Reviews

Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear

drkappitan's review against another edition

5.0

When the end of the book has you wanting to cry because you've grown so attached to the characters, you know it's done its job well. Worth the slight slog of book 2 to get to book 3.

thirdcoast's review against another edition

3.0

Read the review here http://www.scrivler.com/reviews/book-reviews/eternal-sky-trilogy-by-elizabeth-bear/.

raygina's review against another edition

3.0

3.5. It's a good book and a beautifully crafted world. I cried at the end.

oneirosuchus's review against another edition

4.0

Stayed up til 2 am to finish because I was SO CLOSE to finishing it I couldn't bear to put it down and have only a tiny bit to read tomorrow. I really enjoyed the system of magic and skies in this series; I've never seen treatment in quite this manner. Ms. Bear has a lovely voice and an obvious love of words -- of which there were several that I stopped to look up the full definition/usage/history, something which happens quite rarely, unless I'm reading something wholly unfamiliar to me. I had a few quibbles with why we were shown some things (why even bother introducing Lady Diao?) and not others (certain sets of people arriving at point B when we last saw them at point A, and had expected to see at least part of the journey, since the whole series is one long journey; also leaving out Temur's final bargaining? At least in hindsight?). There are still unanswered questions at the close of the book; I have enough information to guess what's likely to happen with the major characters and powers, but none of it is spelled out (except for a couple of cases). Enjoyed it, enjoyed the world, would read stuff here again ... although imo, the publisher is being silly about ebook prices.

leitnerkev's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.0

Elizabeth Bear is an underrated treasure. Her new releases should get thr fanfare and media attention of the biggest names. Truly special. 

michaeljohnhalseartistry's review against another edition

3.0

I started reading this trilogy a year ago, and I enjoyed it, for the most part. Each book does move at a glacial pace, with the exception for this one, the final book, which I found had a much quicker pace than than book two... which dragged on forever, despite nothing really happening. And while I've loved Bear's world-building in this series, I always felt a little disconnected from the characters, really only because of the dialogue. It never seemed to fit with the culture or how I was reading the characters, it was very modern, and just seemed out of place almost. HOWEVER, I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up a little at the end. It ended perfectly. Exactly how I would have wanted it to end. It's a totally bittersweet ending (and I love those).

One thing that really bothered me though, was how entire storylines were just sort of dropped... it almost felt like there needed to be another books of the series to expand more on these characters. I won't give anything away, but I was disappointed in the closings of Yangchen-tsa, the empress of Tsarapeth and Anil-la, and it seemed like Lady Diao was just forgotten about... and Ümmühan, a character I was really interested in, her storyline really didn't matter in the end, she could've been written out and it wouldn't have made a difference.

I did really love the close to Tsering-la's story, and the storyline of the main characters, though I wish there had been more of Hong-la in this book, only because he was my favourite character from the previous book.

Otherwise, it's an exceptional world, so intricate and well developed. And for that reason I think fantasy-fans and writers should read this series... just, try not to concentrate too much on the dialogue, haha.

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sarahbotreads's review against another edition

4.0

This final book in the Eternal Sky trilogy continued the excellent character development and world-building, and ended with a satisfying, emotional conclusion. The entire trilogy was multi-layered, beautiful to read, and full of characters that I felt invested in and that I cared about.

mkpatter's review against another edition

4.0

I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending but MATRIARCHY ENDING.

curgoth's review against another edition

4.0

Yes, one can still write cool, compelling epic fantasy. Book three of the Eternal Sky trilogy, Bear wraps things up nicely. Because it's Bear, the dialogue is sharp and warm, and the characters are deep and compelling. Bear uses a somewhat softer touch in this series than in some of her other works; while there's pain and loss, it doesn't hit as brutally as in, say, her Promethean Age books.

Also, I really want a Lord Shuffle stuffie.

xan_van_rooyen's review against another edition

4.0

A satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy.

There were times when I felt all the POVs a little superfluous and was frustrated by the slow-going in the middle, but the last 50 pages were pure gold!