Reviews

Would give 4.5 stars if it were an option. Leaned slightly closer to 4 than 5 though.

It's always a bit risky to advance an existing set of characters by 20 years and introduce new ones, but I think on the whole this worked better than most. The "old" familiar characters (Sonea, Rothen, Dannyl, Cery, etc.) all play major roles in the story, which helps the feeling of continuity. Everyone seems to have aged in a believable manner - even Regin. And the new, younger characters (Lorkin, Anyi, etc.) are likable as well.

I'm not sure whether I simply enjoy the world more now that I have the original trilogy under my belt, or if I like the switch to a more political/intrigue-based plot, or if Canavan's writing has improved that much. Regardless, I found less to pick on with this novel than I did with the Black Magician trilogy.

crixyloo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

samrushingbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

My rating is actually a 4.5...only because it took me a little while to really get into all of the main story lines. I was really intrigued by the plots involving Sonea and her son Lorkin, especially after Lorkin became involved with Tyvara. But the plot with Dannyl the historian and the plot with Cery the thief took a good 70 pages or so to really start to get into. I mean, I liked Dannyl and enjoyed his enthusiasm for history, but once he was separated from Lorkin, I actually sort of lost interest in what was going on with him in his search to find Lorkin. Anyway, I discovered Trudi Canavan after watching an author guide episode of Sword & Laser on YouTube, and I'm glad I started reading. Yes, this is her second trilogy, but I honestly like that I could get into the character, understand the world, and the magic system without having read the first trilogy. That's really nice. However, having said that, I now know that I will be finishing up the Traitor Spy trilogy and then going back to read the original trilogy.

islandgypsygirl's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This fell a little bit flat for me. It is supposed to be all about magic, and yet I have no idea how the magic system works. The few instances where magic was uses were just statements like "She opened the door with magic." Or "He made a shield with magic."

Also, a lot of politics which I'm not fond of personally.

I wish the magic system was more thoroughly explained. I wish the story had a more at stake. I wish the characters had more life in them. I wish there was more tension and, I don't know, thrill?

pawlonardo's review against another edition

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3.0

W sumie największą słabością Misji Ambasadora (co jest stylem autorki) jest to, że Canavan bardzo lubi mieć wiele bohaterów, przez których opowiada historię.

Początki wleką się niemiłosiernie, bo jednak jakoś trzeba przedstawić tych 4 bohaterów i jakoś ich scharakteryzować, co też wpływa na objętość tej książki.

Jak już się trochę rozkręci to nawet nie jest tak tragicznie nudne, ale miałem ochotę po prostu pominąć części opowiadane z punktu widzenia Cerrego, bo moim zdaniem po prostu były nieciekawe i nie wprowadzały praktycznie nic.

Jak ktoś lubi ten świat to w sumie spoko (sam tak przez to przebrnąłem bardziej z samozaparcia), ale tak żeby zacząć to czytać zamiast innej młodzieżówki to nie wiem, czy warto.

pawlonardo's review against another edition

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3.0

Nic nadzwyczajnego.

Po przeczytaniu 6 książek Canavan już nic nie jest w stanie mnie rozczarować, ale trzeba przyznać, że sam jestem sobie winny, bo nic od samego początku nie wskazywało na jakikolwiek niuans.

Na plus jest to, że jednak na świecie mogą być jakieś zmiany i nawet trochę napomniane jest o ich kosztach. Oczywiście nic głębokiego i omijamy wiele problematycznych tematów, ale i tak progres, bo postawa „Jest źle, ale nic się nie da zrobić” zdecydowanie nie jest warta niczyjego czasu po przeczytaniu 3 książek, które mają 500+ stron.

Chyba największym moim problemem w tych wszystkich książkach jest to, że to są młodzieżówki, które jak by były dla starszych odbiorców to by miały o wiele więcej do zaoferowania. To co nam funduje Canavan to jest taka trochę mieszankę młodzieżówki i czegoś bardziej poważnego. Więc na moje oko to słaba młodzieżowa seria, bo czytanie wszystkich tych książek to trochę tortury a nie dobra zabawa. Zaś wszystkie bardziej poważne tematy albo są spłaszczone, albo po prostu pominięte. Idealna lektura dla bachorów, które myślą, że są dojrzalsze niż są naprawdę.

gemgem1101's review against another edition

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4.0

Not the best book - but the plot has potential.

This took me a lot longer to read than the previous books due to uni and life being crazy busy - but also because this book didn’t hook my attention as it was quite predictable:(

This being said, I plan to stick to this trilogy & finish it because I am intrigued to see what happens and who lands up with who

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