Reviews

The concluding book of a fantasy duology. As with the first book, I very much liked Valen, the narrator. The secondary characters continued to interest me (Prince Osriel the most) and they seemed better integrated into the story this time. The ending, while not unanticipated in its essentials, proved satisfying. I note that both books venture past dark fantasy into gruesome fantasy at times.

mamap's review against another edition

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4.0

still vivid - and surprising. torture - blech! he gets himself into situations i think he can't possibly get out of and he does. he is loyal to imperfect people - which makes sense, but i'll never get the king thing. a grownup book - too much nakedness and drugs and drug induced sex (though no real details). i did actually feel a little tearful at the end. this author makes everything seem so alive and appealing. in the end - the answer seems to be love.

linabird03's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.25

gmarieb3's review against another edition

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5.0

This is one of my favorite set of books. It follows the story of Flesh and Spirit, where we meet Valen. This book, while frustrating in it's single-viewpoint telling is a good conclusion to the problems set up in the frist novel. Generally I thought that the plot development and pace was beautifully set up. You are not left with much time to mull things over, but with what is happening, you don't need it. It is hard to write much without letting you know all the details of the plot, but let me say these books are very much worth the read.

xeni's review against another edition

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3.0

Well, I've finished the book. This one was much faster paced than the first one. There was more hope and light in here too. However, there's still so much pain, anger, suffering, death, destruction, and ruin that a "happy" epilogue cannot make up for.

This Duet is quite bleak, very grim, takes pleasure in the worst of humanity and tries to blanace that, though I believe it falls far short.

I aspects I liked included the quiet life at the monastery, the nature-based magic of the Dane, and how hope and love does see everyone through. But everything else I hated and had to push myself to read through.

acardattack's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It picks up right after the first book, if they were one book it would read the same, and that is fine. Pacing is slightly better, but first half was still slow at times

A lot of characters, by the end I ended up getting a few of them mixed up, but there are a lot of twists and turns along the way so I kind of attribute it to that.

This isnt a duet I would ever revisit, nor call it one of my favorites, but it isnt bad, I finished them, I enjoyed my time and can say I read them. I think if these were paced a little better it would rank a little higher for me.

pageshifter's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked main character and several secondary characters were also interesting - even though writing style made it a bit hard to relate to them sometimes.

The world and atmosphere were so much more appealing in this book than in the first installment. Everything felt so much more alive.

Story was interesting and there were some thrilling moments as well. Pacing was a bit slow, especially during the first 50 % of the book.

This really was worth reading but also a bit demanding book to read.

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