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phie's review against another edition
2.0
first his writing style didn’t bother me that much in the first books. but that was probably because there was actually plot in those books and especially a plot that made sense and didn’t seem to be random. but now it bothers me cause the plot was a bit boring and seemed to be like the author desperately tried to add something to the story so it’ll create another book
cauchemarlena's review against another edition
3.0
Ma olin täiesti vapustatud, kui sain aru, et selle raamatu tegevus toimub 16 aastat peale sarja teist osa. Nagu mis mõttes?! Muidugi oli teos seiklusrikas ja põnev ning mind rõõmustas väga osade tegelaste uuesti väljailmumine. Samas oleksin ma tahtnud, et Hester ja Tom mängiksid seiklustes suuremat rolli selle asemel, et lihtsalt oma tütart taga ajada. Mind häiris ka see, kui vähe olid tegelased muutunud. Võiks ju arvata, et 16 aastat on piisavalt pikk aeg, et andestada ja unustada. See, kui suurt rolli viimase raamatu lõpp mängib ka selles teoses, tegi mind natuke kurvaks. Ehkki tegu on lastele mõeldud sarjaga, siis selle teose sünged toonid sobiksid küll rohkem täiskasvanutele. Samas aga hakkab tegelaste muutumatu iseloom tõenäoliselt üsna kiiresti häirima.
Natuke häirisid mind (võimalikud) tõlkeerinevused eelnevate raamatutega. Ütlen võimalikud, sest ma pole originaaltekstit võrdlemiseks ette võtnud ja ei saa seega 100% kindel olla.
Natuke häirisid mind (võimalikud) tõlkeerinevused eelnevate raamatutega. Ütlen võimalikud, sest ma pole originaaltekstit võrdlemiseks ette võtnud ja ei saa seega 100% kindel olla.
oneanjana's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks God this book is worth my struggle. I’ve been struggling to finish its first two books, ended up not liking both of them, but I think this book is the savior of the series. Many things are improving, far much better. Let’s say, its plot is fantastic, the action scene is written well, many characters are improving and more new characters fitted perfectly.
First, let’s talk about the plot. It’s actually shocking that the story is set 16 years after Predator’s Gold. How Hester, Tom, their daughter named Wren Natsworthy and people of Anchorage finally settle down peacefully in Vineland. So it called Anchorage-in-Vineland. All things are good until an old friend of Caul aka The Lost Boys came and need to steal something from Anchorage. In a nutshell, from here it all triggered bigger conflict ahead. I like that this book has more complex plot things than before.
I love that many characters are improving. Like Wren, of course. She’s been so innocent but kinda irritating, but after all she’s been through, she’s finally got better and smarter. As for her parents, ouch, idk what to say but I hate them esp Hester.
Both of Tom and Het are not improving at all. Tom is still that jerk that can’t provide Het security. He’s not that hateful but I certain that you will never like him. As for Hester, she’s becoming so evil and her cold ignorant side is overpowering her. All mixed feelings for Hester, like I keep on switching my feeling between felt sorry for her and hated her. I even go for fast-reading when Hester part is coming. However, I felt glad for Hester’s choice at the end. Somehow, it feels like a right way for both of them. Hope the last book is going to be greater than this!
First, let’s talk about the plot. It’s actually shocking that the story is set 16 years after Predator’s Gold. How Hester, Tom, their daughter named Wren Natsworthy and people of Anchorage finally settle down peacefully in Vineland. So it called Anchorage-in-Vineland. All things are good until an old friend of Caul aka The Lost Boys came and need to steal something from Anchorage. In a nutshell, from here it all triggered bigger conflict ahead. I like that this book has more complex plot things than before.
I love that many characters are improving. Like Wren, of course. She’s been so innocent but kinda irritating, but after all she’s been through, she’s finally got better and smarter. As for her parents, ouch, idk what to say but I hate them esp Hester.
Both of Tom and Het are not improving at all. Tom is still that jerk that can’t provide Het security. He’s not that hateful but I certain that you will never like him. As for Hester, she’s becoming so evil and her cold ignorant side is overpowering her. All mixed feelings for Hester, like I keep on switching my feeling between felt sorry for her and hated her. I even go for fast-reading when Hester part is coming. However, I felt glad for Hester’s choice at the end. Somehow, it feels like a right way for both of them. Hope the last book is going to be greater than this!
tzurky's review against another edition
2.0
EDIT: definitely the weakest one of the whole bunch. All characterizations grated on me so 2 stars.
I’ll make my issues with this very plain. The author doesn’t really know how to write complex characters. Several reviewers have noted this much earlier. I confess to having missed since I assumed he was merely portraying teenagers as impulsive and driven by a few core desires. I thought he knew that even teenagers were more complex than that and this characterization was merely reflecting surface level crests of emotions.
... I was wrong. The way he DIDN’T develop Hester and Tom showcased this excellently. Yes, these thirty-somethings still think EXACTLY the same way they did as teens. If anything, they’ve grown LESS subtle in thinking. Not only that, Caul and Freya are just as bad. It’s impossible to describe how jarring it is to have someone my age and much more experienced in life express a world-view as stupid as Tom and Hester’s. Great Poskitt! And I’m not even going to get into how out of character Hester is behaving. I get that the author was trying to do a “Daenerys” here but the transition is about as internally consistent and well-managed as that in GoT, i.e. it comes across as a complete 180 turn.
The book’s one saving grace is that there are other characters. I disliked Wren intensely but I liked the others, especially the twice-born and Oenone. And the plot was much more interesting than in the previous one.
I’ll make my issues with this very plain. The author doesn’t really know how to write complex characters. Several reviewers have noted this much earlier. I confess to having missed since I assumed he was merely portraying teenagers as impulsive and driven by a few core desires. I thought he knew that even teenagers were more complex than that and this characterization was merely reflecting surface level crests of emotions.
... I was wrong. The way he DIDN’T develop Hester and Tom showcased this excellently. Yes, these thirty-somethings still think EXACTLY the same way they did as teens. If anything, they’ve grown LESS subtle in thinking. Not only that, Caul and Freya are just as bad. It’s impossible to describe how jarring it is to have someone my age and much more experienced in life express a world-view as stupid as Tom and Hester’s. Great Poskitt! And I’m not even going to get into how out of character Hester is behaving. I get that the author was trying to do a “Daenerys” here but the transition is about as internally consistent and well-managed as that in GoT, i.e. it comes across as a complete 180 turn.
The book’s one saving grace is that there are other characters. I disliked Wren intensely but I liked the others, especially the twice-born and Oenone. And the plot was much more interesting than in the previous one.
daffz's review against another edition
2.0
I got angry while reading this book.
I loved the first book, then found the second mediocre. But this one just plainly got on my nerves, and I'm honestly debating whether or not to continue the series.
First of all, this book starts off with a huge time skip of 16 years. A bit odd, but okay. We meet Tom and Hester's daughter Wren, who I didn't like at first but who grew on me over the course of this book.
She wasn't the problem I had with this book, neither was the plot. My issue with this book were Tom and Hester themselves, and mostly Hester. The two characters I absolutely loved from the first book. I'll be going into some spoiler territory here.
It just feels like they didn't change in all that time, they didn't grow as people or grow more mature. If anything, they regressed into one dimensional versions of themselves. Hester especially seemed to have turned into the worst possible version of herself. I almost didn't recognize her, and I definitely didn't like her. Which is horrible because she was one of my favorites in the first book.
Also, can we stop with the talk about how ugly Hester is, for once? Please? I'm so tired of it! It's mentioned in every book, it's the root cause of her insecurities and presumably the underlying reason for her bad behavior, and it's just... not great.
I'm really debating just reading a summary of the fourth book and moving on, but I'm not sure.
I loved the first book, then found the second mediocre. But this one just plainly got on my nerves, and I'm honestly debating whether or not to continue the series.
First of all, this book starts off with a huge time skip of 16 years. A bit odd, but okay. We meet Tom and Hester's daughter Wren, who I didn't like at first but who grew on me over the course of this book.
She wasn't the problem I had with this book, neither was the plot. My issue with this book were Tom and Hester themselves, and mostly Hester. The two characters I absolutely loved from the first book. I'll be going into some spoiler territory here.
It just feels like they didn't change in all that time, they didn't grow as people or grow more mature. If anything, they regressed into one dimensional versions of themselves. Hester especially seemed to have turned into the worst possible version of herself. I almost didn't recognize her, and I definitely didn't like her. Which is horrible because she was one of my favorites in the first book.
Spoiler
It just feels like the author did everything in his power to make us hate Hester. She's jealous of her own daughter, seems almost glad she was kidnapped, said to her face that she wished she hadn't been born, and leaves a ten year old orphan boy behind on purpose after Tom promised him he could come with them. It was all just cruel and unnecessary, and it was very frustrating to read.Also, can we stop with the talk about how ugly Hester is, for once? Please? I'm so tired of it! It's mentioned in every book, it's the root cause of her insecurities and presumably the underlying reason for her bad behavior, and it's just... not great.
I'm really debating just reading a summary of the fourth book and moving on, but I'm not sure.
meganstreb's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it's because I'm an adult that the opening "my parents don't me!" plot device really bugged me. Maybe it will speak to tweens and teens and they won't feel it's hackneyed for a YA novel. But I disliked it immensely.
Overall, I still enjoyed the book, still felt it was pacey, liked the characters and was kept guessing.
(The digs at Brighton were amusing, but really threw me out of the fantasy of the world that had been created. But I'm guessing that most readers won't know of Brighton's reputation, so it won't bother them.)
Overall, I still enjoyed the book, still felt it was pacey, liked the characters and was kept guessing.
(The digs at Brighton were amusing, but really threw me out of the fantasy of the world that had been created. But I'm guessing that most readers won't know of Brighton's reputation, so it won't bother them.)
nika_reads's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
meha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I appreciated that this book takes on new characters from the rest of the series, and I found the teenage rebellion plot believable and a good adventurous time was had. What as shame the author never quite seizes the opportunity to explore the life-altering awakening of characters who realize municipal Dawinism is a sham… I think this was supposed to be a capitalism analog, but it never gets fully explored because they keep uncovering another fully functional super weapon from the Before Times to tell us that War Is Bad I got a little bored and annoyed at the moral inconsistency.
timburbage's review against another edition
5.0
So this series goes in several different directions, but nails almost every single one.
First of all, there is a 16 year time jump. Anchorage is now Anchorage in Vineland and we follow a grown up Tom, Hester and their daughter Wren. Wren is a YA protagonist and does some stupid things to move the plot forward, and she really feels like Tom in the first book.
Hester is still the most interesting character, and this if you grow up with a killing machine as a parent, you are going to be messed up. She is like a tiger, and doesn't like being kept in a cage.
Some characters return, and we see a bit more on the war between Traction Cities and the Anti-Traction League. Stalker Fang is now head of the Green Storm and the war that was running in the backround steps more to the foreground.
We see some new locations, such as Brighton. A small quibble is that we spend quite a lot of time on Brighton and some more stuff could have possibly happened. Very minor quibble. We also return to some places, and see how the past 16 years has, or has not, been kind.
The action is well written, the characters are three dimensional and we learn about the world organically as always. You then get the ending. What a cliffhanger. Part of me wants to start reading A Darkling Plain straight away.
Another part of me wants to leave it a while, mainly so that I wouldn't have finished this series that has been absolutely outstanding.
First of all, there is a 16 year time jump. Anchorage is now Anchorage in Vineland and we follow a grown up Tom, Hester and their daughter Wren. Wren is a YA protagonist and does some stupid things to move the plot forward, and she really feels like Tom in the first book.
Hester is still the most interesting character, and this if you grow up with a killing machine as a parent, you are going to be messed up. She is like a tiger, and doesn't like being kept in a cage.
Some characters return, and we see a bit more on the war between Traction Cities and the Anti-Traction League. Stalker Fang is now head of the Green Storm and the war that was running in the backround steps more to the foreground.
We see some new locations, such as Brighton. A small quibble is that we spend quite a lot of time on Brighton and some more stuff could have possibly happened. Very minor quibble. We also return to some places, and see how the past 16 years has, or has not, been kind.
The action is well written, the characters are three dimensional and we learn about the world organically as always. You then get the ending. What a cliffhanger. Part of me wants to start reading A Darkling Plain straight away.
Another part of me wants to leave it a while, mainly so that I wouldn't have finished this series that has been absolutely outstanding.
kalcunha's review against another edition
2.0
The only reason I finished this was because I liked Barnaby Edwards voice.