Marija
This novel has entirely original characters. It is refreshing to see new cast of characters who have nothing to do with the characters in The Vampire Chronicles. Vittorio is an interesting character who is both fascinated by the vampires and repulsed by them.
However, the mussing about religion and belief felt a little bit too long and repetitive, and could have been shortened. The addition of certain group of characters felt hardly necessary. Almost all of the secondary characters felt flat. This applies to Ursula who even, also, being a main character hardly has any personality or agency.
Pandora is a fascinating, complex figure in Rice's world of vampires. Although she has been criminally underdeveloped, she has the promise of a truly interesting backstory. Although her character is more expanded here, for the most part of the story it still feels that she is still acting as little more than secondary character for the complex backgrounds and characters of the men in this series.
Pandora's affiliation with the temple of Isis is an interesting element, however it feels underdelevoped and slightly boring. It is fascinating how the legend of Isis ties in with Akasha and Enkil.
The worst part is that through it all, Pandora still feels underdeveloped. She's intelligent, beautiful, and spirited, but really, that's about it. Her innerworkings come across as simple, especially when compared to others in the series. That being said, the portion of the book that takes place in Antioch paints a wonderfully fascinating picture of that ancient place, and her interactions with Flavius, an Athenian slave who has a beautiful, gentle relationship with her, is one of the highlights of the book.
“If I am an angel, paint me with black wings.”
Armand is in a constant sense of insecurity. For him self-sacrifice and suffering are the only way to achieve something, either action or response from someone, the torture towards others are the demonstrations of the tortures done to him, he obtains pleasure in the moral and physical torments, more towards himself than to others. His suffering makes him proud.
The emptiness he often feels when he appears to lose all (His mortal world, Marius, The Coven, Louis, Daniel) is just an unstable self-image and that is why every single time this character appears in the Vampire Chronicles, he is different. Every character that describes him in past books has a different approach to him. Everyone sees a different shade of him because he changes with every change in environment and interaction. Even in this book, his autobiography, he is never the same in his real convictions. Defiant pious little Andrei in the Monastery of the Caves, sexual and curious pleasure and pain/love and hate seeker Amadeo in Venice, self-tortured, externally violent and numb Armand in the Paris' Coven, and utterly lost-and-found Armand in the centuries to come.
This book may not be strong in plot development for it only is a slight expansion of the stories told in several books past, however, Armand is a curious and compelling character, who is utterly lovable in essence.
This book is a chore to finish. The whole book is simply theological musings with no plot in sight. This book has almost nothing to do with vampires and has no interesting characters or relationships like previous books in the series. Dora is a very strange (not in a good way) character, and her characterization seems lacking and hardly makes sense.
The most interesting “plot” happens right at the end of the book. However, that is just a few pages, and the book is done after that.
This book seems to center more on introspections than in the actual plot. The storyline consists of pondering and meditating that the characters do. It is interesting to see more “human” side of the characters, yet it is not as captuvating as the other parts of the series. This book is definitely more philosophical than emotional. There is less action and more talking and thinking, thus lowering somewhat the entertaining factor.
“Come on, say it again. I'm a perfect devil. Tell me how bad I am. It makes me feel so good!”
The Queen of the Damned is a more detailed account of the first vampires and their creation. This book immerses the reader into the myths and legends of the ancient Egypt.
In this book, unlike the previous ones in this series, there are several narrators all with very interesting POVs who each tell their own part of the story until the plot lines converge. Varied POVs help with the flow of the story and setting the pace. It is enjoyable to get such a well-rounded view of events. Multiple POVs also help to know some of the characters (new and old) better and show more varied look of the from different perspectives.
All the relationships are so complex too. It is interesting to see the connections and relationships all the vampires share.
However, some of the vampires, especially the younger ones, felt underutilized. The ending, also, happens quite abruptly.
“And after all, I had never been very good at obeying rules.”
The Vampire Lestat's story goes throughout the centuries, as Lestat meets other vampires who tell their tales. This book takes back to Ancient Egyptian times, to classical Rome, to pagan Europe, to the times of the French Revolution and back up to the present time. It follows Lestat's journey to find the truth. The truth that Louis was always searching for, but never found.
The entire story is fascinating and spans centuries as Lestat grows from a fledgling, angry and lonely vampire into carefree one he is upon setting foot on a San Francisco stage to perform his first rock concert in front of thousands of screaming fans.
Lestat is the tragic hero; he gets a chance to tell his own story, and it shows that he has suffered even more than Louis and that he is not a villain. It is explained why Lestat is the way he is and why he does the things he does which is genuinely interesting. This book tells how different Lestat is from what is depicted in Interview with the Vampire, from what is shown through Louis's eyes. The glimpses of Lestat told in Interview with the Vampire, of his relationship with his father, of the way he acts, of his charm that Louis finds both attractive and repulsive, of his love of bright artificial light and his desire to live luxuriously, of his friendship with a young musician, of his doting upon Claudia and showering her with gifts, of his fear to lose Louis, of him emotionally distraught and pleading with Louis to come back to him in Paris, for which the reasons are shown only in this book, and finally of the frail, broken, and pitiful shadow of a man he has become by the end of Louis's story, where Louis finds him again in New Orleans. All these things are hints at the depth and complexity of the character of Lestat.
More is shown some of the characters that were met in Interview with the Vampire, giving depth, backstories and reasons to them and their actions.
In The Vampire Lestat, finally the entire picture is shown, and the masterpiece of a character of Lestat is fully laid bare. The depth and the multi-dimensionality, and the humanity of Lestat. It is impossible to not like Lestat even more after seeing how completely misunderstood he is and learn the story of the pain and sorrow he kept hidden in his heart, hidden underneath that charming facade that Louis encountered on his plantation in 1791.
—
“This is the only sun that you will ever see again. But a millennium of nights will be yours to see light as no mortal has ever seen it, to snatch from the distant stars as if you were Prometheus an endless illumination by which to understand all things.”
This was pure gothic-vampire horror but presented in a way the characters all had human emotions and interpersonal problems. The imagery used throughout the entire story is very descriptive and detailed. The tone of the story is dark, creepy, gothic and sensual.
This is a book about the kind of vampires who slowly erode over the centuries, whose humanity gently withers and dies, whose good intentions gradually give way to the monster inside. It's a story about the battle with hunger, and how on a long enough timeline, the hunger always wins.
It's a book about immortality. Scouring off the glimmering sheen that lies in the ideal of living forever, and exploring the crushing reality of a life unending. Watching everything you knew, the world in which you grew up, washed away one decade at a time. Watching all the things you knew and love wither and fade, while you remain, changeless and deathless, with only the monster inside you for company. It takes the romance of vampirism, an ideal that so many people are in love with, and strips it back to the ugly, parasitic truth.
Anne Rice's writing flows gently across the page, establishing each scene and how it feels. The melancholy, violence, anger, and other intense emotions that play across the book's pages are all displayed beautifully.
How can something start so strong and just go so low as it continues?
The world-building is interesting, the plot in theory also sounds interesting. The beginning is very strong, however the second half of the book could have used some extra work.
The most prevailing problem is the writing. There are a lot of very, very long sentences that could have easily broken up into smaller, shorter ones. Moreso, there are quite a bit of obvious extrapolations and expositions that add nothing to the scenes.
The time skip feels like the biggest mistake, as it did change the characters only superficially, without having any justifiable reasoning for those changes. The changes can be summed up as brainwashing or trauma. Also, one of the characters has a tense, even hostile, relationship with the main character before the time skip where afterwards they are suddenly best friends, with no explanation.
Overall, interesting idea of a story but very, very poor execution.
The Harbinger of Justice has a fast-moving plot but still takes time to develop the characters without derailing the pacing. The setting of the world being a desert is very interesting and refreshing (day-night cycle in the desert). The world-building in this book is absolutely phenomenal. The shadow magic system is creepy and intriguing.
The characters are truly fascinating. They are deep, intriguing, and have their own lives. They feel very fleshed out, even side characters. Rai and Fax's duet works very well. They can be serious one moment and funny a moment later, especially Fax. Though, some characters could have been utilized more and better, for example Kyan.
The only part that felt a little out of place was the plot in the library. It does not feel like it added a more to the plot, especially that a few chapters later (being a climax of the story) a very similar plotline happens again.
The story is intriguing, and for now, this book really helps to set up the world for the next adventures.
Overall, Harbinger of Justice is a must-read. The writing style is very accessible, and the pacing is good. The book is a page-turner that will keep you engaged from beginning to end.
The premise of this book sounds very intriguing and compelling. However, the execution of this book could have been better. The world is rich and complex, but most of it is left unshown, it needed more exposition. The information comes in clumps here and there, making it feel like the reader is continually behind on everything, and that would be fine, if the reader learnt that information with the characters, however, that is not the case. Moreover, there are some plot-holes that really do not make any sense, for example, gods are supposed to regain their powers after Agon, yet, they use them all the time DURING the Agon. And then these all-powerful gods are supposedly to so easily be killed by humans. Additionally, if the gods themselves hate each other so much and it is established that being killed by other god is permanent, why even involve humans? Gods could just kill each other and be done with all this, without having to do Agon for thousands of years. Why it takes them until now to understand that they can kill each other? It just makes no sense.
The characters are entirely unmemorable and the romance(s) are boring and mostly told rather than shown. Only one or two characters have very little growth and the rest, unfortunately, has none. The relationship between Lore and Castor is based almost entirely on their prior friendship as children, and so even though some of that friendship is shown, there's almost no connection to their adult interactions now so it reads like instant love coming out of nowhere. It is very hard to be invested in or really care about because there is no development in real time. A friendship with Iro is intriguing and could have had a lot of potential, but is barely covered.
For the whole book there is a mystery surrounding how Castor got his powers. It is revealed only at the very end, when it does not even matter anymore. Additionally, it is revealed in possibly the worst way – a dream.
Aside from two of the gods are also underused, others are mostly left in the background and hardly play any significant role, if any at all. The “villains / bad guys” are all one-dimensioned, being evil for evil's sake, no motivation, nothing. The “last villain” has been redeemed with no explanation, even if it is the whole reason Lore returned to Agon again.
No plot. No discernible story-line. No idea what the end-game was. No big surprises. No huge plot-twists that the reader could not see coming.
Even knowing how the novella's story ends (as it is a prequel to the first book), that somehow does not lower the stakes or tension in the slightest. It is high throughout the whole novella.
This story almost feels like a horror/fantasy mash-up because of how well the coldness and eeriness of Valacia's atmosphere is captured. The creeping sense of dread permeates every aspect of the story.
The characters are allowed to be so painfully flawed and human, and because of this the story only becomes more emotionally engaging.
The characters were amazing, interesting. Some felt a little bit weird, Belina started being quite annoying as the book went on. However, other characters, like Rist, were improved upon greatly and became real highlights. Some characters, like Arden, probably would have benefitted from a little bit more character development, as he, after a whole book and quite a lot of appearances, still felt a bit flat.
Valtara's and Dayne's arc is one of the more interesting plotlines, however, it feel slightly disconnected from overall plot.
It is also, very interesting to finally see motivations of the “bad guys,” and it would really be interesting to see more of their perspectives.
However, it feels like this book was a bit too long for its own good. The ending did feel underwhelming. Yet, at times it felt like this book just dragged on too much and would never end. It probably would have been better to slip this book into two volumes, especially as around half way through the book, the story has already hit a huge climax.
This novella is very different from previous works since it follows only one perspective, that of Dayne's. Dayne was introduced in Of Darkness and Light as a prominent character and this novella adds depth and fleshes out Dayne. The Exile is a book packed with action from start to finish and wonderful character developments.
However, it feels like the backstory of such an important character should have been explored more in the main series and maybe expanded in the novella.
Nonetheless, The Exile is an engrossing tale about vengeance, familiar love and persistence.
This books unfolds the world of Epheria even more. There are new additional POVs, plotlines and locations. New POVs help establish characters and the world better, expanding and providing new information about the world. It feels like page by page the reader learns something new about the world and magic.
Even though Of Darkness and Light has a big cast of side characters, primarily focus is on the main characters, making the story easier to follow. However, providing less characterization and depth to the side characters, makes being with them less impactful.
The pacing of the book is well-balanced, the quiet moments are entwined with fast-paced action sequences, which were excellently wriiten and extremely visual. However, sometimes the tone made some weird and sudden switches from moody to joking and laughing that felt very abrupt.
Overall the book is enjoyable and fun.
This book is a great, engaging read with really interesting world building and a great cast of characters. The opening is fantastic, building the tone and atmosphere of the world as well as introducing the characters it in an entertaining way, laying down some mysteries and questions along the way. Even the more minor characters, such as Ella and Rist, are well fleshed out and have depth.
The world-building is excellent. Epheria is a land full of different races and cities, and a history going back centuries. This series also has a magic system, which I am looking forward to learning more about.
The biggest draw to Bookshops & Bonedust is the opportunity to settle in with the delightfully mundane aspects of running a business that was so prominent in the first book.
However, it feels like there was less focus on the business as there was in Lattes & Legends. The book tries to bring in too many other elements and sort of forgets what made this type of story special in the first place. It would have been entertaining to see more of book organizing, quirky customer service, sales and turning the store around, of which there were only glimpses.
It is interesting to see how a mercenary orc would even consider becoming a coffee shop owner later. The other characters are very likeable and entertaining.
Overall it was a great enrichment to the saga as a whole, even if it does not land quite the same way.
I think this book does exactly what it is meant to do, and that is to drag readers right back into the world of Alagaësia.
Murtagh was always one of my favourite characters in the original Inheritance Cycle and his was one of the stories I desperately wanted more of. To have this wish finally come true is honestly incredible and I was smitten by the deep dive into Murtagh's mind right from the opening page.
What makes Murtagh such an interesting and moving character to me is how completely and utterly broken he is. He's a character who has had one of the most difficult lots in life and he's forced to deal with the fallout of being enslaved to Galbatorix and all of the horrible deeds he was forced to carry out. This has broken him down even further into a bitter, lonely man which is so heartbreaking to read. His one saving grace is his dragon, Thorn, who I was equally happy to see more of. The trauma that these two have to endure and try to overcome through this book is absolutely heartbreaking and it had me so devastated reading of the horrors that have them struggling to find their ways.
There is something so unbelievably powerful about owning up to your actions, even those who shame you, those you regret, those you can blame on others, growing and learning from them, moving forward, and refusing to let yourself be caged in the confines of how others understand you to be.
It was both everything I've always wanted, and get so brutally hard to read about Murtagh and Thorn's time enslaved to Galbatorix. They were so abused by the King and it messed with them both physically and mentally, and scars both visible and not are forcefully on display throughout this book. Every second that one or both of them were brought down by their mental injuries just broke my heart, and it happens frequently and painfully. Murtagh's inner turmoil over feeling he is a bad person for all the bad deeds he was forced into shows how incredibly broken he is from his time enslaved and it's so tough to read about his self-loathing for something he literally had no control over. And even harder is the fact that everyone who knows of his horrid deeds blames him just as much and condemns him for the horrors he partook in, which made me so sad for both Murtagh and Thorn considering they were quite literally incapable of not following Galbatorix's orders. Suffice it to say it could be a very emotional read at times. And not just in the memories of the past. The present had its moments too, so basically I was an emotional wreck constantly.
But through all that is the bond between Murtagh and Thorn which is so pure despite everything the two have endured. It's the most meaningful and beautiful part of this book and I couldn't get enough of it. Even through the tough, heartbreaking moments they are forced to endure in the present in this book, their bond shines through all. There were multiple moments between them that just knocked the breath out of me with feeling, particularly a moment at the end that had me more than a little teary.
Moreso, those few and in between moments of little happiness that both - Murtagh and Thorn - are able to experience with each other are so beautiful and so long in the waiting for them. I just want these two to live a easy and cosy life together without them having to look back all the time.
A fast, action filled novella that efficiently establishes why the four POV characters are involved in this event. Alvira, Kallinvar, Coren, and Eltoar - all four of them have different reason and motivation to participate in the war.
I was able to feel invested in this relatively short stories about justice, loyalty, and freedom.
Magic system is also very intriguing and I cannot wait to learn more about it.
There might be many conjectures and speculations related to the connections made between the game and the mythology, but there is a given reason for each and every topic addressed. Admittedly, some of the parallels seem a little bit thin.
Also, some of the same information is repeated quite a lot of times in the book and that just feels redundant.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting book for all Final Fantasy fans.
The plot, much like Kingdom of Copper was pretty slow, but there were lots of really good character moments. However, it did not feel like a drag building up to the climax. Many of the ‘plot twists' were shocking to the characters, but they do not leave much on an effect on the reader, largely because of Dara's POV where the author showed all the bad stuff already, so nothing tragic came as a surprise.
Yet still, three books in and I still do not understand why Nahids are seen as such a goody-two-shoes and perfect leaders, when pretty much all backstory and the current rule just always proves otherwise. In some ways even Ghassan's rule does not seem as bad as Nahids.
It was interesting to finally see other parts of the world and not just Daevabad and meet new characters and expand on some of the old ones.