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chaithra's review against another edition
i am simply not attached to any of these characters to read this, maybe i’ll eventually finish the series but not likely
rwatkins's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. Overall: 2.5/5 (12.5/25)
A mixed bag. Better than the second book in the series but not as good as the first. Most of the lingering threads are dealt with, though this was not always satisfying. If you liked the first two books, then this is more of the same.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2.5/5
Set 2 years after the previous book, the first plotline involves the collecting of white swords and fighting over them. Then there is another war for the future of the empire aimed against Lin. As in Emperor (Book 2), every character seems to distrust or dislike Lin, even her allies. They all work to rest power away from her and conveniently into their own hands. I found it confusing to tell if I was supposed to be rooting for Lin, the supposed main character, or everyone else, as the plot seems to be pushing for everyone else. Most of the pov's in this book are antagonists to Lin. This was intended to add nuance I think, but it confused what kind of story was being told.
Setting: 3.5/5
There are some revelations about the sinking islands, the Alanga and bone shard magic that helped put things into perspective. A brief visit to one of the monasteries offers the only new location visited. Parts of the magic system get fleshed out.
The biggest addition to the setting is how the ramifications of having an Empire steal your bones might stay with those people, fueling anger, even after the practice is ended.
Characters: 1.5/5
Lin continues to try to protect her people and Empire and everyone around her continues to ignore this and hate her anyway.
Jovis is now being controlled by his enemies. His entire arc involves coming to terms with his acts of evil while he is being controlled.
Ramani and Phalue get bigger spotlights as they pursue their ideas to replace Lin with a Counsel. They are supposed allies to Lin, dead-set on taking her power away and giving it to themselves. Some good friends.
There is a lot of Ragan and Nisong in this book, perhaps more than Lin, so it is really their book. Two rejected enemies who find greater power together, if they can keep from resenting one another long enough to bring Lin down. This book pushes heavily into these two characters' pov's which had me confused who I'm supposed to rooting for. Lin is the clear "good guy" but the story and plot more closely follows everyone else coming against her. This disconnect was a miss for me in both character and plot.
Style: 2/5
There are a lot of sudden unconnected inner dialogues and flashbacks without warning, making it hard to follow at times. There is a lot of rehashing past thoughts and feelings from previous events and very little reflection on things happening in the now. The memories disrupt the flow of the story pretty detrimentally.
I just don't understand why everyone hates Lin. Am I, too, supposed to hate Lin? She was the main character but everyone is against her now, making it feel awkward to root for her. She makes the most rational and "good" decisions and yet nobody seems to like her in this world. This is so frustrating and confusing - not understanding what the messaging of the story is. I appreciate a complicated, grey-morality message, but not a contradictory and unclear one.
Themes: 3/5
The fallout of having a traumatizing cultural marker and then ending it, the lingering anger and rage left behind, and how that is played with resonated well with me. How anger and confusion makes one vulnerable to manipulation. All of these things were excellent additions to this series and are explored deepest in this last installment.
A mixed bag. Better than the second book in the series but not as good as the first. Most of the lingering threads are dealt with, though this was not always satisfying. If you liked the first two books, then this is more of the same.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2.5/5
Set 2 years after the previous book, the first plotline involves the collecting of white swords and fighting over them. Then there is another war for the future of the empire aimed against Lin. As in Emperor (Book 2), every character seems to distrust or dislike Lin, even her allies. They all work to rest power away from her and conveniently into their own hands. I found it confusing to tell if I was supposed to be rooting for Lin, the supposed main character, or everyone else, as the plot seems to be pushing for everyone else. Most of the pov's in this book are antagonists to Lin. This was intended to add nuance I think, but it confused what kind of story was being told.
Setting: 3.5/5
There are some revelations about the sinking islands, the Alanga and bone shard magic that helped put things into perspective. A brief visit to one of the monasteries offers the only new location visited. Parts of the magic system get fleshed out.
The biggest addition to the setting is how the ramifications of having an Empire steal your bones might stay with those people, fueling anger, even after the practice is ended.
Characters: 1.5/5
Lin continues to try to protect her people and Empire and everyone around her continues to ignore this and hate her anyway.
Jovis is now being controlled by his enemies. His entire arc involves coming to terms with his acts of evil while he is being controlled.
Ramani and Phalue get bigger spotlights as they pursue their ideas to replace Lin with a Counsel. They are supposed allies to Lin, dead-set on taking her power away and giving it to themselves. Some good friends.
There is a lot of Ragan and Nisong in this book, perhaps more than Lin, so it is really their book. Two rejected enemies who find greater power together, if they can keep from resenting one another long enough to bring Lin down. This book pushes heavily into these two characters' pov's which had me confused who I'm supposed to rooting for. Lin is the clear "good guy" but the story and plot more closely follows everyone else coming against her. This disconnect was a miss for me in both character and plot.
Style: 2/5
There are a lot of sudden unconnected inner dialogues and flashbacks without warning, making it hard to follow at times. There is a lot of rehashing past thoughts and feelings from previous events and very little reflection on things happening in the now. The memories disrupt the flow of the story pretty detrimentally.
I just don't understand why everyone hates Lin. Am I, too, supposed to hate Lin? She was the main character but everyone is against her now, making it feel awkward to root for her. She makes the most rational and "good" decisions and yet nobody seems to like her in this world. This is so frustrating and confusing - not understanding what the messaging of the story is. I appreciate a complicated, grey-morality message, but not a contradictory and unclear one.
Themes: 3/5
The fallout of having a traumatizing cultural marker and then ending it, the lingering anger and rage left behind, and how that is played with resonated well with me. How anger and confusion makes one vulnerable to manipulation. All of these things were excellent additions to this series and are explored deepest in this last installment.
drannieg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
4.0
A strong ending (eventually- there's a lot of random sailing about internally pontificating first) to a solid series. I liked the turn toward dealing with trauma- especially but very much not only for Jovis - and the gentle emphasis on negotiation as being as important as swordplay. Overall, would defo recommend the series, even if a bit of tigter editing would not have gone amiss at times .
juliavos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
I looooooooved this so much what a great end to the series. I love these characters so much and I couldn’t put the book down. Great plot, never appreciated Ranami this much before. Sometimes there were some weird editing things where the author used the same sentence twice in back to back chapters (in different pov’s), that felt kinda weird. But other than that reading it felt really seamless and I loved the ending 🥹
jettreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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? No
4.25
books_coffee_cornwall's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sailor_marmar's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
laelyn's review against another edition
3.0
Andrea Stewart's The Drowning Empire series started off with one of my favourite fantasy reads of the last few years. "The Bone Shard Daughter" blew me away, and I was so invested in the characters involved that I couldn't wait for the rest of the trilogy. It now stands proudly on my shelves, completed and beloved, and while I still think the first book is the strongest overall, it's a trilogy I can wholeheartedly recommend.
"The Bone Shard War", the big series finale, is just as wonderfully written as its predecessors. Stewart just knows her craft and her writing sucks me in immediately from page 1. Now, I still don't entirely understand how boneshard magic works and what it is Lin's doing with her hands there, but honestly, I don't really care that much. Plotwise, the final book picks up two years after the events of book 1 and the change and development our characters have gone through is palpable. The book answers all the questions posed by the previous ones and ends in a mostly satisfying, although pretty predictable way. It's bittersweet and fitting, there are just some things that you can see coming miles away.
The characters are still solid and loveable, though I did feel like Jovis, especially, did not really shine in this one because it takes him way too long to figure certain things out or look for proper solutions at least. His whole storyline felt a bit forced due to that, and it was my least favourite one because of it. There were other parts I didn't enjoy that much, like Ranami's point of view which doesn't add all too much to the overall story but introduce a concept that I then immediately knew would play out a certain way in the ending (and it did). I think I would have preferred condensing the pov characters. Lin, Jovis and Sand would have sufficed to tell this story, as much as I love Phalue and Ranami's cute family. Stewart also made the decision to turn Ragan into a rather deranged, one-dimensional evil villain that is later set up to be much more concerning than the antagonist introduced in the previous books, Dione, who kind of... doesn't play that vital a role and ends up exactly where most of us probably predicted him ending up. I never cared much for Ragan as a villain so he just didn't work for me.
The pacing is also not as strong as it used to be. Personally, I feel like the actual content, the story this final book wants to tell, did not need almost 650 pages. The first half of the book is almost boring at times, with the politics in play not complex and engaging enough to warrant so much time spent on them. The plot picks up speed in the second half of the book, at least.
These are really all the complaints I have, and they don't take away from the fact that this is a really good fantasy trilogy. The last book is the weakest of them, but I still enjoyed my time with it and the ending is a satisfying one. I definitely recommend picking up this series - it's unique, it's emotional, it's exciting and wonderfully written. Thje final book itself is a 3,5 star read for me.
Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the arc!
"The Bone Shard War", the big series finale, is just as wonderfully written as its predecessors. Stewart just knows her craft and her writing sucks me in immediately from page 1. Now, I still don't entirely understand how boneshard magic works and what it is Lin's doing with her hands there, but honestly, I don't really care that much. Plotwise, the final book picks up two years after the events of book 1 and the change and development our characters have gone through is palpable. The book answers all the questions posed by the previous ones and ends in a mostly satisfying, although pretty predictable way. It's bittersweet and fitting, there are just some things that you can see coming miles away.
The characters are still solid and loveable, though I did feel like Jovis, especially, did not really shine in this one because it takes him way too long to figure certain things out or look for proper solutions at least. His whole storyline felt a bit forced due to that, and it was my least favourite one because of it. There were other parts I didn't enjoy that much, like Ranami's point of view which doesn't add all too much to the overall story but introduce a concept that I then immediately knew would play out a certain way in the ending (and it did). I think I would have preferred condensing the pov characters. Lin, Jovis and Sand would have sufficed to tell this story, as much as I love Phalue and Ranami's cute family. Stewart also made the decision to turn Ragan into a rather deranged, one-dimensional evil villain that is later set up to be much more concerning than the antagonist introduced in the previous books, Dione, who kind of... doesn't play that vital a role and ends up exactly where most of us probably predicted him ending up. I never cared much for Ragan as a villain so he just didn't work for me.
The pacing is also not as strong as it used to be. Personally, I feel like the actual content, the story this final book wants to tell, did not need almost 650 pages. The first half of the book is almost boring at times, with the politics in play not complex and engaging enough to warrant so much time spent on them. The plot picks up speed in the second half of the book, at least.
These are really all the complaints I have, and they don't take away from the fact that this is a really good fantasy trilogy. The last book is the weakest of them, but I still enjoyed my time with it and the ending is a satisfying one. I definitely recommend picking up this series - it's unique, it's emotional, it's exciting and wonderfully written. Thje final book itself is a 3,5 star read for me.
Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the arc!
myza's review
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0