This is the third of seven books in Kate Elliott's epic fantasy series Crown of Stars. I did NOT enjoy this series and actually gave up two-thirds of the way through book five.It's funny, because in my review of book two (Prince of Dogs) I said this series was like the hybrid baby of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. I say funny because it turns out Orson Scott Card LOVES this series and has written a really positive review of it. You can read it here if you want another opinion:http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/ev...I bring this up because as much as I admire Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game (easily one of my favorite all-time sci fi books), I do not admire the man's opinions. I read the aforementioned Twilight (well, I read the first two books) because of his rapturous praise for the series and I still haven't forgiven him.That's it. I don't really have anything else to say about these books. You'll probably like them if you wished George RR Martin's series wasn't quite so complex and gritty and was just a little bit more Disney. Or if you loved Twilight.
This novel isn't all that bad, but it's still about three times as long as it should be, which encourages the easily distracted reader (see: me) to skim at great length. It's a shame, because here's so much that's promising about the worldbuilding; in the end, though, there are too many narrative strands that don't quite hold together. Also, though there are many complex women characters, several of them are reduced to near caricatures (as if Elliott is simultaneously riffing off of and buying into the madonna-whore dichotomy), and the central character, Liath, is disappointingly weak and too often lacking in agency. Anyway, at this point, I just don't have enough fondness for the characters to plod through four more very long books. I'm moving on to briefer reads.
What do You think about The Burning Stone (2000)?
I'm still loving this saga. I will take a break from it now, though. Not only because the books are looong, but also because I have a feeling I wont see any real ending until I finish the 7th book and I need the instant satisfaction of shorter books.There is nothing I can say about this book, I haven't say before. The world building Kate Elliott displays in this books is astonishing and she seems to have truly thought about how the story would unfold, in 7 books.I would only wish to see more of Theophanu.
—Sara
Dragged badly and found myself bored for much of the book with a bit of a struggle to finish. If only I could have read an abridged version that focused more on the main characters and removed all the space filling fluff. sensitive readers: (view spoiler)[This book starts out with forced sodomy/castration and continues with substantial gratuitous sexual themes of rape, coerced sex, homosexuality, and similar topics. Not overly explicit but incessant. Overkill on the religion stuff as well. IMHO, most of this do not seem to advance the storyline in any real way. (hide spoiler)]
—Cheryl
Apesar da história ser muito intrincada e rica, o ritmo lento desespera-me.Por vezes dou por mim a "desligar" o cérebro e a pensar cá com os meus botões - "Ai sim?! E depois? O que é que isto interessa?".Trata-se de um MUNDO que Kate Elliott criou. E que estou a gostar.Mas chega-se a um ponto em que este ritmo lento mata a vontade de continuar. Por enquanto continuarei a série. Mas se estivesse a ler em papel e conhecendo-me como conheço, já teria desistido.Nem o final arrasador (em que uma das minhas personagens favoritas foi traída e barbaramente assassinada) salvou este livro das 3 estrelas.
—Sandra
