization: with some characters, I can't say I got character development, but rather character adjustment. Lyrna, Sentes, Janus, Vernier, Hope...they are completely different characters comparing to what we got to know about them in first book. Some of them go from predominately bad to predominately good or other way around...all for the purpose of serving the plot. It's like author had this vision where he wants story to go and he needed to adjust characters we already got to know so he can take the story there (and some of them even cut from the story).
Spoiler
Sherin. I am having troubles believing wasn't interested in looking after Vaelin and other way around, especially because Malcious proclamations were more loose comparing to more rigid standing Janus often took. Oh, well...I was mussing a lot about how I like this book on its own, but not in context of series, and decided that for me it was more important if I am still interested in story enough, do I care about characters enough to pick book #3. And I do.
Story ends up with really mean cliff hanger, so I advise you have next book in your near vicinity. :)
10 stars
July 2020 re-read As amazing as the first time I read the book. I cannot fault Anthony Ryan's writing; he manages to capture the horrors of war perfectly.
I took my time absorbing this sequel to Blood Raven. At more than 600 pages, it is definitely not a story that can be read in a single sitting.
Once again, the writing is superb. The author makes very effective use of multiple points of view, so that the story is ultimately about Vaelin, Lyrna, Reva, Frentis and Lord Verniers. The narrative is harsh and often shocking, filled with religious fanaticism, mystery, treachery and all the brutalities of a war that should not be happening, and the terrible decisions that sometimes have to be made for the right reasons.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the final volume of this truly magnificent series.
July 2020 re-read As amazing as the first time I read the book. I cannot fault Anthony Ryan's writing; he manages to capture the horrors of war perfectly.
I took my time absorbing this sequel to Blood Raven. At more than 600 pages, it is definitely not a story that can be read in a single sitting.
Once again, the writing is superb. The author makes very effective use of multiple points of view, so that the story is ultimately about Vaelin, Lyrna, Reva, Frentis and Lord Verniers. The narrative is harsh and often shocking, filled with religious fanaticism, mystery, treachery and all the brutalities of a war that should not be happening, and the terrible decisions that sometimes have to be made for the right reasons.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the final volume of this truly magnificent series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Buon libro, ma la nuova suddivisione in POV non mi ha fatto impazzire, probabilmente perché nel primo libro l'unico protagonista vero e proprio era Vaelin. Di conseguenza ero più interessata a ciò che faceva lui, ma l'autore non riesce a farmi affezionarmi più di tanto agli altri protagonisti, tant'è che andavo avanti sperando di imbattermi nei capitoli di Vaelin. L'unica che si salva un po' è Lyrna, Frentis ha subìto tanto ed è cambiato, purtroppo però senza emozionarmi e, oltre a trovarlo abbastanza apatico, ho un vago sentore di dove andrà a parare e non mi piace affatto.
Reva più che rappresentare la solita ragazza stereotipata che combatte non fa. Stereotipata in tutto e per tutto. Noiosa, lamentosa, ma ovviamente è bravissima in battaglia e tutti la adorano.
In generale mi è mancato il rapporto di Vaelin con i fratelli, sia con Nortah sia con Caenis, ma di Vaelin vediamo veramente veramente poco in questo libro (e più che portare un esercito a sud, poco fa) e credo di poter dire che lui rappresenta il 90% della saga e la sua assenza si sente, tanto.
L'unica cosa che non ho capito io è il motivo per cui per combattere usa così tanto il canto, forse perché era un'impresa impossibile con un combattimento normale... Ma suona così innaturale e diverso e strano che, almeno io, l'ho trovato quasi disturbante a livello proprio di narrazione.
Probabilmente questa impostazione della narrazione non avrebbe influito così tanto nel mio giudizio se anche il Canto del Sangue avesse seguito questa linea, sembra proprio di leggere un libro diverso invece di un secondo capitolo.
Tengo le dita incrociate per l'ultimo volume!
Reva più che rappresentare la solita ragazza stereotipata che combatte non fa. Stereotipata in tutto e per tutto. Noiosa, lamentosa, ma ovviamente è bravissima in battaglia e tutti la adorano.
In generale mi è mancato il rapporto di Vaelin con i fratelli, sia con Nortah sia con Caenis, ma di Vaelin vediamo veramente veramente poco in questo libro (e più che portare un esercito a sud, poco fa) e credo di poter dire che lui rappresenta il 90% della saga e la sua assenza si sente, tanto.
L'unica cosa che non ho capito io è il motivo per cui per combattere usa così tanto il canto, forse perché era un'impresa impossibile con un combattimento normale... Ma suona così innaturale e diverso e strano che, almeno io, l'ho trovato quasi disturbante a livello proprio di narrazione.
Probabilmente questa impostazione della narrazione non avrebbe influito così tanto nel mio giudizio se anche il Canto del Sangue avesse seguito questa linea, sembra proprio di leggere un libro diverso invece di un secondo capitolo.
Tengo le dita incrociate per l'ultimo volume!
Meh. Tempted to give it two stars, but I suspect that a lot of my negative feelings are generated by comparing it to Blood Song. This is good enough fantasy novel, but is pretty boring fare compared to the first part of the trilogy which blew me away. Quite disappointing.
Kitabı bitireli üç gün falan oluyor da üçüncüye başlamadan güncellemedim nedense burayı.
Ben bu kitabı ilkinden çok daha sevdim biliyor musunuz? Farklı karakterlerin bakış açısından okumak, olayların daha da gelişmesi, aksiyonun ve gizemin artması beni epey eğlendirdi.
Bu kitapta kendilerine epey bir sinir olduğum volarlıları da az çok tanıma şansını buluyoruz, gerçekten sinir bozuculuk konusunda Seanchanlar'la yarışabilir bu arkadaşlar.
Çok fazla bir şey söylemek istemiyorum ama kitabı dört karakterin gözünden takip ediyoruz ve hepsinin bulundukları yerler, yaşadıkları olaylar bambaşka, ancak ben hepsini okurken çok eğlendim, nasıl olsa bir yerde bağlanacaklarını biliyordum. Bakalım üçüncü kitap neler getirecek?
Ben bu kitabı ilkinden çok daha sevdim biliyor musunuz? Farklı karakterlerin bakış açısından okumak, olayların daha da gelişmesi, aksiyonun ve gizemin artması beni epey eğlendirdi.
Bu kitapta kendilerine epey bir sinir olduğum volarlıları da az çok tanıma şansını buluyoruz, gerçekten sinir bozuculuk konusunda Seanchanlar'la yarışabilir bu arkadaşlar.
Çok fazla bir şey söylemek istemiyorum ama kitabı dört karakterin gözünden takip ediyoruz ve hepsinin bulundukları yerler, yaşadıkları olaylar bambaşka, ancak ben hepsini okurken çok eğlendim, nasıl olsa bir yerde bağlanacaklarını biliyordum. Bakalım üçüncü kitap neler getirecek?