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mithrilreads's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, the attraction of most books is the beginning. All the possiblities. Weird stuff happens, where is is going? what does it mean? The end of most series is a bit of a downer - esp. is they are the dystopian genre where you always know there is something over the fence. The first two books in this series were full of youthful imagination and included far more than just one 'wall' because its of course sci fi and not dystopian per se. However this third edition had an entirely different flavor and it had equal things to enjoy and disappoint. I enjoyed the bildungsroman (sp?) flavor of Umbo and Rigg/Noxon. I saw almost no growth whatsoever in the female characters. I know OSC generally writes from a male point of view and at least tries to put females in the book. Param ends up as Queen-in-the-Tent and the blind woman is intelligent. But other than that they have little to no role - except needing rescued and married. That's a disappointment. However as the two main characters were Rigg and Umbo essentially and Param was peripheral to the book, the lessons about life in general were still good. The end was duplicitous to say the least and I'm trying not to include spoilers. Enjoy, the end was ... too wrapped up. But like Orson Scott Card who struggled to invent an ending I am not going to put any of my brainpower into inventing a different ending myself.
lswanson's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Iss alright
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Snark. Lots and lots and lots of snark. Lots of bright characters talking to each other in what is supposed to be a witty clever way that is just plain snarky. Page after page after page of snark. And mixed in with that is some interesting ideas about the nature of time and causality. And possible extra abilities that were quite a bit different then I'd seen anywhere else. Also a bit of a nod to [b:Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus|40293|Pastwatch The Redemption of Christopher Columbus|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424312110s/40293.jpg|1348187], though in that book it was done quite a bit better. A little wit is good, a lot of wit is better, constant wit for hundreds of pages is not better.
polythenesam's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
aiscool's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
ellaellaellaeh's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could go back in time and keep myself from reading this series.
It really needed editing. 3/4 of the book was pointless filler and endless monotonous conversation where everyone had the same voice.
Even the conclusion felt lacking. By the end I didn't care if the destroyers succeeded or not.
It really needed editing. 3/4 of the book was pointless filler and endless monotonous conversation where everyone had the same voice.
Even the conclusion felt lacking. By the end I didn't care if the destroyers succeeded or not.
raylawler's review against another edition
2.0
This series like many of OSC's started with a great first book that introduces cool ideas, characters, and a good plot. After the first book, though, I feel like everything just turns mostly directionless and becomes total philosophy. I enjoy Card's philosophy a lot and he often has great quotes, but the book itself I though was somewhere in the good to OK range. 2.5
ladynigelia's review against another edition
3.0
When I paused to think about the ideas in this book, it felt like Card was out of anything original and was just recycling material. I can't believe it took me so long to realize the similarities to his books "Treason" and "Pastwatch"
As others have noted, this could have used some serious editing. Whole sections didn't move any of the major plot lines along. And then not all of the loose ends were tied up despite it clearly being the last in the series.
That being said, I still enjoyed the snark and honesty we received in spades from the main characters.
As others have noted, this could have used some serious editing. Whole sections didn't move any of the major plot lines along. And then not all of the loose ends were tied up despite it clearly being the last in the series.
That being said, I still enjoyed the snark and honesty we received in spades from the main characters.
tylexie's review against another edition
This is one of those series where the first 2 books in the series, you really can't stop reading, but then you get to this one and it just seems so uninteresting. It's like the author is just trying to prolong the series. It has a good plot, but all in all has no truly new topics, and nothing to spark a reader's interest.