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hugorhill1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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
4.75
soupqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.0
For the conclusion to a 7 book series, this book felt strangely paced. Additionally, a couple of the plot lines weren’t concluded in any meaningful way but were instead relegated to a handful of lines in the epilogue. Still a fun read, imo, but I probably won’t be recommending this series to anyone unless they want a fun slog through a generic fantasy world.
lvh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
mvuijlst's review against another edition
4.0
Wat had ik gezegd? Dat ik wel dacht dat ik een outline zag van hoe het een happy end kon worden? En dat er ook een GRRM-achtig bittersweet ending zou kunnen inzitten?
Ha, wel, ja dus. Ik ga niet spoilen, maar ‘t was een degelijk einde. ‘t Is één van de twee en misschien wel alletwee. Bijna alle losse einden zijn bevredigend opgelost in de loop van het verhaal, en wat er niet helemaal proper ontrafeld of uitgelegd geraakte, kreeg een fijne ontknoping in een epiloog die een paar decennia na het einde plaatsvindt.
Niet alles is opgelost geraakt, en dat is ook goed. ‘t Moet geen colour by numbers worden ook.
Met het hele verhaal achter de rug was het het waard? Ja. Meer dan waard. Ik begrijp niet goed waarom ik hier nog nooit van gehoord had. Het is qua world building en verhaal en diepgang toch wel ergens daar helemaal bovenaan in wat ik al ooit gelezen heb. Natuurlijk dat er in een boek met een dramatis personae van meer dan twintig bladzijden altijd wel stukken zijn die minder boeien dan andere, maar er is behoorlijk weinig fluff in de zin van “personages A en B moeten nu even ter plaatse trappelen terwijl personages D en F iets doen” — gebeurtenissen voelen nooit aan als *kuch*Wheel of Time*kuch* bladvulling .
Er is magie, die niet helemaal uitgelegd wordt (geen probleem voor mij, het moet niet altijd een volledig sluitend systeem zijn zoals bij Brandon Sanderson) en die draait rondt een soort harmonie van de sferen en de aether en dergelijke. Daarnaast is er ook verfrissend échte religie. In de wereld van Crown of Stars is de dominante godsdienst in Europa een soort Christendom-achtig iets, met een God die twee personen heeft, vrouwelijk en mannelijk, en een soort Messiasachtige figuur waar verschillende interpretaties van zijn, met schisma’s en excommunicaties en bijvoorbeeld een bijzonder realistisch conflict of hij een menselijke dan wel een goddelijke natuur had, en of hij doodgemarteld is ter minofmeer vergeving van de zonden dan wel lijfelijk in de hemel is opgenomen.
En — de Here weze geloofd! — er wordt realistisch omgegaan met afstand en tijd. In de eerste boeken is het nog mogelijk voor sommigen om vaag te communiceren over lange afstanden, maar lang niet iedereen kan dat, en zelfs wie het kon, kan het na een paar boeken niet meer. En dan wordt duidelijk hoe het is om in een wereld zonder noemenswaardige communicatie te leven: het kan absoluut zijn dat een hele reeks personages dingen doet zonder te weten dat de omstandigheden een paar honderd kilometer verder zó veranderd zijn dat al hun acties futiel zijn. Het kan ook dat mensen niet weten wat er een paar kilometer verder gebeurt. En Kate Elliott maakt het de lezer niet gemakkelijk: op een bepaalde manier is alles wat we lezen onbetrouwbaar, omdat de personages niet beter weten.
En ja dus: vele tientallen namen. Niet gemakkelijk.
Wel aangeraden. En zou een fantastische TV-serie maken, ware het niet dat het denk ik onmogelijk zou zijn om die hele fog of war te behouden. We hebben dat helaas moeten ondervinden met Game of Thrones.
mamap's review against another edition
1.0
remember bk 5 that i just stopped reading? i wanted to see how the series ended to i skimmed the last book ... yeah, shouldn't have started the series. that's what i get for just picking up a book in the library because it looked interesting
jhouses's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Al fin hemos llegado al final del viaje y la idea principal que se me viene a la mente es que para este trayecto nos han sobrado alforjas. No es que no me haya gustado, la saga tiene una premisa interesante y la rara virtud de no ser predecible, se lee con agrado (aunque decreciente conforme se avanza) y los personajes estan bien trabajados y tienen arcos de desarrollo amplios e interesantes. Pero.
Pero es excesivamente largo.
Pero no suelta ningun personaje secundario. Una vez lo escribe, se incorpora al tapiz y sigue apareciendo una y otra vez aunque sea claramente un sargento NPC.
Pero no gestiona bien el climax narrativo. Tras la catastrofe épica que supone el retorno de las Tierras del Exilio parece que se va montando un enfrentamiento final que no alcanza las expectativas.
Pero la terrible amenaza de los Eika se va desvaneciendo y cuando vuelve lo hace en forma de un Deus Ex Machina bastante forzado.
Pero los elfos que eran la otra gran amenaza tambien se quedan en nada y cuando uno cree que son tipica raza de fantasia termina por descubrir que son una especie de trasuntos de aztecas. (Aqui debo de reconocer que igual deje pasar varias pistas al respecto en lo libros anteriores)
Pero la resolucion del conflicto y las tramas es bastante desigual y un poco insatisfactoria y para cuando nos suelta el epilogo tenemos ya tal lio que ni nos aprovecha.
Pero la cantidad de secuestros cautiverios e huidas es desproporcionadasin mayor objetivo. Todos van y vienen como pollos sin cabeza.
Pero Alain.
Pero Hugh.
Pero.
En fin que no estuvo mal pero la sensacion es que se perdio por el camino, se le inflo demasiado la narrativa y se le quedo flojo el final.
Pero es excesivamente largo.
Pero no suelta ningun personaje secundario. Una vez lo escribe, se incorpora al tapiz y sigue apareciendo una y otra vez aunque sea claramente un sargento NPC.
Pero no gestiona bien el climax narrativo. Tras la catastrofe épica que supone el retorno de las Tierras del Exilio parece que se va montando un enfrentamiento final que no alcanza las expectativas.
Pero la terrible amenaza de los Eika se va desvaneciendo y cuando vuelve lo hace en forma de un Deus Ex Machina bastante forzado.
Pero los elfos que eran la otra gran amenaza tambien se quedan en nada y cuando uno cree que son tipica raza de fantasia termina por descubrir que son una especie de trasuntos de aztecas. (Aqui debo de reconocer que igual deje pasar varias pistas al respecto en lo libros anteriores)
Pero la resolucion del conflicto y las tramas es bastante desigual y un poco insatisfactoria y para cuando nos suelta el epilogo tenemos ya tal lio que ni nos aprovecha.
Pero la cantidad de secuestros cautiverios e huidas es desproporcionadasin mayor objetivo. Todos van y vienen como pollos sin cabeza.
Pero Alain.
Pero Hugh.
Pero.
En fin que no estuvo mal pero la sensacion es que se perdio por el camino, se le inflo demasiado la narrativa y se le quedo flojo el final.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
As the books progressed, I read less and skimmed more... I love Kate Elliott's books ([b:Black Wolves|20980680|Black Wolves (Black Wolves, #1)|Kate Elliott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186294s/20980680.jpg|40357908], [b:Cold Magic|7114825|Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1)|Kate Elliott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323994929s/7114825.jpg|7374960], etc) so I am reading her older books and well... I guess every author has to start somewhere, and this series is kinda weak. I'm leery/skeptical of any series that goes beyond three books (except Kate Daniels), because it starts getting bloated and lackluster... and this series felt like that as it moved on.
I did enjoy the first book though. It seemed like a pretty solid/promising start. But I think as the series progressed and the scope expanded, I started to lose investment. It takes effort for me to become interested when there are three or more narrating characters. Still, it's interesting to see the earlier Kate Elliott books.
I did enjoy the first book though. It seemed like a pretty solid/promising start. But I think as the series progressed and the scope expanded, I started to lose investment. It takes effort for me to become interested when there are three or more narrating characters. Still, it's interesting to see the earlier Kate Elliott books.
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
Looks like I made it! After many months of reading volume after volume, I'm done with this series.
By the end, it felt slightly bloated. I wish some storylines had been cut, and yet, oddly enough, the ending felt slightly rushed. Still, it was a fantastical journey, a true epic and an amazing series full of characters I loved, got annoyed by and hated. I almost threw the book across the room more than once (in a good way, mostly). I developed in-jokes with my SO about the book. I'll miss having more Kate Elliott fantasy to read. (When is the next novel???)
The ending was (mostly) satisfying and as sweeping as Elliott is capable of.
And yet, I find myself frustrated by this book, so much. There are things that disappointed me so bad. Knowing Kate Elliott's feminism from her other novels, knowing how right she is in her meta on the subject of representation... I was terribly disappointed on several counts.
Spoilers about these issues below the cut.
There was one implied-lesbian character. She died. And there was a joke about her possibly raping women.
There was one "two spirit" / trans woman character. She was presented as "not male or female" for the purposes of a curse (which was basically the only narrative reason for her appearance in the novel) and guess what? She died.
There were several characters who are identifiably of colour. The following list includes most of them: One of them, it turned out, wasn't really a person of colour by human ancestry, she was half-white, half-daimonic. One was forcibly married at a very young age and died on page. One was brutally murdered on page. And two were, well, rapists (that's Conrad and Sorgatani by the way).
I hated that the resolution to Hanna's storyline is her getting together with Ivar. They apparently have some magical connection because she had many much nicer dudes hitting on her to no avail, but she sees Ivar after ages and it's instant-kissing. Perhaps I'm forgetting something from book 1 that would make this match better, but honestly, I disliked Ivar and his privileged assholery all along, and to have him be an Eagle doesn't suddenly redeem him. Hanna's entire storyline was about wanting to see the world -> being traumatised by what she saw -> ending up getting together with a guy from her village. Sure, they'll travel together. It doesn't make it any less disappointing.
And then there's Sorgatani, who can't meet a guy who will love her enough to be her pura without it being terribly gross. No, instead she chooses to make Hugh her slave / sex slave. Because apparently two wrongs make a satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure if I'm more opposed to the notion that it's just desserts because he was a rapist (and rapist's son), or disgusted by the idea of him ever having relations of any type with Sorgatani. She deserved better than to be his punishment and diminished by that function.
I still loved the books. I loved them a lot. But it wasn't right. I know my frustration is not with Kate Elliott's novels only. It's with how little representation lesbian women, and women having sex with women, and bi women, get in fiction. But all the same, these books had several plotlines with gay guys. There are Swordspoint novels and now a serial. People swoon about Malec on TV. And lesbians get to have one character who dies. (And I know there are f/f plots in Black Wolves. Guess what, I didn't like them. :/)
My SO remarked that a lot of Crossroads could work as an AU for this novel (what if Sanglant decided to turn Liath aside to have a proper wife for dynastic reasons?). I'd be curious to read about the connections. But a part of me wishes all those Kate Elliott books could be slightly less grim :(
(Well, I'll always have Spiritwalker. Although its ending has its shadows as well.)
By the end, it felt slightly bloated. I wish some storylines had been cut, and yet, oddly enough, the ending felt slightly rushed. Still, it was a fantastical journey, a true epic and an amazing series full of characters I loved, got annoyed by and hated. I almost threw the book across the room more than once (in a good way, mostly). I developed in-jokes with my SO about the book. I'll miss having more Kate Elliott fantasy to read. (When is the next novel???)
The ending was (mostly) satisfying and as sweeping as Elliott is capable of.
And yet, I find myself frustrated by this book, so much. There are things that disappointed me so bad. Knowing Kate Elliott's feminism from her other novels, knowing how right she is in her meta on the subject of representation... I was terribly disappointed on several counts.
Spoilers about these issues below the cut.
Spoiler
There was one implied-lesbian character. She died. And there was a joke about her possibly raping women.
There was one "two spirit" / trans woman character. She was presented as "not male or female" for the purposes of a curse (which was basically the only narrative reason for her appearance in the novel) and guess what? She died.
There were several characters who are identifiably of colour. The following list includes most of them: One of them, it turned out, wasn't really a person of colour by human ancestry, she was half-white, half-daimonic. One was forcibly married at a very young age and died on page. One was brutally murdered on page. And two were, well, rapists (that's Conrad and Sorgatani by the way).
I hated that the resolution to Hanna's storyline is her getting together with Ivar. They apparently have some magical connection because she had many much nicer dudes hitting on her to no avail, but she sees Ivar after ages and it's instant-kissing. Perhaps I'm forgetting something from book 1 that would make this match better, but honestly, I disliked Ivar and his privileged assholery all along, and to have him be an Eagle doesn't suddenly redeem him. Hanna's entire storyline was about wanting to see the world -> being traumatised by what she saw -> ending up getting together with a guy from her village. Sure, they'll travel together. It doesn't make it any less disappointing.
And then there's Sorgatani, who can't meet a guy who will love her enough to be her pura without it being terribly gross. No, instead she chooses to make Hugh her slave / sex slave. Because apparently two wrongs make a satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure if I'm more opposed to the notion that it's just desserts because he was a rapist (and rapist's son), or disgusted by the idea of him ever having relations of any type with Sorgatani. She deserved better than to be his punishment and diminished by that function.
I still loved the books. I loved them a lot. But it wasn't right. I know my frustration is not with Kate Elliott's novels only. It's with how little representation lesbian women, and women having sex with women, and bi women, get in fiction. But all the same, these books had several plotlines with gay guys. There are Swordspoint novels and now a serial. People swoon about Malec on TV. And lesbians get to have one character who dies. (And I know there are f/f plots in Black Wolves. Guess what, I didn't like them. :/)
My SO remarked that a lot of Crossroads could work as an AU for this novel (what if Sanglant decided to turn Liath aside to have a proper wife for dynastic reasons?). I'd be curious to read about the connections. But a part of me wishes all those Kate Elliott books could be slightly less grim :(
(Well, I'll always have Spiritwalker. Although its ending has its shadows as well.)
storytimed's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent end to excellent series. Loved: Theophanu!!!! Theophanu/Stronghand!!!!!! Disliked: Hanna's ending, Hugh getting away with it, Liath and Sanglant's resurrection (felt unearned).
kittenscribble's review against another edition
3.0
Fantasy, last in the Crown of Stars series. The sweeping conclusion: though the world is riven and ravaged, the royal rivals continue fighting over the throne. The wave that has been building through the series crests and breaks in one last, great, bloody battle, after which we are given just enough hints to be sure that most of the protagonists lived happy lives. Conclusive, but rather hastily so considering the sheer bulk of the books that preceded it.