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chia_s's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
peterkeep's review
5.0
If you've read and enjoyed Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign (the fist two books of this trilogy), then of course you will enjoy this one as well. I'm not going to talk about the plot or the writing, because at this point you know what you're going to get in one of these books, and it's all great. I'm more than satisfied with the ending of the Powder Mage trilogy, but the trilogy itself stands much taller than this final volume alone. Brian McClellan does a great job of building his story to an exciting climax that pulls all of the plot threads from each character throughout the series and mashes them together into a solid story with depth and complexity and the trademarked breakneck pace that he established in the first two books.
Brian does a really nice job throughout the series of creating real characters. Every hero has flaws, and every villain has understandable motivation. I'm impressed with how easily he was able to have his characters honestly reflect on their decisions, see their mistakes, and try to rectify them in whatever way they know how. Every single character stays true to who they are, but evolves and grows through the events in the trilogy. The ending of the story for these characters (unless they end up in Brian's next trilogy in the Powder Mage universe) was extremely satisfying for each one. They didn't all get what they wanted, nor did they all end up heroes; some ended up worse off than before the coup in Promise of Blood, and some ended up better off. But every character's fate felt real, significant, and true to who they were. It was easy to join in their happiness at their successes and mourn with their losses.
I've been very attached to this series from the beginning, so it is a bit sad that it's finished. Luckily, there are more books in this universe coming, and until they do, this trilogy will certainly hold up well under a second and third read through.
Brian does a really nice job throughout the series of creating real characters. Every hero has flaws, and every villain has understandable motivation. I'm impressed with how easily he was able to have his characters honestly reflect on their decisions, see their mistakes, and try to rectify them in whatever way they know how. Every single character stays true to who they are, but evolves and grows through the events in the trilogy. The ending of the story for these characters (unless they end up in Brian's next trilogy in the Powder Mage universe) was extremely satisfying for each one. They didn't all get what they wanted, nor did they all end up heroes; some ended up worse off than before the coup in Promise of Blood, and some ended up better off. But every character's fate felt real, significant, and true to who they were. It was easy to join in their happiness at their successes and mourn with their losses.
I've been very attached to this series from the beginning, so it is a bit sad that it's finished. Luckily, there are more books in this universe coming, and until they do, this trilogy will certainly hold up well under a second and third read through.
losgoosebumps's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
sushizhan's review
4.0
4.5 stars. This was a solid fast and action packed end to the trilogy. So much love for it. My favorite characters tend to change every book - Tamas+Taniel in book 1, Ka-Poel, Nila in book 2, and now book 3, I just love everyone now.
I wasn’t expecting the twist at the last quarter of the book - I expected a sinister dark person behind everything but in the mythology in the series, it made more sense once the real antagonists were revealed.
Absolutely recommend this book to like their fantasy books with a good dose of action. 🙌🏼
I wasn’t expecting the twist at the last quarter of the book - I expected a sinister dark person behind everything but in the mythology in the series, it made more sense once the real antagonists were revealed.
Absolutely recommend this book to like their fantasy books with a good dose of action. 🙌🏼
smalliebiggs's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I loved the genre mashup of fantasy, politics and a detective novel.