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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Oh. My. God.
O_____O
Give me the sequel now !!
This was the greatest thing ever !
Full review to come when I'll get over it. One day.
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Review originally published here : https://thecurioussffreader.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/a-review-of-the-providence-of-fire-by-brian-staveley/
I read the first book, The Emperor’s Blades in february and I loved it. It is one of my favorite book of the year without a doubt. I just read the sequel because I was kind of having a bad period with a lot of stress in my life and in those occasions I usually read a book that I almost know for sure that I am going to love.
And oh my, this book was great. It was a little slower than the first one at the beginning but after a third I would say, it became completely awesome. I stayed up pretty late to finish it and the ending blew me away. Now I need the third and final book, but infortunetely for me, The Last Mortal Bond will only be coming out in a little bit more than four months. Yes I know, it’s not that far but it’s still 107 days away.
All my thoughts on this book are spoiler free for this series.
I really liked the first book because I found that the characterization was great and it was even better in the second book. I think that even if I did not always agreed with some decisions made by the main characters, at least I could always understand why they did it. I enjoyed Kaden’s perspective even more in this one, I think that he has grown as a character and that he is not as naive about the political intrigues going on in his empire. I also enjoy his point of view because he always thinks before doing things even when he is put in really difficult positions and I actually think that it is very rare to find this type of character in fiction, because, usually, characters act before thinking which often lead to bad consequences for everyone.
However, even if I really like Kaden, my favorite character in this series is Valyn . I don’t know why but since book 1, I am deeply emotionally attached to this character. At the end, it almost gave me an heart attack but what can you do… I feel that, like Kaden, his character has changed quite a lot since the beginning, and even if he is far from perfect, you can see where his flaws came from.
The character that I liked the least definetely was Adare. It may come from the fact that we just had three chapters from her POV in the first book but at the beginning I just did not care for her at all. However after some of her chapters, she started to annoy me. I did not agree with a lot of her decisions, that I, most of the time, found pretty stupid, and that for me, don’t really go well with the fact that she is a Minister of Finance. I found her naive about a lot of things, especially about the way people lived in her country. At the end of the book, I started to understand a little bit better why she was the way she was but I still didn’t like her. I have to say that the ending did not redeem her at all. I am still mad at her for what she did.
I think that this was an excellent second book, it’s actually quite rare to read a book two in a trilogy which is as good as the first one but this one was, in my opinion of course, even better ! It did not suffer at all from te « middle book syndrom » which mean that it was not a « filler book » with nothing happening at all. On the contary, this book was full of twists and turns, great worldbuilding and characterization and that ending !
I loved it !
O_____O
Give me the sequel now !!
This was the greatest thing ever !
Full review to come when I'll get over it. One day.
----
Review originally published here : https://thecurioussffreader.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/a-review-of-the-providence-of-fire-by-brian-staveley/
I read the first book, The Emperor’s Blades in february and I loved it. It is one of my favorite book of the year without a doubt. I just read the sequel because I was kind of having a bad period with a lot of stress in my life and in those occasions I usually read a book that I almost know for sure that I am going to love.
And oh my, this book was great. It was a little slower than the first one at the beginning but after a third I would say, it became completely awesome. I stayed up pretty late to finish it and the ending blew me away. Now I need the third and final book, but infortunetely for me, The Last Mortal Bond will only be coming out in a little bit more than four months. Yes I know, it’s not that far but it’s still 107 days away.
All my thoughts on this book are spoiler free for this series.
I really liked the first book because I found that the characterization was great and it was even better in the second book. I think that even if I did not always agreed with some decisions made by the main characters, at least I could always understand why they did it. I enjoyed Kaden’s perspective even more in this one, I think that he has grown as a character and that he is not as naive about the political intrigues going on in his empire. I also enjoy his point of view because he always thinks before doing things even when he is put in really difficult positions and I actually think that it is very rare to find this type of character in fiction, because, usually, characters act before thinking which often lead to bad consequences for everyone.
However, even if I really like Kaden, my favorite character in this series is Valyn . I don’t know why but since book 1, I am deeply emotionally attached to this character. At the end, it almost gave me an heart attack but what can you do… I feel that, like Kaden, his character has changed quite a lot since the beginning, and even if he is far from perfect, you can see where his flaws came from.
The character that I liked the least definetely was Adare. It may come from the fact that we just had three chapters from her POV in the first book but at the beginning I just did not care for her at all. However after some of her chapters, she started to annoy me. I did not agree with a lot of her decisions, that I, most of the time, found pretty stupid, and that for me, don’t really go well with the fact that she is a Minister of Finance. I found her naive about a lot of things, especially about the way people lived in her country. At the end of the book, I started to understand a little bit better why she was the way she was but I still didn’t like her. I have to say that the ending did not redeem her at all. I am still mad at her for what she did.
I think that this was an excellent second book, it’s actually quite rare to read a book two in a trilogy which is as good as the first one but this one was, in my opinion of course, even better ! It did not suffer at all from te « middle book syndrom » which mean that it was not a « filler book » with nothing happening at all. On the contary, this book was full of twists and turns, great worldbuilding and characterization and that ending !
I loved it !
I loved this book.
I hated this book.
I loved Valyn.
I warmed towards Kaden.
I FUCKING HATED ADARE.
You bitch, just die, would you?
Ok, I’m a little mad right now. I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind though.
4 stars because of all those chapters from Adare’s POV... and the not enough chapters from Gwenna’s.
I hated this book.
I loved Valyn.
I warmed towards Kaden.
I FUCKING HATED ADARE.
You bitch, just die, would you?
Ok, I’m a little mad right now. I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind though.
4 stars because of all those chapters from Adare’s POV... and the not enough chapters from Gwenna’s.
Mini-Review:
4.5 Stars for Narration by Simon Vance
4 Stars for Cool Concepts
1 Star for Execution of Concepts
3 Stars for Characters
2 Stars for Plot Development & Story Flow
- Not well written as a whole. 1st half is a sludgefest. 2nd half is half baked events thrown in your face.
- Inconsistencies held me back from getting fully engaged by the story or any of the characters.
- When I finished the first book, I was excited to read the next installment. This time? I'm pretty sure that there will be cool events in the third book but I don't feel the drive to dive into it and find out.
4.5 Stars for Narration by Simon Vance
4 Stars for Cool Concepts
1 Star for Execution of Concepts
3 Stars for Characters
2 Stars for Plot Development & Story Flow
- Not well written as a whole. 1st half is a sludgefest. 2nd half is half baked events thrown in your face.
- Inconsistencies held me back from getting fully engaged by the story or any of the characters.
- When I finished the first book, I was excited to read the next installment. This time? I'm pretty sure that there will be cool events in the third book but I don't feel the drive to dive into it and find out.
The Providence of Fire is everything I wanted from a sequel and more. This definitely took pretty much all the slight problems I had with the first book and rectified it. Although this book did suffer from a roughly slow start, once we got about a 1/3 of the way through it took off at a break neck speed.
I have to say the best thing about this series, hands down, is the world building. Brian Staveley has created such a complex, yet intriguing world all at the same time. This book especially dived so deep into the mythology of the world, it was amazing. From learning more about the Csestriim, to the leaches, to the gods, everything was engrossing. He didn't just throw all of this information at you either. It was sprinkled throughout the entire story and you were informed when you needed to be.
The characters are the next best thing. First I just wanted to say that Adare had her time to shine in this novel. She went from having only like 5 chapters in the last book to actually being a true part to the three main characters of the story next to her brothers. Each story arc that involved one of the siblings was impeccable. The development was top notch and since this book isn't very action driven, the character development really helped this story be amazing. These three siblings went on such a journey and they all ended up very different people by the end of this novel.
Lastly the story itself starts off fairly slow, it is pretty much a beginning that tries to get each character to their starting destination. Once all that happens the plot really kicks in. I found it hard to put this book down when I was reading it. Brian Staveley also knows how to write some intense final moments. Those last a hundred pages or so were stressful.
I am really excited to see how this is all wrapped up. I believe Staveley has already laid a solid foundation and it should be quite interesting to see where are characters end up in the end!
I have to say the best thing about this series, hands down, is the world building. Brian Staveley has created such a complex, yet intriguing world all at the same time. This book especially dived so deep into the mythology of the world, it was amazing. From learning more about the Csestriim, to the leaches, to the gods, everything was engrossing. He didn't just throw all of this information at you either. It was sprinkled throughout the entire story and you were informed when you needed to be.
The characters are the next best thing. First I just wanted to say that Adare had her time to shine in this novel. She went from having only like 5 chapters in the last book to actually being a true part to the three main characters of the story next to her brothers. Each story arc that involved one of the siblings was impeccable. The development was top notch and since this book isn't very action driven, the character development really helped this story be amazing. These three siblings went on such a journey and they all ended up very different people by the end of this novel.
Lastly the story itself starts off fairly slow, it is pretty much a beginning that tries to get each character to their starting destination. Once all that happens the plot really kicks in. I found it hard to put this book down when I was reading it. Brian Staveley also knows how to write some intense final moments. Those last a hundred pages or so were stressful.
I am really excited to see how this is all wrapped up. I believe Staveley has already laid a solid foundation and it should be quite interesting to see where are characters end up in the end!
Absolutely as good as The Emperor's Blades. The author has a fantastic ability of creating interesting characters Anne then python them into motion without falling into generic fantasy tropes. I can honestly say I never knew what was going to happen next and I enjoyed every minute.
The second book in this series, while not as good as the first in my opinion, is still really, really good. There are lots of surprises in it, some of them predictable and others not, but all of them are believable and don't just come out of nowhere.
There are a slew of new characters introduced, but my favorites are Nira and Kiev. These two have very different personalities, but both are fascinating characters, and I want to know more about them. However, I think Pyrre and the Flea are still my favorite characters.
On my review of the previous book, I said I wished there was more story focusing on Adare. We definitely got that in this book, but unfortunately, I ended up not liking her at all. She makes some maddening idiotic decisions even when she knows better. I know she's supposed to be a pretty sheltered and naive character, but it's still frustrating to read.
Overall, this has been one of the better series that I've read in quite awhile. I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion.
There are a slew of new characters introduced, but my favorites are Nira and Kiev. These two have very different personalities, but both are fascinating characters, and I want to know more about them. However, I think Pyrre and the Flea are still my favorite characters.
On my review of the previous book, I said I wished there was more story focusing on Adare. We definitely got that in this book, but unfortunately, I ended up not liking her at all. She makes some maddening idiotic decisions even when she knows better. I know she's supposed to be a pretty sheltered and naive character, but it's still frustrating to read.
Overall, this has been one of the better series that I've read in quite awhile. I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion.
The second book from Brian Staveley in this series is better than the first book. The first book was building up the world and characters. This book progress the plot.
I really enjoyed the book and now have to wait for the third book to be release.
There were a couple of things i didn't like. Now, this is a little spoilerish, so don't read on.
The first is the fact the three story point of views seemed to follow the same path. All three got captured around the same time, and got freedom around the same time. It felt a little lazy - but it did not detract too much from the plot.
The last was the end. I like a cliff hanger when i know there will be another book - but this didn't have one. It could have, but didn't.
The audio version was excellent as always.
This series is building up nicely and if it continues like this, then i will be awarding the next book 5 stars.
I really enjoyed the book and now have to wait for the third book to be release.
There were a couple of things i didn't like. Now, this is a little spoilerish, so don't read on.
The first is the fact the three story point of views seemed to follow the same path. All three got captured around the same time, and got freedom around the same time. It felt a little lazy - but it did not detract too much from the plot.
The last was the end. I like a cliff hanger when i know there will be another book - but this didn't have one. It could have, but didn't.
The audio version was excellent as always.
This series is building up nicely and if it continues like this, then i will be awarding the next book 5 stars.
I hate Adele at the end of this book. It's is left hanging what is going on and Valyn is left fending for himself in the forest.