Sara is one of my all time favourite authors. I will not hesitate to buy one of her new releases and I have enjoyed all of her books... and I enjoyed this one, but I found myself slightly dissatisfied with this book... This book was very plot driven. We've had two books to get to know a lot of characters, and I felt we really did get to know some of them quite well... but in this book it was nearly all action. Action, action, action. There was not many personal moments, and characters who were once prominent were now put on the complete backburner - Salome for example is not even mentioned until the last third of the book. A lot of the characters felt more 2D, than the 3D rounded characters they had been in the past. And there were characters who I now wonder what the purpose of was... Hereward for example. I was very unsatisfied with her story-arc. She HAD one. I was wondering what was going to happen between her and Isiah, why she was saved when everyone around her was killed... we got to know her, I thought she had some purpose. But then she's killed off in one sentence and that's the last we hear of her. No one cares that she's dead. No one really even notices. It felt like the author just couldn't be bothered with the character anymore so just got rid of her. I still enjoyed the book though. It wrapped everything up rather neatly, while still leaving the way open for future books (Isiah & Axis' adventures, Ravenna & her son...). It was well written, and fast paced, all in all a good Douglass book and read. Yet I still feel dissatisfied. I have been looking forward to reading the final book in this saga for some time and one thing I can say for sure about Sara Douglass is that she writes some pretty epic sagas. The 'final battle' took up most of this third book with it's intricacy and heart pounding action, much like the final book of the The Wayfarer Redemption.Throughout this trilogy, I have really appreciated the character of Ishbel - priestess, queen, but ultimately just a really brave and sensible woman. She is by far the hero of this series and the one on whom the fate of the world really rests (though it takes the guys some time to figure this out).I love Sara Douglass' imagination, her attention to detail and ability to revisit the same places and people in a totally consistent, but revitalizing way. In the tradition of epic fantasy, she has many central characters, but she manages to keep them distinct enough and introduces them so skillfully that they enrich, rather than confusing the readers.Probably better for an adult readership, this series is a solid contribution to the fantasy-saga genre and not to be missed, especially if you have enjoyed previous Douglass books set in this world.
Do You like book The Infinity Gate (2010)?
I stuck through this series because the plot was intriguing, and I wanted to know what happened to one of the many characters. Unfortunately, the writing was inconsistent to the point of being distracting to the narrative. Almost all the characters were underdeveloped, and acted "out of character" at times. The plot and ideas had so much potential, but just didn't fit in Douglass's hand. If you want a fast throw-away fantasy series, then this is good. If you don't mind your characters suddenly dying, then this is good. Otherwise, there is better epic fantasy out there.
—Ericatayloragan
I like how she brings all her different books together and a clear path for the next book in the series. It's a little hard to still see Axis in the staring role though, his character has paled and is becoming uniteresting. Even his unending conflict with the women he loves has become a bit stale. I really don't see how his character could surprise me in the next book and I find myself hoping he has a minor roll.
—candy
Really enjoyed this, the last book in the series. Fast paced and action - packed!
—Molly
