Reviews - Esrahaddon | The StoryGraph

147 reviews for:

Esrahaddon

Michael J. Sullivan

4.52 AVERAGE

booksblabbering's review against another edition

3.5

After being exiled to the dangerous jungle by his dad when tigers and jaguars refuse to eat him but destroys the rest of the village, Esrahaddon meets goblins who basically adopt him.

If you have read the Riryia revelations, you may be familiar with Esrahaddon. This shows his upbringing and shaping. This means it either provides that extra backstory and details, or gives you a brand new glimpse into the world!

This book is chunky which can be intimidating but Sullivan’s writing is extremely addictive.

What I really liked is Sullivan’s subverting of expectations.

Not to mention, goblins have always been seen as vile creatures and normally depicted as enemies in every book in the world of Elan (and other fantasy series). But Sullivan shows, just like with humanity, there are good and evil individuals within the goblins. It was a pleasant surprise to read that Esrahaddon was raised by goblins after being exiled by his own dad.

”See now . . . this here’s the problem with taking in a stray cub. There always comes that time when you got to let them go back to the wild — that moment you know deep in your lousy heart that you’re never gonna see them again. The moment you take them in, the instant you carry them home, you know freaking well that you’re gonna have to say goodbye one day. And as the little furball starts purring and scratching you with his crazy needle claws, you also know when that time comes it’s gonna rip your heart out… And you know what? I need this heart. It’s the only one I got. And you’re killing me here.”

The narrator did a phenomenal job at bringing the funny goblins alive with all their quirks and banter. As well as giving a personality to a naive and oblivious Esra.

The first half was definitely a lot better than the second half. I adored seeing Esra grow up and then adapt (or rather make everyone else gasp at his actions) to socialisation after years living with goblins. His acclimatisation to the city and the magic school.

However, the second half felt slightly drawn out with too many new threads to follow. The higher the stakes, the less my enjoyment for some reason.

Now I really want to reread the Riryia Revelations….

marvelruinedmyspirit's review

4.75

I absolutely loved this. I think Farilane and HoN remain my favorite Elan books but this is a new fave. While the time jumps in the first half of the book were a bit jarring at first, the second half had me in a chokehold. Esrahaddon was an interesting character in the Riyria Revelations, but in this I learned to love him so much, and I wish we'd gotten more time with him and his family. I will say after reading the afterword I am a bit sad that so much of the book was cut (and I plan on asking for the cut scenes via email) but I understand that pacing-wise it wouldn't have worked.
I'm so sad that this was my last book in this world to read (at least until Drumindor comes out), but I already wanted to reread Riyria before reading this book, and now I'm even more hyped for this.

As a side note, I did cry when Esra was in Avempartha and he heard his future self talking with Arista. This wasn't the first or last time I got emotional in this book (Esra's conversation with Turin touched me, his mother's death, or everytime Farilane was mentioned...) but to know all that was to come, and to have it referenced, especially since Arista is one of my favorite characters...

I also got to play (and win) my favorite game of spotting Turin, and the ending made me very excited for what's to come in this world. I know that MJS has more in store for this series, I just know it.

senminaya's review against another edition

5.0

paupas's review against another edition

5.0

buah

isabeltavares's review

3.0

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

aravenscroft's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

stellathereader's review against another edition

3.0

We finally get some Esrahaddon lore. Although I did liked finally learning the backstory of Esrahaddon, the book was overly long. I liked Jerish, Esrahaddon, and Nevrik, but the rest of the characters didn't really keep my interest. Especially given that the book is over 700 pages, I should have cared for more characters.

It is really really hard to follow Farilane.