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thoven's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
peterkeep's review against another edition
4.0
When I finished this one, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Not because the book was bad, or I thought I had wasted time, or that I had come into the book with exceedingly high expectations. I was disappointed in my varying opinions from the first half to the second half.
The first half of the book was really enjoyable. I was invested in the world, I felt like I was learning about it and enjoying it, even if sometimes the writing was a little "explainy." I thought that the settings for each character were great! There was the excitement and intrigue seeing the Kettral as well as the Shin in their own training, and we got a good picture of the overall politics back home. Then there's a nice hook to an overall plotline that connects all three.
In the second half of the book, though, I felt like the plot simplified a lot. It started feeling a little watered-down and predictable. The characters kind of stop developing. There are a couple of plot devices that get introduced that kind of feel cheesy (introduction of some character "powers" mainly).
Overall, it was a fun read and I didn't dislike it. I'm just slightly disappointed that the second half of the book didn't really improve on the stuff that grabbed my attention at first.
EDIT: I'm stuck between 3 and 4 stars. I think I'm gonna go with 4 stars, because the first half of the book has really stuck with me since I finished it!
The first half of the book was really enjoyable. I was invested in the world, I felt like I was learning about it and enjoying it, even if sometimes the writing was a little "explainy." I thought that the settings for each character were great! There was the excitement and intrigue seeing the Kettral as well as the Shin in their own training, and we got a good picture of the overall politics back home. Then there's a nice hook to an overall plotline that connects all three.
In the second half of the book, though, I felt like the plot simplified a lot. It started feeling a little watered-down and predictable. The characters kind of stop developing. There are a couple of plot devices that get introduced that kind of feel cheesy (introduction of some character "powers" mainly).
Overall, it was a fun read and I didn't dislike it. I'm just slightly disappointed that the second half of the book didn't really improve on the stuff that grabbed my attention at first.
EDIT: I'm stuck between 3 and 4 stars. I think I'm gonna go with 4 stars, because the first half of the book has really stuck with me since I finished it!
eman1223's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
princ_a_listicka's review against another edition
5.0
Pro začátek chci říci, že jsem už dlouho nečetla takhle obsáhlé fantasy. Svět, který nám je představen v Císařových čepelích je obrovský a komplexní, má neskutečně propracovaná pravidla.
Příběh vypráví o třech potomcích samotného Annurského císaře Sanlituna - jmenovitě o Kadenovi, Valynovi a Adare.
Kadena poslal otec do dalekých hor, aby se učil od Shinských mnichů. Valyna na vzdálených ostrovech trénují jako elitního zabijáka - kettrala. A Adare je, jako jediná ze sourozenců žijící v hlavním městě, přítomna vraždě jejich otce. Spolu s vraždou se však objevuje také spiknutí proti zbylým členům rodiny.
Co se týče Shinských mnichů, jejich teorie jsou tak propracované, že bych neměla ten nejmenší problém uvěřit, že takové náboženství je reálné. Výcvik i mise kettralů jsou naprosto originální. Věřte mi, o ničem takovém jste ještě nečetli.
První třetina knihy byla hodně o poznávání principů fungování světa a hlavních postav. V druhé třetině přichází první akce, a že jí teda není vůbec málo. No a ve třetí třetině jsem si už kousala nehty napětím. Dočkala jsem se několika zvratů, že kterých jsem měla husí kůži, a to už se mi u knihy dlouho nestalo.
Zatím mohu tuhle sérii jen a jen doporučit. Jsem z ní nadšená a doufám, že tomu tak bude i u dalších dílů. :)
Příběh vypráví o třech potomcích samotného Annurského císaře Sanlituna - jmenovitě o Kadenovi, Valynovi a Adare.
Kadena poslal otec do dalekých hor, aby se učil od Shinských mnichů. Valyna na vzdálených ostrovech trénují jako elitního zabijáka - kettrala. A Adare je, jako jediná ze sourozenců žijící v hlavním městě, přítomna vraždě jejich otce. Spolu s vraždou se však objevuje také spiknutí proti zbylým členům rodiny.
Co se týče Shinských mnichů, jejich teorie jsou tak propracované, že bych neměla ten nejmenší problém uvěřit, že takové náboženství je reálné. Výcvik i mise kettralů jsou naprosto originální. Věřte mi, o ničem takovém jste ještě nečetli.
První třetina knihy byla hodně o poznávání principů fungování světa a hlavních postav. V druhé třetině přichází první akce, a že jí teda není vůbec málo. No a ve třetí třetině jsem si už kousala nehty napětím. Dočkala jsem se několika zvratů, že kterých jsem měla husí kůži, a to už se mi u knihy dlouho nestalo.
Zatím mohu tuhle sérii jen a jen doporučit. Jsem z ní nadšená a doufám, že tomu tak bude i u dalších dílů. :)
leeman_reads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
qjbrown96's review against another edition
5.0
I saw this book and knew I was going to love it so I bought the whole series and I have no regrets. This book was amazing. This book makes me second guess most of my other 5 star reviews because this one is just better than 5 stars. The story is about the 2 sons and 1 daughter of the emperor, who has recently been murdered (I’m noticing a trend with fantasy books and dead kings/emperors).
Kaden, the heir to the throne has spent 8 years training with “warrior monks” that teach him serious discipline and ancient powers
Valyn has endured brutal training as a Kettral who fly on gigantic hawks and are taught to be the ultimate fighter
Adare is his daughter who thinks she knows who killed him and will stop at nothing to avenge his death
Kaden, the heir to the throne has spent 8 years training with “warrior monks” that teach him serious discipline and ancient powers
Valyn has endured brutal training as a Kettral who fly on gigantic hawks and are taught to be the ultimate fighter
Adare is his daughter who thinks she knows who killed him and will stop at nothing to avenge his death
brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I'm always excited to find a good new epic fantasy series. This book kept me engaged throughout, and while I didn't really feel a huge connection with any of the characters, I will definitely keep reading the series.
mrbear's review against another edition
4.0
There are a few things that hold this back from being a 5 star book, but it's a solid 4 and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Overall, the characterization was pretty well done. There was also a good amount of worldbuilding, terms were generally explained well, and the dialogue was above average. The downsides
1. The main characters are inept a lot of the time. It seems like they're pretty bad at everything for most of the book, and it's not clear why they should be after 8 years of training.
2. The action sequences vary between a bit too long and way too rushed. Action is never a make-or-break aspect of books to me, but in this case it was a bit off and caused me to very temporarily lose interest in the book.
3. The worldbuilding lacks expansiveness. Enough is explained to tell the stories of the main characters and contextualize their decisions, but otherwise the worldbuilding is rushed.
These are all things that separate the good from the great, but I still think this series has a lot of promise. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
Overall, the characterization was pretty well done. There was also a good amount of worldbuilding, terms were generally explained well, and the dialogue was above average. The downsides
1. The main characters are inept a lot of the time. It seems like they're pretty bad at everything for most of the book, and it's not clear why they should be after 8 years of training.
2. The action sequences vary between a bit too long and way too rushed. Action is never a make-or-break aspect of books to me, but in this case it was a bit off and caused me to very temporarily lose interest in the book.
3. The worldbuilding lacks expansiveness. Enough is explained to tell the stories of the main characters and contextualize their decisions, but otherwise the worldbuilding is rushed.
These are all things that separate the good from the great, but I still think this series has a lot of promise. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
fortunatelylucky's review against another edition
The pacing of this book was just off. Sometimes the story and detail is fascinating and I found myself gobbling down 10-15 pages easily. Others, it was a struggle to do 5, with the boring, meaningless detail. There’s next to no dialogue, and I’m not invested in any of the characters. Big ugh. Couldn’t waste another 200 pages to finish this.
halynah's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, solid high-fantasy! It was difficult to get into it at first, but once you get the hang of the world-building and learn all those tricky names - reading becomes a pure delight! I'm glad, that I've read this book two days before the release of the sequel - anticipation does not become torture, when it lasts only two days, unlike for those, who have been waiting for it a whole year :-)
All in all - a real gem for high-fantasy fans!!!
All in all - a real gem for high-fantasy fans!!!