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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A fairly generic overall story, full of tropes, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.
Paolini is better with dialogue and storytelling than action. With regard to the action - at times it was almost impossible to tell what was going on and I’d end up not paying too much attention until something important happened.
Paolini is better with dialogue and storytelling than action. With regard to the action - at times it was almost impossible to tell what was going on and I’d end up not paying too much attention until something important happened.
For the most part I was sure that I'll give this book a full five stars. It's an extremely good story, very well told. One of the things I've always loved about Christopher Paolini is his gift for storytelling. The book is huge but the story flows so well, at least it does for me, that I did not notice the length.
We have some amazing world-building, complete with science, many cultures, some geography, belief systems etc. Deep and multilayered characters, who grow, make choices, make mistakes and sometimes strive to fix them... I feel like I was slowly getting to know and appreciate each and every one of them. The plot is fascinating and for me it was very well paced.
The only downside for me is the ending. It's almost like the alien life form/substance/main character in the book: the xeno - Seed (Soft Blade), it grows uncontrollably trying to create something that makes sense but ends up being just a mess. It's that theme when a hero faces impossible obstacles over and over and somehow makes it through each time. It's supposed to be dramatic, inspiring and so on. In many ways it is exactly the same ending we get in "Inheritance" cycle with a strong Tolkien-ish vibe... and I'm sorry it just does not do it for me, at all.
Despite the ending I still loved the book and strongly recommend it to both Sci-Fi and fantasy fans. For me it was a truly enjoyable and a fun read just not a brilliant one.
We have some amazing world-building, complete with science, many cultures, some geography, belief systems etc. Deep and multilayered characters, who grow, make choices, make mistakes and sometimes strive to fix them... I feel like I was slowly getting to know and appreciate each and every one of them. The plot is fascinating and for me it was very well paced.
The only downside for me is the ending. It's almost like the alien life form/substance/main character in the book: the xeno - Seed (Soft Blade), it grows uncontrollably trying to create something that makes sense but ends up being just a mess. It's that theme when a hero faces impossible obstacles over and over and somehow makes it through each time. It's supposed to be dramatic, inspiring and so on. In many ways it is exactly the same ending we get in "Inheritance" cycle with a strong Tolkien-ish vibe... and I'm sorry it just does not do it for me, at all.
Despite the ending I still loved the book and strongly recommend it to both Sci-Fi and fantasy fans. For me it was a truly enjoyable and a fun read just not a brilliant one.
adventurous
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
Sci fi isn't my thing and this was loooong
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Things that I loved about this book:
Fractalverse. Space. Aliens. Action. Paolini writing scifi as beautifully as he did fantasy. Eight hundred and eighty pages of PURE MAGICAL SPACE STORY WONDER. Excitement. VIOLENCE!
Things that I did not love about this book:
I finished it and now I cannot read it for the first time ever again and I need more Kira and more Seed and more Gregorovitch and just more. There are some smaller characters who kind of get lost in the Epic Space Opera of the Decade... but honestly I wasn’t too sad about it because there’s. Just. So. Much. Happening.
I cannot leave this review without sending a sparkly sea of starry thank yous to Jamie and Kimi for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC because it rocked my world, which sorely needed rocking since I finished Darkdawn and the world is literally on fire. You are doing God’s work and I love you.
In conclusion, this was definitely an Experience and I very much hope to see more from this universe. Paolini fans, space fans, world/universe building fans... read this! read this! read this! I really believe that you will find something wonderful here. True to his form, Paolini has given us one beautiful, atmospheric chunk of book and it deserves a space on your TBR list.
Fractalverse. Space. Aliens. Action. Paolini writing scifi as beautifully as he did fantasy. Eight hundred and eighty pages of PURE MAGICAL SPACE STORY WONDER. Excitement. VIOLENCE!
Things that I did not love about this book:
I finished it and now I cannot read it for the first time ever again and I need more Kira and more Seed and more Gregorovitch and just more. There are some smaller characters who kind of get lost in the Epic Space Opera of the Decade... but honestly I wasn’t too sad about it because there’s. Just. So. Much. Happening.
I cannot leave this review without sending a sparkly sea of starry thank yous to Jamie and Kimi for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC because it rocked my world, which sorely needed rocking since I finished Darkdawn and the world is literally on fire. You are doing God’s work and I love you.
In conclusion, this was definitely an Experience and I very much hope to see more from this universe. Paolini fans, space fans, world/universe building fans... read this! read this! read this! I really believe that you will find something wonderful here. True to his form, Paolini has given us one beautiful, atmospheric chunk of book and it deserves a space on your TBR list.
adventurous
emotional
slow-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:
Yes
Incredibly long and somewhat unnecessarily drawn out, but still enjoyable. I would have definitely DNF’d with the physical book though. The main character, Kira, isn’t particularly compelling, but the crew of the Wallfish is more interesting, especially Gregoravitch.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
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
This took me for.ev.er. to finish. I wanted to love it SO BADLY...but I just found myself getting lost often because I was so disinterested.
Meh.
Meh.