Scan barcode
eclairedelune's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
2.0
It's interesting to read series that are written over a long period of time because it's rare that authors stay static for so long. There's almost always some shift in influence, some experience that changes them. This book is remarkable for the opposite reason: In the nine years between the last book and this one, Coville's style hasn't changed much at all.
He was never particularly good at writing characters. Their moments of growth and introspection tend to be a bit too clear-cut, a bit too contrived and telegraphed. That hasn't changed, but while the first couple books breezed through them, here they're treated with a kind of slow ponderousness that bloats the page count to almost *triple* of what the first book clocked in at. I hesitate to even say that it's darker, since while there's a bit more overt peril and death in this book the other two touched on those themes as well. It just takes itself a bit more seriously, which produces an odd effect because Coville's characters still read like the childrens' story figures they were originally envisioned as.
I sort of understand why it happened: The central conflict might have been a bit too dark to work with the tone of the original story, and it was probably better to shift gears now rather than take an entire war half-seriously. Unfortunately, the story has gotten longer and more dramatic but not any deeper, and so the overall mixture is still a bit awkward.
He was never particularly good at writing characters. Their moments of growth and introspection tend to be a bit too clear-cut, a bit too contrived and telegraphed. That hasn't changed, but while the first couple books breezed through them, here they're treated with a kind of slow ponderousness that bloats the page count to almost *triple* of what the first book clocked in at. I hesitate to even say that it's darker, since while there's a bit more overt peril and death in this book the other two touched on those themes as well. It just takes itself a bit more seriously, which produces an odd effect because Coville's characters still read like the childrens' story figures they were originally envisioned as.
I sort of understand why it happened: The central conflict might have been a bit too dark to work with the tone of the original story, and it was probably better to shift gears now rather than take an entire war half-seriously. Unfortunately, the story has gotten longer and more dramatic but not any deeper, and so the overall mixture is still a bit awkward.
punandprose's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't like this as much as the previous books. Most likely that's because it took me longer to finish this book than the others (life happens). But it was still nicely done and such a great story with an interesting world and original characters. I am so glad I stumbled upon these books and decided on a whim to read them without any prior review or suggestion.
lauraedosanjh's review against another edition
4.0
Wow... I was pleasantly surprised by how much better this novel was than the first two. Though some of the plot is predictable, the plot certainly thickens.
What's most interesting is how the lines between good and evil start to blur into each other, and how no one, not even the unicorns, is entirely innocent. I'm now very excited to see how the characters embrace their own darkness in the final novel.
What's most interesting is how the lines between good and evil start to blur into each other, and how no one, not even the unicorns, is entirely innocent. I'm now very excited to see how the characters embrace their own darkness in the final novel.
ambill's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Some brief descriptions of undressing, nakedness of 12 year old girl, and female centaur's large exposed boobs
rahnawyn's review against another edition
5.0
So, I'm more than a little bit biased about this book. The first two books in this series were among my favorites growing up, and when I found out there was a third (and a fourth!) I immediately went and got them. Reading this really brought me back to my childhood, but at the same time the book itself has grown up a bit. It's a little more mature, a little longer, and I just loved it.
hollymmcg's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
m_lubbers's review
2.0
This series is getting to the point where the only positive thing I can say about it is that it's a "fun and entertaining read" and it's a bit disappointing. Coville's tactics for getting the reader to continue reading the story are cliche at best and blatantly manipulative at worst. Unfortunately it's gotten to the point where I am largely uninterested in whether or not Cara and her friends are going to succeed; which is a terrible place to be when reading a novel where you can tell the author is going for high-fantasy ala JRR Tolkien.
Before I dive into all the things that I found less than impressive, there were a couple of aspects that I did enjoy, so I'll start with those.
I liked the increased number of perspectives in this one. It did make the world feel a bit bigger, and it was nice to get a more 'whole world' approach to the story rather just one character's actions in that world. The mythology and back-story also continues to be the most interesting part of Coville's writing. Intentionally or not, Beloved is by far the most interesting and nuanced character in the series. From the first book, she is the only character with a compelling backstory, and continues to be successfully portrayed as a sympathetic villain. I find myself more interested in her story than I am in the 'real time' events of the book.
Now, onto the things that I wasn't as impressed with. And there is more that falls in this category than the former I'm afraid.
One of the big issues I have with this series as a whole, and was thrown into rather sharp relief in this book is rather than spend the time and energy developing a world and dimensional characters that the reader cares about and is invested in, he employs shallow techniques to get the reader to feel like they have to keep reading. Namely, one or two sentence cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter. I like a good cliffhanger, don't get me wrong, but when it is every chapter and they feel like they are tacked on just for the sake of having them, they stop building anticipation, and really only served to build my annoyance.
The characters (with the exception of the aforementioned Beloved) never grow or change. It's never made very clear over how long the events of the series take place, but there are many events that take place that would have a significant impact on a person, but the characters have not changed or grown at all. Cara is exactly the same person she was when she first arrived in Luster, despite discovering her parents are alive, and they didn't abandon her, her grandmother is a unicorn, and having been attacked a number of times, just to name a few of the fairly traumatic and/or life altering things that have happened to her. Those events don't inform on her character in the slightest. She dwells on them for a few pages then seems to move past them with little affect on her person, and are only mentioned at random intervals in later pages, so that we know she hasn't completely forgotten about them. Unfortunately, it leaves her character feeling flat and unrelatable,
and the same is true for many other characters.
An almost larger problem than flat character is overall, Coville doesn't earn some of the things that he does in his writing. Some things that you do in a story have to be earned-they are not just put into the story as a plot device or they end up feeling like a weak attempt at blatant emotional manipulation. In this case, it is the death of a character about half way through this book. It's supposed to be an emotional gut punch with a whole scene devoted to the last breath confessions, but the fact that we're never invested in this character and there is no real build-up the death isn't eared and comes off as manipulative rather than emotional.
Those elements don't have to be earned prior; they can be earned after the fact. But Coville doesn't even do that. Nothing has a lasting impact on the story, not even character deaths. The unicorn dies, and we're all sad about it for about 15 pages and then it's literally never mentioned again. the plot goes on exactly as it would have had that character not died. If not for the fact that he's literally never mentioned again, you'd forget the scene even happened. It's the same for other events that should cause the characters to reevaluate, or have to overcome a serious setback. But it never happens. Cara throws the locket away when being held captive by delvers and the Squijim catches it and gives it back to her later. The griffin has his wing almost completely torn off during an escape, and 10 pages later a unicorn heals it. Nothing matters, because it either ends up working out better, or is almost immediately reversed.
Like I said, fun and entertaining in the moment, but at this point I'm not really reading this for it's merit. I'm finishing this so that my 5th grade self can have closure.
Before I dive into all the things that I found less than impressive, there were a couple of aspects that I did enjoy, so I'll start with those.
I liked the increased number of perspectives in this one. It did make the world feel a bit bigger, and it was nice to get a more 'whole world' approach to the story rather just one character's actions in that world. The mythology and back-story also continues to be the most interesting part of Coville's writing. Intentionally or not, Beloved is by far the most interesting and nuanced character in the series. From the first book, she is the only character with a compelling backstory, and continues to be successfully portrayed as a sympathetic villain. I find myself more interested in her story than I am in the 'real time' events of the book.
Now, onto the things that I wasn't as impressed with. And there is more that falls in this category than the former I'm afraid.
One of the big issues I have with this series as a whole, and was thrown into rather sharp relief in this book is rather than spend the time and energy developing a world and dimensional characters that the reader cares about and is invested in, he employs shallow techniques to get the reader to feel like they have to keep reading. Namely, one or two sentence cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter. I like a good cliffhanger, don't get me wrong, but when it is every chapter and they feel like they are tacked on just for the sake of having them, they stop building anticipation, and really only served to build my annoyance.
The characters (with the exception of the aforementioned Beloved) never grow or change. It's never made very clear over how long the events of the series take place, but there are many events that take place that would have a significant impact on a person, but the characters have not changed or grown at all. Cara is exactly the same person she was when she first arrived in Luster, despite discovering her parents are alive, and they didn't abandon her, her grandmother is a unicorn, and having been attacked a number of times, just to name a few of the fairly traumatic and/or life altering things that have happened to her. Those events don't inform on her character in the slightest. She dwells on them for a few pages then seems to move past them with little affect on her person, and are only mentioned at random intervals in later pages, so that we know she hasn't completely forgotten about them. Unfortunately, it leaves her character feeling flat and unrelatable,
and the same is true for many other characters.
An almost larger problem than flat character is overall, Coville doesn't earn some of the things that he does in his writing. Some things that you do in a story have to be earned-they are not just put into the story as a plot device or they end up feeling like a weak attempt at blatant emotional manipulation. In this case, it is the death of a character about half way through this book. It's supposed to be an emotional gut punch with a whole scene devoted to the last breath confessions, but the fact that we're never invested in this character and there is no real build-up the death isn't eared and comes off as manipulative rather than emotional.
Those elements don't have to be earned prior; they can be earned after the fact. But Coville doesn't even do that. Nothing has a lasting impact on the story, not even character deaths. The unicorn dies, and we're all sad about it for about 15 pages and then it's literally never mentioned again. the plot goes on exactly as it would have had that character not died. If not for the fact that he's literally never mentioned again, you'd forget the scene even happened. It's the same for other events that should cause the characters to reevaluate, or have to overcome a serious setback. But it never happens. Cara throws the locket away when being held captive by delvers and the Squijim catches it and gives it back to her later. The griffin has his wing almost completely torn off during an escape, and 10 pages later a unicorn heals it. Nothing matters, because it either ends up working out better, or is almost immediately reversed.
Like I said, fun and entertaining in the moment, but at this point I'm not really reading this for it's merit. I'm finishing this so that my 5th grade self can have closure.