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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rate: 3.5/5
So, I have read all 3 books in the <b>Gallow and Ragged</b> trilogy. I enjoyed the first book, I felt the second book was an improvement, and I did feel like the third book dragged a little, but I was satisfied with the ending. It wasn't what I expected for sure, but I appreciated it more for that.
<b>Wasteland King</b> is a Fantasy with elements of urban fiction as well, which I very much appreciated.
Sometimes there are several paragraphs in which a lot of description takes place including lists of Dunu Folk creatures. This can be a bit confusing to read through, but it's brief and not too important to the overall plot or character development.
I found the characters very lovable. I enjoyed the character development over the three books, although I'll say the characters don't really change. Maybe a little, but they remain themselves!
I felt engaged with the relationships (general, & romantic) between the characters.
I personally love Robin Ragged. I love that in the end she still chooses to be a mother like figure or older sister figure to a child over entertaining a love affair.
I loved Daisy's exposition. I loved Jeremiah Gallow battling between loving his dead wife and his dead wife's very much alive Sidhe sister.
I loved Crenn. I loved the way he flipped his hair. I love the way he loves and hates Jeremiah his "brother" and rival.
I didn't know that fae loved milk. That's all I drink is milk or water. I found this so appealing.
I loved the plot twist ending to this trilogy.
It's not like my favorite series, but it was definitely worth my time!!
So, I have read all 3 books in the <b>Gallow and Ragged</b> trilogy. I enjoyed the first book, I felt the second book was an improvement, and I did feel like the third book dragged a little, but I was satisfied with the ending. It wasn't what I expected for sure, but I appreciated it more for that.
<b>Wasteland King</b> is a Fantasy with elements of urban fiction as well, which I very much appreciated.
Sometimes there are several paragraphs in which a lot of description takes place including lists of Dunu Folk creatures. This can be a bit confusing to read through, but it's brief and not too important to the overall plot or character development.
I found the characters very lovable. I enjoyed the character development over the three books, although I'll say the characters don't really change. Maybe a little, but they remain themselves!
I felt engaged with the relationships (general, & romantic) between the characters.
I loved the plot twist ending to this trilogy.
It's not like my favorite series, but it was definitely worth my time!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Vomit
A satisfying conclusion to the series. It doesn't end like I might have thought, but I was pleased with it anyway! And I approve of a trilogy that's actually a trilogy, too.
Where the second book in this series kind of slowed down, we get all types of action and character development here. So much so that I was disappointed there wasn't one more installment. I felt like the characters got endings that made sense for who they were and the choices they had made to date. I liked them enough that a little bit of fairy tale fanservice would have been okay with me, but it didn't go that route and was a much stronger story for it. Loved the series and will be reading more from Lilith Saintcrow!
I'd like this series more with a different ending. One just a tad less up in the air. It never seems fair to spend so many pages on some characters, and end without drawing a real close to the chapter of their lives. Otherwise a gripping fantasy world, with some characters that could use more development, but plenty of dark magic.
This is the last part of a great story.
Really loved the whole thing.
Really loved the whole thing.
I don't know who wrote the description for this, because a "thrilling conclusion" it is not. I enjoyed all three books and the characters but the series deserved a much better ending. It was not the ending I expected, which is fine, but unfortunately, it was a very disappointing ending instead. It more or less contradicted the entire series and that is never a good idea.
I loved the Kismet series. Gallow and Ragged? Book 1 was mediocre. 2 was worse. This was all atmosphere and mood, and that doesn't make any book I'd vaguely enjoy.
Bannon and Clare was also just ok. Maybe the author has only one good idea. Not sure I'll try another book from her.
Bannon and Clare was also just ok. Maybe the author has only one good idea. Not sure I'll try another book from her.
Third and last in the Gallow and Ragged dark urban fantasy series and revolving around a rebellious trio of half-human, half-fae.
My Take
This was sad, fulfilling, sad, and oh, dang, just plain sad. I need to read something upbeat after this. And I find myself hoping that Saintcrow will figure out a way to keep this going!
I loved this dark take on the fae, and I think it’s some of the best Saintcrow has written, although, Ragged’s qualms do drive me nuts.
It's a suspicious Ragged, a desperate Gallow, and a hopeful Crenn expressing their hopes and dreams…and fears through third person multiple points-of-view, and Saintcrow plays us throughout the story. There’s growth for each of them, with Ragged’s voice changing, Gallow and his epiphany, while Crenn…poor Crenn. And Saintcrow continues to pop in the odd encounter with humans with results that are sometimes good and sometimes not.
I like that bit of back history Saintcrow conjured up for Gallow and Crenn. It gave a sense of how old these two were without belaboring it. We do learn at the end what caused the Sundering, and without giving anything away, I’ll simply say that Unwinter and Summer were consistent to the end. Saintcrow did a great job of holding in those secrets and letting them out just when it had the most impact on the characters and me.
This fae world is such a contrast between what I’ve always seen as the better Seelie and the wicked Unseelie, and just the opposite of who Summer and Unwinter are. A man who holds by will while another flitters away lives. I guess it’s “okay”, since she’s keeping the childcatcher employed. *eye roll*
The Story
Summerhome is fading with rumor and plague, a plague that is cutting down the fae with the Halfs immune, and Unwinter is going to war.
The balance of power in the sidhe realms is shifting, for the land begins to suspect and wait. Even as the grudge the Unseelie King has against Jeremiah Gallow's theft must wait. For he needs Gallow's services for a very delicate mission — and the prize for success is survival itself.
To save both Robin Ragged and himself, Gallow will have to do the unspeakable…and survive the Wild Hunt.
The Characters
Robin Ragged is a Half, half-human and half-fae, with a voice that can kill. She’s also Robin Goodfellow’s daughter with some fascinating results. Pepperbuckle is the changeling Ragged changed (Roadside Magic, 2).
Jeremiah Gallow, the former half-fae, half-human Armormaster, wrested Unwinter’s horn from him, and now the Unseelie King has set his dogs on him (Roadside Magic). Daisy Snow had been his human wife until she was murdered, and Gallow found her sister. Clyde had been his foreman back on the job and Panko a fellow coworker.
Alastair Crenn, a half-fae, half-human knight who is Summer's assassin, got his looks back, and now needs to win the girl. Hah. Good luck with that. He was raised in an orphanage alongside Gallow. Marrowdowne is now his swampy refuge.
The Fae
Unwinter is…
…the Unseelie side ruled by the plagued Haarhnhe, Lord of the Hunt, the former Consort of Summer, the Lion of Danur. Unwinter’s Horn calls the Wild Hunt, the sluagh. The Steward holds Unwinter’s authority inside his Keep.
Findergast is a dwarven healer of the Red Clan of dwarves who had allied with Summer.
Summerhome is…
…where the Seelie live and are ruled by Summer, a.k.a., Eaakaanthe, slowly succumbing to plague. She had been a favored handmaiden at the First Summer’s side. Broghan the Black, a.k.a., Trollsbane, is the Armormaster and Summer’s former interest. Braghn Moran is her current favorite, stolen from Ilara Feathersalt.
Robin “Puck” Goodfellow, a.k.a., the Fatherless, is no more, but does remain Robin’s father. Morische the Cobbler had made Ragged’s shoes. The Sundering was long, long ago in the past when the fae realms split.
The Human Side
Creslough Asylum is…
…where Jimmy Kamens, Jadek Kosminski as was, is a night guard. Wendy Campbell is the head nurse on D ward, the high security, solitary level. Annie Diamotti is the swing nurse. Hugo Planck, Sybil Almand, the semifamous Kelly Ashford, Henry the Happy Wanker, Pearl the Paranoid, and Marcus the philosopher are some of the Ward D inmates.
Matt Grogan is a clerk with a fracturing voice at an ancient gas station. His brother, Bobby, is the high school football savior. Cindy Parmentier is the girl who really wants Bobby and will do anything to get him. Bill Yonkovitch is a long-haul truck driver who was lucky to meet Deirdre. Pete Crespin was wounded and now works a desk in dispatch; Sandy is his es-wife. Darcy had been the hero who died. Other dispatchers include Wendy, Christina, Jenna the Butch, Rhonda, Sarah Thornton, and Sharon. Officer Paco Melendez hates having to partner up with the bigoted Adkins. Greggs in Vice later told Melendez about Adkins and his partner Harry Krjowiscz. Henry McDowell sleeps behind the Savoigh Unlimited by a Dumpster. Chuck Tennington is a search-and-rescue volunteer. Debbie is the wife wanting a divorce; Mona is their little daughter. Georgie Rankin is another volunteer who saw too much. Jenny Markham’s momma likes her happy medicine; Topper is her dealer with perversions. Mrs. Anderson is the understanding neighbor.
The Sevens are…
…a vicious abandoned neighborhood, a wasteland, where Tomtom, who has been on the streets since he was thirteen, and his gang hold sway. The others include Juice at 14, Brat, a.k.a., Eleanor Gunderson and Samantha who will become Ell Wild, is 12, Popper is an immature 16, Pinkie, Rom, Glue Clue, and Kitten (who’d rather be Tiger). The Sevens are also fae neutral ground.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a deep blue alley at night with a trashcan fire off to the left. It’s Gallow in white wifebeater and jeans, casually leaning against a partial brick wall with cracked advertising at head height, a fitting throne for the K-NG with his dwarven-inked lance of a “sceptre” as it flames down along itself and around Gallow’s tattooed arms. The author’s name is in a glowing white at the very top while the orange stenciled title crosses Gallow’s midsection. Below are testimonials in white. Do wish she’d included the series information…
The title is Gallow, a Wasteland King in so many ways, in a disintegrating world.
My Take
This was sad, fulfilling, sad, and oh, dang, just plain sad. I need to read something upbeat after this. And I find myself hoping that Saintcrow will figure out a way to keep this going!
I loved this dark take on the fae, and I think it’s some of the best Saintcrow has written, although, Ragged’s qualms do drive me nuts.
It's a suspicious Ragged, a desperate Gallow, and a hopeful Crenn expressing their hopes and dreams…and fears through third person multiple points-of-view, and Saintcrow plays us throughout the story. There’s growth for each of them, with Ragged’s voice changing, Gallow and his epiphany, while Crenn…poor Crenn. And Saintcrow continues to pop in the odd encounter with humans with results that are sometimes good and sometimes not.
I like that bit of back history Saintcrow conjured up for Gallow and Crenn. It gave a sense of how old these two were without belaboring it. We do learn at the end what caused the Sundering, and without giving anything away, I’ll simply say that Unwinter and Summer were consistent to the end. Saintcrow did a great job of holding in those secrets and letting them out just when it had the most impact on the characters and me.
This fae world is such a contrast between what I’ve always seen as the better Seelie and the wicked Unseelie, and just the opposite of who Summer and Unwinter are. A man who holds by will while another flitters away lives. I guess it’s “okay”, since she’s keeping the childcatcher employed. *eye roll*
The Story
Summerhome is fading with rumor and plague, a plague that is cutting down the fae with the Halfs immune, and Unwinter is going to war.
The balance of power in the sidhe realms is shifting, for the land begins to suspect and wait. Even as the grudge the Unseelie King has against Jeremiah Gallow's theft must wait. For he needs Gallow's services for a very delicate mission — and the prize for success is survival itself.
To save both Robin Ragged and himself, Gallow will have to do the unspeakable…and survive the Wild Hunt.
The Characters
Robin Ragged is a Half, half-human and half-fae, with a voice that can kill. She’s also Robin Goodfellow’s daughter with some fascinating results. Pepperbuckle is the changeling Ragged changed (Roadside Magic, 2).
Jeremiah Gallow, the former half-fae, half-human Armormaster, wrested Unwinter’s horn from him, and now the Unseelie King has set his dogs on him (Roadside Magic). Daisy Snow had been his human wife until she was murdered, and Gallow found her sister. Clyde had been his foreman back on the job and Panko a fellow coworker.
Alastair Crenn, a half-fae, half-human knight who is Summer's assassin, got his looks back, and now needs to win the girl. Hah. Good luck with that. He was raised in an orphanage alongside Gallow. Marrowdowne is now his swampy refuge.
The Fae
Unwinter is…
…the Unseelie side ruled by the plagued Haarhnhe, Lord of the Hunt, the former Consort of Summer, the Lion of Danur. Unwinter’s Horn calls the Wild Hunt, the sluagh. The Steward holds Unwinter’s authority inside his Keep.
Findergast is a dwarven healer of the Red Clan of dwarves who had allied with Summer.
Summerhome is…
…where the Seelie live and are ruled by Summer, a.k.a., Eaakaanthe, slowly succumbing to plague. She had been a favored handmaiden at the First Summer’s side. Broghan the Black, a.k.a., Trollsbane, is the Armormaster and Summer’s former interest. Braghn Moran is her current favorite, stolen from Ilara Feathersalt.
Robin “Puck” Goodfellow, a.k.a., the Fatherless, is no more, but does remain Robin’s father. Morische the Cobbler had made Ragged’s shoes. The Sundering was long, long ago in the past when the fae realms split.
The Human Side
Creslough Asylum is…
…where Jimmy Kamens, Jadek Kosminski as was, is a night guard. Wendy Campbell is the head nurse on D ward, the high security, solitary level. Annie Diamotti is the swing nurse. Hugo Planck, Sybil Almand, the semifamous Kelly Ashford, Henry the Happy Wanker, Pearl the Paranoid, and Marcus the philosopher are some of the Ward D inmates.
Matt Grogan is a clerk with a fracturing voice at an ancient gas station. His brother, Bobby, is the high school football savior. Cindy Parmentier is the girl who really wants Bobby and will do anything to get him. Bill Yonkovitch is a long-haul truck driver who was lucky to meet Deirdre. Pete Crespin was wounded and now works a desk in dispatch; Sandy is his es-wife. Darcy had been the hero who died. Other dispatchers include Wendy, Christina, Jenna the Butch, Rhonda, Sarah Thornton, and Sharon. Officer Paco Melendez hates having to partner up with the bigoted Adkins. Greggs in Vice later told Melendez about Adkins and his partner Harry Krjowiscz. Henry McDowell sleeps behind the Savoigh Unlimited by a Dumpster. Chuck Tennington is a search-and-rescue volunteer. Debbie is the wife wanting a divorce; Mona is their little daughter. Georgie Rankin is another volunteer who saw too much. Jenny Markham’s momma likes her happy medicine; Topper is her dealer with perversions. Mrs. Anderson is the understanding neighbor.
The Sevens are…
…a vicious abandoned neighborhood, a wasteland, where Tomtom, who has been on the streets since he was thirteen, and his gang hold sway. The others include Juice at 14, Brat, a.k.a., Eleanor Gunderson and Samantha who will become Ell Wild, is 12, Popper is an immature 16, Pinkie, Rom, Glue Clue, and Kitten (who’d rather be Tiger). The Sevens are also fae neutral ground.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a deep blue alley at night with a trashcan fire off to the left. It’s Gallow in white wifebeater and jeans, casually leaning against a partial brick wall with cracked advertising at head height, a fitting throne for the K-NG with his dwarven-inked lance of a “sceptre” as it flames down along itself and around Gallow’s tattooed arms. The author’s name is in a glowing white at the very top while the orange stenciled title crosses Gallow’s midsection. Below are testimonials in white. Do wish she’d included the series information…
The title is Gallow, a Wasteland King in so many ways, in a disintegrating world.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
I wanted to like this series so much. I really, really did. Lilith Saintcrow is fantastic at world-building. Her settings are dark and devious, the descriptions vivid and surreal. I love the idea she was going with and know we're only scratching the tip of the iceberg in terms of the world. But... I just couldn't fall in love with the story and essentially just tolerated the characters. I didn't get why everyone thought Robin was so special, and Gallow made a colossally stupid decision that definitely screwed him in the end. The book was way too padded with endless descriptions and chapters that didn't focus on the main characters or the central plot. I had a hard time recalling what was going on until I was slammed back in the story. I loathed the ending. It didn't bring me any closure. Some of the dialogue was pretty good, though there were times were Saintcrow was too vague about their interactions and the message she wanted to get across. I like to let my imagination wander, but I need some hints so I don't miss the idea the author is going for. I couldn't visualize the action scenes very well and didn't think Robin and Gallow's lack of interaction warranted the ending they had. The one character I was mainly interested in was Unwinter, who stole the spotlight whenever he showed up. I really am sad that I couldn't enjoy these books as much as I wanted to, but hopefully they'll appeal to other readers.