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astrea13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Torture, and Violence
katiefronk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Torture and Sexual content
okays1331's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I do not know how to explain this book. I repeatedly had to walk away to process the magnitude of what was happening. But then run back because I HAD to know what was going to happen next. I don't know when Darrow, Sevro, and the rest of the Howlers stole my heart, but I love them so much. Their charisma, their horribleness, their desperation to be something better, and their love for each other.
The space battles, the war, the strategy, the politics are all so well written and nail biting. The author does not pull punches. Brown has no problem murdering anyone on the pages making the battles so much more terrifying to read. There are parts where I honestly thought we were going to get a new main character. Still unsure if that might not be the case...
But my favorite part and the part that is so unexpected to me every time is the poignancy of moments where the author takes apart the characters. What is good? What is an acceptable cost? What is redemption? These books are a mirror held up to us to see ourselves and humanity. Some of my favorite moments are moments where Darrow is talking to his friends or his enemies about themselves and the society.
The ending! I am so upset.
Darrow makes a choice in this book to put his trust into the people he cares about gambling that that trust can change people and make them more than they are. It works. It's so beautiful when Sevro embraces him as a Red and as a brother or when Tactus turns back to him in tears when given a second chance or Ragnar chooses his own destiny instead of a life of slavery. Brown sets it up, so I sit in dread every time Darrow chooses to act like a human instead of Gold. But it works again and again and again until I started to truly believe that because of who Darrow is, he can get through to each of them and build a trust so unshakable it can withstand anything. Even when Mustang runs away from his reveal of the truth, I still believed she would come around.
Then Roque betrays him, kills their friends, and tells him they are not brothers because Darrow is a Red. My heart shattered into tiny tiny pieces.
The space battles, the war, the strategy, the politics are all so well written and nail biting. The author does not pull punches. Brown has no problem murdering anyone on the pages making the battles so much more terrifying to read. There are parts where I honestly thought we were going to get a new main character. Still unsure if that might not be the case...
But my favorite part and the part that is so unexpected to me every time is the poignancy of moments where the author takes apart the characters. What is good? What is an acceptable cost? What is redemption? These books are a mirror held up to us to see ourselves and humanity. Some of my favorite moments are moments where Darrow is talking to his friends or his enemies about themselves and the society.
The ending! I am so upset.
Darrow makes a choice in this book to put his trust into the people he cares about gambling that that trust can change people and make them more than they are. It works. It's so beautiful when Sevro embraces him as a Red and as a brother or when Tactus turns back to him in tears when given a second chance or Ragnar chooses his own destiny instead of a life of slavery. Brown sets it up, so I sit in dread every time Darrow chooses to act like a human instead of Gold. But it works again and again and again until I started to truly believe that because of who Darrow is, he can get through to each of them and build a trust so unshakable it can withstand anything. Even when Mustang runs away from his reveal of the truth, I still believed she would come around.
Then Roque betrays him, kills their friends, and tells him they are not brothers because Darrow is a Red. My heart shattered into tiny tiny pieces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism and Sexual content
literarycavy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Slavery, and Violence
cheshirevixen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love these books so much, to the point where I struggle to find substantial flaws. The characters are so loveable and interesting, the plot is intense and fast-paced, and the themes explored are framed in a nuanced way. Darrow's journey is one of if not the most compelling and emotional stories I've read and he's one of my favourite protagonists.
Overview
Characters: 7/7
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Interesting: 5/5
- Consistent: 5/5
- Development: 5/5
- Flaws: 5/5
- Relationships: 5/5
- Conflict: 5/5
Setting: 3/3
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Interesting: 5/5
- Internal Consistency: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Setup: 5/5
- Payoff: 5/5
- Logical: 5/5
- Pacing: 5/5
Characters:
Both the main character and side characters in this book are complex and interesting to read about, and their relationships and interactions are wonderful. The main character experiences a lot of internal conflict about the morality of his actions and how he may affect those he has come to call friends. He struggles to keep people at a distance, and the way in which he acts causes rifts and conflict between him and the other characters which drives the plot forward. Because this book is written in first person we don't get to see what the other characters are thinking, which leads the audience to feel how Darrow does, not knowing if anyone can be trusted. There are also many strong friendships and relationships in this story that are heartwarming and beautiful. There are so many amazing characters in this book, but my personal favourites would be Darrow, Sevro & Ragnar :)
Setting:
This book like the last kind of throws you head first into the action and the setting without explaining much of what's going on. I find that with the first book I also felt a little disorientated at the beginning, with little idea of what some things were. While I'm not sure of how everything works in this world, I get the sense that the main character and author do. I'm not a huge fan of info-dumps, but I like to have a firm grasp on everything in the world. That being said, I know that these things may be held back from the audience as a reveal later on, and the parts of the world that are in the spotlight are really interesting and make a lot of sense.
Plot:
The plot of this book is fast-paced with tons of twists and turns. The story is told in first perspective, but the main character is somewhat unreliable, so the audience will often find out his plans as they are unfolding. I find this is kind of similar to Six of Crows in this sense, which I also adore. The payoffs are setup up really well in my opinion, and there is a sense of tension throughout which makes it hard to put down.
Themes:
I really enjoy the way that this story explores the reality of rebellion and overthrowing regimes, and the sheer scale and number of people it takes to do something like this successfully. Particularly, I think that there's a lot of nuance when discussing what might happen after. I also think that it allows people from the 'evil side' to be good and moral, and people from the 'good side' to be consumed by rage and immoral. They all choose their own path, and the main character worries numerous times how he might have acted were he to have a slightly or drastically different past.
As I've made abundantly clear, I love this book and everyone should read this series ;)
Both the main character and side characters in this book are complex and interesting to read about, and their relationships and interactions are wonderful. The main character experiences a lot of internal conflict about the morality of his actions and how he may affect those he has come to call friends. He struggles to keep people at a distance, and the way in which he acts causes rifts and conflict between him and the other characters which drives the plot forward. Because this book is written in first person we don't get to see what the other characters are thinking, which leads the audience to feel how Darrow does, not knowing if anyone can be trusted. There are also many strong friendships and relationships in this story that are heartwarming and beautiful. There are so many amazing characters in this book, but my personal favourites would be Darrow, Sevro & Ragnar :)
Setting:
This book like the last kind of throws you head first into the action and the setting without explaining much of what's going on. I find that with the first book I also felt a little disorientated at the beginning, with little idea of what some things were. While I'm not sure of how everything works in this world, I get the sense that the main character and author do. I'm not a huge fan of info-dumps, but I like to have a firm grasp on everything in the world. That being said, I know that these things may be held back from the audience as a reveal later on, and the parts of the world that are in the spotlight are really interesting and make a lot of sense.
Plot:
The plot of this book is fast-paced with tons of twists and turns. The story is told in first perspective, but the main character is somewhat unreliable, so the audience will often find out his plans as they are unfolding. I find this is kind of similar to Six of Crows in this sense, which I also adore. The payoffs are setup up really well in my opinion, and there is a sense of tension throughout which makes it hard to put down.
Themes:
I really enjoy the way that this story explores the reality of rebellion and overthrowing regimes, and the sheer scale and number of people it takes to do something like this successfully. Particularly, I think that there's a lot of nuance when discussing what might happen after. I also think that it allows people from the 'evil side' to be good and moral, and people from the 'good side' to be consumed by rage and immoral. They all choose their own path, and the main character worries numerous times how he might have acted were he to have a slightly or drastically different past.
As I've made abundantly clear, I love this book and everyone should read this series ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Grief
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