Reviews

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

ghostscissoring's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

5.0

the way Ken Liu builds tension - between characters and factions and time itself - is so masterfully done. i found myself constantly surprised by the turns the story was taking, not in that it felt out of character or completely out of left field, but more so in a way that expanded my understanding of this place and the people in it, the possibilities present that i hadn't yet seen. the final battle was so intense, saying goodbye to gin mazoti and dafiro miro and kuni and so many other characters who we had spent so much time with was devastating, but their deaths were also powerful. while Liu's prose is pretty sparse, he really makes every word count, and i was in tears throughout that last battle. i'm terrified and excited to start the next book and see what awaits the people of Dara! 

bgil789's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

rbaron11's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

kennyo's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

dinibharadwaj's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

A grand sequel that threw open the world and added in more complexity in terms of characters, plot and themes, extremely compelling despite its size.

lilgrizzles's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book had so much...

There is the idea here of it being a fantasy world, one where the gods walk among us humans, affect our day to day. Giant whale/narwhal creatures and giant falcon's that use helium to fly. Giant herbivore dragon cows. Giant men with double pupils. Horses (well, one horse) that was ten feet tall that carried said giant on its back.

These are the fantastical elements. But somehow, this book felt less fantastical and more historical fiction. These places never existed. These wars never occured. 

But it still felt less fantastical than so many other series.

The characters were so much deeper in this book than the first, the are developed and are richer for it. Luan Zya in the first book to the second was just more real. 

The one thing that Liu did so well in this book was made the characters more real, and made even the smallest character important.

Such an improvement over the first.

brina_jagodic's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

janbabs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

Holy hell that was a lot to unpack! I've never read anything like this series. Have had to leave myself notes for the next book 😅 
Ken Liu is a genius. This is part politics, part history, part fantasy, part science, part engineering. My brain hurts! Cannot wait to see where this goes

duriens's review

adventurous challenging medium-paced

2.75

motionsickgayboy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25