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jenwesner 's review for:
A Sky Beyond the Storm
by Sabaa Tahir
Ah, the saga now comes to a close. And what a magnificent finish.
I re-read the previous 3 books in order to refresh my memory for this one and I'm glad I did. There's a lot going on here; in order to understand the complexities of the relationships you have to pay attention. I had high hopes for this book that Tahir would bring everyone full circle and indeed she did. There were losses at the end that broke my heart, but nothing that was inevitable. I always appreciate it when an author will set things up so that you love a character but not quite enough to be completely destroyed when they die. It's like they appreciate the fact that the reader can get really emotionally involved, so they take care with them.
I had few issues with this book. It was pretty epic in scope so of course you're not going to love every shred of it - and yet there were few things I disliked. I do wish we'd seen more of Keris' vitriol up close as the cities were taken. But there needed to be such a focus on Elias and Laia that I didn't really notice until the end. Keris was about as evil as evil gets, so although there's some satisfaction in the way her character is handled, I kind of wish she'd have gotten as good as she'd dished out. Then again, it would have been contrary to the spirit of the characters - don't be like your enemy and all that.
If it seemed like things took a long time to resolve, it's because they did - and it needed to be that way. The ending makes it all worthwhile. I was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing the story because I had to see it through.
The audiobook is so well done that it's just a pleasure to listen. The time flies. It's perfectly cast with Steve West as Elias, our conflicted hero. Fiona Hardingham has just the right lightness to her voice for Laia, the innocent girl who becomes a fierce warrior for her people. I also loved Hardingham's voice for the Lioness, with the roughness that came from her torture. Katherine Lee McEwan has a very straightforward "British newscaster" tone naturally, so having her voice the Blood Shrike was the perfect balance of a detached single focus and heartfelt emotions. Maxwell Caulfield's classic acting could not have suited the Nightbringer better, bringing a gravity to the character that communicated his age and power. Nicki Massoud was good as Keris, but her appearance in the story was brief. I'm not sure she was ruthless enough, but I probably say that because Fiona Hardingham (who voiced her in the earlier books) had the ability to make her so cold. Still, good choice to give Keris her own narrator to distinguish her from the other characters.
High marks to this series. If Sabaa Tahir considers it her masterpiece, I would have to agree.
I re-read the previous 3 books in order to refresh my memory for this one and I'm glad I did. There's a lot going on here; in order to understand the complexities of the relationships you have to pay attention. I had high hopes for this book that Tahir would bring everyone full circle and indeed she did. There were losses at the end that broke my heart, but nothing that was inevitable. I always appreciate it when an author will set things up so that you love a character but not quite enough to be completely destroyed when they die. It's like they appreciate the fact that the reader can get really emotionally involved, so they take care with them.
I had few issues with this book. It was pretty epic in scope so of course you're not going to love every shred of it - and yet there were few things I disliked. I do wish we'd seen more of Keris' vitriol up close as the cities were taken. But there needed to be such a focus on Elias and Laia that I didn't really notice until the end. Keris was about as evil as evil gets, so although there's some satisfaction in the way her character is handled, I kind of wish she'd have gotten as good as she'd dished out. Then again, it would have been contrary to the spirit of the characters - don't be like your enemy and all that.
If it seemed like things took a long time to resolve, it's because they did - and it needed to be that way. The ending makes it all worthwhile. I was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing the story because I had to see it through.
The audiobook is so well done that it's just a pleasure to listen. The time flies. It's perfectly cast with Steve West as Elias, our conflicted hero. Fiona Hardingham has just the right lightness to her voice for Laia, the innocent girl who becomes a fierce warrior for her people. I also loved Hardingham's voice for the Lioness, with the roughness that came from her torture. Katherine Lee McEwan has a very straightforward "British newscaster" tone naturally, so having her voice the Blood Shrike was the perfect balance of a detached single focus and heartfelt emotions. Maxwell Caulfield's classic acting could not have suited the Nightbringer better, bringing a gravity to the character that communicated his age and power. Nicki Massoud was good as Keris, but her appearance in the story was brief. I'm not sure she was ruthless enough, but I probably say that because Fiona Hardingham (who voiced her in the earlier books) had the ability to make her so cold. Still, good choice to give Keris her own narrator to distinguish her from the other characters.
High marks to this series. If Sabaa Tahir considers it her masterpiece, I would have to agree.