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bansh3equeen's review against another edition
5.0
4 Stars.
This is my second time reading through the name of all things, and while I found it enjoyable I must admit I don’t find Janel’s origin story nearly as interesting as Kirhin’s in the Ruin of Kings. I appreciate that the set up is needed for the events at the end of this story and for books further on in the series but I admit I would have preferred a little less of the origin and a little more of the end conflict.
I also found that there wasn’t nearly as much foreshadowing in this book that I picked up on (having read book 3 in the series) while there was definitely a bit more foreshadowing in the Ruin of Kings. I think out of the 3 books in this series I have read, this is probably the weakest link so far. Given it’s still a 4 star book, I’d say that is an awesome outcome.
I am looking forward to re-reading book 3 before moving on to read the latest in the series.
This is my second time reading through the name of all things, and while I found it enjoyable I must admit I don’t find Janel’s origin story nearly as interesting as Kirhin’s in the Ruin of Kings. I appreciate that the set up is needed for the events at the end of this story and for books further on in the series but I admit I would have preferred a little less of the origin and a little more of the end conflict.
I also found that there wasn’t nearly as much foreshadowing in this book that I picked up on (having read book 3 in the series) while there was definitely a bit more foreshadowing in the Ruin of Kings. I think out of the 3 books in this series I have read, this is probably the weakest link so far. Given it’s still a 4 star book, I’d say that is an awesome outcome.
I am looking forward to re-reading book 3 before moving on to read the latest in the series.
repha's review against another edition
5.0
This was not what I expected. I thought this book would follow Kihrin's adventures, but instead we got to discover a whole new set of characters, whose lives are tightly interwoven with the events and characters present in book 1. And those characters are just brilliant ! We briefly saw Janel in « The Ruin of Kings », but there we learn who she truly is, and what happened to her. We also discover Brother Qown, Ninavis and Dorna, and not one of them was boring. The author continues to blur the line between good and evil, making protagonists and antagonists interact and even occasionally agree. May she be blessed.
Instead of a sequel to book one, we get a big flashback, which gives us access to another side of the events that already happened, and more events we had no idea of. We get to know where some of the characters disappeared when they weren’t with Kihrin. There is a small part were the story goes forward, too.
The world-building is impressive, and delightfully queer (which is pretty rare in adult fantasy) ! Jorat, for exemple, has all this system where everything is named in relation to horses. One can be a mare, a stallion or a hare (If I remember correctly), and it has nothing to do with biological sex or even gender. Nobody in Jorat cares about who you want to be and/or sleep with. The novel also contains a lot of interesting discussions about gender and it looks like Kihrin-Janel-Taraeth could be a thing. Just… yes, please !!!!
As usual, the book is pretty long, but it is totally worth it. The pace is never slow, and there is enough to discover for every chapter to be needed. The structure and rhythm is on point. The author used 4 different narration styles, and it all works out together, adding momentum to the story. Senera’s footnotes are better even than Turvishar’s.
All in all, this is the perfect fantasy series if you want something epic, witty and queer ! ☺️
Instead of a sequel to book one, we get a big flashback, which gives us access to another side of the events that already happened, and more events we had no idea of. We get to know where some of the characters disappeared when they weren’t with Kihrin. There is a small part were the story goes forward, too.
The world-building is impressive, and delightfully queer (which is pretty rare in adult fantasy) ! Jorat, for exemple, has all this system where everything is named in relation to horses. One can be a mare, a stallion or a hare (If I remember correctly), and it has nothing to do with biological sex or even gender. Nobody in Jorat cares about who you want to be and/or sleep with. The novel also contains a lot of interesting discussions about gender and it looks like Kihrin-Janel-Taraeth could be a thing. Just… yes, please !!!!
As usual, the book is pretty long, but it is totally worth it. The pace is never slow, and there is enough to discover for every chapter to be needed. The structure and rhythm is on point. The author used 4 different narration styles, and it all works out together, adding momentum to the story. Senera’s footnotes are better even than Turvishar’s.
All in all, this is the perfect fantasy series if you want something epic, witty and queer ! ☺️
mridzyreads's review against another edition
5.0
First of all, wtf just happened!
And Jenn, if you read this, you need to dedicate at least 50 pages worth of recap?
Why? Because you're letting us deal with humans, witches, vampires, wizards, emperors, god kings, gods, dragons. Wtf!
That being said, what a ride this has been. Am so glad this isn't just Kihrin's story anymore. And I want this epic to go on and on. I'm not going to put spoilers in here and there's no way I'd do enough justice in a review like this. Just know that if you're fan of epic fantasy, this is the one for you.
And Jenn, if you read this, you need to dedicate at least 50 pages worth of recap?
Why? Because you're letting us deal with humans, witches, vampires, wizards, emperors, god kings, gods, dragons. Wtf!
That being said, what a ride this has been. Am so glad this isn't just Kihrin's story anymore. And I want this epic to go on and on. I'm not going to put spoilers in here and there's no way I'd do enough justice in a review like this. Just know that if you're fan of epic fantasy, this is the one for you.
lux_klara's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
tkryan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
annbjorg's review against another edition
4.0
I get why people find this confusing, but I found this easier to follow than the first book, probably because I know the world and I've read The ruin of kings twice. My problem with this though, is that the pacing feels a bit more off than the first. Sometimes in the storytelling part it feels a bit rushed when they do time skips. Something's missing from a couple of the character relationships imo. I still love the characters and the world, and I'm very interested in the story. I just have some problems with the execution sometimes, and I hope it gets a bit more precise in the next one (Though looking at the size of the third book, probably not lmao).
jordanlamagna's review against another edition
3.0
I recently read the first book in this series and mentioned how chaotic and confusing it was. While most of the reviews for this sequel say this one is easier to follow, I had the opposite experience. I could not tell you what the full plot of this book was. I understood the bare bones, but I can not keep track of all of these different characters. I was constantly confused on who was a good and a bad guy, and that made it nearly impossible to discern what was happening.
All of that to say, I still really enjoyed this book. I don't know if it's just the interesting, diverse cast of characters, or if it's the narrators that made it fun for me. But even though I could hardly follow the plot, I still found myself enraptured with it. I'm giving it 3 stars solely because it is just so confusing to me. I didn't enjoy this one as much because of it. While the first one was confusing, I still at least could differentiate the characters and follow the plot, albeit loosely. This one, I couldn't differentiate any of the characters besides the main cast of like 4 characters. Everyone else was a blur to me so I couldn't keep track of what anyone's motivations were or even who everyone was. My confusion could be because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading a physical copy, or it could just be that my comprehension skills weren't up to snuff while I was reading. Either way, I can't give it more than 3 stars since I couldn't even really tell you what it was about.
Overall, I do still recommend this book to any epic fantasy fans. Most reviews say this book is easier to follow, so I'm definitely in the minority with my confusion.
TW: assault, blood, bones, child abuse, death, demons, fire, gore, homophobia, misgendering, misogyny, physical abuse, poisoning, pregnancy, sexism, rape, slavery, violence, war
All of that to say, I still really enjoyed this book. I don't know if it's just the interesting, diverse cast of characters, or if it's the narrators that made it fun for me. But even though I could hardly follow the plot, I still found myself enraptured with it. I'm giving it 3 stars solely because it is just so confusing to me. I didn't enjoy this one as much because of it. While the first one was confusing, I still at least could differentiate the characters and follow the plot, albeit loosely. This one, I couldn't differentiate any of the characters besides the main cast of like 4 characters. Everyone else was a blur to me so I couldn't keep track of what anyone's motivations were or even who everyone was. My confusion could be because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading a physical copy, or it could just be that my comprehension skills weren't up to snuff while I was reading. Either way, I can't give it more than 3 stars since I couldn't even really tell you what it was about.
Overall, I do still recommend this book to any epic fantasy fans. Most reviews say this book is easier to follow, so I'm definitely in the minority with my confusion.
TW: assault, blood, bones, child abuse, death, demons, fire, gore, homophobia, misgendering, misogyny, physical abuse, poisoning, pregnancy, sexism, rape, slavery, violence, war
sofiireads's review against another edition
2.0
imagine this girl comes up and asks you for help and you say with what and she says that she can't tell you outright because you might take it out of context so she has no other solution rather than telling you her whole autobiography and you have to listen to all of it but it's okay because she’s hot and you wanna bang her
and while she’s at it she also gives you a lecture about gender using horse analogies
and while she’s at it she also gives you a lecture about gender using horse analogies