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stevetw's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent end to this stage of the saga! Tied up most of the loose ends and yet left enough points to begin the next section of the story. He could have ended the series here very nicely, or, as he did, begin a new storyline.
I am sort of wondering why Carris was used again as the battlefield. We knew that the castle had been severely damaged from the last battle, so why did the Earth send them to defend it again? After the first battle, even an army of commoners probably could have taken the castle, to say nothing of Runelords, and of course, we saw that it proved no match for the Reavers.
Some of the other parts that honestly seemed to have little point was the whole Inkarra storyline. Maybe this is something that will be developed in future books, but Borenson and Myrimma's trip to this dark land seemed to have no point. Their army never came to fight at Carris, didn't influence any of the other characters, and the Days that came with them really didn't seem to provide any critical help in the battle.
The other bothersome part was the fact that Raj Ahten becoming a servant of fire seemed to have little effect on him other than him being able to shoot fire from his hands, and his skin seemed to change. They made a big deal of his last scene of him getting this new name, and then only used it as he was being killed at the end of the book. Furthermore, he didn't seem to be serving Fire at all, but still serving himself. Yes, you could argue that this lust for power is part of serving Fire, but he never seemed to be subservient to any Fire Master, certainly not the way Gaborn served the Earth or even the way Mymirra served Water.
Lastly, for Asgarath being so powerful, his leaving was hugely anticlimactic. Again, this seems like it could be a thread to be picked up in future books, but if this was the end point, then this most powerful evil of all seemed rather toothless.
Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy the book. We finally got to see how the Reavers lived after 3 books, with lots of speculation in the previous two. The action was fun to read, and I could really visualize the sequences, even the parts with Runelords moving at superhuman speeds. Seeing what each member of their team brought to bear, and how they and they alone fit into the battle, was excellent, and showed the limits imposed even on the all-powerful Gaborn.
I can't wait to continue my journey!
I am sort of wondering why Carris was used again as the battlefield. We knew that the castle had been severely damaged from the last battle, so why did the Earth send them to defend it again? After the first battle, even an army of commoners probably could have taken the castle, to say nothing of Runelords, and of course, we saw that it proved no match for the Reavers.
Some of the other parts that honestly seemed to have little point was the whole Inkarra storyline. Maybe this is something that will be developed in future books, but Borenson and Myrimma's trip to this dark land seemed to have no point. Their army never came to fight at Carris, didn't influence any of the other characters, and the Days that came with them really didn't seem to provide any critical help in the battle.
The other bothersome part was the fact that Raj Ahten becoming a servant of fire seemed to have little effect on him other than him being able to shoot fire from his hands, and his skin seemed to change. They made a big deal of his last scene of him getting this new name, and then only used it as he was being killed at the end of the book. Furthermore, he didn't seem to be serving Fire at all, but still serving himself. Yes, you could argue that this lust for power is part of serving Fire, but he never seemed to be subservient to any Fire Master, certainly not the way Gaborn served the Earth or even the way Mymirra served Water.
Lastly, for Asgarath being so powerful, his leaving was hugely anticlimactic. Again, this seems like it could be a thread to be picked up in future books, but if this was the end point, then this most powerful evil of all seemed rather toothless.
Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy the book. We finally got to see how the Reavers lived after 3 books, with lots of speculation in the previous two. The action was fun to read, and I could really visualize the sequences, even the parts with Runelords moving at superhuman speeds. Seeing what each member of their team brought to bear, and how they and they alone fit into the battle, was excellent, and showed the limits imposed even on the all-powerful Gaborn.
I can't wait to continue my journey!
chriscoman's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
marshmalow01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
travmanrn's review against another edition
5.0
Loving how this series is unfolding! Can’t wait to open the next one and continue on this adventure I discovered by mere chance.
timhmcclean's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape
Rape in background character story due to "Alien" like birth. Not described at all but mentioned.ericbuscemi's review against another edition
3.0
I left my comments on the series as a whole in my review of the first book, Sum of All Men, but let me say this about this book, because it is a big pet peeve of mine -- It is a different size than the other books. I own all four, in hardcover, and this one is larger than the other three. It drives me crazy and it looks retarded on my shelf. End rant.
raptorimperator's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this series, and found this book to be a fitting conclusion to this story arc of the series, as the conflict isn't fix with snap of a finger. The heroes had to really work and suffer to accomplisht their goals. And all is not paradise afterwards. The ending was sort of bittersweet, with a mixture of joy and sadness for the main characters. Well done, Mr. Farland... well done.
trsclee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
storyphoria's review against another edition
4.0
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This book, The Lair of Bones(The Runelords, #4), feels like the final book in this series…even though there are still FOUR MORE after this one. It is, however, the last of this series that I had previously read and now I more fully remember why.
All in all, if you have been reading along with me and are on your own Runelords journey, I think you’ll find that The Lair of Bones is a very satisfying conclusion to this fantasy quartet. Yes, there’s plenty of cliches and plot armor, but it’s a wonderful journey and this book delivers an ending that is pitch perfect in fist pumping fun and bittersweet gut punches. You may well want to stop your Runelords journey right here and be happy with the series you’ve enjoyed so far. You could do it easily as this book wraps up the main storylines perfectly.
https://solo.to/storyphoria
This book, The Lair of Bones(The Runelords, #4), feels like the final book in this series…even though there are still FOUR MORE after this one. It is, however, the last of this series that I had previously read and now I more fully remember why.
All in all, if you have been reading along with me and are on your own Runelords journey, I think you’ll find that The Lair of Bones is a very satisfying conclusion to this fantasy quartet. Yes, there’s plenty of cliches and plot armor, but it’s a wonderful journey and this book delivers an ending that is pitch perfect in fist pumping fun and bittersweet gut punches. You may well want to stop your Runelords journey right here and be happy with the series you’ve enjoyed so far. You could do it easily as this book wraps up the main storylines perfectly.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish