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alexauthorshay's review against another edition
2.0
There are no words, but I'll try anyways.
I'm not as angry as some people have gotten because I picked this series up only a few years ago, so I didn't have a super long wait. I read the first 6 books (NA editions) and then had to wait for the remaining two so I put the series down for a few years and forgot about it. This book isn't actually out in the NA editions yet so I had to hunt to find it and it was 769 pages of waste-of-my-time.
As mentioned in other reviews, most of it is just Elspeth "gnawing". There is a drastic lack of proper punctuation and way too many spelling errors for this to be edited properly. It takes 100 pages just to pick up and get interesting, which is an extra 100 pages of boring you have to read after the entirety of the previous book.
The ending with Ariel was irredeemably bad. After spending so much time on a series you should have one hell of an ending for readers and this was just a flop. While Carmody did manage to tie most of the loose ends up, she did it hastily within the last 50 pages which is ridiculous. Parts of the last novel that were super important are forgotten for huge chunks of this book, and very important things that need to get done get forgotten and thrown back in later.
Dameon's love interest is sudden and unannounced, Dragon's personality is all over the place, the wolves come and go just in the nick of time from several distant but convenient hiding places that are never really elaborated on, Elspeth is conveniently unconscious for the overthrow of the Chafiri/Ekoni so everything about the battle is described only vaguely through second hand description, Salamander's identity is hinted at but it's never revealed how Jakoby came to know who they were. But the worst part of the entire book? Elspeth's whole quest is to shut down Sentinel. She spends 6 1/2 (8 1/2 in NA) books collecting information and items for her quest, and the whole Sentinel scene takes maybe 5 pages. I'm sorry but if the focus of your entire series is taking down Sentinel, it better be one hell of an adversary or provide a lot of obstacles. There are neither. I'm just glad it's over at this point.
I'm not as angry as some people have gotten because I picked this series up only a few years ago, so I didn't have a super long wait. I read the first 6 books (NA editions) and then had to wait for the remaining two so I put the series down for a few years and forgot about it. This book isn't actually out in the NA editions yet so I had to hunt to find it and it was 769 pages of waste-of-my-time.
As mentioned in other reviews, most of it is just Elspeth "gnawing". There is a drastic lack of proper punctuation and way too many spelling errors for this to be edited properly. It takes 100 pages just to pick up and get interesting, which is an extra 100 pages of boring you have to read after the entirety of the previous book.
The ending with Ariel was irredeemably bad. After spending so much time on a series you should have one hell of an ending for readers and this was just a flop. While Carmody did manage to tie most of the loose ends up, she did it hastily within the last 50 pages which is ridiculous. Parts of the last novel that were super important are forgotten for huge chunks of this book, and very important things that need to get done get forgotten and thrown back in later.
Dameon's love interest is sudden and unannounced, Dragon's personality is all over the place, the wolves come and go just in the nick of time from several distant but convenient hiding places that are never really elaborated on, Elspeth is conveniently unconscious for the overthrow of the Chafiri/Ekoni so everything about the battle is described only vaguely through second hand description, Salamander's identity is hinted at but it's never revealed how Jakoby came to know who they were. But the worst part of the entire book? Elspeth's whole quest is to shut down Sentinel. She spends 6 1/2 (8 1/2 in NA) books collecting information and items for her quest, and the whole Sentinel scene takes maybe 5 pages. I'm sorry but if the focus of your entire series is taking down Sentinel, it better be one hell of an adversary or provide a lot of obstacles. There are neither. I'm just glad it's over at this point.
mercey's review against another edition
5.0
A little slow at times but that'll happen when two new worlds need to be introduced. A very satisfying conclusion to my favourite series :)
sweaterregrets's review against another edition
1.0
made me so sad. cause it was bad. this is my favorite series ever and isobelle stabbed me in the heart and killed me.
scrappyreadermum's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. Yeah there’s a lot of information dumping but it was still awesome read. Little confused with the ending though. Her quest to free the animals would have been better being more detailed but overall I loved it
ashybear02's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first book in a while that I just had to finish, to find out what would happen, how it would end and most importantly, who the Destroyer was. It drove me mad to the point I was even dreaming about it.
After reading some other reviews on here I realise that I may have had an advantage in the fact that I read the first books so long ago and only when they were released (minus the first 4). This meant I was unable to link much to the past, which made it both exciting and all new to me.
One of my favourite characters is Dragon and finding out about her was interesting and I know there's still more to learn about her, even though it's finished.
Although aspects dragged at times I found I couldn't put the book down as I just wanted to know.
The Destroyer surprised me, as I'm sure nobody saw it coming. To a point it was a little disappointing after the build up to it. I think I need to go back to the beginning and start with the knowledge to make the connections.
Over all, I adored the whole story and all the links to Beforetime. I think the most disappointing aspect to all of this was what wasn't really Isobelle Carmody's fault. There were so many unnecessary typos, which should not have been there and could have been fixed with some better proof editing from the editors.
This has been a wonderful ending to a series I've loved, and I love the fact that it is open for many more stories before, after and during this plot.
After reading some other reviews on here I realise that I may have had an advantage in the fact that I read the first books so long ago and only when they were released (minus the first 4). This meant I was unable to link much to the past, which made it both exciting and all new to me.
One of my favourite characters is Dragon and finding out about her was interesting and I know there's still more to learn about her, even though it's finished.
Although aspects dragged at times I found I couldn't put the book down as I just wanted to know.
The Destroyer surprised me, as I'm sure nobody saw it coming. To a point it was a little disappointing after the build up to it. I think I need to go back to the beginning and start with the knowledge to make the connections.
Over all, I adored the whole story and all the links to Beforetime. I think the most disappointing aspect to all of this was what wasn't really Isobelle Carmody's fault. There were so many unnecessary typos, which should not have been there and could have been fixed with some better proof editing from the editors.
This has been a wonderful ending to a series I've loved, and I love the fact that it is open for many more stories before, after and during this plot.
emmaarnold's review against another edition
3.0
I still have so many questions about the other characters and I don't think it needed to be this long. Why make such a long and complex series to have such a simple unfinished ending?
georgia_pogson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
eliza_v_paige's review against another edition
3.0
[3.5]
I'm glad to say I've finished this series. I'm also glad that I had this beast on audio because it was so dang long. It was a good conclusion to a series that lost its way after book 3. Just like the previous two books in the series, The Red Queen meanders and lingers with little to no purpose, whilst rushing through the good bits. It was good that the plot of this one was a little thicker than some of the others, so there was a bit of momentum to keep going. I enjoyed the sci-fi elements so much in this one. Especially with God. I was confused by some things included in this but overall I was glad to have read it and to have finished this series.
I'm glad to say I've finished this series. I'm also glad that I had this beast on audio because it was so dang long. It was a good conclusion to a series that lost its way after book 3. Just like the previous two books in the series, The Red Queen meanders and lingers with little to no purpose, whilst rushing through the good bits. It was good that the plot of this one was a little thicker than some of the others, so there was a bit of momentum to keep going. I enjoyed the sci-fi elements so much in this one. Especially with God. I was confused by some things included in this but overall I was glad to have read it and to have finished this series.
stefhyena's review against another edition
5.0
So...The first book of the year for me and I have to give it the full 5 stars. Carmody is still one of my favourite authors. It is rare that I can read over 1100 pages with so many characters and not complain about either of those things. There is also more romance in this book than I would normally like and most of it is pretty predictable and stock standard BUT with so much respect and courage and compassion that it won me over.
The ability of characters in the book to sacrifice their own desires for the greater good- to commit to a quest for the sake of the world, the people and animals they love and yet to weave in the humanity of holding hands and preparing food and longing for a loved ones smile was very humanising. Elspeth is an inspiring heroine but she is also flawed and human, uncertain and at times almost wavering. She has to grow as a character and learn things from others. The book for me struck the perfect balance between individuals and building communities of hope and support for the public good. I've made it sound idealistic and being the last book of a long series I suppose it was more light filled and idealistic than the very dark beginnings, however complexity and cruelty and suffering and loss were still present, its positivity was tempered by loss. Evil in the book is believable- at times broken and weak individuals and at times an inexplicable lust for power and the pain of others...but not in a cartoonish way.
A lot of stuff I want to say would be considered spoilers. All the characters you hope (from the previous books) seem to be in it and most one way or another get either what they deserve or at least a taste of it! Dragon comes of age beautifully and for people who like animals more than people the book is strong on that as well. It's very vegan for such a mainstream series.
Anyway you won't be reading this unless you read the other 6 [b:Obernewtyn|47916|Obernewtyn (Obernewtyn Chronicles, #1)|Isobelle Carmody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312034242s/47916.jpg|3268255] books, you are either already a fan and don't need my recommendation (but won't be disappointed) or it's time you tried out the series for yourself.
;)
I can see why [a:Isobelle Carmody|26878|Isobelle Carmody|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1253191710p2/26878.jpg] took so long writing it too. Worth it!
The ability of characters in the book to sacrifice their own desires for the greater good- to commit to a quest for the sake of the world, the people and animals they love and yet to weave in the humanity of holding hands and preparing food and longing for a loved ones smile was very humanising. Elspeth is an inspiring heroine but she is also flawed and human, uncertain and at times almost wavering. She has to grow as a character and learn things from others. The book for me struck the perfect balance between individuals and building communities of hope and support for the public good. I've made it sound idealistic and being the last book of a long series I suppose it was more light filled and idealistic than the very dark beginnings, however complexity and cruelty and suffering and loss were still present, its positivity was tempered by loss. Evil in the book is believable- at times broken and weak individuals and at times an inexplicable lust for power and the pain of others...but not in a cartoonish way.
A lot of stuff I want to say would be considered spoilers. All the characters you hope (from the previous books) seem to be in it and most one way or another get either what they deserve or at least a taste of it! Dragon comes of age beautifully and for people who like animals more than people the book is strong on that as well. It's very vegan for such a mainstream series.
Anyway you won't be reading this unless you read the other 6 [b:Obernewtyn|47916|Obernewtyn (Obernewtyn Chronicles, #1)|Isobelle Carmody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312034242s/47916.jpg|3268255] books, you are either already a fan and don't need my recommendation (but won't be disappointed) or it's time you tried out the series for yourself.
;)
I can see why [a:Isobelle Carmody|26878|Isobelle Carmody|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1253191710p2/26878.jpg] took so long writing it too. Worth it!