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blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Exciting stuff. I love fantasy! I was not a fan of Kamala in book 1, but here I liked her better. I think much of my dislike had to to with poor Andovai, whom I really liked and then he died cos of her sucking the soulfire out of him. Seems Friedman sure like killing people.
Right, great world. Magisters who use magic by taking other people's lives. Witches who die by using too much magic. And a world where winged beasts from legend are coming back to suck the souls out of everyone. What is there not to like?
Kamala is right at the front lines here. Queen Gwynofar is trying to find her heritage. Her son Salvator is taking the throne (oh I hate pompous religious a'holes who think their way and God is the only way!) and then there are many more. Like the witch queen Sidarea..bitch. I am also intrigued by Magister Colivar, I was already in book 1 and here the end, oh how Friedman taunts me with riddles! I need to know what he is!
A good sequel to this saga and the epic battle will continue and surely Friedman will kill more. Because this is a dark world. Magic kills.
I read it fast. Maybe not as good as book 1, because there I was enthralled by the darkness, but still awesome enough that I need book 3. And why did I now tell the library to get it before?
Right, great world. Magisters who use magic by taking other people's lives. Witches who die by using too much magic. And a world where winged beasts from legend are coming back to suck the souls out of everyone. What is there not to like?
Kamala is right at the front lines here. Queen Gwynofar is trying to find her heritage. Her son Salvator is taking the throne (oh I hate pompous religious a'holes who think their way and God is the only way!) and then there are many more. Like the witch queen Sidarea..bitch. I am also intrigued by Magister Colivar, I was already in book 1 and here the end, oh how Friedman taunts me with riddles! I need to know what he is!
A good sequel to this saga and the epic battle will continue and surely Friedman will kill more. Because this is a dark world. Magic kills.
I read it fast. Maybe not as good as book 1, because there I was enthralled by the darkness, but still awesome enough that I need book 3. And why did I now tell the library to get it before?
kadomi's review against another edition
3.0
Decent, but not outstanding. Kinda boring, actually, as I squeezed in another book while I was midway because it just didn't grab me. The middle volume of the trilogy doesn't really do much to advance the plot. There's very little actually happening. The focus of the book shifts to the north, where Rhys investigates the Wrath, the magical border to keep the Souleaters from coming back, and finds out more about the past and what the Wrath really is. He is aided by Kamala, the only female magister. The PoV shifts quite a bit, including the new character Salvator, the successor as High King. I found him utterly boring and flat. The characters just aren't that much in depth. I would have liked to see more political machinations of the magisters, but there was very little of that at all.
Still, I want to know how this ends and find out more about Colivar, the only truly interesting character so far. Let's hope the conclusion is more satisfying than the middle.
Still, I want to know how this ends and find out more about Colivar, the only truly interesting character so far. Let's hope the conclusion is more satisfying than the middle.
tmikerx's review against another edition
4.0
A solid book. The ending was kind of anticlimactic, and there weren't really any surprises while reading it, but it kept my attention and the chapters flew by quickly. Lots of editing errors were kind of annoying, though
jwels's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the 2nd installment into this world created by [a:C.S. Friedman|1276004|C.S. Friedman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257214912p2/1276004.jpg]. It is a unique world and there are shades of gray. What was "evil" or wrong in book one doesn't seem as "evil" now as the thing that all have feared has escaped it's containment and what will happen in the future is unknown. I look forward to seeing how Kamela and and the Magisters deal with this threat. I'm also very curious to see what Colivar knows and how he plays into the future and fight against the Souleaters!
eishe's review against another edition
4.0
In comparison to the first book in the series, "Wings of Wrath" concentrated more on the history and religion of the world with all of its implications (and on the souleaters and morati politics of course), and less on sorcery vielded by the Magisters and their power games (though Kamala's and Ramirus' interaction was quite interesting). With the history lessons a lot of consistency was given to the world, where the events take place, for example now it is apparent, that it's a regular planet with its own polar regions and oceans, as well as the division and size of the magical barrier and spears is now known (as well as what lies on the other side).
For the main character, the woman-Magister Kamala I did not see a lot of development in the book, probably because it contained a large amount of parallel storyline involving quite a few characters, some of them new, but most from "The Feast of Souls".
The only thing I dislike is Ms. Friedman's tendency to kill off male characters, which even though more in number than strong female characters (all three of which have ridiculously important roles, even from my woman's point of view), have a great level of development throughout the books.
Overall "Wings of Wrath" is a brilliant successor to "Feast of Souls", though there are several weak points and previously mentioned poor editing. As this one also ended with a cliffhanger, I'm more than looking forward to the third book in the trilogy.
For the main character, the woman-Magister Kamala I did not see a lot of development in the book, probably because it contained a large amount of parallel storyline involving quite a few characters, some of them new, but most from "The Feast of Souls".
The only thing I dislike is Ms. Friedman's tendency to kill off male characters, which even though more in number than strong female characters (all three of which have ridiculously important roles, even from my woman's point of view), have a great level of development throughout the books.
Overall "Wings of Wrath" is a brilliant successor to "Feast of Souls", though there are several weak points and previously mentioned poor editing. As this one also ended with a cliffhanger, I'm more than looking forward to the third book in the trilogy.
amberfinnegan's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. Her descriptions of events can really suck you in. I still absolutely love the concept of the Magisters.
midrel's review against another edition
3.0
Wings of Wrath starts off a very little while after the end of Feast of Souls. By now, the story is mostly plot-driven as almost everyone´s business has been overtaken by the Souleater menace: Kamala still needing to hide from the magisters, as well as Siderea´s continuing storyline are basically the only concessions done to character initiative, and even that is dubious, as for the most part Kamala´s hiding is irrelevant and never really comes to the fore. (Her hiding from Rhys is another issue entirely, and also felt a bit plot-forced)
Its not that I have anything against plot-driven stories (I would have scarce Fantasy to read, if that were the case), but that, for the most part, FoS had me excited about following Kamala´s story and character in a more profound way than it was later delivered. My own fault for perhaps having preconceived expectations, granted, but it just seems like I can´t let go.
The editing was a bit bad too (I´ve read comments of people saying it was horrid on Goodreads). For me it was not that terrible, or too jarring, but I don´t happen to be too uptight about these things. The only instance that really stuck to my mind was where Mrs. Friedman included two synonyms, one next to the other, as if she could not quite decide which fit the better. I don't recall the exact quote, but its near the ending of the book.
One other thing I disliked was that, at times, I could not help but feel that Mrs. Friedman sort of made things up as she went. What with the random chapters featuring previously unknown characters reminiscing about things long past. Not that they were boring, mind you, or badly written in general, but they were quite off-putting all the same. Ok, ok, there are not that many of them (Maybe two or three, really) but still. Throwing us into the middle of a whole chapter consisting only of flashbacks with a character we don´t know and we don´t quite grow to care about ... Eh, it just felt a bit cheap.
All that aside, the book is good. All those things I've mentioned are but little flaws, and some things I would have liked done different, but basically if you liked the first book, you will like this. The prose is always pleasant to read, the characterization of the main cast is as good as it was on the first instalment(Gwynofar had me floored, and Salvator was rather interesting), and, above all, the book entertains.
Friedman mostly never quite goes the way you expect, and I can assure you'll stand open-mouthed at least once during your reading. At least I was.
Its not that I have anything against plot-driven stories (I would have scarce Fantasy to read, if that were the case), but that, for the most part, FoS had me excited about following Kamala´s story and character in a more profound way than it was later delivered. My own fault for perhaps having preconceived expectations, granted, but it just seems like I can´t let go.
The editing was a bit bad too (I´ve read comments of people saying it was horrid on Goodreads). For me it was not that terrible, or too jarring, but I don´t happen to be too uptight about these things. The only instance that really stuck to my mind was where Mrs. Friedman included two synonyms, one next to the other, as if she could not quite decide which fit the better. I don't recall the exact quote, but its near the ending of the book.
One other thing I disliked was that, at times, I could not help but feel that Mrs. Friedman sort of made things up as she went. What with the random chapters featuring previously unknown characters reminiscing about things long past. Not that they were boring, mind you, or badly written in general, but they were quite off-putting all the same. Ok, ok, there are not that many of them (Maybe two or three, really) but still. Throwing us into the middle of a whole chapter consisting only of flashbacks with a character we don´t know and we don´t quite grow to care about ... Eh, it just felt a bit cheap.
All that aside, the book is good. All those things I've mentioned are but little flaws, and some things I would have liked done different, but basically if you liked the first book, you will like this. The prose is always pleasant to read, the characterization of the main cast is as good as it was on the first instalment(Gwynofar had me floored, and Salvator was rather interesting), and, above all, the book entertains.
Friedman mostly never quite goes the way you expect, and I can assure you'll stand open-mouthed at least once during your reading. At least I was.
lib_britannia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5