Reviews

From Cold Ashes Risen by Rob J. Hayes

prab's review

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Unlike the Mortal Combat where the series keep getting better and better, this series seem to be going downhill from the first book.

As a character-focus reader, being connected to the character is key for me and in this book I can’t seem to connect with Eska at all. Most of the times, I found her annoying. 

I think it is the storytelling method where Eska recounted her story that troubled me. After reading the Suneater, the other story that use this method is just subpar. It can’t even compare, not even close. This is even worse when she told Josef story based on his “memories”.

Not only the character building that had problems, the storyline is just ok. Though there were couple major reveals here and there, the story just wasn’t that great. For example, Iron Legion was so easily beaten after such a build up. I just don’t get it. 

After the great start, I’m considering dropping this series all together. Let’s see

killah88d's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

itsfreelancer's review against another edition

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4.0

The trilogy is over. The series is not.
This trilogy should be renamed from "The War Eternal" to "Eskara fucks up in all 3 books"

Seriously, how much more can a person not learn from their mistakes? Apparently there is no definitive answer. The next two books in this series will not be from her perspective. I don't know if I should rejoice or worry.

A good fast paced series if you can come to accept the protagonist.

cyriax's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cassidychivers's review against another edition

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5.0

Honestly just finished this and don't know if my words will make sense.

But
This series has surprised me at every corner.
It has one of my favourite friendships in it.
And man I unexpectedly BALLED my eye out at the end of this one. And I mean a puddle surrounded me. If a book can make me do that I think it automatically deserves five stars.

I have no idea where this series is going from here. As the major driving factors of Eskas story I feel like have been wrapped up. Like I could end here and be perfectly happy. (Also prob cause I'm not ready for the emotions of the last two books)

Anyways I'm excited to see where the final two books go.

Eska is the main character of my dreams. She is feisty and sassy, she often makes bad decisions and doesn't think things through, but she's passionate and loyal and an amazing friend on your side.

jesse583's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

n7centurion's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

eli_mageofpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ojovanoski's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

4.5

llmacrae's review against another edition

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4.0

A solid ending to the initial trilogy of The War Eternal. World-building remains by far the strongest element and the main draw for me throughout this series (in addition to Moira Quirk’s fantastic narration of the audiobooks!). I absolutely ADORED the sources, different magics, combinations, and how they are linked to literal gods. I loved the lore of how the gods came to be, why the world is the way it is, and all the ancient horrors that live just beyond the veil.

I love how nothing is quite as it seems, the “otherworld” of Savoy, and the creatures that dwell there. The prose is wonderful, and brought to life by Quirk’s narration - she brings a huge variety and range of voices for each character, and delivers the emotional beats masterfully.

The lore grows with every book, so I enjoyed books 2 & 3 more than the first book due to this increased scope.

Book three feels like a proper continuation of book 2 (to the point I thought it could have started even later than it did), and brings things to a conclusion. Some characters get satisfying arcs (Ssserakis in particular), while others less so.

Ssserakis is my favourite character by a long, long way (Eska herself remains my least favourite), and hearing the horror’s struggles, doubts, strength, vulnerability, all while trapped was brilliant.

The narrative style of the story being told to us by an older Eska at some indefinite point in the future remains. It is a hit or miss style for me. The pros are how much more exciting stuff is foreshadowed, and the downs are… how much more exciting stuff is foreshadowed. A lot of the stakes are therefore robbed because we know Eska survives (because she tells us multiple times about future things that are true/more exciting than current things), so you’re kind of along for the ride rather than wondering whether she will get through various obstacles.

All the action sequences were brilliant, edge-of-your-seat type events, and it is clear that this is the story of a legend being made, rather than a regular person caught at the wrong place/wrong time.

Overall the style is not quite my favourite, but I was so intrigued by the world, magic, and horrors, that I was intrigued to learn more and see how it concludes!

A fun read!