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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
This was a great book! It was interesting to see the enemy mastermind, more information about the world and an unique cure for the plague.
The author keeps getting better and better as she goes along. This one was amazing! (I admit to skipping ahead to see how it ended, then going back and reading the rest of the way.)
This book lost one star for two reasons. First, I feel it is too long. The part when they are in the city really seemed to drag on. (That was when I skipped and read the end.) Second, the ending is too pat. Once the final battle happened, everything just wrapped up all nice and neat.
This book lost one star for two reasons. First, I feel it is too long. The part when they are in the city really seemed to drag on. (That was when I skipped and read the end.) Second, the ending is too pat. Once the final battle happened, everything just wrapped up all nice and neat.
I really enjoyed this book! The author kept it fresh by following a different storyline than the previous book seemed to set up. There was a little more character growth/development in this book than in the previous books. The worldbuilding and lore continued strong and the ending of the work was unpredictable and enjoyable. Looking forward to reading more!
This was a great book. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, because of where the last book leaves Volke, but i felt this book switched it up enough that it felt fresh and exciting again. I'm excited to read the next one and i feel like Shami Stovall has a good handle on where the series is going.
Wow, so much to talk about with just this one though.
Light Spoilers
Loved that we get to see more of Karna and her crew. I was really starting to miss the interactions between Volke and the rest of the Frith Guild.
Karna gets a petty revenge on Theasin by cutting the bottoms of all his pockets and sanding down 1 leg of his chair. great revenge
Heavy Spoiles
So Volke is running to find Theasin, (Adelgis' Dad and still a huge dick) to hopefully find a cure. among the crew of the ship happens to be his actual father. which felt a little contrived but didn't bother me that much.
going through the lightning Strait with calisto of all people and helping him kill a bunch of pirates
Watching the Plague slowly start to affect Volke and his mindset was scary. Learning more about Second Acension and their goals was crazy cool and important. That Kirin Arcanists can bond 2 creatures and that the Autarch, The head of Second Acension can bond 3 creatures and Plans to bond the World Serpent and The Soulforge. Oh also excited we got a (full) list of the God Creatures.
Volke's new sword. Retribution that he made with before were unknown but freaking parts of the apoch dragon, and that it cuts through MAGIC completly. a very powerful weapon to go along with his amazing shield. Learns more about Aura and practices with Fain who grows a lot.
Watching Zelfree's memories through dream was an interesting choice to show how Zelfree and Calisto got where they are. i thought it was an excellent addition to the book, if not necessary.
So Volke refuses 2 cures to the Plague, Killing Khepera which Theasin has been doing, or letting Theasin cure him, but not stopping 2nd Acension. so whats the only other way to cure the plague.
Its TRUE FORM ARCANIST, which i called
Also Coolest part which i Loved. "I would rather die than watch another Arcanist fall" so awe inspiring and cool. and the abilities of His True form are amazing. That his armor can shift and change, he can do aura correctly now. and hopefully his magic won't hurt anymore. 3 v 1 and True form saves the day.
only thing i didn't like near the end was that Volke tells Illia he loves her and then immediatly tells addy that things are going to be different between them implying dating. which i don't want. Volke and Illia all the way
Wow, so much to talk about with just this one though.
Light Spoilers
Loved that we get to see more of Karna and her crew. I was really starting to miss the interactions between Volke and the rest of the Frith Guild.
Karna gets a petty revenge on Theasin by cutting the bottoms of all his pockets and sanding down 1 leg of his chair. great revenge
Heavy Spoiles
So Volke is running to find Theasin, (Adelgis' Dad and still a huge dick) to hopefully find a cure. among the crew of the ship happens to be his actual father. which felt a little contrived but didn't bother me that much.
going through the lightning Strait with calisto of all people and helping him kill a bunch of pirates
Watching the Plague slowly start to affect Volke and his mindset was scary. Learning more about Second Acension and their goals was crazy cool and important. That Kirin Arcanists can bond 2 creatures and that the Autarch, The head of Second Acension can bond 3 creatures and Plans to bond the World Serpent and The Soulforge. Oh also excited we got a (full) list of the God Creatures.
Volke's new sword. Retribution that he made with before were unknown but freaking parts of the apoch dragon, and that it cuts through MAGIC completly. a very powerful weapon to go along with his amazing shield. Learns more about Aura and practices with Fain who grows a lot.
Watching Zelfree's memories through dream was an interesting choice to show how Zelfree and Calisto got where they are. i thought it was an excellent addition to the book, if not necessary.
So Volke refuses 2 cures to the Plague, Killing Khepera which Theasin has been doing, or letting Theasin cure him, but not stopping 2nd Acension. so whats the only other way to cure the plague.
Its TRUE FORM ARCANIST, which i called
Also Coolest part which i Loved. "I would rather die than watch another Arcanist fall" so awe inspiring and cool. and the abilities of His True form are amazing. That his armor can shift and change, he can do aura correctly now. and hopefully his magic won't hurt anymore. 3 v 1 and True form saves the day.
only thing i didn't like near the end was that Volke tells Illia he loves her and then immediatly tells addy that things are going to be different between them implying dating. which i don't want. Volke and Illia all the way
I have long since been a huge Shami Stovall fan, so I was happy to get this book for review. Just a heads up, there will be spoilers for the ending of the 3rd book, as the plot of this one revolves what happens at the end.
With the ending of the third book as gigantic as it was, I was anxious to see how it would play out in this one. And it definitely starts out more despondent than the others. Gone is the usual excitement over the next quest. In fact, Volke spends a while even wondering if ending his life would be the more noble thing to do now that he has the plague. This is not an overt theme of the book, but it might be bad enough for someone current suffering from suicide ideation, so content warnings are in order.
I didn't mind Volke being separated from the Frith Guild for the majority of the book, as I'm a sucker for big teary reunions. The allies he did have with him, Fain, Adelgis, Karna, and the crew of the Sun Chaser, seemed like a ragtag group at first, but it made sense as time went on. I can't say that I loved any of the new characters as much as I love the found family that is the Frith Guild, I did enjoy them for the duration of the book.
Overall, this is a much more lore heavy book. It's similar to the third in that there's a large portion of time spent just traveling and figuring things out. There are major reveals, such as Zelfree's history with pirates and Callisto's background. There's studies in the magic, like where the healing sands come from and the nature of achieving an eldrin's true form. While there are some action sequences, pirate battles and mazes and the like, it is not quite as gigantically action heavy as the previous book. However, if you love the world as much as I do, that's not a problem.
If I had issue with anything, it was in the progression of the plague. In previous books the reader only saw the late stages of the plague, so there wasn't a lot of info to go off of. There were times it felt like the disease wasn't progressing at all, especially in the first half of the book. That may be because it's a mental disease that affects morality and Volke has such a high moral compass to begin with, but there were times it didn't feel like it was much tension.
The ending wasn't the usual fare I've come to expect from Shami. There was still a giant eldrin fight (at this point, I don't think it counts as a real book in the series if it doesn't end with someone fighting a giant eldrin) but the giant eldrin was more something Volke had to overcome to finish his real task rather than the big bad itself. But I will say that the way he overcomes it was inspired and the perfect completion to his arc in this book.
Over the course of this book an even bigger threat is set up, even more so than the world serpent of the third book. And I LOVED it. This series is definitely gonna be here for the long haul and I can't wait for the next installment.
With the ending of the third book as gigantic as it was, I was anxious to see how it would play out in this one. And it definitely starts out more despondent than the others. Gone is the usual excitement over the next quest. In fact, Volke spends a while even wondering if ending his life would be the more noble thing to do now that he has the plague. This is not an overt theme of the book, but it might be bad enough for someone current suffering from suicide ideation, so content warnings are in order.
I didn't mind Volke being separated from the Frith Guild for the majority of the book, as I'm a sucker for big teary reunions. The allies he did have with him, Fain, Adelgis, Karna, and the crew of the Sun Chaser, seemed like a ragtag group at first, but it made sense as time went on. I can't say that I loved any of the new characters as much as I love the found family that is the Frith Guild, I did enjoy them for the duration of the book.
Overall, this is a much more lore heavy book. It's similar to the third in that there's a large portion of time spent just traveling and figuring things out. There are major reveals, such as Zelfree's history with pirates and Callisto's background. There's studies in the magic, like where the healing sands come from and the nature of achieving an eldrin's true form. While there are some action sequences, pirate battles and mazes and the like, it is not quite as gigantically action heavy as the previous book. However, if you love the world as much as I do, that's not a problem.
If I had issue with anything, it was in the progression of the plague. In previous books the reader only saw the late stages of the plague, so there wasn't a lot of info to go off of. There were times it felt like the disease wasn't progressing at all, especially in the first half of the book. That may be because it's a mental disease that affects morality and Volke has such a high moral compass to begin with, but there were times it didn't feel like it was much tension.
The ending wasn't the usual fare I've come to expect from Shami. There was still a giant eldrin fight (at this point, I don't think it counts as a real book in the series if it doesn't end with someone fighting a giant eldrin) but the giant eldrin was more something Volke had to overcome to finish his real task rather than the big bad itself. But I will say that the way he overcomes it was inspired and the perfect completion to his arc in this book.
Over the course of this book an even bigger threat is set up, even more so than the world serpent of the third book. And I LOVED it. This series is definitely gonna be here for the long haul and I can't wait for the next installment.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This is fourth book in the series and it is best to read it in order of the series.
The story picks up where the third book left off and we journey with the protagonist and his friends to find a cure for the plague. We meet new characters, old enemies and the villains of the series. The book was adventurous and thrilling in places and reflective at others. Again the fantasy setting was amazing and the build up was better than the first book.
The story picks up where the third book left off and we journey with the protagonist and his friends to find a cure for the plague. We meet new characters, old enemies and the villains of the series. The book was adventurous and thrilling in places and reflective at others. Again the fantasy setting was amazing and the build up was better than the first book.