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willrefuge's review against another edition
4.0
The third and final book of the Empire of Storms provides Hope and Red with an ending. While it may not be THE ending, this particular trilogy certainly does come to an epic conclusion.
4.0 / 5.0 stars.
A great end to a great trilogy—if not the epic that you were expecting.
The entire Empire of Storms has been thrilling, epic and tirelessly entertaining. While Blood and Tempest is easily the shortest installment of the trilogy, it still manages to conclude a fantastic story with a thoughtful but epic conclusion that in no way seems dictated by length or lack of time.
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ BOOKS I & II OF THE EMPIRE OF STORMS
I read Hope and Red maybe a month after its release in 2016 and was instantly in love. Since then the story has grown in scope—starting from the two title characters to encapsulate maybe a dozen or so (shall we say) “minor” characters that help lead Hope and Red to their conclusion. Be aware: this is THEIR story. The empire, the isles, the supporting cast are all involved, all living their own story as well—but for now, Hope and Red take center stage. And while the empire, the world itself may accompany them on this particular journey, the epic conclusion of EoS resolves their story, but not necessarily that of the world itself. This isn’t by any means a deal-breaker. It isn’t where I thought we were headed from HaR, but is entertaining all the same.
The plot of Blood and Tempest picks up where Bane and Shadow left off, with Hope having left the Sword of Sorrows—and presumably violence—behind her. In her private quest for meaning she wanders the south of the empire, searching for answers in her own past. Red, having escaped Biomancer control, continues to search for atonement following his period as the Shadow Demon, attempting to spite the very masters he once served. He serves as a spy for the Empress, although he’s… not terribly good at it. Lacks subtlety, that one. After a few not-so-minor setbacks, Red is given the one task he’s wanted all along: recruit Hope and Brigga Lin to the Empress’s cause.
Brigga Lin has shrugged off Hope’s sudden departure well enough. She’s off fucking a pirate captain, engaging in small time piracy. Her pupil, Jilly, struggles to fit in with the pirates—all of whom seem to be ragged, smelly dudes—while trying to cope with the life she’s been thrust into and the consequences of Hope’s betrayal and departure. The rest of their crew has split as well: Nettles becoming the Black Rose of Paradise Circle, Filler and Sadie and many more dead and gone, Missing Finn and Alash and others disappeared.
Hope, meanwhile, discovers peculiar mysteries in the south—not precisely the answers she was looking for. Red discovers a not-so-subtle plot that could mean the end of the empire itself. Together, with a motley cast and crew, their adventures and experiences will help change the shape of the world.
While not the perfect ending I was looking for, Blood and Tempest provides an ending, at least one to the saga that began in Hope and Red. While it may not be THE ENDING—a door is left open here for more in this world—Jon Skovron certainly provides a conclusion to the story he set out to tell. And it was a worthwhile conclusion to discover. So long as you don’t expect too much—as not all my questions were answered.
If you were after a conclusion to Hope and Red’s journey—you will not be disappointed. Hopefully. I hope to see more of Skovron in the future. Possibly a further glimpse into the Empire as well.
4.0 / 5.0 stars.
A great end to a great trilogy—if not the epic that you were expecting.
The entire Empire of Storms has been thrilling, epic and tirelessly entertaining. While Blood and Tempest is easily the shortest installment of the trilogy, it still manages to conclude a fantastic story with a thoughtful but epic conclusion that in no way seems dictated by length or lack of time.
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ BOOKS I & II OF THE EMPIRE OF STORMS
I read Hope and Red maybe a month after its release in 2016 and was instantly in love. Since then the story has grown in scope—starting from the two title characters to encapsulate maybe a dozen or so (shall we say) “minor” characters that help lead Hope and Red to their conclusion. Be aware: this is THEIR story. The empire, the isles, the supporting cast are all involved, all living their own story as well—but for now, Hope and Red take center stage. And while the empire, the world itself may accompany them on this particular journey, the epic conclusion of EoS resolves their story, but not necessarily that of the world itself. This isn’t by any means a deal-breaker. It isn’t where I thought we were headed from HaR, but is entertaining all the same.
The plot of Blood and Tempest picks up where Bane and Shadow left off, with Hope having left the Sword of Sorrows—and presumably violence—behind her. In her private quest for meaning she wanders the south of the empire, searching for answers in her own past. Red, having escaped Biomancer control, continues to search for atonement following his period as the Shadow Demon, attempting to spite the very masters he once served. He serves as a spy for the Empress, although he’s… not terribly good at it. Lacks subtlety, that one. After a few not-so-minor setbacks, Red is given the one task he’s wanted all along: recruit Hope and Brigga Lin to the Empress’s cause.
Brigga Lin has shrugged off Hope’s sudden departure well enough. She’s off fucking a pirate captain, engaging in small time piracy. Her pupil, Jilly, struggles to fit in with the pirates—all of whom seem to be ragged, smelly dudes—while trying to cope with the life she’s been thrust into and the consequences of Hope’s betrayal and departure. The rest of their crew has split as well: Nettles becoming the Black Rose of Paradise Circle, Filler and Sadie and many more dead and gone, Missing Finn and Alash and others disappeared.
Hope, meanwhile, discovers peculiar mysteries in the south—not precisely the answers she was looking for. Red discovers a not-so-subtle plot that could mean the end of the empire itself. Together, with a motley cast and crew, their adventures and experiences will help change the shape of the world.
While not the perfect ending I was looking for, Blood and Tempest provides an ending, at least one to the saga that began in Hope and Red. While it may not be THE ENDING—a door is left open here for more in this world—Jon Skovron certainly provides a conclusion to the story he set out to tell. And it was a worthwhile conclusion to discover. So long as you don’t expect too much—as not all my questions were answered.
If you were after a conclusion to Hope and Red’s journey—you will not be disappointed. Hopefully. I hope to see more of Skovron in the future. Possibly a further glimpse into the Empire as well.
_camk_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this series. It has great character development through out the 3 books.
I felt the ending of the series however was a little anti-climatic. I was expecting a little bit more of a battle.
I really enjoyed this series. It has great character development through out the 3 books.
I felt the ending of the series however was a little anti-climatic. I was expecting a little bit more of a battle.
satwood01's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent trilogy and a great conclusion. lot of loose ends were tied up neatly, while a couple of characters could have used a another page of two. Still, I loved this series and I can't wait to read more from Mr. Skovron. Highly recommended!
milabeille's review against another edition
5.0
I don't write many reviews because for as much as I read, I'm very word-challenged, and I always end up saying "great" and "awesome" way too much (which is pretty self-explanatory since I put 4 or 5 stars). But I decided to make an effort here because I think more people should know about this serie.
The story is a classic : revolution against the oppression. But the best in these books are the characters, especially the women (not that I didn't like the men). Most of the characters had a rough start in life, whether it was because of poverty, bad parents or dead parents, or because of their gender.
The Empire of Storms is a society where the upper-class (the lacies) is mysoginistic and homophobic, and yet, we see women who becomes warriors, biomancers, pirates, or even spies; we also see a few characters who are gay or bisexual, and then we have Brigga Lin.
It's rare to see women like Brigga Lin in fantasy (or maybe I don't read enough and haven't find them). Brigga Lin is a biomancer, and because of her knowledge she was able to transform her body from a man's to a woman's. Her first motivation for doing this was power, because women biomancer are more powerful than men (but because of the mysoginistic view of society, women were thought too stupid to learn it), but then she realizes that it was who she was meant to be :
"She held up the platter at arm's length and looked at herself. Something in her mind clicked into place and she thought, Yes. It took her a little by surprise. She hadn't realized it until now but whenever she'd looked at herself before, she'd always thought, No, as if the reflection had seemed wrong somehow. But this was right. For the first time in her life, she felt whole"
I could talk and talk about these books, about Brigga Lin, Hope, Red, and all the others but I think it's better to read and see for yourself, all I can say is that the story is amazing, the characters are great (I had to put these words somewhere 😄), and like I said, I really wish more people knew about these books!
Just in case, I'd like to add that these books have a lot of violence (missing limbs, spilling guts, mentions of rape,...) and quite a lot of sex. You've been warned!
And I'll finish by saying Bless the Circle.
The story is a classic : revolution against the oppression. But the best in these books are the characters, especially the women (not that I didn't like the men). Most of the characters had a rough start in life, whether it was because of poverty, bad parents or dead parents, or because of their gender.
The Empire of Storms is a society where the upper-class (the lacies) is mysoginistic and homophobic, and yet, we see women who becomes warriors, biomancers, pirates, or even spies; we also see a few characters who are gay or bisexual, and then we have Brigga Lin.
It's rare to see women like Brigga Lin in fantasy (or maybe I don't read enough and haven't find them). Brigga Lin is a biomancer, and because of her knowledge she was able to transform her body from a man's to a woman's. Her first motivation for doing this was power, because women biomancer are more powerful than men (but because of the mysoginistic view of society, women were thought too stupid to learn it), but then she realizes that it was who she was meant to be :
"She held up the platter at arm's length and looked at herself. Something in her mind clicked into place and she thought, Yes. It took her a little by surprise. She hadn't realized it until now but whenever she'd looked at herself before, she'd always thought, No, as if the reflection had seemed wrong somehow. But this was right. For the first time in her life, she felt whole"
I could talk and talk about these books, about Brigga Lin, Hope, Red, and all the others but I think it's better to read and see for yourself, all I can say is that the story is amazing, the characters are great (I had to put these words somewhere 😄), and like I said, I really wish more people knew about these books!
Just in case, I'd like to add that these books have a lot of violence (missing limbs, spilling guts, mentions of rape,...) and quite a lot of sex. You've been warned!
And I'll finish by saying Bless the Circle.
breezyjean's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
rogue_runner's review against another edition
3.75
This was good, but perhaps a little rushed at the end, and a little tiny tiny bit predictable.
paulklinger's review against another edition
4.0
Action packed and exciting. I felt quite a bit more emotionally invested than in the previous books.
amywriterrose's review against another edition
4.0
The highlight of this novel was seeing all forces and factions coming together to show the legacy of Hope and Red. You can read more of my thoughts on it here: https://amy-rosenfeldt.com/2021/10/29/blood-and-tempest/
slc333's review against another edition
4.0
Great finish to the series. Really enjoyed the addition of homicidal Uter.
frogggirl2's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a cohesive and adventuresome finale to the trilogy. This series really shines when Hope and Red share the page, but, side characters like Brigga Lin are easy to invest in. Kracken, monsters, monstrous little boys are a thrilling, fun threat throughout.