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aspasiablu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
It took a while, but I finally persevered and finished this series. It wasn't easy in many ways, but well worth the effort. In this 3rd book of the series, many people from previous books come together for the conclusion, where the some of them sail off into the sunset (hopefully, this won't be a spoiler).
It's hard for me to write a review of this series; anything I say will seem small compared to the power of the story, and the writing of a great author. The story was truly epic.
I learned a lot about the opium war (one of them, I suppose), and I'll have to say that the Chinese outlook made a lot more sense to me than that of the British, Indian, and American rationales. The poor viceroy, Lin, that was appointed to take care of the problem, thought it should be simple. After all, opium was illegal in Britain, and if the Chinese were to try to sell opium there, Britain would surely object, so why should the reverse not be true. But he underestimated the greed of the opium sellers, and the pride and hypocrisy of Britain - not to mention the effects of the trade imbalance between China and Britain. Britain was buying a lot of goods from China, and was forced to pay for them with silver, which they needed to purchase from other countries using gold. So opium was their solution; they used that to get back some of that imbalance.
I think Lin was an honorable man, and I feel bad that he ended up being treated so badly by both his own country and the foreigners. But the Chinese Emperor was far away, and got incorrect reports from his advisors, who were afraid to tell him the real truth, so I blame the emperor for the lack of a workable solution. Perhaps China was just too big for that period to deal effectively with something like this.
The difficult part of reading this is mostly the language used, which Ghosh tried to replicate without explaining; this was harder in the earlier books because after a while, I learned to just let it flow, and got the meanings out of context, or sometimes just didn't worry about not understanding it - much like in normal life, I think. Often, the idioms added spice and humor to the book.
In addition to the idiomatic language, keeping up with the sheer number of characters and their unfamiliar-sounding names made it a bit difficult. And some characters had more than one name.
It's hard for me to write a review of this series; anything I say will seem small compared to the power of the story, and the writing of a great author. The story was truly epic.
I learned a lot about the opium war (one of them, I suppose), and I'll have to say that the Chinese outlook made a lot more sense to me than that of the British, Indian, and American rationales. The poor viceroy, Lin, that was appointed to take care of the problem, thought it should be simple. After all, opium was illegal in Britain, and if the Chinese were to try to sell opium there, Britain would surely object, so why should the reverse not be true. But he underestimated the greed of the opium sellers, and the pride and hypocrisy of Britain - not to mention the effects of the trade imbalance between China and Britain. Britain was buying a lot of goods from China, and was forced to pay for them with silver, which they needed to purchase from other countries using gold. So opium was their solution; they used that to get back some of that imbalance.
I think Lin was an honorable man, and I feel bad that he ended up being treated so badly by both his own country and the foreigners. But the Chinese Emperor was far away, and got incorrect reports from his advisors, who were afraid to tell him the real truth, so I blame the emperor for the lack of a workable solution. Perhaps China was just too big for that period to deal effectively with something like this.
The difficult part of reading this is mostly the language used, which Ghosh tried to replicate without explaining; this was harder in the earlier books because after a while, I learned to just let it flow, and got the meanings out of context, or sometimes just didn't worry about not understanding it - much like in normal life, I think. Often, the idioms added spice and humor to the book.
In addition to the idiomatic language, keeping up with the sheer number of characters and their unfamiliar-sounding names made it a bit difficult. And some characters had more than one name.
thebookishepicure's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
diesmali's review against another edition
4.0
An utterly convincing portrait of the time (ca 1840) and region (India and Hong Kong/Canton), filled to the brim with character and vibrant details.
mamabotanica's review against another edition
4.0
Well worth the read! Tho not as good as the first two.
This can't be the end! I have devoured this trilogy and am not finished with the characters! This read was an incredible history lesson as well as an extraordinarily ly well crafted story.
This can't be the end! I have devoured this trilogy and am not finished with the characters! This read was an incredible history lesson as well as an extraordinarily ly well crafted story.
kaneebli's review against another edition
1.0
I also didn't like what this book did to Mrs. Burnham, who goes from being a pretty uptight lady to being also a super horny weirdo. It is just such a departure from who she was in the first book that it's impossible for me to reconcile book one Mrs. Burnham with book 3 Mrs. Burnham.
Also I'm very sad about Ah Fatt and he gets absolutely no justice; Lenny Chan ends up partnering with Mr. Burnham in the end, he suffers no consequences for his terrible actions, and that is just a really unsatisfying way to end a book.
There's a lot more I could say about why this book was so disappointing but it's honestly too much. I will say though that Shireen is a queen and was the best character in this book imho.
vinayak's review
5.0
Amitav Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy is a magnificient series of historical fiction novels.
The series starts with opium farmers in India and ends with the war that forced China to open its ports to British trade and to cede Hong Kong. It is a amazing analysis of the adverse impact of colonialism while also exploring how the financial windfall of the opium trade helped to change individuals, families, communities, nations, diplomacy and international relations, and left effects that still linger on.
Flood of Fire is the perfect ending to a brilliant series. Sub-stories and characters are brought together to very satisfying closures at the end.
Anyone who enjoys quality historical fiction should give the series a read.
The series starts with opium farmers in India and ends with the war that forced China to open its ports to British trade and to cede Hong Kong. It is a amazing analysis of the adverse impact of colonialism while also exploring how the financial windfall of the opium trade helped to change individuals, families, communities, nations, diplomacy and international relations, and left effects that still linger on.
Flood of Fire is the perfect ending to a brilliant series. Sub-stories and characters are brought together to very satisfying closures at the end.
Anyone who enjoys quality historical fiction should give the series a read.
m_peacock's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
It's a good ending to the trilogy; a good recovery from the middle book, River of Smoke. This one felt like it had the most forward plot motion, and the widest range of characters (Indian, Chinese, English, American) and interactions of the three books. You can feel that Ghosh has done an incredible amount of historical research. The first two books felt bogged down at times with the density of historical context (the second book much more than the first), but Flood of Fire wears Ghosh's research a bit lighter.
To me, the only slightly false note was the arc of Zachary Reid's character development across the trilogy. It didn't quite work for me; I didn't think that Ghosh supported/sold it.
To me, the only slightly false note was the arc of Zachary Reid's character development across the trilogy. It didn't quite work for me; I didn't think that Ghosh supported/sold it.
premxs's review
5.0
What a fitting end to the Ibis trilogy. I'll miss these characters, these utterly human carriers of history. Ghosh is a master storyteller, and he scours the yellowed pages of old to present a vibrant epic in blinding colour. From colonialism, globalization, slavery, "free" trade, to love, loss and evil, this book brings to close a trilogy of fiction that feel startlingly relevant and revealing. And of course, it helps that this tome is a riveting narrative from start to finish.