
This is a great beginning to the series - I am ready for book two, which of course is not out yet - there is a definite ending with a definite opening for the next story - I don't like to give away important points, so I will say that this fulfills the Young Adult part with the boy and girl teenager from our world going into a new and interesting world where things have enough familiarization that ours main characters are not completely lost, but enough changes that they are learning everything as they go along, which teaches us, the reader, everything that we need to know about this fantastic world, it's main evil, and the people that live here - so far so good, and keep it up.
I enjoyed the series as a whole - there were twists and turns and I liked that - and things were wrapped up completely and I am not left with anything unanswered - this was the final battle and the results of everything within the series and I feel that things came full circle quite well - without spoiling, there is a scene near the end of the book that calls back directly to the beginning of the series - though intentional (I'm Sure) I wonder if Jim Butcher knew how symbolic it would be when it happened in book one, or if he made it so six years later - either way it worked well, and was a completely cool way to end the battle - the epilogue was unneeded, but I know that there are people that want the final resolutions that are not within the general chapters of the story - but, as a whole, this was a fun and interesting journey that has come to a close - I wonder if there will be a second series later in the timeline or if this is it for Alera - but well done, and highly recommended for High Fantasy lovers.
I enjoyed this novel very much.
Though it is set in the world of the Riftwar cycle, this has little to nothing to do with the first trilogy, beyond mere mention.
However, this is still a well written and executed story, with politics in the forefront of a very pseudo-Asian setting. There is action and fighting mixed with even more intrigue and political games with a gain for one family over another on the horizon. This is not my type of fantasy novel usually, but the partnership of Janny Wurtz and Raymond Feist have made this an enjoyable first book to say the least.
This is just as good as the promises made of it - I would say that my biggest complaint for this novel is that it is told from first-person, which I am not a fan of - that is only a preference - and, of course, the movie in no way does justice to this novelization either - there are a great many details within these pages that never see the screen, and the changes made for the film did not better the book, so one hundred percent, this is a must read - because of the first person point of view and the inclusion of so much narrative and descriptive and not much dialog or action (in comparison) plus the addition of romance (not my usual fare) I give this a 4 out of 5 - but look forward to reading the rest of the series - well done, Ms Collins, well done.
This is an enjoyable read. First warning though; this is some serious gun-porn for those who are unfamiliar with Larry Correia. This is not to say it is not enjoyable, but if you are not a gun fan, then you will probably think it is too much. If you ARE a gun fan, then you will probably feel it is not enough.
This novel follows the exploits of two characters that spend their time on opposing sides of a multi-faceted conflict. The story and pacing are great and the military aspects are right on, from a pair of experienced writers.
My only complaint of this novel is that the novel is told from first person, from both characters. Now, each section is labeled as VALENTINE or LORENZO, so you know who the point of veiw is, but in the beginning when you are learning the characters and the world, it is hard to get behind one character when they both say "I did this" and you have to remember which "I" it is.
But, it was still enjoyable and well written.
Not really my thing - I am not a huge fan of the 80's and 90's style writings, character naming, and plot cycle - this is okay for those who enjoy the classic style of storing telling, as the story itself was not bad, but the chain of events were thrown together to make sure that character A met character B by this chapter when they were a half world apart 2 chapters prior - MAGIC - always a good way to cross the map quickly, right - yeah, so not so much for me - also, when someone is good at what they do to the point that they are the best and hired to do something - they shouldn't fail at doing it REPEATEDLY - it makes the reader wonder, if he is a great assassin, what did he kill before this book started - baby bunnies?
This does not do it for me.
It has on the surface what I would Love - the American Civil War retold in a fantasy setting.
The problem that I have with this book is that it is a civil war story and it is told - there is a ton of politics (because, guys, there was) - and a ton of military strategy (yeah, that too) - but there is not too much to keep me going.
Replace the Calvary with Unicorn riding military (very cool) replace trains with magic carpet 'slipstreams' kind of, weird, - and replace guns with crossbows.
The sad part is, that there is not anything to taste in this large meal - because it is an allegory and a retelling of sorts, there is nothing to be excited about, there are no characters to like, and a few characters to hate.
In watching North and South, it is a very dramatic movie with war thrown in and also romance. This is like that with less actual fighting (the war is more of a backdrop than front and center) and thank god there is not a romance angle.
Point being, this is more of a Fantasy History book, and not a Fantasy novel with action that I had hoped for.
3 stars because I love the concept, and the mixture of time-periods, but I did not love this story and will not continue this series. Maybe another in the Turtledove line.
This was a middle of the road book for me. The things that I enjoyed were the weird west elements to the tale, and the premise behind the novel.
Some of the writing was brash and vulgar, but I expect that a bit in westerns, and this is no diffeent.
What I did not like was the huge cast of characters with no development, the jumps between present and past within paragraphs, and no resolution to the ending. The tale ends and I was left wanting to know what happened, but not in a good way. In the, 'this-book-feels-incomplete" way.
All in all, I may continue the series, but this should have been condensed into one novel and not three seperate parts to one mega-novel. A trilogy is seperate stories with commonalities, not one tale split into three parts.
I enjoy good steampunk stories, and this is a good adventure. I read this in 2 days with 2 sittings, and it is a fun and quick romp. I do not have anything bad to say outside of the cover of the book. The blurb on the front mentions Dirigibles, but none are in this book, though they exist within the series, which is what I believe that the blurb refers to, and not this novel.
Also, the main character has two issues which I will not say to spoil the book, but once you read, the cover does not exactly 'fit' the main character.
Not the authors fault, so all in all this is a great read and fun for all. No grim dark here. This is steampunk at its finest.
This was exactly what the doctor ordered - plenty of the things that make the genre of Steampunk without so much British voices in the writing - this had humor and wit without being overly drive or obtuse - Zombie's (which, is not my number one thing right now - too many) but it is okay because it is not in the forefront and it has a purpose being, 'Hey, look, Zombies!' - the gadgetry and the characters was fun and enjoyable as well - extremely enjoyable read for me.