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malinhalia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Drug use, Child abuse, Body shaming, Colonisation, Addiction, Racism, Gore, Death, Drug abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery, Genocide, and Sexual content
zed_dog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
The concept and worldbuilding in this book are engrossing, but I found the plot and character development dragged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Torture, and Confinement
Moderate: Slavery, Police brutality, Sexual content, Classism, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
taylah13's review against another edition
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
4.0
a brilliant fantasy debut. I was particularly drawn to Hassa and the Ghostlings storyline. Like other reviewers I found this a little slow in the middle, however the ending was worth that wait. Similarly, I think El-Arifi should be commended for her representation of gender diverse characters, it was done so beautifully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, and Racism
teri_b's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
And still I can hear the drum beat, as another night falls and another story is going to be told accompanied by the drums of the storyteller.
This is an amazing novel that takes us deep into a hierarchical and brutal society where everything seems corrupt and seems to get even more so, the moment you dig deeper.
And yet, lives have got to be lived and obstacles have to be overcome.
I loved how the author brought the three main POVs, their back stories and their connectedness together.
I am looking forward to see how the story unfolds in book two.
This is an amazing novel that takes us deep into a hierarchical and brutal society where everything seems corrupt and seems to get even more so, the moment you dig deeper.
And yet, lives have got to be lived and obstacles have to be overcome.
I loved how the author brought the three main POVs, their back stories and their connectedness together.
I am looking forward to see how the story unfolds in book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Drug abuse, Racism, and Violence
solenekeleroux's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Blood, Violence, Classism, Murder, Death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Racism, Police brutality, and Physical abuse
gurofl's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I liked it in the start, but after a while I lost a bit of interest. There's little development of the plot in the middle.
I liked the character Anoor, the start of the relationship between the two main characters, the quest, and that the society is very diverse (both when it comes to identity and sexuality). And I would be interested to find out what happens next with the empire and the politics if I hadn't been so annoyed with the characters feeling like they're teenagers when they are 20-22.
It feels like this borders between adult and young adult fantasy. What I didn't like: the characters are a bit flat, things become very melodramatic at times, and the characters' mood swings a lot very fast.
The ending was quite interesting, but the juvenile feel of things is putting me off continuing with this series.
I liked the character Anoor, the start of the relationship between the two main characters, the quest, and that the society is very diverse (both when it comes to identity and sexuality). And I would be interested to find out what happens next with the empire and the politics if I hadn't been so annoyed with the characters feeling like they're teenagers when they are 20-22.
It feels like this borders between adult and young adult fantasy. What I didn't like: the characters are a bit flat, things become very melodramatic at times, and the characters' mood swings a lot very fast.
The ending was quite interesting, but the juvenile feel of things is putting me off continuing with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Colonisation
Moderate: Classism and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Racism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Genocide, Kidnapping, Addiction, and Police brutality
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Bello bello
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Slavery
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Police brutality, Racism, Child abuse, and Torture
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child death, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Fatphobia
burstofhope's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Racism, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Self harm, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, Sexual content, Hate crime, Death, and Child death
azrah786's review against another edition
4.5
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, torture, confinement, suicidal ideation, death, child death, death of parent, murder, addiction, drug use, slavery, classism, racism, child abuse, ableism, fatphobia/body shaming, grief
--
The Final Strife is an absolutely magnificent first instalment in an all new epic fantasy trilogy all about rebellion and survival.
We’re introduced to an empire governed by a blood based class system where the people are kept just as in check by the deadly Tidewind that ravages the land by night. Those with red blood, Embers are of the ruling class with magic in their blood and the Aktibar, a set of trials which appoints the next set of Wardens to rule the empire is soon approaching.
Sylah, an Ember stolen from her family as a child by a Duster(those of the working class with blue blood) rebel group was raised with the sole purpose to infiltrate these trials and overthrow those in charge, that is until the rebellion was crushed leaving Sylah the only surviving child from the group. However, Sylah’s hope is reignited when an opportunity to see her mission through falls into her hands through Anoor, the daughter of one of the ruling Wardens of the empire.
Now this is a chunky read but El-Arifi’s narration has a compelling rhythm to it that is just as masterful as that of the Griots (storytellers) within her book.
The worldbuilding has roots in Arabian and Ghanian lore and is so vividly immersive and complex, with each turn of the page, each twist of the story feeding us more of the culture, politics, history and secrets of this world.
It is slow going and the time jumps did throw me off at times – also when the point of view switched up within the chapters but this may be more down to the layout of the digital arc - but I just couldn’t put the book and when I had to I couldn’t get these characters out of my mind. There’s an equally frustrating and fascinating quality to each of the main players in this tale and their development and relationships with one another was so well written.
I can’t wait to read more!
Final Rating - 4.5/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, torture, confinement, suicidal ideation, death, child death, death of parent, murder, addiction, drug use, slavery, classism, racism, child abuse, ableism, fatphobia/body shaming, grief
--
The Final Strife is an absolutely magnificent first instalment in an all new epic fantasy trilogy all about rebellion and survival.
We’re introduced to an empire governed by a blood based class system where the people are kept just as in check by the deadly Tidewind that ravages the land by night. Those with red blood, Embers are of the ruling class with magic in their blood and the Aktibar, a set of trials which appoints the next set of Wardens to rule the empire is soon approaching.
Sylah, an Ember stolen from her family as a child by a Duster(those of the working class with blue blood) rebel group was raised with the sole purpose to infiltrate these trials and overthrow those in charge, that is until the rebellion was crushed leaving Sylah the only surviving child from the group. However, Sylah’s hope is reignited when an opportunity to see her mission through falls into her hands through Anoor, the daughter of one of the ruling Wardens of the empire.
Now this is a chunky read but El-Arifi’s narration has a compelling rhythm to it that is just as masterful as that of the Griots (storytellers) within her book.
The worldbuilding has roots in Arabian and Ghanian lore and is so vividly immersive and complex, with each turn of the page, each twist of the story feeding us more of the culture, politics, history and secrets of this world.
It is slow going and the time jumps did throw me off at times – also when the point of view switched up within the chapters but this may be more down to the layout of the digital arc - but I just couldn’t put the book and when I had to I couldn’t get these characters out of my mind. There’s an equally frustrating and fascinating quality to each of the main players in this tale and their development and relationships with one another was so well written.
I can’t wait to read more!
Final Rating - 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Fatphobia, Self harm, Death, Drug use, Racism, Murder, Death of parent, Addiction, Ableism, Body shaming, Grief, Slavery, and Classism
kaela_readsnwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thoughts:
The story begins with Sylah’s viewpoint and at the start, she is mostly a self-pitying drug addict on the path to her own self-destruction. However, she is also fiery and stubborn, which makes it clear she hasn’t lost all her fight just yet. To be honest, I didn’t find her very likeable to start with but her interactions with both Hassa and eventually Anoor build her character and I became more fond of her as the story progressed.
The additional viewpoints of Hassa and Anoor helped give a fuller view of the Empire, it’s segregated society and its politics. Both characters are engaging, with their own secrets and burdens to bear and to me, were instantly likeable, unlike Sylah.
There were a couple of times the multiple viewpoints took place in the same body of text. My preference is that they occur after a paragraph break or at the start of a new chapter as this avoids any confusion. Although this was not a frequent occurrence and thankfully, didn’t detract too much from the writing.
For the most part, the pacing of the story worked well but I did find the beginning a little slow. One issue for me that I feel affected the flow was a spat of repeated ideas or phrases, that seemed unnecessary. Thankfully, they disappeared completely in the second half, which I flew through compared to first.
The world building, I felt was done incredibly well and was developed through the story rather than passages of backstory. There were also inclusions of quotes from texts from the world at the start of each chapter, which gave snippets of information and short tales from Griots, the storytellers, about the Empire’s history. I think both of these aspects were clever ways to give the reader insight into the world of the Empire.
Though the story is a Fantasy, there isn’t an awful lot of magic apart from bloodwerk, runes of power drawn in the wielder’s own blood. Though the magic system comes more into focus in the latter parts of the book, I wouldn’t say it is a driving force of the story. This to me is not an issue but there might be some who expect more magic and magical creatures from a fantasy setting.
In my opinion, though the story was left open for a sequel to follow, there was enough tied off for it to still feel like a satisfying ending. The three main characters, Sylah, Anoor and Hassa, each achieved some of their goals but there is still much they need to do to aid their people and change their worlds. I was very much left wanting more and I look forward to the series continuing.
Wrap-Up:
Overall, I really enjoyed ‘The Final Strife’ by Saara El-Arifi and it is an impressive debut novel. The main characters were each very different, providing alternative views of the world and each were engaging, making me long to know more about them and follow their story. The world building was well done and I felt fully immersed in the story throughout. There were a couple of issues I mentioned, but they were, to me, minor and of very little detriment to the book.
The story begins with Sylah’s viewpoint and at the start, she is mostly a self-pitying drug addict on the path to her own self-destruction. However, she is also fiery and stubborn, which makes it clear she hasn’t lost all her fight just yet. To be honest, I didn’t find her very likeable to start with but her interactions with both Hassa and eventually Anoor build her character and I became more fond of her as the story progressed.
The additional viewpoints of Hassa and Anoor helped give a fuller view of the Empire, it’s segregated society and its politics. Both characters are engaging, with their own secrets and burdens to bear and to me, were instantly likeable, unlike Sylah.
There were a couple of times the multiple viewpoints took place in the same body of text. My preference is that they occur after a paragraph break or at the start of a new chapter as this avoids any confusion. Although this was not a frequent occurrence and thankfully, didn’t detract too much from the writing.
For the most part, the pacing of the story worked well but I did find the beginning a little slow. One issue for me that I feel affected the flow was a spat of repeated ideas or phrases, that seemed unnecessary. Thankfully, they disappeared completely in the second half, which I flew through compared to first.
The world building, I felt was done incredibly well and was developed through the story rather than passages of backstory. There were also inclusions of quotes from texts from the world at the start of each chapter, which gave snippets of information and short tales from Griots, the storytellers, about the Empire’s history. I think both of these aspects were clever ways to give the reader insight into the world of the Empire.
Though the story is a Fantasy, there isn’t an awful lot of magic apart from bloodwerk, runes of power drawn in the wielder’s own blood. Though the magic system comes more into focus in the latter parts of the book, I wouldn’t say it is a driving force of the story. This to me is not an issue but there might be some who expect more magic and magical creatures from a fantasy setting.
In my opinion, though the story was left open for a sequel to follow, there was enough tied off for it to still feel like a satisfying ending. The three main characters, Sylah, Anoor and Hassa, each achieved some of their goals but there is still much they need to do to aid their people and change their worlds. I was very much left wanting more and I look forward to the series continuing.
Wrap-Up:
Overall, I really enjoyed ‘The Final Strife’ by Saara El-Arifi and it is an impressive debut novel. The main characters were each very different, providing alternative views of the world and each were engaging, making me long to know more about them and follow their story. The world building was well done and I felt fully immersed in the story throughout. There were a couple of issues I mentioned, but they were, to me, minor and of very little detriment to the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Addiction, Slavery, Racism, Torture, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Death, and Death of parent