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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really liked it, I thought the overall storytelling was great. And would rate this as one of my favorite original fantasy series in the past few years.
My only critique of the whole series was that this book in particular seemed a slower pace at times, especially around zavalar related chapters. I totally get why they’re there, and understand how integral they are to the overall plot, but can also see how the author might lose people because of said pacing.
Great way to round out the series / book. I don’t understand the criticisms about the ending? Honestly, I can’t see how it could have been done any other way (I may have guessed it a little while back, and was still keen to see it through).
As the authors first trilogy/ series, overall, super inspiring :) looking forward to the next one James!
My only critique of the whole series was that this book in particular seemed a slower pace at times, especially around zavalar related chapters. I totally get why they’re there, and understand how integral they are to the overall plot, but can also see how the author might lose people because of said pacing.
Great way to round out the series / book. I don’t understand the criticisms about the ending? Honestly, I can’t see how it could have been done any other way (I may have guessed it a little while back, and was still keen to see it through).
As the authors first trilogy/ series, overall, super inspiring :) looking forward to the next one James!
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Now that it's all over I feel like this was too much. James Islington was gonna write whatever he wanted to write and I feel like he did too much. Even he himself admits cutting out and writing a stand-alone book on 2 characters from this series (Aelric and Dezia) I wasn't hooked from the previous entries and found it a chore to read more often than not. This book might be my least favorite of the trilogy, it feels like as much as there is going on, James didn't really have a plan on how he wanted to end it, or if he did know how he wanted it to end he didn't know how to get there. Asha is gonna be in a tributary to power the il-shara or boundary, a device capable of sucking peoples essence for centuries while keeping them in a kind of dreamlike stasis, but no, she's there for less than a year or maybe a little more (I forget how much time has passed at the start of this book, a couple weeks iirc?) It could be worse, when she went in at the end of the last book I thought, oh, he's fridging her without frdiging her, we won't see Asha again til she's needed...or something. But to his credit he kept her around and relevant. Davian is already stranded and held prisoner in another land behind the boundary after the ending of the last book, it's fine, but no, we have to have him stranded and held prisoner within another land out of time, while still being held prisoner in another land behind the boundary. Caeden is just wandering around trying to find himself...still. It all felt very played out at this point and I lost interest and struggled to keep going, just wondering, why are we doing all this again? Also Islington could really work on character deaths Erran, Fessi, Scyner, Ishelle, I feel like I'm forgetting more but all dead either off-screen or just mentioned in a single sentence, "oh, that person, they're dead now. Wtf!?!?" I did love the reveal of the prophecy at the end with Caeden/Davian and where Davian came from. I don't know if I'd ever reread this, but if I ever did I'm taking notes cause this is too much.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starts off with world building in the city outside of time. Which felt weird for a third book of a series to feel like the first 400 pages was all builder.
Then ar 400 the plot felt like it kicked in and the characters felt "unstuck". Because they were all very trapped before.
Then pg 400 to about 700ish are about a war and setting up the end.
And of course the last 100 pages come with a couple twists that you don't see coming.
The end I have some questions about because I don't know how it broke its own world rules that the book set out unless the mean that they broke away from fate??
Then ar 400 the plot felt like it kicked in and the characters felt "unstuck". Because they were all very trapped before.
Then pg 400 to about 700ish are about a war and setting up the end.
And of course the last 100 pages come with a couple twists that you don't see coming.
The end I have some questions about because I don't know how it broke its own world rules that the book set out unless the mean that they broke away from fate??