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kiiouex's review against another edition
3.0
I actually enjoyed this one more than the Riddle; maybe Hem was a stronger viewpoint character, or maybe his trials were more interesting, but I thought it was neat to read a story set in a city losing a siege. Irc is lovely; the way they got the plot MacGuffin is so contrived, my god, but I guess they got it. I don't really want to read the fourth one, but I guess I got this far???
missyansell's review against another edition
5.0
It is only the darkness in our own hearts that will defeat us, in the end.
The story of Maerad's younger brother Hem. He goes to Turbansk for schooling, but then is in the middle of a war between the light and the darkness. Hem stays to help, as he wants to feel useful. Saliman, his teacher, feels that Hem has a role to play in the defeat of the Nameless One, along with his sister.
Hem's story is really sad. This book is definitely more brutal than the first two. I love Hem so much, just want him to have a better life. As young as he is, he's been through so much trauma, but his spirit is still resilient.
Now on to the fourth and final book!
It is not given to us to know what difference we can make, and perhaps we can make no difference at all. But that is no reason not to make the attempt," said Saliman quietly. "The Light shines more brightly in the darkness.”
The story of Maerad's younger brother Hem. He goes to Turbansk for schooling, but then is in the middle of a war between the light and the darkness. Hem stays to help, as he wants to feel useful. Saliman, his teacher, feels that Hem has a role to play in the defeat of the Nameless One, along with his sister.
Hem's story is really sad. This book is definitely more brutal than the first two. I love Hem so much, just want him to have a better life. As young as he is, he's been through so much trauma, but his spirit is still resilient.
Now on to the fourth and final book!
It is not given to us to know what difference we can make, and perhaps we can make no difference at all. But that is no reason not to make the attempt," said Saliman quietly. "The Light shines more brightly in the darkness.”
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
4.0
Third book tears at your heart
At first I did not like Hem. He was only a side character in the first two books. Why was this whole third book his adventure.
But oh what an adventure it was. Tour out my heart and stomped on it for good measure. Now that is how to write a good adventure story.
At first I did not like Hem. He was only a side character in the first two books. Why was this whole third book his adventure.
But oh what an adventure it was. Tour out my heart and stomped on it for good measure. Now that is how to write a good adventure story.
gladdenangie's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure I'd like the side story here as much as I'd been liking the main story. But I was surprised! "The Crow" was almost my favorite book of the series.
angiegladden's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure I'd like the side story here as much as I'd been liking the main story. But I was surprised! "The Crow" was almost my favorite book of the series.
justmeandmybooks_'s review against another edition
2.0
I really wish I didn't have to read so many thick books of this to find out what happens to the characters.
I really like the characters, but other than that, I really couldn't care less.
The writing style is tedious, and I don't even know what's going on half the time. Honestly that's probably because every now and then I zone out and don't pay attention, but I do that because it's written super tediously. Also, sometimes its just confusing... there's a couple scenes that I read over and over again, and still couldn't figure out what happened.
The plot is... unoriginal.
Uh oh, the Dark is rising again! Now the Light must vanquish the Dark! And take a lot of long, thick books getting around to it! When half the book is pointless to the plot anyways! And there must be lots of traveling! And I'm BORED!
I've read this plot waayyyyyyyy too many times already. The Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara, Eragon. Probably a gazillion other things as well. I am SO bored of it.
The world is confusing. I can't keep straight all the names of places. There is so many, and they all sound the same. And half of them I swear the author just put a bunch of letters in a bag, and pulled them out randomly, then arranged them in a way that was almost pronounceable, and used that.
The characters are pretty good. None of them are amazing, but I like them, and I need to know what happens to them. This book was about Hem, a minor character from the first book though, so that was... interesting.
I like him, but he doesn't make a very good protagonist. In the first two, the MC was 16, but in The Crow, the character is only twelve. And, well, he reads like a twelve year old boy. And he just seemed too young for me to truly enjoy it, and didn't match up with the first two very well.
Then there's Saliman. He's Hem's mentor figure, and I like him very much. He seems very similar to, Cadvan, who was the mentor figure for the first two books, and I wish he'd had a slightly more different personality, but I still like him a lot.
One of my favourites was Zelika, she was feisty, and rude, and I love her.
I think my favourite character though, was the crow, Irc. He's so funny, and he's always stealing shiny objects, and he cracks me up. Also he can talk. Or, Hem can talk to him, I guess. I love him very much.
Over all, this book wasn't for me. I think the series is good, and well written, I just personally don't like the writing style, and am bored by the plot. If you like this sort of thing though, it's definitely worth a read.
I really like the characters, but other than that, I really couldn't care less.
The writing style is tedious, and I don't even know what's going on half the time. Honestly that's probably because every now and then I zone out and don't pay attention, but I do that because it's written super tediously. Also, sometimes its just confusing... there's a couple scenes that I read over and over again, and still couldn't figure out what happened.
The plot is... unoriginal.
Uh oh, the Dark is rising again! Now the Light must vanquish the Dark! And take a lot of long, thick books getting around to it! When half the book is pointless to the plot anyways! And there must be lots of traveling! And I'm BORED!
I've read this plot waayyyyyyyy too many times already. The Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara, Eragon. Probably a gazillion other things as well. I am SO bored of it.
The world is confusing. I can't keep straight all the names of places. There is so many, and they all sound the same. And half of them I swear the author just put a bunch of letters in a bag, and pulled them out randomly, then arranged them in a way that was almost pronounceable, and used that.
The characters are pretty good. None of them are amazing, but I like them, and I need to know what happens to them. This book was about Hem, a minor character from the first book though, so that was... interesting.
I like him, but he doesn't make a very good protagonist. In the first two, the MC was 16, but in The Crow, the character is only twelve. And, well, he reads like a twelve year old boy. And he just seemed too young for me to truly enjoy it, and didn't match up with the first two very well.
Then there's Saliman. He's Hem's mentor figure, and I like him very much. He seems very similar to, Cadvan, who was the mentor figure for the first two books, and I wish he'd had a slightly more different personality, but I still like him a lot.
One of my favourites was Zelika, she was feisty, and rude, and I love her.
I think my favourite character though, was the crow, Irc. He's so funny, and he's always stealing shiny objects, and he cracks me up. Also he can talk. Or, Hem can talk to him, I guess. I love him very much.
Over all, this book wasn't for me. I think the series is good, and well written, I just personally don't like the writing style, and am bored by the plot. If you like this sort of thing though, it's definitely worth a read.
shecantcomplain's review against another edition
1.0
Frankly, disappointed in the whole series. Well, that's not entirely true. I liked the first book, so I kept reading. It's been a while now since I've read these, but I very clearly remember the long rants I had at my husband about why I didn't like these books.
karingforbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.0
Not my favorite of the series so far. But I enjoyed being with Hem for a while and seeing him grow. I do wish we had seen something of Maerad other than the letters though. And it felt almost too easy, other than the big quest Hem undergoes, with everything falling into place. Maybe I expected more physical challenges; I don’t know.
I did still highly enjoy it though and I’m looking forward to reading the final installment
I did still highly enjoy it though and I’m looking forward to reading the final installment
helenamt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
woolfardis's review against another edition
3.0
[Short and quick review before I re-read and re-review at a later date:
Even from the blurb I can't remember much. Book as a whole probably not great-too long? But the series good.]
Even from the blurb I can't remember much. Book as a whole probably not great-too long? But the series good.]