Scan barcode
applegnreads's review
3.0
Geesh, was Cat always that whiny? The movement is frenetic but goes nowhere at all. Thank goodness that's over.
crimsoncor's review
2.0
Really vacillated between 2 and 3 stars. I don't think the book was noticeable worse than the last one, but because it replicated the flaws of book 2, but at even greater length (and greater remove from the quite good first book), I think I settled on 2 stars. There is just so much potential here and it is all squandered on unlikable main characters who seem both dumb and incapable of failure. Here's a moment that encapsulates almost everything I disliked about this book. Really? That's even a question at this point? It seems pretty clear . . . Cat is supposed to be some brilliant spy/information gatherer trained by the Kena'ani people but seems to mostly just be as dumb as 2x4. And then we come back to the entire plot armor thing which again, when looking at her father, . James Drake is supposed to be the big bad, but honestly the only reason he is evil seems to be his jealously of Vai making the entire thing feel super high school. These are supposed to be people in the mid-20s. Maybe early 30's for Drake? and yet everyone acts 15. ugh.
Spoiler
Towards the end of the book, Cat has ended up in the spirit world and has an encounter with her father. Her father who has already hinted a few times that he is not in control of his actions. One of the Faerie leadership comes up and puts a leash on her father and drags him away, while ordering him to hunt for them. And what is Cat's reaction? "I had to wonder: Was my sire the master, or a slave to others' bidding?".Spoiler
she first makes an incredibly dumb deal to bring her father into the mortal world where she extracts exactly zero concessions despite it being super obvious that he wants this more than anything else (yeah . . . she's a great negotiator the book tells us) but she then turns loose the scourge of the mortal world with no constraints, but all he apparently wants to do is get coffee. Seriously.amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this definitely was an epic conclusion to a long, dramatic trilogy! I totally mean that by the way––the ending battle and final pages were pretty intense and pulse pounding, and drama was everywhere. Still, I enjoyed this book and believe every character got the send off they deserved.
Cat became a powerhouse of a woman, and it was exciting to learn more about her ancestors and watch how they approached situations. Bee, Rory, and Brennan all have special places in my hearts and I would love to read side stories about them. Vai had his ups and downs for me, but I think he just needed to finish his arc. He is truly, deeply complex.
The writing was gorgeous and left me in awe at some times. That said, I do think the story dragged a little in places, and that's a thought I've had for most of the books. Having said that, I still don't think it was a bad read and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read about adventure, romance, and women who aren't afraid to put men in their place!
Cat became a powerhouse of a woman, and it was exciting to learn more about her ancestors and watch how they approached situations. Bee, Rory, and Brennan all have special places in my hearts and I would love to read side stories about them. Vai had his ups and downs for me, but I think he just needed to finish his arc. He is truly, deeply complex.
The writing was gorgeous and left me in awe at some times. That said, I do think the story dragged a little in places, and that's a thought I've had for most of the books. Having said that, I still don't think it was a bad read and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read about adventure, romance, and women who aren't afraid to put men in their place!
nicolemhewitt's review
4.0
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
*This review contains spoilers for the first two books in the Spiritwalker Trilogy!*
I knew going into this book that it was not going to be a quick read. Elliott's writing style is somewhat poetic and often dense, filled with cultural and political allusions - and the book is 600 pages long! Still, I read the book in just a few days because I was eager to find out how Cat would rescue Vai and what would happen in the war against Europa. Cold Steel didn't disappoint and gave us a very fitting end to the series!
The negatives:
Politics.
Elliott infuses her books with a lot of history and culture so that you are really entrenched in her world. This is great, but I have to admit that the political discussions (discussions about clientage, women's rights, etc.) sometimes bored me just a bit. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the issues themselves, it's just that the book felt slow whenever political topics were discussed at length. This is just a personal preference, though - some people might love the rich political history that Elliott has created.
What I LOVED:
The Spirit world.
I absolutely LOVE the Spirit world in this book because it is so unique - I don't know if Elliott pulls from any existing mythology or lore, but I have never read anything like it! There are so many captivating elements to this fantasy world - the Wild Hunt, the Salters, the djeli, cold mages, fire mages - I could go on and on. Cold Steel delivers amazing fantasy action, just like the first two books in the series did!
Cat and Vai.
Any time Cat and Vai were together, the story bloomed for me. I absolutely love their complex, realistic relationship. Neither Cat nor Vai are perfect (far from it), but they love each other despite their flaws and their personality quirks make for fantastic reading. Cat's impulsiveness and wild side perfectly balance Vai's logical, arrogant demeanor. And their fierce loyalty to one another is truly remarkable - I knew that nothing would keep them apart, even when things looked very bleak indeed. Add to that the addictive spark that occurred any time Cat and Vai were near each other and you have an amazing romance!
The ideals.
While I wasn't always excited about the political discourse in this book, I definitely appreciated the ideals that Cat, Bee and Vai (and, to some extent, Rory) were fighting for. I loved that Bee and Cat really blossomed in this book and realized that their worth did not have to be determined by a man. Bee especially turned into a true feminist (without becoming bitter toward the men in her life). I was also rooting for the revolution to stop the slavery and injustice that was occurring in Europa, but I appreciated that Elliott didn't imply that it was a simple fix - the world had complex problems that would need complex solutions - and taking sides was a lot harder than Cat and Vai originally imagined!
The ending.
I was a bit worried for a while about how this series would end, but Elliott managed to create a twist that was exciting and gave us closure!
The Spiritwalker Trilogy is a really unique steampunk series with amazing world building! Cold Steel did not disappoint - it provided lots of fantasy action to end the series on a high note!
*This review contains spoilers for the first two books in the Spiritwalker Trilogy!*
I knew going into this book that it was not going to be a quick read. Elliott's writing style is somewhat poetic and often dense, filled with cultural and political allusions - and the book is 600 pages long! Still, I read the book in just a few days because I was eager to find out how Cat would rescue Vai and what would happen in the war against Europa. Cold Steel didn't disappoint and gave us a very fitting end to the series!
The negatives:
Politics.
Elliott infuses her books with a lot of history and culture so that you are really entrenched in her world. This is great, but I have to admit that the political discussions (discussions about clientage, women's rights, etc.) sometimes bored me just a bit. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the issues themselves, it's just that the book felt slow whenever political topics were discussed at length. This is just a personal preference, though - some people might love the rich political history that Elliott has created.
What I LOVED:
The Spirit world.
I absolutely LOVE the Spirit world in this book because it is so unique - I don't know if Elliott pulls from any existing mythology or lore, but I have never read anything like it! There are so many captivating elements to this fantasy world - the Wild Hunt, the Salters, the djeli, cold mages, fire mages - I could go on and on. Cold Steel delivers amazing fantasy action, just like the first two books in the series did!
Cat and Vai.
Any time Cat and Vai were together, the story bloomed for me. I absolutely love their complex, realistic relationship. Neither Cat nor Vai are perfect (far from it), but they love each other despite their flaws and their personality quirks make for fantastic reading. Cat's impulsiveness and wild side perfectly balance Vai's logical, arrogant demeanor. And their fierce loyalty to one another is truly remarkable - I knew that nothing would keep them apart, even when things looked very bleak indeed. Add to that the addictive spark that occurred any time Cat and Vai were near each other and you have an amazing romance!
The ideals.
While I wasn't always excited about the political discourse in this book, I definitely appreciated the ideals that Cat, Bee and Vai (and, to some extent, Rory) were fighting for. I loved that Bee and Cat really blossomed in this book and realized that their worth did not have to be determined by a man. Bee especially turned into a true feminist (without becoming bitter toward the men in her life). I was also rooting for the revolution to stop the slavery and injustice that was occurring in Europa, but I appreciated that Elliott didn't imply that it was a simple fix - the world had complex problems that would need complex solutions - and taking sides was a lot harder than Cat and Vai originally imagined!
The ending.
I was a bit worried for a while about how this series would end, but Elliott managed to create a twist that was exciting and gave us closure!
The Spiritwalker Trilogy is a really unique steampunk series with amazing world building! Cold Steel did not disappoint - it provided lots of fantasy action to end the series on a high note!
mamap's review against another edition
4.0
of course, the first was better. ran a little long. did like the ending - lovely twist.
bee was a little unbelievable.
i'm glad they all live happily ever after.
bee was a little unbelievable.
i'm glad they all live happily ever after.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
I tried my best, I really did. I read 100 boring pages that were just plainly confusing. Then I tried to read more, then I tried to skim but I could not even skim! I could not be bothered to read almost 800 pages of this boring boring boring book.
Such a disappointment, I LOVED book 1. Book 2 was not up to standard and this one I could not even finish. It reminded me of her fantasy book I tried to read and could not.
I had to check my review of book 2 and there I mentioned I was confused, but that it got better at the end. Still all I remember from that one is that I did not like it. I guess that last part swayed me.
Disappointing.
Such a disappointment, I LOVED book 1. Book 2 was not up to standard and this one I could not even finish. It reminded me of her fantasy book I tried to read and could not.
I had to check my review of book 2 and there I mentioned I was confused, but that it got better at the end. Still all I remember from that one is that I did not like it. I guess that last part swayed me.
Disappointing.
kadomi's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars to 4. The final book in the trilogy is a touch too long to make it a solid 4. Especially the first half just drags on and on. It didn't really get exciting until Lutetia. Character traits that I thought were charming in the first 2 books started to turn annoying. Yeah, I get it, Andevai is REALLY handsome and vain and dashing, and what have you. Stop rubbing our faces in it. Also, while Camjiata was very interesting and would have made a fantastic final villain, James Drake was a caricature of a villain with no real depth. He went from 'charming' fire mage with a taste for date-rape to very 2-dimensional über-villain made from cardboard. Ultimately, I think Rory continued to redeem the weaker characters for me, because he was such a downright charming kitty.
I am not sure who I would recommend this series to. Probably people who enjoy stories about fae with a dashing of steampunk and communism plus Napoleon. Plus some very good and strong female characters, though Cat doesn't count for long stretches because Andevai is hot and all that jazz. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the series, but I am kind of glad it's over.
I am not sure who I would recommend this series to. Probably people who enjoy stories about fae with a dashing of steampunk and communism plus Napoleon. Plus some very good and strong female characters, though Cat doesn't count for long stretches because Andevai is hot and all that jazz. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the series, but I am kind of glad it's over.
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I'm happy to know what happened but there's nothing really surprising in the last volume of this series.
isigfethera's review against another edition
4.0
I love Kate Elliot's writing, she has a great historical perspective and turns fantasy settings that could be quite generic (a world based on Medieval Europe, a world based on 19th century Britain)into such dynamic settings, with something to say about power relations, society and culture that is quite specific. I fell in love with Cat and Bee, Rory and Andevai early on in this series, and this wraps it up satisfyingly, with plenty of tension and a wide canvas as the political tinderbox of the earlier books ignites. If there's one criticism I have, it would be that the Wild Hunt plotline wraps up a bit neatly, and a bit quickly- it's the main focus for the first half of the book, then it seems to fade from view. But overall a strong conclusion to the series.