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hoila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
sigzy's review against another edition
4.0
A satisfying ending to the series. My only gripe is some of the lazy writing. How many times can you say "And then everything changed." I expect a little bit better prose than that from such a fantastic book.
al_pbj21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
mariaoverbooked's review against another edition
3.0
A solid 3.5 stars for now, after sitting on this I might bump it up to four.
I’m slightly surprised to say that I was a little disappointed in this one. The last installment of the Foundryside series is much bigger, grander than the other two books. Our heroes are trying to save the fate of the known world and so the book felt darker, deeper, and more slow as the ending built. However, I missed the quippy, fast pacing of the first two books in the trilogy. I missed the twists and turns and heist-like action.
I also thought the previous books were funnier, wittier and I loved the character dynamics. The stakes were higher here, our characters older and jaded, and therefore I feel like the chemistry was missing a bit. The spark.
It felt tonally very different and although I understand why in reference to the plot line - I missed the old feeling which drew me in in the first place.
I did like learning more about Clefs history and how he is the key to everything (see what I did there?) I enjoyed how the flashbacks slowly uncovered the mysteries that we’ve been thinking about for three books now.
Overall I thought it wrapped up the ending well but I thought it read slowly, I missed some of the characterization, and it lacked the charm of the first two. However, it was a satisfying ending to the series and I’ve got Bennett’s other trilogy on my tbr.
I’m slightly surprised to say that I was a little disappointed in this one. The last installment of the Foundryside series is much bigger, grander than the other two books. Our heroes are trying to save the fate of the known world and so the book felt darker, deeper, and more slow as the ending built. However, I missed the quippy, fast pacing of the first two books in the trilogy. I missed the twists and turns and heist-like action.
I also thought the previous books were funnier, wittier and I loved the character dynamics. The stakes were higher here, our characters older and jaded, and therefore I feel like the chemistry was missing a bit. The spark.
It felt tonally very different and although I understand why in reference to the plot line - I missed the old feeling which drew me in in the first place.
I did like learning more about Clefs history and how he is the key to everything (see what I did there?) I enjoyed how the flashbacks slowly uncovered the mysteries that we’ve been thinking about for three books now.
Overall I thought it wrapped up the ending well but I thought it read slowly, I missed some of the characterization, and it lacked the charm of the first two. However, it was a satisfying ending to the series and I’ve got Bennett’s other trilogy on my tbr.
clarise437's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
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? No
4.25
jt793's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
aoeada's review against another edition
5.0
I really really loved this series. It’s absolutely one of my favorite things I’ve read and I fully expect to return to this when I need some comfort food. That’s not to say this is a happy trilogy. In fact, it’s so dark by the second half of the second book, I found this difficult to get through since it’s so hard watching these beautifully developed characters go through so much.
There is such vast development in so many characters that by the last few chapters, I was intentionally reading slowly to try to get even more out of them. So difficult to finish because I enjoyed this world and its inhabitants and ideals so much.
If City of Stairs is anything like this, I’m going to have found a new favorite modern writer.
PS everyone is right about that epilogue. so fucking good. the entire time i was savoring it, it felt like a hidden chapter from LeGuin. just a beautiful little topping on this trilogy.
There is such vast development in so many characters that by the last few chapters, I was intentionally reading slowly to try to get even more out of them. So difficult to finish because I enjoyed this world and its inhabitants and ideals so much.
If City of Stairs is anything like this, I’m going to have found a new favorite modern writer.
PS everyone is right about that epilogue. so fucking good. the entire time i was savoring it, it felt like a hidden chapter from LeGuin. just a beautiful little topping on this trilogy.
fancypantsben's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.75
lunnaku's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what to say really. This is the first time I've completed a series and genuinely felt disappointed. The first took books were awesome and I recommended them to other people. This book felt I was missing an entire book while reading it. Even the characters themselves felt like totally different people. I wish there was another book in between this and the second, but unfortunately as it stands right now I wouldn't recommend this.
graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
This was a very good finale to this trilogy, though I feel that it got a bit too "in the weeds" that even the author shared at the end of the book with his readers. It was his pandemic book, and it was tough for him to finish. Well, in some ways, it was tough for me to understand/finish, too. I enjoyed many of the ideas and the characters, but there also were numbers of areas...that I just had to accept and move on, for I didn't follow exactly what I feel he was trying to do with the plot/characters.
Please don't think that I didn't like this book, for I did...though I feel that the outside pressures of the pandemic, made the book harder for him to write, and I feel it effected it in a general way, for me to read.
In a few years, I am going to reread the trilogy in a binge format...so that I can keep the story more solidly in my mind...and maybe I will rework this review, but until then...these are my thoughts as I have just finished reading this book.
I am glad it is finished, and I do understand the ideas of building a road, but if no one uses the road, it becomes actually useless. These ideas permiate this book, and it is something that, we...as a society need to grapple with...moving forward in our own society.
My favourite characters were Berenice and Sanche, and then Clef.
The visuals that it was able to talk about and make readily understandable for the reader was very interesting.
The action taken while traveling and arriving at their destinations was powerful and made the tension of the story even more interesting to read.
Finally, without spoiling the ending, I do want to say...that it was satisfying for the main character. I do wish I knew more about "what happens after", I do understand that the imagination of the reader should be able to fill in the blanks, left by the author.
I loved the first book, the best; then the second book, next; and this book the least; but overall...it is a great work of thought and exploration for our minds, and how what we do in our own world...may mimic some of these warnings in our own society.
Please don't think that I didn't like this book, for I did...though I feel that the outside pressures of the pandemic, made the book harder for him to write, and I feel it effected it in a general way, for me to read.
In a few years, I am going to reread the trilogy in a binge format...so that I can keep the story more solidly in my mind...and maybe I will rework this review, but until then...these are my thoughts as I have just finished reading this book.
I am glad it is finished, and I do understand the ideas of building a road, but if no one uses the road, it becomes actually useless. These ideas permiate this book, and it is something that, we...as a society need to grapple with...moving forward in our own society.
My favourite characters were Berenice and Sanche, and then Clef.
The visuals that it was able to talk about and make readily understandable for the reader was very interesting.
The action taken while traveling and arriving at their destinations was powerful and made the tension of the story even more interesting to read.
Finally, without spoiling the ending, I do want to say...that it was satisfying for the main character. I do wish I knew more about "what happens after", I do understand that the imagination of the reader should be able to fill in the blanks, left by the author.
I loved the first book, the best; then the second book, next; and this book the least; but overall...it is a great work of thought and exploration for our minds, and how what we do in our own world...may mimic some of these warnings in our own society.