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jugglemisterer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I guess I'll start with saying that the author's inexperience shows. Which suggests that the books will get better as the series goes on ...
The characters are basically interesting, but sometimes overdramatic. Way too much "you should .. (sensible thing) no [grits teeth] I must (stupid heroic thing)." Kest especially, never stopping to comtrol his Sainthood.
The Captain Shoehorn thing was well done. His storyline could have ended in several ways, and that includes his inevitable fight with Kest.
Speaking of fights. Blistering blue barnacles, can we stop with the ridiculous warriors? The guys who can shoot 12 arrows a second and never miss, with every shot instantly fatal? The guys who can lop off heads with a single stroke, backhand at an angle on a guy who's leaning away? Jeez, even executioners with an axe and a block can't do that every time. Not to mention the rapier that is also instant death. And the two-elbow death blow? I expected the Spock Nerve Pinch next.
Anyway, the plot moves on. It's probably more complicated than it needs to be. And I can't be the only one who grew tired of Aline.
There's still magic. But it looks as if all it's used for is letting Trin speak through an embroidery hoop screwed to someone's head. Really? Can't even just do a magic mirror or a pool of water? And no one has thought of using healing spells, or ever-sharp blades? Did this story even NEED the magic?
And of course the Greatcoats' Lament. We knew for 400 pages that Falcio was going to go through it. And I will admit that it was at least not particularly gory, and solved another plot point that obviously had to be dealt with - in a way that was acceptably believable.
FInally, Kest vs Cap'n Shoehorn ... they've been fighting for, what, 20 minutes? And NOW we learn that the first man to blink will die that instant. How long can YOU go without blinking? Oh, yeah, it's part of their training, no doubt. That was just before the scene where our heroes are speaking, one of them whispering, and 1000 knights can hear them. They turn to face the castle, and everyone can still hear them. Bah.
1000 superb knights.
All that said, and it's still just another Three Musketeers story, and we were never supposed to take them too seriously. And a lot of my quibbles are with the genre rather than this particular story.
I'll read the next one.
The characters are basically interesting, but sometimes overdramatic. Way too much "you should .. (sensible thing) no [grits teeth] I must (stupid heroic thing)." Kest especially, never stopping to comtrol his Sainthood.
The Captain Shoehorn thing was well done. His storyline could have ended in several ways, and that includes his inevitable fight with Kest.
Speaking of fights. Blistering blue barnacles, can we stop with the ridiculous warriors? The guys who can shoot 12 arrows a second and never miss, with every shot instantly fatal? The guys who can lop off heads with a single stroke, backhand at an angle on a guy who's leaning away? Jeez, even executioners with an axe and a block can't do that every time. Not to mention the rapier that is also instant death. And the two-elbow death blow? I expected the Spock Nerve Pinch next.
Anyway, the plot moves on. It's probably more complicated than it needs to be. And I can't be the only one who grew tired of Aline.
There's still magic. But it looks as if all it's used for is letting Trin speak through an embroidery hoop screwed to someone's head. Really? Can't even just do a magic mirror or a pool of water? And no one has thought of using healing spells, or ever-sharp blades? Did this story even NEED the magic?
And of course the Greatcoats' Lament. We knew for 400 pages that Falcio was going to go through it. And I will admit that it was at least not particularly gory, and solved another plot point that obviously had to be dealt with - in a way that was acceptably believable.
FInally, Kest vs Cap'n Shoehorn ... they've been fighting for, what, 20 minutes? And NOW we learn that the first man to blink will die that instant. How long can YOU go without blinking? Oh, yeah, it's part of their training, no doubt. That was just before the scene where our heroes are speaking, one of them whispering, and 1000 knights can hear them. They turn to face the castle, and everyone can still hear them. Bah.
1000 superb knights.
Spoiler
Killed by 100 peasants with a few weeks' training. Ten apiece. Probably no more than 1002 arrows, right? A mere ten each. Unless some missed, some hit a horse or hit the armour at an angle. Oh, wait - in fantasy all arrows instantly kill their target, I forgot.All that said, and it's still just another Three Musketeers story, and we were never supposed to take them too seriously. And a lot of my quibbles are with the genre rather than this particular story.
I'll read the next one.
cwt88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
lindseyt92's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book so much!
ozioma74's review against another edition
4.75
This book would’ve been perfect if not for two things that pissed me tf off towards the end lol
desolation73's review against another edition
5.0
In general I felt it took off really well from Traitor's Blade, it maybe didnt need to be 600 pages long which is twice as long as the first book, and theres a small part of the book that might upset people who maybe arent used to dark fantasy and it may be controversial but I will be reading book 3 at some point this year (hopefully). Ive got a lot of books to read.
jonwebster's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mrbear's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, though suffers from the same issues as the first book - nothing makes sense and everything keeps happening immediately. In this book, lots of much crazier stuff happens continuously, with relatively little thought given to any of the narrative actually making sense. It's compelling in the sense that you want to know what happens next, even if you're not sure why and you're 100% sure it's not actually an enriching read.
dromwald's review against another edition
5.0
I seriously wondered if de Castell could improve upon Traitor's Blade but he absolutely did. This second in the series has it all; gritty story, fantastic characters, the most evil, psychopathic villains you could wish for, bucket-loads of humor, pathos and an absolutely cheesy, corny and seriously glorious battle near the end that left me seriously in agreement with Brasti's assertion that 'the world needs more bastards!'
blankpagepanic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.75