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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Over the last couple of years I've started to really dive into the fantasy genre. One of the books I particularly loved was Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. I went into Tower Lord (the follow-up to Blood Song) with extremely high hopes. Unfortunately it didn't live up to any of the starting blocks of the first book.
I struggled to get through Tower Lord. The book takes place directly after the events of the incredible first novel. Unlike Blood Song which got off to a very fast start, Tower Lord is a slow trot that turns to a meandering pace. I'd go as far as to say Tower Lord becomes boring at times. There are too many stories, too many characters, and a complete lack of a cohesive story. If you by chance forgot anything from the first book don't plan on having any reminders, this book assumes you memorized the lore.
For me the characters of Tower Lord are what really fall flat. The second book of any series has the opportunity to really build the world and its characters and Tower Lord does none of that. Even the books main character Vaelin Al Sorna just comes across as a prototypical brute with no personality or complexity. As you can probably tell I was extremely disappointed with Tower Lord. So much so that I think I'm done with the series.
I struggled to get through Tower Lord. The book takes place directly after the events of the incredible first novel. Unlike Blood Song which got off to a very fast start, Tower Lord is a slow trot that turns to a meandering pace. I'd go as far as to say Tower Lord becomes boring at times. There are too many stories, too many characters, and a complete lack of a cohesive story. If you by chance forgot anything from the first book don't plan on having any reminders, this book assumes you memorized the lore.
For me the characters of Tower Lord are what really fall flat. The second book of any series has the opportunity to really build the world and its characters and Tower Lord does none of that. Even the books main character Vaelin Al Sorna just comes across as a prototypical brute with no personality or complexity. As you can probably tell I was extremely disappointed with Tower Lord. So much so that I think I'm done with the series.
Dobro konstruisana i čak vrlo umešno napisana knjiga, ali jednostavno me Rajan izgubi sa svojom ogromnom postavom likova. Pod tim, ne mislim na likove koje nešto zapravo i rade, već na male, sitne, epizodne likove koji su u prvom romanu bili tek na par strana, a u drugom imaju ne tako malu ulogu. Tu manu na stranu, još jedan problem koji sam imao je da su svo četvoro PoV likova izuzetno umešni i posebni (neki bi rekli overpowered), što malo dosadi.
Čudan kraj, ali svakako jedva čekam treću knjigu i još stranica Vaelinove (!!!) priče, ali po onome što sam čuo... Žao mi je da dam četiri zvezdice, ali bar da je bio neki rikep prvog romana eh.
4+
Čudan kraj, ali svakako jedva čekam treću knjigu i još stranica Vaelinove (!!!) priče, ali po onome što sam čuo... Žao mi je da dam četiri zvezdice, ali bar da je bio neki rikep prvog romana eh.
4+
A good book, but not a great book. Unfortunately for Anthony Ryan, his debut Blood Song was a great book, up there with the Way of Kings and The Name of the Wind, and The Tower Lord falls a little short.
I will be reading the final book in the series and I have no doubt that it will rank highly I my opinion for a long time. This is just the justification for only giving this book 4 stars.
I will be reading the final book in the series and I have no doubt that it will rank highly I my opinion for a long time. This is just the justification for only giving this book 4 stars.
After trying to get into it for a few years, I'm glad I finally finished it. I enjoyed how everything went the book was basically all leading up to the climax shown in the framing story. The cliffhanger at the end is also really exciting me to get into tyke 3rd book.
It's a 3.5
Good book, it hooked me less than the first volume, though the style is similar. I really liked some of the character, but it felt less involving. However the hung finale is great and I'm looking forward to reading the next instalment
Good book, it hooked me less than the first volume, though the style is similar. I really liked some of the character, but it felt less involving. However the hung finale is great and I'm looking forward to reading the next instalment
I liked the first book, even though I agree with some reviews complaining about punctuation and style in general. Even with those issues, the book was very good read, as the story was good.
I can't say the same about Tower Lord. It started out nice, but every next page it was worse and worse. Author seems to have unlimited reserve of pathos. Every single event in the book is the greatest, biggest, most emotional etc. which of course led to them having absolutely no effect on me. And of course the punctuation issues are still here.
The second half of the book, and especially the last 20% or so, was incredibely boring. Everything happened exactly the way you expect. It was too long and either nothing was happening or something already mentioned way way earlier finally happened (the book again has a short chapters at the beginning and after each part, set at the end of the timeline of the whole book).
On top of that there was a big load of bullshit in the story, things that clearly showed author doesn't know what he is talking about, f.e. how fire spreads in a natural forest, not maintained by people, how organisation of army he describes would have to look like - no, you don't just take 40000 people and start marching, not caring about supplies and no, you can't ride your cavalry for half a day, whole night, then again some time during day and charge straight to battle, on the same horses - by the way, did it even occured to you that in such army they would have spare horses and lots of them? I can overlook when one such thing happen in a book, but when there is something like that in each chapter, I can't focus on the story anymore, at some point it's just impossible to buy whatever author is now selling.
Another bad part of the book are characters. I'm not saying the first book was great with that, the main character is not really that interesting - but there were many secondary characters, that were not all good and positive (for example the king or his daughter). Here pretty much every positive character is positive to the last breath. Not a single flaw or even weakness. If someone does something wrong, it's because he is forced. Everyone wants the best for their country. Everyone is willing to sacrifice for the people around them. Everyone is also very modest and think they are bad and terrible, while everyone around them are constantly showing signs of respect and devotion toward them. Noone is selfish. Except, of course, the negative characters, who on the other hand do not have any positive traits. Ahh, this was so frustrating. Even the big enemy, who was preparing for years and was so cunning and perfect in the planning, is represented by an idiot, selfish, coward general who spends time thinking about his greatness and with prostitutes. Come on! And so much repetition, the same situations, similar stories for several different characters...
I don't remember when I was ever angry (or that angry) after finishing the book. Well, this one made me angry. Angry that I wasted time (I don't like unfinished books, but I admit I had to skip pages during the last 5%), that I wasted money on this and that the potential I saw in the first book was completely lost here.
I can't say the same about Tower Lord. It started out nice, but every next page it was worse and worse. Author seems to have unlimited reserve of pathos. Every single event in the book is the greatest, biggest, most emotional etc. which of course led to them having absolutely no effect on me. And of course the punctuation issues are still here.
The second half of the book, and especially the last 20% or so, was incredibely boring. Everything happened exactly the way you expect. It was too long and either nothing was happening or something already mentioned way way earlier finally happened (the book again has a short chapters at the beginning and after each part, set at the end of the timeline of the whole book).
On top of that there was a big load of bullshit in the story, things that clearly showed author doesn't know what he is talking about, f.e. how fire spreads in a natural forest, not maintained by people, how organisation of army he describes would have to look like - no, you don't just take 40000 people and start marching, not caring about supplies and no, you can't ride your cavalry for half a day, whole night, then again some time during day and charge straight to battle, on the same horses - by the way, did it even occured to you that in such army they would have spare horses and lots of them? I can overlook when one such thing happen in a book, but when there is something like that in each chapter, I can't focus on the story anymore, at some point it's just impossible to buy whatever author is now selling.
Another bad part of the book are characters. I'm not saying the first book was great with that, the main character is not really that interesting - but there were many secondary characters, that were not all good and positive (for example the king or his daughter). Here pretty much every positive character is positive to the last breath. Not a single flaw or even weakness. If someone does something wrong, it's because he is forced. Everyone wants the best for their country. Everyone is willing to sacrifice for the people around them. Everyone is also very modest and think they are bad and terrible, while everyone around them are constantly showing signs of respect and devotion toward them. Noone is selfish. Except, of course, the negative characters, who on the other hand do not have any positive traits. Ahh, this was so frustrating. Even the big enemy, who was preparing for years and was so cunning and perfect in the planning, is represented by an idiot, selfish, coward general who spends time thinking about his greatness and with prostitutes. Come on! And so much repetition, the same situations, similar stories for several different characters...
I don't remember when I was ever angry (or that angry) after finishing the book. Well, this one made me angry. Angry that I wasted time (I don't like unfinished books, but I admit I had to skip pages during the last 5%), that I wasted money on this and that the potential I saw in the first book was completely lost here.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read on Kindle Paperwhite. 2nd book in the Raven's Shadow Trilogy... A pretty good follow up to Blood Song. This book is very different than Blood Song, as we read chapters from multiple characters' perspectives, rather than just Vaelin. I am okay with this, as I understand we needed to understand the happenings across the world. This book wasn't as gripping as Blood Song, but I'm hesitant to drop it a full star. I think it maybe dropped 0.5 stars, but I'd like to keep it at 4. Definitely recommend this series for those ASOIAF fans looking to quell the GRRM drought!
Loved the second book of this series, switched to multi character POV following 5 major characters. It was great as the story comes together in the finale of the book. This series continues to have great writing, great characters and an intriguing plot line. If you enjoy epic fantasy give this series a read can’t wait for the next book!
Disappointed...The Blood Song was one of the best fantasy books I have ever read, but this was a disappointment. I was ultimately confused most of the time and bored. Vaelin's is what I loved about Blood Song, but it felt like he was a featured in his own story. Multiple Pov didn't work for me and were unnecessary and took away from the mystery and suspense. The only necessary POV's were Vaelin's and Lyrna's.After reading a couple forums, I understand the plot and will read the final book, but not immediately.