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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The first half of the book moved a bit too slow for my taste, but the second one was a super-quick and amazing page-turner, so it balances itself out quite well.
Tower Lord moves away from the single-POV style of Blood Song. While a lot of reviewers feel that this change is a huge downgrade, I quite enjoyed the change. It's quite different, but the other POVs add a lot to the plot. The circular plot pattern, however, is still here and still working quite well. You do know, what the almost-last chapters of the book will contain, but it does not really spoil anything.
"Yay" for strong female characters and making Vaelin more human and less "Gary Stu".
Tower Lord moves away from the single-POV style of Blood Song. While a lot of reviewers feel that this change is a huge downgrade, I quite enjoyed the change. It's quite different, but the other POVs add a lot to the plot. The circular plot pattern, however, is still here and still working quite well. You do know, what the almost-last chapters of the book will contain, but it does not really spoil anything.
"Yay" for strong female characters and making Vaelin more human and less "Gary Stu".
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
It took me about 80 pages to find my feet in this book, mostly because I read the 1st book quite some time ago and didn't recall all the characters. That issue was compounded by the fact that this book begins something like 5 years AFTER the first book ends, & clearly some ~shit~ has gone down in the interim.
Once I got over my character confusion, this book worked out pretty well. There were some new POVs that I appreciated because they directly contributed to the over-arching plot, all of which were tied together nicely in the last 150-or-so pages. Not enough important characters died IMO but there were maimings and traumatic events galore! We learn a bit more about the blood song & meet a lot more people with that ability, which is pretty cool. The world is expanded from the first book by involving more characters and plot points from the other continents. We also get lesbians! (Well, one lesbian one bi)
It ends on a cliffhanger though?!?!?! At least enough of one to prompt me to read the 3rd book once it comes out bc I need to know how this ends!
Once I got over my character confusion, this book worked out pretty well. There were some new POVs that I appreciated because they directly contributed to the over-arching plot, all of which were tied together nicely in the last 150-or-so pages. Not enough important characters died IMO but there were maimings and traumatic events galore! We learn a bit more about the blood song & meet a lot more people with that ability, which is pretty cool. The world is expanded from the first book by involving more characters and plot points from the other continents. We also get lesbians! (Well, one lesbian one bi)
It ends on a cliffhanger though?!?!?! At least enough of one to prompt me to read the 3rd book once it comes out bc I need to know how this ends!
Mit Spannung und nahezu atemlos habe ich die Geschichte von Vaelin al Sorna und anderen liebgewonnen Protagonisten aus
Das Lied des Blutes, nun in Band 2 weiterverfolgt. Die Weiterentwicklung der Charaktere, der geschickt gestrickte Handlungsverlauf und der komplexe Weltenentwurf sind Anthony Ryan unglaublich gut gelungen. Es gab Bündnisse zu schließen, Gefahren zu trotzen, epische Schlachten zu schlagen und dem Bösen ins Gesicht zu blicken. Jetzt freue ich mich unheimlich auf den finalen Teil, Die Königin der Flammen, ich kann es kaum erwarten zu lesen, wohin mich diese fantastische Reise in die Königslande noch führen wird.
Das Lied des Blutes, nun in Band 2 weiterverfolgt. Die Weiterentwicklung der Charaktere, der geschickt gestrickte Handlungsverlauf und der komplexe Weltenentwurf sind Anthony Ryan unglaublich gut gelungen. Es gab Bündnisse zu schließen, Gefahren zu trotzen, epische Schlachten zu schlagen und dem Bösen ins Gesicht zu blicken. Jetzt freue ich mich unheimlich auf den finalen Teil, Die Königin der Flammen, ich kann es kaum erwarten zu lesen, wohin mich diese fantastische Reise in die Königslande noch führen wird.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Manche Beschreibungen von Kampfszenen hätte ich nicht unbedingt gebraucht.
Ansonst durch das Herumspringen zu den unterschiedlichen Handlungen/Orten etwas zerfahren.
Aber zum nebenbei Hören ganz gut.
Ansonst durch das Herumspringen zu den unterschiedlichen Handlungen/Orten etwas zerfahren.
Aber zum nebenbei Hören ganz gut.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A really stellar follow up to Blood Song, Tower Lord is a unique achievement in fantasy fiction in that, in my opinion, doesn't suffer one whit from the "sophomore slump" so prevalent in similar series. On the contrary, I found that the development of new (FEMALE!) characters was a blessing. This is a book that doesn't hold back in its variety of women: some are physically strong, some mentally, some terrifying, some wise, some profoundly foolish. After Blood Song, a book that was exclusively from Vaelin's point a view, a character who is so traditional in his "hero white malenss" that every other character almost existed exclusively to be fridged or complement his narrative, the multi POV chapters in Tower Lord, similar to those in ASoIAF etc were definitely a breath of fresh air. The reason it lost a star is simply because the build up to the inevitable battle at the end of the book just took a bit too long. Were I reading it instead of listening on audio, I might have skipped ahead as the endless portrayals of battles and killing leading up to the last few chapters just became a bit boring, frankly. I eagerly await the next volume in the series. Ryan has proven himself adept at both the Name of the Wind storytelling style as evidenced in Blood Song, and the multi viewpoint, epic worldbuilding from George RR Martin. He is definitely an author to watch.
What a great book! This was a real change from the way the story was told in [b:Blood Song|13569581|Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)|Anthony Ryan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421573407s/13569581.jpg|19148922], using multiple POV's and shifting the focus away from Vaelin and onto other characters, a lot of them women. I thought the author took a real chance doing this and the results were very successful. Looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy in [b:Queen of Fire|18405221|Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3)|Anthony Ryan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417350958s/18405221.jpg|26039753].