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misterfix's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.75
I had my doubts that the series could sustain the incredibly high quality of the last few books (especially the prior one), and unfortunately I was correct. This book suffers from way too many non essential characters & story arcs, weird, ineffective pacing and often poor selection of which character to transition to/from, a moderately unsatisfying ending, and a wee bit of repetition on sentiments and reflective bits.
It's still an Expanse story so of course there's a lot of great moments, and it's always a joy to spend time with these characters. Fred's character arc was particularly moving. Yes, there were beautiful, moving and exciting moments and some excellent character building, but sadly this was squandered by what I mentioned above. I swear at the end there were characters I was struggling to place in the story because I couldn't remember who they were and why they mattered. At other times I would complete a character chapter in anticipation of returning to a specific character and then... not. But, I'd give the authors the benefit of the doubt and Even try to go with the for and get excited that they were ratcheting up the tension and they would get there next.... nope. By the time they would get to that person or that action (from another characters POV), I felt like I was watching a film where they skip ahead and don't show what happened but explain it and dang, this was often frustrating. I wanted to see the/read the action not just learn the outcome. This happened a few times too many for me to forgive them.
Oh well, hopefully the series gets back on track in the next book
It's still an Expanse story so of course there's a lot of great moments, and it's always a joy to spend time with these characters. Fred's character arc was particularly moving. Yes, there were beautiful, moving and exciting moments and some excellent character building, but sadly this was squandered by what I mentioned above. I swear at the end there were characters I was struggling to place in the story because I couldn't remember who they were and why they mattered. At other times I would complete a character chapter in anticipation of returning to a specific character and then... not. But, I'd give the authors the benefit of the doubt and Even try to go with the for and get excited that they were ratcheting up the tension and they would get there next.... nope. By the time they would get to that person or that action (from another characters POV), I felt like I was watching a film where they skip ahead and don't show what happened but explain it and dang, this was often frustrating. I wanted to see the/read the action not just learn the outcome. This happened a few times too many for me to forgive them.
Oh well, hopefully the series gets back on track in the next book
ashpressobuzz's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
thewerd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
loxleyhall's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
j_maccas14's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ngallion's review against another edition
3.0
Edit: After further reflection and after reading more of this series, I’ve come back and knocked a star off this book. It’s fine, but it pales in comparison to the next few books. As I think back in this one, it’s pretty clearly the low point of the series for me. It’s worth pressing in after this and this sets up a few very important things, but it’s the least engaging read of the series.
Original review: This book was fine and I enjoyed it, but it was my least favorite in the series so far. It would have easily been a three star read if not for the last third or so that was pretty great. There are LOTS of characters and places in this book and it’s hard to keep track of all of them. One returning character gets two or three POV chapters of a story that runs in tangent to the main plot line and after finishing the book, I couldn’t recall how the outcome of his story fed into the larger plot. Choices like that take us away from our main characters and - in my mind, at least - weaken to plot and pacing.
Despite all that, the status quo is shaken up by the end of this book in significant ways. Plot lines that started in the previous book are tied up here and in many ways, this could be viewed as an end to the series. There’s still enough to love, though, that I’m going to press on. Despite the flaws, I can’t wait to see where these characters go next.
Original review: This book was fine and I enjoyed it, but it was my least favorite in the series so far. It would have easily been a three star read if not for the last third or so that was pretty great. There are LOTS of characters and places in this book and it’s hard to keep track of all of them. One returning character gets two or three POV chapters of a story that runs in tangent to the main plot line and after finishing the book, I couldn’t recall how the outcome of his story fed into the larger plot. Choices like that take us away from our main characters and - in my mind, at least - weaken to plot and pacing.
Despite all that, the status quo is shaken up by the end of this book in significant ways. Plot lines that started in the previous book are tied up here and in many ways, this could be viewed as an end to the series. There’s still enough to love, though, that I’m going to press on. Despite the flaws, I can’t wait to see where these characters go next.
essgeearr's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
sad
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? No
4.5
echocharlie28's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0