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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This is my favourite book of the trilogy without a shadow of a doubt. Its pacey gripping and so many feels.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's tricky to review the final part of a trilogy, a lot of what I'd usually say about character, wiring style etc has already been said in my previous reviews and it all seems to come down to how they nail the ending, but an ending is not a book.
I felt truly invested in these characters, and the world was a rich and original place to spend time. I found some of the romance plots a little obvious, i don't know if it's because this is aimed at a younger audience and I'm just too old and jaded! It was heartfelt though, and the other plots about military strategic, complex morals and identity were all very mature and balanced.
I think my attention span was waning part way through this so I'm not sure if all of the magical and paradox stuff made complete sense, but the ending did and it was very satisfying.
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Firestorm is the third installment in the Worldmaker Trilogy by Lucy Hounsom. Published December 14th, 2017 by Pan Macmillan it's over 500 pages of epic fantasy which satisfyingly ties up much of the story arc from the first two books. The author has style and despite the length, the story doesn't drag at all. I found myself looking forward to stealing reading time to spend in this world with these characters. The prose really resonated with me and I never found myself rolling my eyes internally over inane characters or dialogue. The characters are real and their motivations are consistent.
The world building is simply spectacular and the magic system includes timeline/world shifting... and dragons. Honestly, she had me at dragons. Intelligent dragons. This book ticked a whole lot of boxes for me which can lead to inflated expectations and disappointment. Happily for once, the payoff was well worth the journey. This was a very satisfying read and one that I just might go back and revisit from the first book through again.
The prose is beautifully fluid and deftly crafted. For people who read epic fantasy regularly, there's nothing extremely rough or objectionable in the text. I imagine few people go into a three volume campaign fantasy expecting a cat-based cozy romance/mystery... That being said, there -is- murder, betrayal, rape, suicide, and the occasional narrative 'damn' 'hell' or 'bitch'.
This is a brick of a book. There is no hand-holding or spoon feeding of info. It's not particularly good as a standalone, but it is spectacularly well written and I'm looking forward to the author's future work.
Four stars for Firestorm and four and a half for the series. I hope Ms. Hounsom writes more books in this world/milieu. There are some tantalizing backstories left unwritten.
Available in ebook and paperback format.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
Firestorm is the third installment in the Worldmaker Trilogy by Lucy Hounsom. Published December 14th, 2017 by Pan Macmillan it's over 500 pages of epic fantasy which satisfyingly ties up much of the story arc from the first two books. The author has style and despite the length, the story doesn't drag at all. I found myself looking forward to stealing reading time to spend in this world with these characters. The prose really resonated with me and I never found myself rolling my eyes internally over inane characters or dialogue. The characters are real and their motivations are consistent.
The world building is simply spectacular and the magic system includes timeline/world shifting... and dragons. Honestly, she had me at dragons. Intelligent dragons. This book ticked a whole lot of boxes for me which can lead to inflated expectations and disappointment. Happily for once, the payoff was well worth the journey. This was a very satisfying read and one that I just might go back and revisit from the first book through again.
The prose is beautifully fluid and deftly crafted. For people who read epic fantasy regularly, there's nothing extremely rough or objectionable in the text. I imagine few people go into a three volume campaign fantasy expecting a cat-based cozy romance/mystery... That being said, there -is- murder, betrayal, rape, suicide, and the occasional narrative 'damn' 'hell' or 'bitch'.
This is a brick of a book. There is no hand-holding or spoon feeding of info. It's not particularly good as a standalone, but it is spectacularly well written and I'm looking forward to the author's future work.
Four stars for Firestorm and four and a half for the series. I hope Ms. Hounsom writes more books in this world/milieu. There are some tantalizing backstories left unwritten.
Available in ebook and paperback format.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
I loved this book as the climax to the Worldmaker Trilogy. It felt as though all the pieces finally fell into place, and the ending was emotionally charged as well as very logical - I felt as though all my questions had been answered, and it felt very final. I loved this trilogy very much, and as someone who loves to delve into fantasy books, I felt as though the world Hounsom had created let my imagination run wild. I do not have many issues with this trilogy, however, I feel as though I should mention where I thought improvements could have been made. Two of my qualms (and minor ones at that) are as follows:
1) The world is not as ‘fleshed out’ as it could have been. Although Hounsom does explore much of the world of Acre and Rairam, I felt there was a lot that was not shared and there was a potential that had not been fully explored - it was not as realised as the worlds of Tolkien, Sanderson or Hobb, for example. This point is punctuated by the fact that the maps we are given do not encompass the entire world, and sometimes places they referenced were not on the maps at all. I would have loved a series of maps depicting all of Acre, even though they do not travel much beyond North Eastern Acre.
2) Although I fell in love with each of the main characters (especially with chapters alternating viewpoints) I felt I did not know the villains well at all. The two ‘enemies’ of this book were meant to be The Eldest and Iresonté, yet I felt no hatred towards them as I have done in other novels. Of course I was not in love with them, but other than The Eldest’s unspeakable act of killing the Khronostians, their characters did not do anything to make me hate them anymore than I did the captains of the Sartyan army, or the general du-alakast. I felt if more detail had been cast over Iresonté’s initial march on Rairam, or more time had been spent discussing her & The Eldest’s malevolence during the novel, I may have felt more enmity towards them and justice when Iresonté was killed by Hagdon / The Eldest was killed by Madevle.
Overall, I loved this book, and as I said previously, these complaints are very minor in comparison to the book as a whole.
1) The world is not as ‘fleshed out’ as it could have been. Although Hounsom does explore much of the world of Acre and Rairam, I felt there was a lot that was not shared and there was a potential that had not been fully explored - it was not as realised as the worlds of Tolkien, Sanderson or Hobb, for example. This point is punctuated by the fact that the maps we are given do not encompass the entire world, and sometimes places they referenced were not on the maps at all. I would have loved a series of maps depicting all of Acre, even though they do not travel much beyond North Eastern Acre.
2) Although I fell in love with each of the main characters (especially with chapters alternating viewpoints) I felt I did not know the villains well at all. The two ‘enemies’ of this book were meant to be The Eldest and Iresonté, yet I felt no hatred towards them as I have done in other novels. Of course I was not in love with them, but other than
Overall, I loved this book, and as I said previously, these complaints are very minor in comparison to the book as a whole.
Even if I did not read the previous books in this series I really enjoyed. Fantasy at its best with food for thought, well developed characters and charming settings.
The book is highly recommended for all the fantasy lovers and, even if the target is Young Adult, can be appreciated at any age.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan
The book is highly recommended for all the fantasy lovers and, even if the target is Young Adult, can be appreciated at any age.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan