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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
mrbear's review against another edition
3.0
This was solid, but not overly impressive. I guess I was hoping that the quality of the writing would improve from the first book, but it sort of didn't. The storyline is reasonably solid though.
oiltycoon68's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
subparcupcake's review against another edition
5.0
In the past I've been called a "book slut", and I don't argue this title. I read a lot of books, and I'm not hard to please. But I've been thinking lately.. Maybe the better term for me might be "book nympho". You see, I enjoy reading, all reading, good or bad. Where as a "book slut" might read a lot of books, any books really, they might not necessarily enjoy reading them. The whole time they are reading they are looking for something in particular. They read to critique, to pick a book apart, always looking for that next great book to fill the bookless empty part of their soul, but never quite finding a perfect fit. A "book nympho" on the other hand.. Enjoys reading. Any reading. Some books are much better in bed to read than others, but they still enjoy the act of reading the ones that aren't as good, they overlook flaws and things that might annoy others, because they get caught up in the act of reading and just want more more moremoremoremoremore.
*ahem*
So yes. I, Dawn, am a book nympho. Hi Dawn.
I'm not sure why I decided to share all of that in this review... I guess because in the last couple months I've become sort of a book slut. I've started countless books, only to lose interest and put them down. It's not that they weren't good books, I'm sure I'll get back to them and finish them someday (and I'll probably love them, I mean hello, book nympho). But for the last couple of months nothing could capture me, distract me, draw me in and hold me.
And then I picked up The Desert Spear, and something funny happened. I would read it.. Put it down... And find myself wanting to pick it back up. I should probably mention that I gave Painted/Warded Man five stars as well. I loved it when I read it, so if you didn't at least like it as well, this review probably won't help you decide whether or not to read Desert Spear. But if you at least liked Painted/Warded Man.. Give Desert Spear a try. I said I rated Painted/Warded Man five stars.. Now I kind of wish I had rated it four. Because after reading Desert Spear? I liked it so much more. It was just a great ride, cover to cover.
New and interesting POV's, a teeny tiny bit of romance (not too much, just enough to sate my girlish desires, don't worry guys), a little sex even (but damn you Brett, not nearly detailed enough, *shakes fist*). The characters from Painted/Warded Man are back as well, and I felt more connected to them this time around.. Maybe just because that's what typically happens in a series; you have more time to get to know characters and therefore feel for them more in times of joy or sorrow. But I think it's also a testament to Brett's story telling ability.
All in all.. Loved it. I'm so glad I finally found a book to kick me out of my reading slump. Thanks Mr. Brett, I can't wait for the next installment in the story.
*ahem*
So yes. I, Dawn, am a book nympho. Hi Dawn.
I'm not sure why I decided to share all of that in this review... I guess because in the last couple months I've become sort of a book slut. I've started countless books, only to lose interest and put them down. It's not that they weren't good books, I'm sure I'll get back to them and finish them someday (and I'll probably love them, I mean hello, book nympho). But for the last couple of months nothing could capture me, distract me, draw me in and hold me.
And then I picked up The Desert Spear, and something funny happened. I would read it.. Put it down... And find myself wanting to pick it back up. I should probably mention that I gave Painted/Warded Man five stars as well. I loved it when I read it, so if you didn't at least like it as well, this review probably won't help you decide whether or not to read Desert Spear. But if you at least liked Painted/Warded Man.. Give Desert Spear a try. I said I rated Painted/Warded Man five stars.. Now I kind of wish I had rated it four. Because after reading Desert Spear? I liked it so much more. It was just a great ride, cover to cover.
New and interesting POV's, a teeny tiny bit of romance (not too much, just enough to sate my girlish desires, don't worry guys), a little sex even (but damn you Brett, not nearly detailed enough, *shakes fist*). The characters from Painted/Warded Man are back as well, and I felt more connected to them this time around.. Maybe just because that's what typically happens in a series; you have more time to get to know characters and therefore feel for them more in times of joy or sorrow. But I think it's also a testament to Brett's story telling ability.
All in all.. Loved it. I'm so glad I finally found a book to kick me out of my reading slump. Thanks Mr. Brett, I can't wait for the next installment in the story.