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doostanthereader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-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? Yes
4.75
etlatimer's review against another edition
4.0
Had a hard time getting into it and was worried the story wasn’t going to go beyond them just being in the tower, but the ending came through very strong and really rounded the book out. I personally didn’t enjoy the challenges a ton but the book ended up being quite enjoyable in the end.
plnsilva's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mrj888's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the story and character development, but damn did they push to pronouns and identity concepts hard. To the point that it detracted from the story being told.
pontiacbandit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jiati's review
2.0
If you are familiar with Arcane Ascension, this book is about climbing spires. The scenarios/rooms drag out for way too long. It felt like half the book was one scenario that just dragged on for way too long. While I found some of the characters interesting, there wasn't enough here that I found terribly entertaining. I hope the next book in this new series will be better.
kepheus's review
3.0
While I appreciate the commitment to offing characters, I'm disappointed in who. Also, given the depth these books go into with the spire runs, I'm not convinced the series won't be 30+ books.
kennaelise's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
I absolutely love the Arcane Ascension universe, and had to give this a go.
My heart has been ripped out of my chest, highly recommend.
My heart has been ripped out of my chest, highly recommend.
acasez's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alexriina's review
I'm a big fan of Andrew Rowe's other works including Arcane Ascension and slightly less so, Weapons and Wielders and picked up this book knowing it has a different main author and is not part of of one of the core series. This book was nonetheless disappointing and at 40% of the way through, I see little reason to continue.
There are 6 point of view characters who cycle in and out of prominence over the chapters. In order to distinguish them, they all have very prominent attributes and the book cycles through characters frequently enough that the authors must remind us constantly of key personality attributes.
The characters all have newish attunements at sunstone / citrine so the book doesn't feel like it's building much on the world of Arcane Ascension. I find myself trying to figure out why a citrine Champion would have the ability to detect water and ultimately it feels like it doesn't matter and that the magic is adapted to meet the situation.
At 40%, the vast majority of the book has been in the first room in the spire, which is a simulation. In general I dislike the simulations because it feel like a way to completely disregard the constraint of the characters being in a tower and lets the author kind of do whatever they feel like.
Probably the most critical flaw is that by 40% of the way in, none of the 6 characters have any interesting motivation. Most of them just seem to be there so their team has the right balance, but aren't particularly interested in riches or unearthing some kind of mystery. They're not even that interested in becoming more powerful (which I don't love as a motivation) and only express that they wish they were as powerful as their teammates.
So yeah, 6 characters with no relatable ambitions, trapped in a long simulation scenario from nearly chapter 1, with little connection to the magic of the other series. Also way too much blushing and glaring which made it feel a lot less younger. Going to put this down.
There are 6 point of view characters who cycle in and out of prominence over the chapters. In order to distinguish them, they all have very prominent attributes and the book cycles through characters frequently enough that the authors must remind us constantly of key personality attributes.
The characters all have newish attunements at sunstone / citrine so the book doesn't feel like it's building much on the world of Arcane Ascension. I find myself trying to figure out why a citrine Champion would have the ability to detect water and ultimately it feels like it doesn't matter and that the magic is adapted to meet the situation.
At 40%, the vast majority of the book has been in the first room in the spire, which is a simulation. In general I dislike the simulations because it feel like a way to completely disregard the constraint of the characters being in a tower and lets the author kind of do whatever they feel like.
Probably the most critical flaw is that by 40% of the way in, none of the 6 characters have any interesting motivation. Most of them just seem to be there so their team has the right balance, but aren't particularly interested in riches or unearthing some kind of mystery. They're not even that interested in becoming more powerful (which I don't love as a motivation) and only express that they wish they were as powerful as their teammates.
So yeah, 6 characters with no relatable ambitions, trapped in a long simulation scenario from nearly chapter 1, with little connection to the magic of the other series. Also way too much blushing and glaring which made it feel a lot less younger. Going to put this down.