Reviews

The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham

brendalovesbooks's review

I've made it about halfway through this one, but I'm out of library renewals and it's due today. In the nearly 3 months I've had it checked out, I've not been able to finish it. It's just not grabbing me, which is really sad because I loved the start of this series. I may revisit it later, though.

cmbohn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Violence, and War

tadster20's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

wipqozn's review

2.0

Although the conclusion was good, the book itself wasn't all that good. With the exception of Gedar, none of the characters go throguh any character development, and not all that much happens, until the last 100 pages. I really had to force myself to get through this. I feel the series would have been much better off if it was wrapped up in four books instead of five. It would have required some major editing, but there just wasn't enough material to justify a fifth book.

noranne's review against another edition

4.0

Good without being great. Some things paid off well, some kind of meh, and some left hanging. Not my favorite book of the series, but not my least favorite either. There were some great sections where my heart was racing and I couldn't put it down, and several (especially in the first third or so) where I had to kind of push through because not much was happening except monologues and thinking and posturing. I continue to enjoy Daniel Abraham as an author and look forward to his future projects. Overall, The Dagger and The Coin is an interesting series with some cool ideas and fascinating characters but at times a dawdling plot and overly pat.

gsember's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

what an utterly epic way to end this beautifully woven-together series. Contains some of
my favorite characters I’ve ever read. 

tobinlopes's review

4.0

The concluding installment in this great series. Because there were a lot of loose ends to tie up the first half of the book sets up all the conclusions. But boy, does this end well. It's not Mockingjay with its statement about PTSD and the effects of war but it does conclude strongly.

I'd say more but I'd ruin it for you.

I gave it 8/10 on my personal scale.

-tpl

morganpk7's review

5.0

This is a really fantastic conclusion of a series that kept getting better and better with every book. Though the first book was somewhat slow and meandering, I was nearly unable to stop reading this one until I finished it. I think all the plotlines have been wrapped up very nicely, and all major characters concluded really satisfying arcs.

Spoiler

I really wish someone had pointed out to Geder what an self centered asshole he is... but the strategy Cithrin employed for dealing with him meant that nobody could do that. The closest was a conversation between him and Cithrin where she asks him if he ever thinks about all the people he's killed - I would have appreciated it going further, maybe with Cithrin asking him to apologize to her (instead of the other way around, as he is always fantasizing about). I hate Geder and think he is the worst, remaining unredeemed - despite his actions in the last few minutes of his life - because he is still not taking responsibility for what he has done, and killing the priests for tricking him and laughing at him (in his mind).

qalminator's review

5.0

Very satisfying end to the series. There is one rather large loose end left, which could lead to a secondary series, but all the truly major plot points are cleared up, in a way that felt true to the world, the series, and the characters. It feels like a long time since I got into a lengthy new series enough to just finish the whole thing in, eh, a bit over 2 weeks (not counting the time between trying to read the ebook and then picking up again with the audiobook). The ebook did not grab me the way the audiobook did, but it may just be that I wasn't in the right mood for it when I tried reading the text. It may also be that I just don't process text as well as I process audio any more.

A few tidbits from the series as a whole that amused me, and may or may not have been intentional:
* Captain Wester and Yardem Hane are a bit Han Solo/Chewbacca-ish. Both captains, with a furry companion who owes a life-debt to them, and more heart than they like to admit. Hane is a great deal more talkative than Chewbacca, admittedly.
* There's a hint of Arthurian flavor. "Camnipol" is somewhat reminiscent of "Camelot", and we have someone at least running the throne who is betrayed by the woman he (thinks he) loves, and is sending people out on quests looking for ancient relics. He also rose to power after showing up at court with a sort of "wizard" at his side.
* For some reason, I mentally cast Arnold Vosloo (the titular Mummy in the Brendan Fraser movie) as the head priest (whose name is something like "Basrahip", which, I discovered on trying to look it up, means "head priest" in Turkish).
*the too-stupid-to-live tag is because

Spoiler

Geder couldn't think of a plausible true reason for him to leave before the burning of the priests

. I would have just said, "I have business to attend to elsewhere, and will be back when I am needed." Still, it did make for a nicely poetic end for that character...

Definitely recommended if you've enjoyed the rest of the series!

rikkumae's review

2.0

Just disappointed.