4.41 AVERAGE

zacottam's review

3.75
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
blackwolffenrir's profile picture

blackwolffenrir's review

4.75
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Mr. Ruocchio, this book was very good yet again. In half a page you've managed to make me respect one of the characters so much more. (You know which one I mean)

Also... One question yet again.. WHO HURT YOU???

To everyone else: Always forward, always down, never left or right..
adventurous dark sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mauimc's review

4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ciarz's review

4.0
adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

paddle104's review

3.25
dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

CR is a great writer and Ashes of Man was not an exception. I personally just really struggled with this one. It mostly felt like a long and painful nail in the coffin of the brutal Kingdoms of Death. I heard he originally planned for Kingdoms and Ashes to be a single book. I see why he split them but still this one was rough for me and that may be why.
adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
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

After being thoroughly crushed from the last book in this they've decided to rip out my heart. 
adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
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
challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
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

“The ugliness of the world does not fade and pass away. Fear and grief are not made less by time. All life is tragedy, for all life must end - and so no life grows stronger by its ending. Time runs down into darkness. Even the stars burnt out. And there are scars that not even Death can wash away.”

Spectacular space opera. Characters are multilayered, especially for Hadrian who is in an emotional turmoil after the tragedy from the last book. This book deals with trauma and grief, yet plot remains engaging with interesting developments.