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savreads18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
3.25
circus_of_damned's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The first book in an epic fantasy series with sci-fi elements. Fallows six characters that have drastically diffrent lives and from diverse parts of the world. The characters are brought together through a prophecy that fortells the end of the world. The world building and character development was detailed and flushed out. The depth of the world and characters made them realistic and impactful. The novel introduced the overarching plot of the series while still having it own plot. This book wrap-up it plot while laying tge ground work for book two. An amazing well done epic political fantasy.
yassikaa's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
sashapasha's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
A significant percentage of this book is just setup to get all of the characters and events into a certain configuration and it struggled to hold my interest as a result. I found the characters very predictable and somewhat clichéd, your standard high fantasy fare. Also it seems to be the rule of fantasy written by male authors that there be at least one female character that runs around naked most of the time.
A significant percentage of this book is just setup to get all of the characters and events into a certain configuration and it struggled to hold my interest as a result. I found the characters very predictable and somewhat clichéd, your standard high fantasy fare. Also it seems to be the rule of fantasy written by male authors that there be at least one female character that runs around naked most of the time.
Spoiler
Sidenote — Nyx was fourteen? And Kanthe was an adult and also maybe her half brother, yet he had a crush on her, blegh.cleothegreat's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 77.4%
I just got tired of reading this book. I kept pushing because I had really liked the first couple chapters but it quickly fell off. I mean the world is literally named Urth? Are we forreal right now? Not to mention I felt like Nyx (who arguably had the most potential starting off in this book!!!) was quickly diminished to a simpering, sobbing mess for the rest of the story only punctuated by brief plot point moments. We get the impression that she is an important figure and we get the impression that we SHOULD care about her but do we? It’s dubious at best. This is definitely one of those books that reeks of out of touch, middle aged man who doesn’t know how to write female characters syndrome. Doesn’t really get much deeper than that.
I was also VERY disappointed in the world building as a whole and the lack of diversity. Considering my other complaints it isn’t surprising.
Just goes to show that having a banger first few chapters does not compensate for hundreds of pages of mediocre storytelling I suppose.
I just got tired of reading this book. I kept pushing because I had really liked the first couple chapters but it quickly fell off. I mean the world is literally named Urth? Are we forreal right now? Not to mention I felt like Nyx (who arguably had the most potential starting off in this book!!!) was quickly diminished to a simpering, sobbing mess for the rest of the story only punctuated by brief plot point moments. We get the impression that she is an important figure and we get the impression that we SHOULD care about her but do we? It’s dubious at best. This is definitely one of those books that reeks of out of touch, middle aged man who doesn’t know how to write female characters syndrome. Doesn’t really get much deeper than that.
I was also VERY disappointed in the world building as a whole and the lack of diversity. Considering my other complaints it isn’t surprising.
Just goes to show that having a banger first few chapters does not compensate for hundreds of pages of mediocre storytelling I suppose.
memento_morri's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
timinbc's review against another edition
1.0
I've met two of the characters, and I'm thinking what a BIG book this is and how it's one of many, in the "New York Times Best-Selling Author" tradition.
Pretty early on it's clear that I have stumbled into a word factory, producing a simulacrum of an epic fantasy. Not ruling out AI participation. It's clear that Rollins wanted to do some worldbuilding, but it seems that it was more important to work quickly and get out the 6,000 words a day. Urth? Really? I'll bet they all drink kave. I'll bet one of the next lead characters will have gray eyes and a crisp white shirt. And if it's a couldabeen version of our world, what's with the dinosaur-dogs?
The thriller background shows in the gleeful violence and abuse. And yes, I have read most of Joe Abercrombie's work. The latter's grimdark isn't full of people who ENJOY being nasty, and I don't need it in my stories.
The reviews suggest a large, complex plot, and that's fine. I just don't think it's going to be a good use of my reading time to plow through 4000 pages to find out how it all turns out.
I should have checked here first. “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together” would have made me drop it like a hot potato.
Pretty early on it's clear that I have stumbled into a word factory, producing a simulacrum of an epic fantasy. Not ruling out AI participation. It's clear that Rollins wanted to do some worldbuilding, but it seems that it was more important to work quickly and get out the 6,000 words a day. Urth? Really? I'll bet they all drink kave. I'll bet one of the next lead characters will have gray eyes and a crisp white shirt. And if it's a couldabeen version of our world, what's with the dinosaur-dogs?
The thriller background shows in the gleeful violence and abuse. And yes, I have read most of Joe Abercrombie's work. The latter's grimdark isn't full of people who ENJOY being nasty, and I don't need it in my stories.
The reviews suggest a large, complex plot, and that's fine. I just don't think it's going to be a good use of my reading time to plow through 4000 pages to find out how it all turns out.
I should have checked here first. “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together” would have made me drop it like a hot potato.
jrskjr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
sarcasticmags's review against another edition
YA - first main character is age 14 and I thought they were older? Fantasy plot sounds great, but I am just not in the mood for YA.
hirvimaki's review against another edition
3.0
Three and a half stars. I really enjoy Rollins' science thrillers. Some of my favourite. This was a departure as I was unfamiliar with his fantasy novels written as James Clemens. Rollins went big with this book. He created a complex world for his characters. And for the most part I really enjoyed the story. It does, however, suffer from what almost almost epic fantasy books suffer from in the beginning and that's the "set up". There is so much world-building, explanation, and character introduction that it does at times feels slow-paced and confusing. However, Rollins does weave a good tale and despite my impatience for the story to "just get on with it" at time, overall this is a good start to what looks like an entertaining series.