Reviews

The Pearl of the Soul of the World by Meredith Ann Pierce

hacen0125's review

4.0

Actual Rating: 3.5

elusivity's review

3.0

I remember waiting ages for the library to get this to me via inter-library order, very many years ago. I was obsessed to the point of being able to quote that awkward "prophecy" poem. And I remember how utterly disappointing the final 20 pages were, which I read and re-read, trying to find some trace, any trace, of a resolution to this essentially 3-volume romance between Irrylath and Aeriel. After ALL THIS TIME, and ALL THIS SACRIFICE, she gets to sleep with him ONCE and finds that she has to go away FOREVER. Worse, there is this other chick, basically a female version of him, a bandit queen and therefore wild and confident and free as Aeriel hadn't been as a servant, waiting with hands out-stretched to take over.

WHY????????

It's not as though this series was written in the vein of -- personal love lessens in the face of saving the world; duty trumps feelings, etc. -- it began and continued as this chick trying heroically to SAVE her CURSED dark angel man. And THIS is how Pierce fulfill the unspoken contract with her readers?! One night in the sack, one declaration of love... separation forever ... THE END??

I am not saying I expected some simplistic HEA, as Aeriel has indeed grown and seen much since her humble beginnings -- but this conclusion came out of no where. As others have mentioned, Aeriel ended up once more a slave, except now to a greater Mistress, with even less freedom than before. If she had to go save the world, why can she not bring Irrylath? If his oath was so binding and her duties so pressing, why can they not work out some kind of compromise? She could travel off to do what she must do for 9 months of the year, and stay with him for the remaining 3, and this would still be a subversion of fairy tale tropes...

I have never been interested in another Pierce book since.

pirateyoho's review against another edition

3.0

There was a lot that I found charming and nostalgic about this series, but I was ultimately let down by the ending. What I appreciated most about Aeriel's character arc was her journey from a powerless prisoner of the Darkangel to finding her own agency and power. So it's no surprise that I was disappointed her ultimate ending was

Spoiler

being forced to give up her own desires for the sake of destiny and duty, as dictated by another supernatural being

. The second book remains my favorite, having some of the most interesting world building and side characters of the trilogy.

sweetvireo's review

2.0

I hated the ending.

Spoiler

She should have stayed with Irrylath. He seemed right in saying that Ravenna was controlling her now as the White Witch controlled him. The whole story seems circular and not in a good way. Now I have to erase this ending in my head and come up with a new headcanon.

Also, it seems like the ending was setting up book 4 that never came out (and may never have been started). Irrylath says he will win her back and Ravenna is basically controlling her. Both of those seem wrong to end things on. Ariel would not have let Ravenna control her forever.

xeyra's review

4.0

First of all, the way this book began was kind of confusing, though it was different and original way to start the story. Most stories follow a linear path, but the beginning of this book differs from that convention, and to have been dumped into this third volume with no idea of what was going on made us all the more sympathetic to Aeriel because, well, she was as lost as we were.

I wish we could have had more interaction between her and the people she crossed paths with, including her brother, but I guess that wasn't her fate. In fact, the ending was so painful and sad. It's true what others have said. To go so far, to do so much, and get nothing that she wanted in the end. To be forced into a fate she didn't ask, a thankless task that will keep her from the man she loved and the people she befriended, the family she found. But not all books have happy endings, and the author wrote an incredibly original and beautiful trilogy that I'm quite glad I read.

squaresofliving's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

I remember reading this series when I was 12, and it was what got me hooked on reading fantasy. But I'm not sure I ever read the last book? If I did, I didn't remember it at all. Fortunately! It wasn't even the ending for me, it was the whole thing, dragging on... I was bored. 

I'm really happy that 12 year old me fell in love with MAP's writing. 44 year old me is not very impressed. I found it tedious and I skimmed quite a few bits. 

futurememory's review

3.0

Arg, I don't even know how to properly rate this one! The prose is wonderful, dreamy, lyrical. The worldbuilding here is fascinating and fantastic, fleshing out the moon as a SFF setting unlike any we've seen before. But boy is that ending a tough pill to swallow.

Spoiler

I really love that Meredith Ann Pierce was willing to give us a complicated, heartbreaking ending. But it's also one that is pretty unsatisfying for the reader. We're left with a bit of a cliffhanger, with our heroine forced into a different kind of slavery than she was in before. Aeriel sacrifices so much through the books, and it just seems like her sacrifices will have to continue. Which is, of course, just really, really difficult to deal with as a reader. The triumph is just not there.

I have a feeling this series will stick with me for a long time.

livy22's review

2.0

2.5 stars (would've been 3, if not for the last 10 or so pages...)

I can't believe that's how the author decided to end the story. It was horrible and didn't feel natural at all. I think I'm going to have to rewrite the ending in my head just to get some closure, because I don't believe for a second that the main character would make that last decision. Because of it, there was no payoff for all the struggles she went through. As a reader, I felt like the author was promising me something throughout the trilogy and then in the end robbed me of it.

heathermcintire13's review

4.0

Not the ending I wanted but still a great book, and an amazing adventure.

nuffy375's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars rounded down to 3, because I’m just devastated by the ending. But also conflicted. (Honestly probably should have let this simmer before reviewing.)

Spoiler

It was written beautifully, and is appropriately heart-wrenching per the author’s intent, but as other reviewers have said, it completely rips the rug out from under the reader. Of course, there’s the argument that it overturns expectations, but...this series reads like a fairy tale, and I want some kind of happy ending! I honestly don’t think I could be more heartbroken than the ending Pierce provides. She could have killed off one or both of the main characters, and I think I would feel less betrayed than I feel by this ending.

It’s really hard to review this, since it is an engrossing read, a completely fitting conclusion to the trilogy - answering most of the questions the reader has had up till now and rounding out the rest of the world’s mythology - and then that ending. Oof...