the_pale_woman's reviews
481 reviews

This is easily my least favorite entry so far for a couple of different reasons. First, it really glossed over the world building of this particular setting and peoples. I felt rushed through explanations at the end. Second, it reminds me too much of that mini series, The Terror, which I did not enjoy. Mysterious and deadly ice lands are a setting I can easily say I have no interest in. 

That was quite a ride. This particular installment exhibits a notable propensity for abrupt and unpredictable shifts in narrative direction. It reminded me of the distinct sense of disorientation I experienced in the first book of the series. Just when I thought I knew the trajectory of the plot, it would abruptly deviate down some unexpected avenue. Most of the events here were unexpected, and that made it more exciting as the story progressed.

However, it's not all rainbows and sunshine. I have questions. I have theories. I'm not going to go into them, but I want to know when someone is going to create a good wiki so I can finally Google things to either dispute or verify my assessments.

One concern I have is that I have not yet had the opportunity to read all of the short stories and novellas in the series. While I did read the first one, "The Lesser Devil," I am concerned that I may be missing out on important information and context by not having read everything. While I do not particularly enjoy novellas or short stories, I understand that they may be necessary for a comprehensive understanding. I think I'm just bummed that there's so much to catch up on in formats I'm not hyped about. Beyond this hiccup, ultimately, my enjoyment of the series will depend on the quality of the final book. We will see.

I was a little surprised how comedic this was. Not that it was a comedy but it uses humor enough to balance the tense plot line. There's one moment between Horza and the AI of a shuttle craft that I especially enjoyed. I wouldn't describe this as absurd sci-fi but I think its close to the border. 

I know now that this series is a bunch of individual stories revolving around a dominant civilization in this universe, the Culture. I have a feeling this series is going to have a lot of political and cultural themes decorated with lots of wacky space adventures. Awesome. 

Bigger and better. This is exactly the entry this series needed. The multiple POVs were used to great effect here. After enjoying this chunky read, I better understood the hype for the series. 

There is one plot hole that got me all fired up. At the end of book two the knights of archyron find Calen. They fight with him and help save him. He finds out one of them is Haim, thought to be dead. Their leader is slain so at the beginning of book three they just bounce. Calen even begs Haim to stay but they all leave. Not a single knight is left to keep the line open with Calen. Then later after the knights work out their situations they're all like... "we got to find Calen. It's important that we protect him." You were right there! You were protecting him! You left like the job was done.

I liked Dayne well enough in book two to not distain the fact that his name is just a combo of two other character names in the book, Dahlen and Dann. 

I think getting his back story in this way was interesting but could these not have been interludes in Dayne's POV during book two? Yes it would have made the book a little longer but I would never complain about such a thing. Novellas are just not my jam. Why can't I just get a big series without all these littles? Though really I'm just being dramatic. Overall, I enjoyed this read. Belina most of all. 

Definitely an improvement from book one. I'm continually impressed by the scale of Cahill's ambition. The ambition to jam his story full of everything he loves in fantasy. My hope is that he keeps adding. Bring on the complexity. I can take it. 

I still think that some the characters need more work. There are a few that seem too similar to each other. In my opinion, they need something more than their plot lines to differentiate themselves from the pack. Some tick or quark. I want them to be more than men with swords. 

Traditional and ambitious. I'd recommend this to just about any fantasy reader. As long as you can like a story that pulls many of its fantasy elements from other much loved epics. Is it completely unique? No. But this is just the first book. These types of stories need time to build a world of their own. Wheel of Time was just an other Lord of the Rings before it took on its own life. 

I'm one of those readers who doesn't even read a synopsis before I dig into a book. So I was a little surprised after reading The Fall (prequel novella) to find that this is very much a traditional fantasy story. Farm boy and friends get mixed up in an adventure full of consequences. The Fall was all action where this was a lot of setup, which makes sense. 

For a first-time self pub, this feels extremely ambitious. It's a large world with many different characters, fantasy creatures, gods, and magic. Cahill has definitely put a lot of thought into the history and lore of this world. As a fantasy fan, I can't help but appreciate this. There really aren't that many large-scale fantasy epics currently being released, so it's just nice to see. 

Overall, I thought this was well done, but there are a few aspects of Cahill's writing that could improve. Specifically, I'd like to see more expansive and varied dialog. I'm exaggerating, but I started to feel like every conversation starts with...

 "Are you all right?" 

"Yeah, I'm all right. What about you?" 

"Yeah, I'm all right. What about so and so?"

After every scrap they all check in with each other too often for my tastes. Can they care about each others well-being a little less, please?

The other area that I felt could of been better, in my opinion, is that some of the characters lack a consistent and distinctive personality. I understand that finding a voice for all these characters would be a task but there so much going on with the world building that I want more complexity in the characters as well. 

I read this prequel novella before the first book, and for the most part, I would recommend others do the same. The only reason I could see to read this after book one is if you want to get a better sense of how the series feels as a whole before becoming fully invested. The Bound and the Broken as a series feels very much like a traditional fantasy. Farm boy and friends get wrangled into fighting "evil". In slight contrast, the pace of this novella is extremely quick. It doesn't slow down to explain anything. It just takes you through the events of an extremely bloody night, four hundred years before the events of book one, told in four parts, each with its own POV.

In book one, Of Blood and Fire, there is a moment when a character tells a much more simplified version of this story. That moment gives you the basic information you'll need going forward in the story, but I think that part was more enjoyable to read, knowing more of the context from this novella. That said, you won't be confused if you just jump straight into book one. You'll never feel like you missed anything.
 

Was the vibe and dialog different in this book from the first, or has it just been too long of a break for me and this story? I feel like I remember more about the convoluted plot than the character interactions, which is a strange reversal for me. The audio narration is for sure different, right? The voices done for Evar and his crew felt wrong, and I don't remember the first book sounding like that at all. Plus, the narrator gave that same voice to another set of characters, making it a bit too much and, at times, slightly confusing. As if I need that in a story with time travel.

Does this tale take place in a library? Could've fooled me with the lack of any fun book talk. If the setting of this book had been an infinite house, it wouldn't have altered the story here at all. In the first book, being introduced to the library gave the opportunity to talk about the books found in this cool setting. Take that away, and all you have is talk about shelves and paper. I can't find the magic in the components. I need the words and novel ideas expressed and shared. I think the snippets at the beginning of each chapter are great, but it's not enough to make this story the "Library Trilogy." 

My last and final gripe that I will express is the book cover. When I look at the two books of this series side by side, I see the differences, and I can get the decision. However, if I'm only looking at one, my brain tells me they are the same design in a different color. And that makes me cringe. I really liked the cover of the first book. That combined with the title and concept got me to pick up a new release. This slight copy makes the sequel feel a little cheap. Plus. You got that bird all front and center, and the stupid thing is only in the book from a far and for about a second. Makes me think that little thought went into creating this cover besides its aesthetic. 

I would hold off on reading this one until the last one comes out to good reviews. 

This was simply not on the same level as Shogun or Tai Pan. My favorite aspects of this book were the references and comparisons to characters from those previous books. That is not the best look. However, there is something about JC's writing that does grip my attention. I wasn't bored reading this, I just wasn't invested. I didn't really care about any of the characters. Plus, their ultimate fates felt unsatisfying. What would Dirk think? I plan to continue reading this series chronologically. My only hope is that the next one is a step up.