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calbowen's review against another edition
1.0
Meh ... nothing to see here ... this failed the 25% test - I had zero interest in any characters at the 25% point, and the plot, was as jumpy as the character jumps, from one chapter to another, without following any direct course to a story.
The names are also unmemorable, as some are bad intentional misspellings of names and others are fantasy standards, which is to say, could be pronounced in one of a dozen ways.
the dialog does give the sense of the culture of the speaker, which is at least a positive about this story, unfortunately everyone is either high and mighty making them annoying and unlikable; or lower class, making them sound and appear unintelligent and undeserving of your time.
So many times this comes up as a 'must read', and the jacket cover even states 'starts with a bang' - well, this bang fizzled for me, because there is nothing worth reading in the first ten chapters.
Huge disappointment.
The names are also unmemorable, as some are bad intentional misspellings of names and others are fantasy standards, which is to say, could be pronounced in one of a dozen ways.
the dialog does give the sense of the culture of the speaker, which is at least a positive about this story, unfortunately everyone is either high and mighty making them annoying and unlikable; or lower class, making them sound and appear unintelligent and undeserving of your time.
So many times this comes up as a 'must read', and the jacket cover even states 'starts with a bang' - well, this bang fizzled for me, because there is nothing worth reading in the first ten chapters.
Huge disappointment.
alexisbranham4's review
1.0
Not incredible. It was hard to stay focused on the characters and the constantly shifting story lines, I rarely don't finish books especially in the fantasy genre but I had other more important things looming.
strayfe_angel's review against another edition
4.0
The first chapter annoyed me (which was probably just me) - but then I was sucked in. I got this free on Kindle and just bought the 2nd one. Which is a great reason - publishers - to release older first of series books free on kindle.
If you like the GRR Martin fantasy series - you will like this. Maybe more.
If you like the GRR Martin fantasy series - you will like this. Maybe more.
evilstudygroup's review against another edition
3.0
A good book to have @ work, the characters grow on you.
hank's review
4.0
That was surprisingly good. Surprising in that the first part was a bit tough to get through. The story seemed silly and it was a fire hose of new information. The names seemed ultra made up and it was setting up to be a been there done that fantasy. Not sure how it happened but the characters sort of snuck up on me and I started caring even though they started of a bit cookie cutter. The book also has a bit of a dark edge to it which helped set it apart.
I can't put my finger on what I liked about the characters, they seemed obviously trope-y but Keyes did not belabor the points, just moved on and made them different and better. The old, grizzled forester refusing to let the young pretty girl melt his heart. Been there, but although that was the set up, it moved past it quickly and on to a very real feeling struggling relationship. A too smart priest with no real world experience appears, in other books his coming to realize how little he knows would have lasted the entire story. The Briar King gets to the point faster and then moves on.
It may be I am "reading" too much into it but I read 100 page chunks until I was done which says something and I am definitely going to finish the series.
I can't put my finger on what I liked about the characters, they seemed obviously trope-y but Keyes did not belabor the points, just moved on and made them different and better. The old, grizzled forester refusing to let the young pretty girl melt his heart. Been there, but although that was the set up, it moved past it quickly and on to a very real feeling struggling relationship. A too smart priest with no real world experience appears, in other books his coming to realize how little he knows would have lasted the entire story. The Briar King gets to the point faster and then moves on.
It may be I am "reading" too much into it but I read 100 page chunks until I was done which says something and I am definitely going to finish the series.
mikimeiko's review against another edition
4.0
It looked better in the beginning; about halfway through I started to get slightly bored, but then thankfully it got better again. Now I'm curious about the rest of the series :D
laden_bookshelf's review
4.0
I REALLY liked this book. I've heard a lot of comparison to GRR Martin's series but honestly, this one grabbed me faster. Epic fantasy with great characters - even the ones who die - who actually evolve during the course of THIS novel rather than wait until a second or third. Plenty of great action with promise of more to come. How can you NOT love a novel where they send the recalcitrant princess to become AN ASSASSIN. Brilliant.
vivri's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5