Joshua

A narrative train wreck

Revisado: 09-11-24

The author took an already overly-complicated plot, and made it even more difficult to understand through extremely poor narrative structure.

It's a terrible shame, since the first book was so good, and this one had the bones of a great story.

As a reader, I don't mind being lost and confused for a chapter or two, if it serves a legitimate purpose to the story, but when I'm forced to ask "wtf?" every few paragraphs for the entire book, it's the writer that is failing.

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Wait ... that's it?

Revisado: 09-09-24

This book leaves us hanging on several core plot threads, including the most central one. I guess you could overlook plot threads being orphaned if the character development had given us some closure, but even here we're left hanging in pretty much every case.

Look, if this were book 3 out of 4, and we were about to be treated to a proper ending, then I'd give this entry five stars. But almost every single aspect of the series feels unfinished.

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has the author ever actually met a real human being?

Revisado: 08-30-24

The original sin of the story is that the main characters do not act in any way that is recognizable as realistic human behavior.

None of the characters seem to have any deep thoughts let alone existential crises upon learning that magic and other worlds full of humans exist.

Mere moments after teleporting to a new world for the first time, and losing a friend along the way, our five college students share a giggle over some very mildly silly dialogue that they overhear.

The rest of the book might get better, but I'll never know, because there's no way I can never care about these characters now. So why keep reading?

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It's a fine book, but extremely overrated

Revisado: 05-11-24

This book held my attention for the most part, but it didn't make me laugh or cry. The characters were interesting, but I won't miss them now that the book is over. The prose were good, but not stunning.

I can see how this story would resonate with drug addicts, foster kids, or anyone from the forgotten places of America. But there was nothing in here I hadn't heard before.

It's a fine book, but for all the awards and praise, I was expecting something that hit harder, or captured more beauty and truth.

I kept waiting for the plot point or amazing turn of phase that would have me saying "oh! now I see why people are crazy about this thing." But it never came.

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Starts out okay, then gets unbearably stupid.

Revisado: 04-16-24

The unforgivable sin of this book is that the author doesn't understand even the BASIC principles of superposition, yet he's chosen to make it the central mechanic of his book.

But that's just where the stupidity begins.

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Funny, absurd, and satisfying

Revisado: 03-04-24

The story is absurd. I thought at first that it would be TOO ridiculous to get into. It certain seems like a world gone mad.

The third act pulls it all together, though. The story is still crazy, but it isn't SILLY. It has some weight.

Definitely an interesting ride.

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Engaging, but stupid

Revisado: 02-06-24

This book will suck you in, but it is loaded with characters being painfully stupid, and then we find that the entire plot is premised on one character being *unbelievably* stupid, making a mistake that no one could possibly make.

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Love Tchaikovsky, but this one was a miss for me

Revisado: 02-01-24

Children of Time was, quite possibly, the best sci-fi novel of the past 20 years, so I have high expectations for Adrian Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to them.

This book just felt too disjointed and inaccessible. Children of Time gave us a world that was very alien, but we're introduced to it slowly. We see it build logically from a single strange idea. Cage of Souls is just a stew of incompatible weirdness that we're tossed into without any satisfactory explanation of how it came to be.

Adrian, if you read this: Your imagination and world-build are extraordinary, but you're at your best when you focus on just one strange concept at a time. Let us acclimate and understand, before showing us something new. And maybe set an upper limit on just how much mind-bending stuff you throw into a single story.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Michael J. Sullivan is fantastic, as always.

Revisado: 02-01-24

This is a great conclusion to the trilogy. It inspired me to go right back and relisten to Theft of Swords.

I highly recommend reading everything that Sullivan has written regarding this fantasy universe. It's absolutely the gold standard for adventure stories: Thoroughly captivating, funny, FUN, sometimes tragic, sometimes not. It's not a safe place to visit. You never know who will get to live happily ever after, and that makes the books weighty enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Anyways, don't just buy this book. Get ALL of his Sullivan's books. Amazing, amazing stuff.

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Michael Connelly never fails to impress

Revisado: 02-01-24

I honestly cannot believe that I haven't gotten tired of the Bosch or Lincoln Lawyer series, but every time I come back, I'm totally engaged in the story. The high level of quality this deep into a series is just stunning.

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