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emilyelisee's review against another edition
3.0
Im torn on my rating for this standalone novel from Nix. He was one of my favorite authors growing up, I’ve even reread Sabriel as an adult a few times. I loved the premise of this novel, but I struggled through the first half where the plot didn’t seem to be going anywhere, and I didn’t get as much depth in background to the characters as I would have liked. It did pick up for me in the last half and was all of a sudden over too quickly.
classicbhaer's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the Sabriel series and his writing. Even in this book I enjoyed the writing a ton, but I just couldn’t really get into the story and I am having a hard time pin pointing why. It was a unique and unlike anything I have read so I wasn’t bored by the predictability or anything like that.
elarsonwhittaker's review against another edition
2.0
meh. i really wanted to like this book more than i did. it was billeted as a “feminist fantasy” and i was hoping liliath, the villain, would be a true anti-hero. however, it ended up being a three musketeers fantasy retelling, which doesn’t do much for me, as i’ve never read or seen it. garth nix always does an amazing job with world building and characters, but the story of this one just didn’t hold me the way i hoped. partly i think because i hold the abhorsen trilogy to such a high standard, i always expect his other books to be comparable. it was entertaining and got me out of a reading slump, but that’s really all that was good about it for me.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting world! In some ways it's very like the Old Kingdom, but with angels--all the biblical hierarchy of them (but no God). The angels are gods, for sure; some are very small gods who help clean, and others are mighty ones who can change time and kill and so on.
Garth Nix is very good at writing strong women, and this book is full of them. I loved it, both for that reason and for the fact that good versus evil is so very nuanced and depends on your perspective (and also because it's exactly my kind of immersive and well-written high fantasy). If you love Garth Nix (and I do) or very high fantasy without your standard elves and fairies, this is for you!
Garth Nix is very good at writing strong women, and this book is full of them. I loved it, both for that reason and for the fact that good versus evil is so very nuanced and depends on your perspective (and also because it's exactly my kind of immersive and well-written high fantasy). If you love Garth Nix (and I do) or very high fantasy without your standard elves and fairies, this is for you!
tonyriver's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting world with likeable characters. Fast paced and an easy read. Good villain.
__melissa__'s review against another edition
5.0
Weer een prachtig verhaal geschreven door Garth Nix. Het verhaal heeft een duidelijke structuur en opbouw waar de 4 hoofdpersonen een gelijkwaardig aandeel hebben in het verhaal.
cinnamonwhirl's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the magic system and the writing style but the ending just didn’t really do it for me.
magicalmysmalin's review against another edition
4.0
Exciting and Fun
I really enjoyed this lovely book. The pacing was good, the plot interesting, and the four reluctant heroes are adorable. Mr. Nix has never disappointed me, and I am so glad this latest book of his has continued the trend.
I really enjoyed this lovely book. The pacing was good, the plot interesting, and the four reluctant heroes are adorable. Mr. Nix has never disappointed me, and I am so glad this latest book of his has continued the trend.
cclift1114's review against another edition
4.0
Garth Nix is truly an amazing world-builder. Once again he’s created something completely unique and yet understandable. I loved the idea of people being able to control the powers of angels, mixed with a Three Musketeers tribute. I also liked how, aside from our four main protagonists, you couldn’t quite tell where the other characters stood. They felt very human in that they embodied both bad and good qualities. No one was an out-and-out villain, and love was the redeeming element for those who seemed to be the antagonists. The characters were likable and relatable, with a good peppering of humor throughout an otherwise more serious story. In true Garth Nix fashion, the book is full of strong female characters. In this world, just like Nix’s others, sexism doesn’t even exist because there’s no question of women being able to do exactly what men do at the same level. By extension, Nix also lets us experience a world in which LGBTQ characters are not othered, but allowed to show their love and affection. Although this is a fantastical world filled with angels and magic, the story and the characters reflect our real world.