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hollytimperley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
cosymilko's review against another edition
5.0
This is almost a typical second book in a trilogy. The events that unfolded in the first book are analysed and explained in this one. We get the back story on the Krasians and we get to follow up on some old characters like Arlen's father and Renna.
This book is really setting the stage for the Daylight War and I can't wait. I enjoyed this book immensely despite it only really setting the pieces. There were character developments all over but the plot didn't move nearly as much.
I'm waiting for the next one.
This book is really setting the stage for the Daylight War and I can't wait. I enjoyed this book immensely despite it only really setting the pieces. There were character developments all over but the plot didn't move nearly as much.
I'm waiting for the next one.
cbsears104's review against another edition
I am bored to tears reading about Jardir and not interested in spending half the book on him.
erja_fr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
teokajlibroj's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a mixed bag. While it is by and large entertaining and interesting, there are a few flaws that bring it down. The first and biggest flaw, is the poor handling of Jardir and Krasia. If he was always meant to be a main characther, he should have had his backstory introduced in the first book. It was a mistake to spend the first third dealing exclusively with him and ignoring everyone else.
This is also a problem because the world-building of Krasia is pretty shallow. Basically it's more of a combnation of stereotypes about Muslims than a real society. They are religious fanatics who want to die in holy war and treated everyone else, especially women, horrible. Medieval Christian Europe was also a brutal place, yet the author doesn't make the Northern cities seem so shallow. Basically everyone in Krasia thinks and acts the same way, so the chapters become dull and repetitive. Jardir is a devout warrior and does basically the same thing in every chapter. Abban only exists to emphasise what a devout warrior Jardir is.
Cutter's Hollow and Tibbet's Brook has a diversity of characters and opinions, with not everyone thinking the same and accepting social norms, so why does everyone in Krasia think and act the same? A major theme of the book is culture clash, but this is undermined by poor handling. This is also a problem because Northern culture is presented as being more progressive towards women by having female soldiers, when this is just as shocking to Northerners as to Krasians.
The second flaw is the obsession with sex. Every single female character is beautiful, even minor ones, and in many cases its their main trait. At any given time almost all the characters are thinking about sex, which just gets excessive. But the bigger problem is the treatment of rape. Most of the characters get raped, yet there seem to be no lasting effects. None of them are traumatised, in fact they usually rush to have sex the next day. Are you telling me none of them would have any negative connotations or reservations about sex? Jardir is raped but almost immediately forgets the incident and it never negatively affects him. When he gets revenge on his attacker, raping him turns him into Jardir's best friend. Rape is treated like getting punched in the face, it hurts but the pain is completely gone after a day and there are no negative psychological effects.
It's these flaws that held me back from fully enjoying the book. The plot is mostly good although it does tend to meander, the characters are interesting if completely overpowered (the demons barely threaten them) and I found them less engaging than in the last book (Rojer didn't really have anything to do in this book).
This is also a problem because the world-building of Krasia is pretty shallow. Basically it's more of a combnation of stereotypes about Muslims than a real society. They are religious fanatics who want to die in holy war and treated everyone else, especially women, horrible. Medieval Christian Europe was also a brutal place, yet the author doesn't make the Northern cities seem so shallow. Basically everyone in Krasia thinks and acts the same way, so the chapters become dull and repetitive. Jardir is a devout warrior and does basically the same thing in every chapter. Abban only exists to emphasise what a devout warrior Jardir is.
Cutter's Hollow and Tibbet's Brook has a diversity of characters and opinions, with not everyone thinking the same and accepting social norms, so why does everyone in Krasia think and act the same? A major theme of the book is culture clash, but this is undermined by poor handling. This is also a problem because Northern culture is presented as being more progressive towards women by having female soldiers, when this is just as shocking to Northerners as to Krasians.
The second flaw is the obsession with sex. Every single female character is beautiful, even minor ones, and in many cases its their main trait. At any given time almost all the characters are thinking about sex, which just gets excessive. But the bigger problem is the treatment of rape. Most of the characters get raped, yet there seem to be no lasting effects. None of them are traumatised, in fact they usually rush to have sex the next day. Are you telling me none of them would have any negative connotations or reservations about sex? Jardir is raped but almost immediately forgets the incident and it never negatively affects him. When he gets revenge on his attacker, raping him turns him into Jardir's best friend. Rape is treated like getting punched in the face, it hurts but the pain is completely gone after a day and there are no negative psychological effects.
It's these flaws that held me back from fully enjoying the book. The plot is mostly good although it does tend to meander, the characters are interesting if completely overpowered (the demons barely threaten them) and I found them less engaging than in the last book (Rojer didn't really have anything to do in this book).
psoglav's review against another edition
3.0
UKUPNA OCENA (overall rating) ★★★✫
Radnja (story) ★★★✫
Likovi (characters) ★★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★★✫
Okruženje (setting) ★★★★
Pozitivno (pros) - interesantan skup likova, preplitanje pojedinačnih sudbina glavnih likova sa borbom protiv demona; odlične scene borbi sa demonima.
Negativno (cons) - malo razvlačenje radnje, Krazijci su istovetni muslimanski fanatici.
Radnja (story) ★★★✫
Likovi (characters) ★★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★★✫
Okruženje (setting) ★★★★
Pozitivno (pros) - interesantan skup likova, preplitanje pojedinačnih sudbina glavnih likova sa borbom protiv demona; odlične scene borbi sa demonima.
Negativno (cons) - malo razvlačenje radnje, Krazijci su istovetni muslimanski fanatici.
brjones505's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
aaronmon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alexxa88's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0