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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
(Same review for full series.)
These books are not great. I want to state that right off. These are not the books you hand to someone to convince them of a genre, or to challenge them (past the age of seven) or to enthrall them with Literature.
They're not great, but they're great at being what they are: A fun, cheesy romp. I sit down with a mug of cocoa and read one in an hour or two, and there's always a few scenes funny enough to read out loud to my husband, and they make me happy. I'm sure I'll read them to my kids, or encourage them to read them.
You want to plan out time to read the entire series, though. I have read the first six books once or twice before this, and if you wait too long between books, the pleasant momentum is gone. Flanagan is excellent at cliffhangers, so the books are easy to jet through, and, honestly, they read like one BIG novel. One big, cheesy novel, full of will-they-won't-they and hack-and-slash.
Lot of fun. Would recommend.
These books are not great. I want to state that right off. These are not the books you hand to someone to convince them of a genre, or to challenge them (past the age of seven) or to enthrall them with Literature.
They're not great, but they're great at being what they are: A fun, cheesy romp. I sit down with a mug of cocoa and read one in an hour or two, and there's always a few scenes funny enough to read out loud to my husband, and they make me happy. I'm sure I'll read them to my kids, or encourage them to read them.
You want to plan out time to read the entire series, though. I have read the first six books once or twice before this, and if you wait too long between books, the pleasant momentum is gone. Flanagan is excellent at cliffhangers, so the books are easy to jet through, and, honestly, they read like one BIG novel. One big, cheesy novel, full of will-they-won't-they and hack-and-slash.
Lot of fun. Would recommend.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After a couple of down books in this series for me, this book brought back the five-star goodness.
The foreshadowing in one part was more than obvious for me, but I am not exactly the intended audience.
Otherwise, loved the further character development and the story.
The foreshadowing in one part was more than obvious for me, but I am not exactly the intended audience.
Otherwise, loved the further character development and the story.
Although perhaps not quite as full of awesome as the others in the series, this one is nonetheless fully enjoyable, and I read it in two sittings.
My biggest quibble is that Alyss's jealousy of Evanlyn seems so completely out of character. Isn't she supposed to be really good at reading people and social situations? That whole sub-plot has never rung true to me.
But more importantly, all of my favorite elements were there: the father/son relationship of Horace and the Emperor, the witty banter between characters, the battle strategies. It's another adventure in this world I love.
My biggest quibble is that Alyss's jealousy of Evanlyn seems so completely out of character. Isn't she supposed to be really good at reading people and social situations? That whole sub-plot has never rung true to me.
But more importantly, all of my favorite elements were there: the father/son relationship of Horace and the Emperor, the witty banter between characters, the battle strategies. It's another adventure in this world I love.
This book started on the wrong foot for me. In Toscana, when Will and Halt watched the display of Toscan military might, they witnessed a method of training in which all soldiers lined up tightly and threw javelins simultaneously at an angle specified by a commander. Additionally, one line of soldiers was protected by a front line of soldiers with shields. They were both impressed - Will even called it "brilliant" - but did they forget that that is the EXACT same method that Will used to train his team of unskilled archers in Skandia?!? Did the author completely forget that he already used that strategy in an earlier book!?
From then on, I think I was just waiting for the book to redeem itself, and maybe I was harder on it than I might have been otherwise. I was already wary when Alyss and Evanlyn had their "incident", in which they both acted immature and petty (though I think Evanlyn was much more of a brat). Of all the many characters in this book - all of whom were, like Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way" - it bothered me that the only two to be burdened with significant flaws were the two women. And to make matters worse, they were fighting over a man! Ugh. We can't just have two strong women characters without having to entangle them in a love triangle? Yes, perhaps the author was setting the groundwork for the meaningful reconciliation at the end, however, I think he could have gotten the jealousy across without having the women behave so childishly. Or better yet, couldn't he have contrived some other reason for them to be at odds, rather than make it about a man?
Which brings me to another major complaint: throughout the book, both Alyss and Evanlyn were called "girls", both by the narrative author and by other characters in the book. Evanlyn led a world-wide expedition, and Alyss was a full-fledged Courier - by any measure, they should have been called "women", especially because Will and Horace, who were the same age as Alyss, were never called "boys".
Since I seem to be listing the negatives first, I might as well mention my disappointment at the end. When Alyss and Evanlyn go off on their mission, I thought it was great! Here, the two women would prove - once again - their bravery and worth. And yet, I thought the whole bit about the two of them killing the "Terror" in the forrest was just over the top. Surely if such a massive beast attacked Alyss with all its weight behind it, at the very least Alyss's shield arm would have been broken!
Specific grievances aside, on the whole, I still liked this book. Much more so than previous books in the series, this installment featured an ensemble of characters, and if anyone was a "main character", I think it was Horace! My favorite! So I enjoyed seeing him on his own in Nihon-Ja, and developing his relationship with Shigeru the Emperor. I liked reading about Nihon-Ja as a fictional rendition of Japan, though I have to admit, I'm not sure who the tall, long- and red-haired Hasanu were supposed to be! Perhaps they were a return to the kind of fantasy that appeared in the first couple books.
From then on, I think I was just waiting for the book to redeem itself, and maybe I was harder on it than I might have been otherwise. I was already wary when Alyss and Evanlyn had their "incident", in which they both acted immature and petty (though I think Evanlyn was much more of a brat). Of all the many characters in this book - all of whom were, like Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way" - it bothered me that the only two to be burdened with significant flaws were the two women. And to make matters worse, they were fighting over a man! Ugh. We can't just have two strong women characters without having to entangle them in a love triangle? Yes, perhaps the author was setting the groundwork for the meaningful reconciliation at the end, however, I think he could have gotten the jealousy across without having the women behave so childishly. Or better yet, couldn't he have contrived some other reason for them to be at odds, rather than make it about a man?
Which brings me to another major complaint: throughout the book, both Alyss and Evanlyn were called "girls", both by the narrative author and by other characters in the book. Evanlyn led a world-wide expedition, and Alyss was a full-fledged Courier - by any measure, they should have been called "women", especially because Will and Horace, who were the same age as Alyss, were never called "boys".
Since I seem to be listing the negatives first, I might as well mention my disappointment at the end. When Alyss and Evanlyn go off on their mission, I thought it was great! Here, the two women would prove - once again - their bravery and worth. And yet, I thought the whole bit about the two of them killing the "Terror" in the forrest was just over the top. Surely if such a massive beast attacked Alyss with all its weight behind it, at the very least Alyss's shield arm would have been broken!
Specific grievances aside, on the whole, I still liked this book. Much more so than previous books in the series, this installment featured an ensemble of characters, and if anyone was a "main character", I think it was Horace! My favorite! So I enjoyed seeing him on his own in Nihon-Ja, and developing his relationship with Shigeru the Emperor. I liked reading about Nihon-Ja as a fictional rendition of Japan, though I have to admit, I'm not sure who the tall, long- and red-haired Hasanu were supposed to be! Perhaps they were a return to the kind of fantasy that appeared in the first couple books.