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acleary_1963's review
3.0
I've read all 4 of these books and they were right on the border between "good enough to recommend" and "too many flaws to continue." I guess in the end I read them, but if Shepherd good add one level to his game, these could be really good. The world-building is pretty good, there's a lot of political intrigue and alliances that shift here and there, and the elves (they're not called elves but they are elves) are interesting... Of course, elves have been interesting for many authors and that's why they keep coming back, but Shepherd does a good job of flushing them out as individuals and showing us their capacity for flawed and emotional behavior, making them more relatable than most depictions.
There was a certain dissatisfaction with the crucial moment of the series, the moment where the good guys triumphed, since it leaned on the back of a minor character that we had rarely seen in the book to that point. I'm sensitive to the possibility that this was on purpose: not everything in the world hinges on some deep thematic discussion; sometimes it is a minor decision by a minor character that swings things. But that would have worked better if that had been a consistent theme throughout the book; instead, most of the twists and turns *were* associated with big themes, e.g. Sasha's struggle to decide (and flip-flopping) if she wants to be loyal to her religion or her "people".
Characterizations are again just a smidge off. You certainly get the impression that the author is *trying* to do interesting characterizations, but there's something about the technique that just leaves you a little empty as a reader. Perhaps it's the *number* of characters that we are exposed to in the story, or perhaps the characters are just a little cliched... Perhaps a way of putting it is that I've been reading Shepherd intermixed with Stephen Erickson's masterful series, and there's a richness that comes through in the latter that just isn't there for Shepherd.
All in all, these books are readable for good world building, some interesting characters, and some interesting themes in the colliding of base human civilization and the advanced elven civilizations, but they still feel like amateur-plus books rather than professional-minus books.
There was a certain dissatisfaction with the crucial moment of the series, the moment where the good guys triumphed, since it leaned on the back of a minor character that we had rarely seen in the book to that point. I'm sensitive to the possibility that this was on purpose: not everything in the world hinges on some deep thematic discussion; sometimes it is a minor decision by a minor character that swings things. But that would have worked better if that had been a consistent theme throughout the book; instead, most of the twists and turns *were* associated with big themes, e.g. Sasha's struggle to decide (and flip-flopping) if she wants to be loyal to her religion or her "people".
Characterizations are again just a smidge off. You certainly get the impression that the author is *trying* to do interesting characterizations, but there's something about the technique that just leaves you a little empty as a reader. Perhaps it's the *number* of characters that we are exposed to in the story, or perhaps the characters are just a little cliched... Perhaps a way of putting it is that I've been reading Shepherd intermixed with Stephen Erickson's masterful series, and there's a richness that comes through in the latter that just isn't there for Shepherd.
All in all, these books are readable for good world building, some interesting characters, and some interesting themes in the colliding of base human civilization and the advanced elven civilizations, but they still feel like amateur-plus books rather than professional-minus books.
booknchaoswithmarz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
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