Scan barcode
luminescify's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I absolutely fell in love with these characters. Found family is my all time favorite and this story had a lot of that. There was too much death though and I’m a sap. I want everyone alive and happy and healthy at the end of a story but with stories that go like this, it was inevitable.
The ending was really rushed but it makes sense as there’s like 57 more books in this series so…do I pick up the next one? Can I handle the heartbreak? Stay tuned.
Graphic: Murder, Classism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery, War, and Hate crime
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Grief
emsavors's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Gore, Grief, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
latashman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Classism, Genocide, Slavery, Colonisation, and Sexual assault
bricehartwich's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: War
Minor: Physical abuse
wsteen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
mae_is_trying's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Racism, Rape, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, and War
mallorypen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
That said, once the plot really started to get going after the end of Part 1, this was a fantastic political thriller and mystery. Vyn as a protagonist was NOT a Mary Sue - which was great - and I got so frustrated with her lack of empathy in some situations, her selfishness in others, and her decision-making pretty much across the board. I don't know if I liked her character (and I'm pretty tired of the Chosen One trope) but I did root for her. Her inner monologues were ... a bit wooden, for my tastes, but they got the job done.
Once we got into the story and the others were able to develop their personalities a little more, I generally liked all the various members of the crew. They all became distinct from one another, and
I agree wholeheartedly with the general consensus that Brandon Sanderson writes a FABULOUS fight scene. The action is written so clearly, and even with a complex magic system making up 80% of the sequences, I really felt like I was there in the moment fighting alongside the characters.
I'd also posit that Brandon Sanderson writes a mean twist. <spoilers> Marsh actually being alive, and having gone through the process to be an Inquisitor ... I totally didn't see that coming. Or, Kelcier's overarching plot to make himself a legend and then let himself be killed? Mind. Blown.
A few things that gave me pause:
- A white CIS man writing a female protagonist who comes from an enslaved people subjected to torture and subjugation for a thousand years ... I don't know. It hit me in a weird spot how similar some things were between the nobility/Ska and white/Black people; the abuses felt VERY familiar and I'm not sure how I feel about it coming from who wrote it. I don't know. It will take further rumination on how exactly it bothers me.
- The instalove between Ellend and Vyn. Tired, boring, blegh. Why did we need a romance, here?
Anyways. I will read the next two books, but I will be giving myself a break.
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual violence, War, Murder, and Violence
peasandpancakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Death
Minor: Racism, Torture, War, and Slavery
bel017's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Rape, Violence, Body horror, and Child abuse
schoha01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Grief, Murder, Confinement, Genocide, Stalking, Blood, Body horror, and Emotional abuse