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A review by river24
The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
3.25/5
They say the Zalaam have come to conquer. But conquer what, I ask? For they will not overcome the land or the seas, or the rivers or the trees.
And they will not take you or me.
For we live in stories.
And words and memories.
I've had my ups and downs with this series. I thought the first book was okay and held promise, I thought the second book was very good and I've just completed the third and final book. It turns out that I'm not as utterly enamoured with it as most people seem to be, but I have enjoyed it.
This epic conclusion thoroughly disappointed me, however. Maybe I've fallen out of love with the aspects I did like, maybe I've grown tired of it? But I think my problems with this book stem from a little more than simple, personal dislikes.
The best part of this series, the best character by far, is Hassa. I've always adored Hassa, and every element of her narrative and perspective. The Battle Drum is also my favourite of the trilogy because of how prevalent she is.
I thought in this conclusion she was vastly underutilised. I wanted to see so much more of her, to hit the emotional impact far harder, to focus on everything this ending meant for the Ghostings in a much more personal way. Hassa's voice is so unique and intriguing, she's the perfect character to follow. I wish we had stayed with her a little longer.
Anoor, in particular, really bugged me this book. I've never been much of a fan of Anoor's character, but that's just a matter of opinion. My problem in this book was with how she was written.
I couldn't for the life of me understand how she was flip-flopping across beliefs and moralities that were so immensely different so quickly. It was absurd and I could never buy into it, it pulled me out of the story incessantly. There was such a lack of internal conflict it was unbelievable.
I found the character's actions very strange across the board. There was a lot of all-consuming love, and I know 'love makes you stupid,' but I am on my hands and knees begging these characters to make smarter decisions. I caught myself rolling my eyes and groaning an awful lot. (It's difficult to go into anything without spoiling something as this is the last book in the trilogy.)
I also thought that the characters were played more like chess pieces than real people, and that was why their actions felt so stiff or inevitably useless. They were in a place so we could see the place, they were with a character so we could gain insight into the character. It forced me to extend my suspended disbelief until I could no longer buy into it. It didn't feel like any of our main characters actually had a large impact on the story, they weren't the ones propelling it forwards, and that made everything feel very wooden.
It just didn't seem like the components of the story were moving as one well-oiled machine. It felt anti-climactic, not because of the actual action taking place, but because of the lack of emotional resolution. I actually enjoyed the end of the story a lot, I loved how we kept shifting perspectives, it echoed very well the stress and conflicting experiences on a battlefield. But I still felt as though there were things that hadn't been sufficiently wrapped up, emotional beats that hadn't quite been fulfilled. It left me wanting a lot more closure.
Overall, I'm just left with a vague feeling of disappointment. I don't mean to be so negative, but my frustrations with the book only seemed to grow as I read on. I don't think El-Arifi's works are for me, I've read a fair amount of books by her now and I think I can safely say that.
I'm so glad that other people seem to enjoy her works a lot more than I do, it's a shame I don't feel the same!
Thank you HarperVoyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
They say the Zalaam have come to conquer. But conquer what, I ask? For they will not overcome the land or the seas, or the rivers or the trees.
And they will not take you or me.
For we live in stories.
And words and memories.
I've had my ups and downs with this series. I thought the first book was okay and held promise, I thought the second book was very good and I've just completed the third and final book. It turns out that I'm not as utterly enamoured with it as most people seem to be, but I have enjoyed it.
This epic conclusion thoroughly disappointed me, however. Maybe I've fallen out of love with the aspects I did like, maybe I've grown tired of it? But I think my problems with this book stem from a little more than simple, personal dislikes.
The best part of this series, the best character by far, is Hassa. I've always adored Hassa, and every element of her narrative and perspective. The Battle Drum is also my favourite of the trilogy because of how prevalent she is.
I thought in this conclusion she was vastly underutilised. I wanted to see so much more of her, to hit the emotional impact far harder, to focus on everything this ending meant for the Ghostings in a much more personal way. Hassa's voice is so unique and intriguing, she's the perfect character to follow. I wish we had stayed with her a little longer.
Anoor, in particular, really bugged me this book. I've never been much of a fan of Anoor's character, but that's just a matter of opinion. My problem in this book was with how she was written.
I couldn't for the life of me understand how she was flip-flopping across beliefs and moralities that were so immensely different so quickly. It was absurd and I could never buy into it, it pulled me out of the story incessantly. There was such a lack of internal conflict it was unbelievable.
I found the character's actions very strange across the board. There was a lot of all-consuming love, and I know 'love makes you stupid,' but I am on my hands and knees begging these characters to make smarter decisions. I caught myself rolling my eyes and groaning an awful lot. (It's difficult to go into anything without spoiling something as this is the last book in the trilogy.)
I also thought that the characters were played more like chess pieces than real people, and that was why their actions felt so stiff or inevitably useless. They were in a place so we could see the place, they were with a character so we could gain insight into the character. It forced me to extend my suspended disbelief until I could no longer buy into it. It didn't feel like any of our main characters actually had a large impact on the story, they weren't the ones propelling it forwards, and that made everything feel very wooden.
It just didn't seem like the components of the story were moving as one well-oiled machine. It felt anti-climactic, not because of the actual action taking place, but because of the lack of emotional resolution. I actually enjoyed the end of the story a lot, I loved how we kept shifting perspectives, it echoed very well the stress and conflicting experiences on a battlefield. But I still felt as though there were things that hadn't been sufficiently wrapped up, emotional beats that hadn't quite been fulfilled. It left me wanting a lot more closure.
Overall, I'm just left with a vague feeling of disappointment. I don't mean to be so negative, but my frustrations with the book only seemed to grow as I read on. I don't think El-Arifi's works are for me, I've read a fair amount of books by her now and I think I can safely say that.
I'm so glad that other people seem to enjoy her works a lot more than I do, it's a shame I don't feel the same!
Thank you HarperVoyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review.