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arf88's review against another edition
4.0
The only complaint I had about this book, was that towards the end Sleepy really began to annoy me. I loved her at the beginning but by the end I just wanted her to shut up. Her continual insistence that "this can't be happening! My g-d would never approve!" became tiresome after awhile and I'm thankful that the next book with go back to atheist Croaker so I don't have to read any more crisis of faith stuff. Other than that, Water Sleeps was as enjoyable as all other Black Company books.
enbyglitch's review against another edition
5.0
I knew I hadn't made it too far on my first attempt 6ish years ago, but was a little surprised that it was only 20 pages or so in.
This book was not as consistently strong as 'She is the Darkness', but the long awaited deep lore dive and plethora of female characters make it special in its own right.
Criticism first:
- The sex jokes. God damn, these characters had a sense of humor before they started interacting with a woman. Frankly enough to knock off a star but I learned to skip all of Swan's dialogue and remember how much I like Goblin and One-Eye otherwise.
- Can't imagine we needed quite so much more Taglian political intrigue at the start. After 5 books in and around this city I'm just over it, and I can't imagine it will actually pay off in the finale.
- Soulcatcher went from insane mastermind to comically incompetent Bond villain pretty fast. Again cutting down the Taglios bits would help here, but she really could've used a decisive win or two. Maybe something with the Silver Spike since she's got this world on lock now?
- Sleepy suddenly going hyper-religious could've used some foreshadowing and/or impact - unless its a manipulation but like to what end?
--
All around a fascinating world Cook built and revealed here. My impression is that we don't get significantly more lore in the finale, but I am very curious how things shake out between our different players.
Cool to see time (and stasis) finally taking its toll on the Company; other than Willow Swan I love the new generation. Would've been very cool to see this consistent evolution throughout, but getting Croaker's whole story should be good too.
Was initially frustrated by the reveal of the first Annals, but in the end I like that the twist was that there was no twist. Soldiers be soldiering.
Will probably talk a lot more after the last (for now) book - I'm looking forward to finally finishing this wild series!
This book was not as consistently strong as 'She is the Darkness', but the long awaited deep lore dive and plethora of female characters make it special in its own right.
Criticism first:
- The sex jokes. God damn, these characters had a sense of humor before they started interacting with a woman. Frankly enough to knock off a star but I learned to skip all of Swan's dialogue and remember how much I like Goblin and One-Eye otherwise.
- Can't imagine we needed quite so much more Taglian political intrigue at the start. After 5 books in and around this city I'm just over it, and I can't imagine it will actually pay off in the finale.
- Soulcatcher went from insane mastermind to comically incompetent Bond villain pretty fast. Again cutting down the Taglios bits would help here, but she really could've used a decisive win or two. Maybe something with the Silver Spike since she's got this world on lock now?
- Sleepy suddenly going hyper-religious could've used some foreshadowing and/or impact - unless its a manipulation but like to what end?
--
All around a fascinating world Cook built and revealed here. My impression is that we don't get significantly more lore in the finale, but I am very curious how things shake out between our different players.
Cool to see time (and stasis) finally taking its toll on the Company; other than Willow Swan I love the new generation. Would've been very cool to see this consistent evolution throughout, but getting Croaker's whole story should be good too.
Was initially frustrated by the reveal of the first Annals, but in the end I like that the twist was that there was no twist. Soldiers be soldiering.
Will probably talk a lot more after the last (for now) book - I'm looking forward to finally finishing this wild series!
jurdek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
comuni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
sumeetv's review against another edition
4.0
If you're this far in the series already, we both know you're going to read this book. For what it's worth, you'll probably like this one. Cook takes the unraveling mysteries of the previous two books, expands even further upon the history of several major factions, and adds a solid pacing that ties everything together without taking too much or too little time. This is a solid entry in the series that is well worth reading.
fryguy451's review against another edition
4.0
The narrator got off to a slow start, pausing overly long in the dialog and action scenes. Although he got into the book later on.
cheezvshcrvst's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0