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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This book was definitely more action packed and had an ending that brought me to The Dark Tower series with its similarities.
This is probably my favorite book out of the series so far. It has more action and mystery than the others have.
At this point on my journey I have nothing more to say about this particular book or series. What I want is to know the conclusion.
This is probably my favorite book out of the series so far. It has more action and mystery than the others have.
At this point on my journey I have nothing more to say about this particular book or series. What I want is to know the conclusion.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Had this not been the second-to-last book of The Witcher Saga, I would've abandoned the entire series altogether. And these are why I have to pull more willpower to finish this book (and this saga) than completing a full marathon.
First of all, the characters. It is a minor disappointment that the author ripped off characters and events from real-life Norse mythology (Hemdall, Freya, Ragnarok), but it is a big annoyance to be introduced to tens, if not hundreds, of named characters, only to have them die off before their fifth mention. These character names are not easy to remember either, and you don't know when or if they will be relevant again. The Kindle version doesn't support X-Ray, so finding references to a mentioned character took a while.
Secondly, the chapters are too long and seem to be arbitrarily chosen. If I don't know any better, I would guess that the author simply has a very long story consisting of snippets and randomly picks a chapter separator between snippets and a book separator between chapters.
I really dislike the author’s tendency to jump around the timeline and character perspective within a single chapter. This storytelling method can be engaging and interesting if the author can only manage the chapter better. Make each chapter about a single character’s perspective in a specific timeline and indicate it in the chapter title. At times, it takes multiple pages for the reader to start guessing whose perspective the story is being told from and when the story is taking place. It slows down the reading considerably and makes the book a serious grind to read.
Overall, the book is a very hard one to read, especially when you want to do so in multiple short sittings. But it's not easy to have a long sitting either because the story sometimes gets so convoluting and boring. Really, the best use I have for this book is to help me fall asleep when I drank too much coffee in a day.
First of all, the characters. It is a minor disappointment that the author ripped off characters and events from real-life Norse mythology (Hemdall, Freya, Ragnarok), but it is a big annoyance to be introduced to tens, if not hundreds, of named characters, only to have them die off before their fifth mention. These character names are not easy to remember either, and you don't know when or if they will be relevant again. The Kindle version doesn't support X-Ray, so finding references to a mentioned character took a while.
Secondly, the chapters are too long and seem to be arbitrarily chosen. If I don't know any better, I would guess that the author simply has a very long story consisting of snippets and randomly picks a chapter separator between snippets and a book separator between chapters.
I really dislike the author’s tendency to jump around the timeline and character perspective within a single chapter. This storytelling method can be engaging and interesting if the author can only manage the chapter better. Make each chapter about a single character’s perspective in a specific timeline and indicate it in the chapter title. At times, it takes multiple pages for the reader to start guessing whose perspective the story is being told from and when the story is taking place. It slows down the reading considerably and makes the book a serious grind to read.
Overall, the book is a very hard one to read, especially when you want to do so in multiple short sittings. But it's not easy to have a long sitting either because the story sometimes gets so convoluting and boring. Really, the best use I have for this book is to help me fall asleep when I drank too much coffee in a day.
This was a strange one. I'm currently reading the last book and when thinking about what to say I realised all of these books have blended into one in my mind, so there's not a huge amount I can say about this.
I am enjoying this series but not much happens in each book, it could probably have been condensed down quite a lot. There was a lot of POVs in this book, which was a little bit confusing at times. The jumping around in time is what really got to me though. I'm not entirely sure when everything was happening because there was so much back and forth. I kind of understand why but I would have liked a bit more chronology because it was definitely confusing.
I didn't much like the narration of this one at all. I preferred how the story was told in the last couple of novels. The narration style itself was why there was so much jumping around in time. There was also a couple of places where it jumped from past tense to present all of a sudden which threw me off a little bit.
I think The Lady of the Lake will probably be similar but we'll see. All in all I am enjoying reading these books but they are dragging a little bit.
I am enjoying this series but not much happens in each book, it could probably have been condensed down quite a lot. There was a lot of POVs in this book, which was a little bit confusing at times. The jumping around in time is what really got to me though. I'm not entirely sure when everything was happening because there was so much back and forth. I kind of understand why but I would have liked a bit more chronology because it was definitely confusing.
I didn't much like the narration of this one at all. I preferred how the story was told in the last couple of novels. The narration style itself was why there was so much jumping around in time. There was also a couple of places where it jumped from past tense to present all of a sudden which threw me off a little bit.
I think The Lady of the Lake will probably be similar but we'll see. All in all I am enjoying reading these books but they are dragging a little bit.
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
4/5
This was a nice return to form after the previous book being a bit of a drag! We get to see a lot more of Ciri, which I loved, and the plot in general is just more engaging. I also liked how the writing plays around with time a bit, jumping around from scene to scene, although it could get a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. All in all I'm still really enjoying this series and hoping for the last book (well, second-last if we're counting the stand-alone prequel published afterwards) to deliver a big satisfying conclusion.
This was a nice return to form after the previous book being a bit of a drag! We get to see a lot more of Ciri, which I loved, and the plot in general is just more engaging. I also liked how the writing plays around with time a bit, jumping around from scene to scene, although it could get a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. All in all I'm still really enjoying this series and hoping for the last book (well, second-last if we're counting the stand-alone prequel published afterwards) to deliver a big satisfying conclusion.
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
funny
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:
Complicated
Possibly the best one yet of the series. An exhilarating read. Sapkowski is a master storyteller who plays with the chronology and perspectives of presented events to gradually unravel a tale of political intrigue, war, and a girl fighting for her freedom.
The only reason why I'm not rating this five stars is that some of the sexism in the novel made my eyes roll.
The only reason why I'm not rating this five stars is that some of the sexism in the novel made my eyes roll.