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saadiyya_reads786's review
5.0
This series started with Ceda wanting revenage against the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai, but it turned into something bigger than revenage. I really enjoyed six books. Wow...beautiful epic fantasy series.
itsfreelancer's review
5.0
This guy is so underrated! One of the finest fantasy series I've ever read and trust me, I've read a lot more than average. A Desert Torn Asunder is the 6th and final volume of "The Song of the Shattered Sands" series and it was a phenomenal ending. At times I did feel it was a little rushed but that's probably me saying whenever a series ends. Everything about the book, the series and the characters will remain in my memory for a long, long time.
theresab93's review
3.0
Solid ending but honestly a sixth book just wasn't needed considering this was only 400 pages compared to the tomes of the previous 5 books
coriandercake's review
3.0
I have super mixed feelings about this. This is by far the weakest book in the series and really cemented problems earlier in the series. The good stuff: there were some really emotional and well-done scenes between the characters, the plot was suspenseful and interesting around the 200-300 page mark, the setting was wonderful as always, and Ceda finally felt like a main character again in the second half of the book
Issues with this book specifically:
(1) Badly edited. There are multiple repeat paragraphs/sentences and the frequent shift in perspectives meant that certain scenes were repeated with very similar sentence structure and word choice without adding anything to the story. It felt like a bunch of fluff to make this book reach 400 pages. At one point, demons which had been present for well over 100 pages finally had their appearance described.
(2) Overall, this book felt like Beaulieu got to the end of the fifth book and realized he had run out of ideas but had to write another one. The plot felt tacked on to the series as a whole. Most annoying was the entire subplot with Hamid. It was so low stakes compared to everything else going on and its conclusion literally did nothing for the rest of the plot. The entire conflict could have been finished in less than 20 pages instead of taking up what felt like half the book
(3) Emre and Ceda just don't have chemistry. They always worked better as friends. Speaking of romance, it felt like a ton of romantic tension alluded to in the last book was just dropped.
(4) The ending was cringey AF politics wise. Also super predictable. I figured out no one important was going to die and I stopped feeling any concern for the characters.
(5) Queen Alansal seemed to act however the plot required and it didn't always make sense.
(6) "Democracy is a remarkably stable form of government" LOL
Larger problems with the series:
(1) It felt like the focus shifted about halfway through this series to a larger plot, which would have been fine on its own, and an excessively expanded cast of characters that made this feel like two related trilogies shoved together, rather than a cohesive whole. Focusing more on Ceda throughout the series--and her move away from revenge to protecting the desert--would have been better.
(2) Incest that ended up being completely pointless. A lot of romantic entanglements that ended up being completely pointless.
(3) It felt like a lot of these extra characters were added to avoid accusations of Deus Ex Machina when they inevitably showed up to save the day more than them actually adding to the story.
(4) Largely predictable plot wise. I was never surprised or shocked. This was partly a result of characters' plot armor.
(5) The way people thought about and interacted with the gods was weird. It felt too casual/dismissive at times
Issues with this book specifically:
(1) Badly edited. There are multiple repeat paragraphs/sentences and the frequent shift in perspectives meant that certain scenes were repeated with very similar sentence structure and word choice without adding anything to the story. It felt like a bunch of fluff to make this book reach 400 pages. At one point, demons which had been present for well over 100 pages finally had their appearance described.
(2) Overall, this book felt like Beaulieu got to the end of the fifth book and realized he had run out of ideas but had to write another one. The plot felt tacked on to the series as a whole. Most annoying was the entire subplot with Hamid. It was so low stakes compared to everything else going on and its conclusion literally did nothing for the rest of the plot. The entire conflict could have been finished in less than 20 pages instead of taking up what felt like half the book
(3) Emre and Ceda just don't have chemistry. They always worked better as friends. Speaking of romance, it felt like a ton of romantic tension alluded to in the last book was just dropped.
(4) The ending was cringey AF politics wise. Also super predictable. I figured out no one important was going to die and I stopped feeling any concern for the characters.
(5) Queen Alansal seemed to act however the plot required and it didn't always make sense.
(6) "Democracy is a remarkably stable form of government" LOL
Larger problems with the series:
(1) It felt like the focus shifted about halfway through this series to a larger plot, which would have been fine on its own, and an excessively expanded cast of characters that made this feel like two related trilogies shoved together, rather than a cohesive whole. Focusing more on Ceda throughout the series--and her move away from revenge to protecting the desert--would have been better.
(2) Incest that ended up being completely pointless. A lot of romantic entanglements that ended up being completely pointless.
(3) It felt like a lot of these extra characters were added to avoid accusations of Deus Ex Machina when they inevitably showed up to save the day more than them actually adding to the story.
(4) Largely predictable plot wise. I was never surprised or shocked. This was partly a result of characters' plot armor.
(5) The way people thought about and interacted with the gods was weird. It felt too casual/dismissive at times
ryan_reads_fantasy's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
A fantastic conclusion to the Shattered Sands series. A new all time favorite that came out of nowhere but greatly enjoyed reading.
kmdraijer's review against another edition
2.0
*2.5 stars
**Spoilers for entire series**
** overall series: 3 stars
Overall, this series is ok. This last book gives a somewhat satisfying conclusion, but the pacing was bad and the prose was sub-par. For the first half of the book every character was re-introduced with nearly their entire backstory retold in the most matter-of-fact way; it felt like I was reading a wiki.
Like Twelve Kings, Desert Torn Asunder has a slow first half. However, for Twelve Kings this was excuseable because it laid the groundwork for the entire series' setting and introduced the fascinating world Beaulieu created. In Desert Torn Asunder, I was reminded of the snooze-fest of the Phantom Menace (for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a Star Wars movie which for a large part contains extensive trade negotiations which lead nowhere instead of, y'know, action, or character development).
The whole trial with Hamid was predictable and (to me) lacked any sort of tension. So far it has become clear that Çeda and Emre have plot armor thicker than Lemi's arms, and no matter what the tribes decided it was always going to end in a confrontation with Ashael upon reaching Sharakhai.
However, the final (or rather, penultimate) fight over Sharakhai was great, it was a satisfying conclusion to the character arcs.
So, overall opinion of the series. It's ok. It has a lot of interesting themes and concepts, which is why I finished the series. One theme I enjoyed was the concept that there are no real cookiecutter 'good guys' among the protagonists. Emre hates the Kings so much in the first few books that he becomes a domestic terrorist (let's not forget that the series opens with the Moonless Host burning a marketsquare full of people in an attempt to kill a single King). Ramahd is so consumed by anger and guilt that he spends years chasing vengeance against a man who sees him only as a nuisance and nearly loses himself in the process. Ahya is so hellbent on killing the Kings she abandons her daughter and effectively chooses suicide for the chance to kill a single one of them. Davud starts as a self-righteous know-it-all.
However, when a character becomes a designated villain, they become quite one-dimensional and non-sensical. The Twelve Kings have so little motivation other than "we like power" that they really feel extremely interchangeable. The best motivation any of them delivered for choosing that power was Husamettín, who tells them of the horrors Suad committed on his warpath to Sharakhai 400 years earlier. However, even he is reduced to a simple villain by the last book who never sees reason to give up power even when it's nonsensical.
Meryam, who was one of my favorite characters throughout the series, also loses all sense of believability in Desert Torn Asunder (in my opinion), or at least any sense of relatability, which makes a far less compelling villain.
Çeda is a cool protagonist, one who grows throughout the series. For a "bad ass" protagonist, she has some surprising moments of vulnerability and self-reflection. What Beaulieu does with this character is quite great, because he allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on Çeda's story. It starts out a somewhat stereotypical revenge story, but grows into so much more until both Çeda and the reader realize that it isn't about vengeance anymore, but about the survival and lives of the people she holds dear.
As a final remark on the content, I want to note that nearly all these books have mediocre pacing. If you like slow burn after slow burn, maybe this is for you, but the books start to slow for me. Of all of these books, I enjoyed Beneath the Twisted Trees the most, and coincidentally I thought the pace of the story was definitely the best there.
Now, as a final remark for this series. Dear editors and proof-readers: the amount of textual mistakes in these books is too damn high!
I have seen characters misnamed in the summary and in the main text, I have seen they're/their mistakes, I have seen misplaced letters, you name it. I hope to dear god the newer editions have these eyesores removed.
In the end, I enjoyed these books enough that I recommend them to people who enjoy fantasy series, but if you prefer a bit more depth in your villains and a high-pace story I can't say this book is for you.
**Spoilers for entire series**
** overall series: 3 stars
Overall, this series is ok. This last book gives a somewhat satisfying conclusion, but the pacing was bad and the prose was sub-par. For the first half of the book every character was re-introduced with nearly their entire backstory retold in the most matter-of-fact way; it felt like I was reading a wiki.
Like Twelve Kings, Desert Torn Asunder has a slow first half. However, for Twelve Kings this was excuseable because it laid the groundwork for the entire series' setting and introduced the fascinating world Beaulieu created. In Desert Torn Asunder, I was reminded of the snooze-fest of the Phantom Menace (for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a Star Wars movie which for a large part contains extensive trade negotiations which lead nowhere instead of, y'know, action, or character development).
The whole trial with Hamid was predictable and (to me) lacked any sort of tension. So far it has become clear that Çeda and Emre have plot armor thicker than Lemi's arms, and no matter what the tribes decided it was always going to end in a confrontation with Ashael upon reaching Sharakhai.
However, the final (or rather, penultimate) fight over Sharakhai was great, it was a satisfying conclusion to the character arcs.
So, overall opinion of the series. It's ok. It has a lot of interesting themes and concepts, which is why I finished the series. One theme I enjoyed was the concept that there are no real cookiecutter 'good guys' among the protagonists. Emre hates the Kings so much in the first few books that he becomes a domestic terrorist (let's not forget that the series opens with the Moonless Host burning a marketsquare full of people in an attempt to kill a single King). Ramahd is so consumed by anger and guilt that he spends years chasing vengeance against a man who sees him only as a nuisance and nearly loses himself in the process. Ahya is so hellbent on killing the Kings she abandons her daughter and effectively chooses suicide for the chance to kill a single one of them. Davud starts as a self-righteous know-it-all.
However, when a character becomes a designated villain, they become quite one-dimensional and non-sensical. The Twelve Kings have so little motivation other than "we like power" that they really feel extremely interchangeable. The best motivation any of them delivered for choosing that power was Husamettín, who tells them of the horrors Suad committed on his warpath to Sharakhai 400 years earlier. However, even he is reduced to a simple villain by the last book who never sees reason to give up power even when it's nonsensical.
Meryam, who was one of my favorite characters throughout the series, also loses all sense of believability in Desert Torn Asunder (in my opinion), or at least any sense of relatability, which makes a far less compelling villain.
Çeda is a cool protagonist, one who grows throughout the series. For a "bad ass" protagonist, she has some surprising moments of vulnerability and self-reflection. What Beaulieu does with this character is quite great, because he allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on Çeda's story. It starts out a somewhat stereotypical revenge story, but grows into so much more until both Çeda and the reader realize that it isn't about vengeance anymore, but about the survival and lives of the people she holds dear.
As a final remark on the content, I want to note that nearly all these books have mediocre pacing. If you like slow burn after slow burn, maybe this is for you, but the books start to slow for me. Of all of these books, I enjoyed Beneath the Twisted Trees the most, and coincidentally I thought the pace of the story was definitely the best there.
Now, as a final remark for this series. Dear editors and proof-readers: the amount of textual mistakes in these books is too damn high!
I have seen characters misnamed in the summary and in the main text, I have seen they're/their mistakes, I have seen misplaced letters, you name it. I hope to dear god the newer editions have these eyesores removed.
In the end, I enjoyed these books enough that I recommend them to people who enjoy fantasy series, but if you prefer a bit more depth in your villains and a high-pace story I can't say this book is for you.
down_legends_and_lore's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
5.0
laurenslittlelibrary_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beautiful and dramatic conclusion to an epic fantasy series. The way things wrapped up fit what I had in mind basically to the letter and I was really surprised by what happened in the epilogue. I think people who enjoyed GoT would really enjoy this series overall!
stacey332's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
A satisfying conclusion to the series!