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marareading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
I am unwell š®āšØ this series was PHENOMENAL. I will never recover. Forever book slumped.
ielerol's review
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
Is this book good? Did I like it? I don't know! I think maybe it's kind of a mess? I'm sure that I read the whole thing, and it is very long so that's something. But I'm also sure I only cared or paid attention to part of it. Once again there were just too many points of view, too many characters, too many twists that became more exhausting than anything else. Part of why I don't feel like I know how to judge the book is that I just kinda let the actual plot wash over me and only paid attention to like, events, and action scenes, to the extent that they delivered me character moments. There's a lot of alien shenanigans and complicated political conniving, abuse of power comes as no surprise, etc, etc, sure whatever, give me more scenes of Sanda getting lectured about how she needs to talk to someone about her feelings.
My favorite part of this series remains the very beginning when it was just Sanda and Bero, and they're still the pair I care about the most, with some room for Tomas, and eventually...Rost? I thought he was pretty sus in the last book, and he sure was keeping a doozy of a secret, but maybe he is ok after all. Poor Biren spent the whole trilogy miserable, he deserves something nice even if I never cared that much about what he was doing.
Jules probably also deserves not to be miserable but she only exists in this story to suffer and the more fucked up and obsessive her storyline got, the clearer it became she would not once get a chance to do anything but suffer.
My favorite part of this series remains the very beginning when it was just Sanda and Bero, and they're still the pair I care about the most, with some room for Tomas, and eventually...Rost? I thought he was pretty sus in the last book, and he sure was keeping a doozy of a secret, but maybe he is ok after all. Poor Biren spent the whole trilogy miserable, he deserves something nice even if I never cared that much about what he was doing.
Jules probably also deserves not to be miserable but she only exists in this story to suffer and the more fucked up and obsessive her storyline got, the clearer it became she would not once get a chance to do anything but suffer.
galexywitch's review
adventurous
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
4.0
themanfromdelmonte's review
4.0
I have a particular problem with this kind of space opera in that despite it being set nearly four millennia in the future, everything is very recognisable. There are some added spaceships and blasters and some hi tech gizmos but otherwise itās Americans In Space.
Another issue is that despite potential humanity extinction events taking place in this corner of the settled galaxy, the powers that be seen content to leave it in the hands of a brother and sister.
The ending is a little erratic with some quite big reveals and plot twists at the denouement.
That said the author handles all the stands without ever looking as if sheās making it up on the hoof.
Another issue is that despite potential humanity extinction events taking place in this corner of the settled galaxy, the powers that be seen content to leave it in the hands of a brother and sister.
The ending is a little erratic with some quite big reveals and plot twists at the denouement.
That said the author handles all the stands without ever looking as if sheās making it up on the hoof.
michalski19's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
I feel like the first book was a great idea and so much time was spent on the idea that books 2 and 3 had to flesh out a ton of the story and then wrap it all up. Not terrible but not my cup of tea. Also didnāt like how 2/3 of the way through this the main character went from cool and collected to being reckless and thoughtless.
pemdas97's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
This is the concluding book in the Protectorate Trilogy. I read the last few pages in minutes snatched on New Year's Eve. It's good, but, for me, not of the same caliber as the first two books. The plot became too extreme to seem fully credible. And the focus seemed more scattered, or perhaps simply less centered on the characters. For all their epic significance, I cared less about the origin of the interstellar gates and the forcible ascension of human beings than I'd cared about a small robot in book one (the most excellent Grippy).
For me, three and a half out of five sensationalist stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
For me, three and a half out of five sensationalist stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
theshaggyshepherd's review against another edition
4.0
I love that I finished this trilogy but Iām also so sad that I did as well. I love these characters and Iām going to miss them a lot. Despite being the lowest rating in the trilogy for me, I still had a lot of fun with this book. The characters expanded in a way that was sometimes unexpected and sometimes just the way you would expect them to (both of which can be a good thing in my opinion). There was also so much more history that we learned, which is always something I enjoy. While I do like how everything was explained in the end, it did at times feel like there was too much thrown at me at once and it took me a while to really get a grip on what was going on in those moments. Thatās not necessarily a bad thing if the characters experience it in the same way but they all took it in stride so it made me feel like it just wasnāt always explained as well as it couldāve been. Overall though, this was still a good end to the series and Iām really looking forward to the next one she is working on!
luminositylibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75