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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
It was good, but not what I needed. I'll miss this series a lot.
I feel like the big twist at the end just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the series and the world of the Tower, but I am really not sure about how it ended and whether that earned the huge page count and actually carried out the themes it was exploring/gave a satisfying conclusion.
While I appreciate the plot and characters a lot, I was just so bored reading this book. Had I not read the first three, I would've given up partway. I think it was the excessive $10 words and spending time that felt wasted with some characters. The author also struggles to describe a scene (particularly an action scene) in a way that I can follow and picture, which didn't help.
This was a pretty satisfying conclusion to this series. Unfortunately it was also my least favorite of the 4. It felt like nothing actually happened in this book, since the original conflict from the first three was resolved in the third book.
Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.
Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.
Fourth and final(?) book in a series I've loved. At the point now where I can't really write a proper review without giving away too much about earlier books. I can understand why a significant minority have given one or two stars*, and a clue to that is in the question mark I've thrown into that first sentence like a hand grenade. It doesn't exactly explain everything and all of the loose ends are a considerable distance from being tied up in a neat little bow at the end. I like a good mysterious and-life-goes-on ending but even I felt I'd like to have learned a bit more about what the point of it all was.
You'll notice, however, that I'm still giving it four stars because I very much enjoyed the ride.
*(People who gripe that the beginning of the book focuses on not-their-favourite-character are very silly though.)
You'll notice, however, that I'm still giving it four stars because I very much enjoyed the ride.
*(People who gripe that the beginning of the book focuses on not-their-favourite-character are very silly though.)
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Endings are hard, and this is no exception. It's a good book - a fitting conclusion to an exceptional series - one of my favourites of recent memory.
It's, for me, not as wonderous as the first three books. I felt my mind wander on occasion, where previously I was laser focused on consuming every word. As I say though, endings are hard... This is a good one, an easy 4* and closer to 4.5, even as my least favourite of the quadrillogy. It left me wanting more, but less in a 'more pudding' kind of way, and more in a 'that still needs a little scratch' kind of way.
Either way, whatever Josiah writes next, I shall look forward to reading it...
It's, for me, not as wonderous as the first three books. I felt my mind wander on occasion, where previously I was laser focused on consuming every word. As I say though, endings are hard... This is a good one, an easy 4* and closer to 4.5, even as my least favourite of the quadrillogy. It left me wanting more, but less in a 'more pudding' kind of way, and more in a 'that still needs a little scratch' kind of way.
Either way, whatever Josiah writes next, I shall look forward to reading it...
A really wonderful and satisfying wrap-up to this series. I was somewhat surprised when the tower's secrets were revealed at last, and I do have to admit it was surprising enough to take me out of the story for just a minute. But I can't really complain: all my big questions were answered, connections made very cleverly clear, and best of all, each character has an ending to the story that is both satisfying and incomplete in the best possible way.
Though a satisfying finale, The Fall of Babel is probably my least favorite book in the series. I adored Josiah Bancroft’s writing, world-building and character work, but I found the plot lacking in excitement and the ending somewhat anticlimactic. I did grow attached to all of the characters and I will miss this world.