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maatkare_j's review
4.0
Kind of a slow start, and I'll be honest: too much cat stuff for my liking. For a while there I was considering DNF'ing it, which, yikes, with a Jim Butcher novel would've broken my heart. But once the action-action starts, it's solid.
blogthatbook's review against another edition
3.0
I still can't quite decide if I actually liked this book or not. I read all 630 pages, but every time I discussed it with my wife, during the read, it was always to complain about things that irritated me.
I never felt we really got to know any of the characters, other than superficially, which is pretty surprising considering every single one of the 69 chapters contains a point-of-view switch. And every character was a little too run-of-the-mill in my opinion. Cliche even. Captain Grimm was the only character I really clicked with but even he was what you would picture a stereotypical ship's captain to be.
The world itself was interesting but it wasn't explained adequately enough. Even by the end of the book I was still frustrated by umpteen questions I'd carried throughout the story without receiving answers, mainly about the Spires structures. How they worked exactly, the formation appearance, and just how many of them were there?
All in all, this felt much more like the middle book of a trilogy rather than the first.
It's quite nicely written but it doesn't seem on the same level as The Dresden Files to me. I wondered if Butcher had possibly created this long before he'd polished his craft and released it later in his career. I even wondered at several points of the book whether it had been written by him at all.
But, having said all that, I read the whole thing, so he's obviously done something right. Although I definitely won't be reading subsequent books in this series.
I never felt we really got to know any of the characters, other than superficially, which is pretty surprising considering every single one of the 69 chapters contains a point-of-view switch. And every character was a little too run-of-the-mill in my opinion. Cliche even. Captain Grimm was the only character I really clicked with but even he was what you would picture a stereotypical ship's captain to be.
The world itself was interesting but it wasn't explained adequately enough. Even by the end of the book I was still frustrated by umpteen questions I'd carried throughout the story without receiving answers, mainly about the Spires structures. How they worked exactly, the formation appearance, and just how many of them were there?
All in all, this felt much more like the middle book of a trilogy rather than the first.
It's quite nicely written but it doesn't seem on the same level as The Dresden Files to me. I wondered if Butcher had possibly created this long before he'd polished his craft and released it later in his career. I even wondered at several points of the book whether it had been written by him at all.
But, having said all that, I read the whole thing, so he's obviously done something right. Although I definitely won't be reading subsequent books in this series.
hebberelle's review
4.0
Gets slightly tedious in the battle scenes and has somewhat unremarkable character personalities, but overall a stunning book and amazing world building.
birdofyore's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
carolynkay's review
5.0
I think the best review I can leave is to ask... "When's the next one coming out?" I didn't want the book to end. Jim does it again!
osborne2read's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
erinaraa's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
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
4.0
danaesb's review
4.5
This was pitched to me basically as having Treasure Planet vibes but with talking cats. I definitely think that that description is pretty accurate.
I really enjoy the world that this is placed in. As well, I love the characters and a lot of their interactions with one another are very fun and enjoyable. I am very intrigued as to what will happen in the next book, and am very excited to see that after it comes out.
The only thing about this book is that it takes about 1/4 of the book to actually get into the story (which in terms of starting a series makes sense) but if you can get past that it is a very action-packed, pretty fast paced book!
I really enjoy the world that this is placed in. As well, I love the characters and a lot of their interactions with one another are very fun and enjoyable. I am very intrigued as to what will happen in the next book, and am very excited to see that after it comes out.
The only thing about this book is that it takes about 1/4 of the book to actually get into the story (which in terms of starting a series makes sense) but if you can get past that it is a very action-packed, pretty fast paced book!
rebellkatten's review against another edition
This was utterly boring. I usually don't give up this easy but couldn't be bothered to continue this snore fest. The part with the ship really was the most uninterested string of words I've read in a long time. Like watching paint dry.
bluejaybooks's review
4.0
It took me a long time to read this book. Part of this is that I was traveling, and another part is that the book is over 600 pages long. The main reason, however, is that this book has so many elements it takes a while to understand what is happening.
The book was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I’ve come to care about the characters enough to read the next one.
The book was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I’ve come to care about the characters enough to read the next one.