enjoy the Runelords series very much, I must say that this installment seems more of a section in another book, There is only a single plot in this book, This is very uncharacteristic for this series, The action is tremendous and there is gore aplenty! It is very enjoyable, but greatly lacks any deep thinks that marks the previous books.
As a whole, the
series can be depressing, but I always hold out for a happy ending to match the best "chick flick.
" I am beginning to wonder "is there such a thing as a happy ending" with David Farland Definitely better than the last instalment, but perhaps that's because it's centered around my favorite character, Borenson.
Of course, in this book, he becomes Aaath Ulber, but he's alright too,
I found it interesting that once he gains endowments of wit, he regains some of his Borenson personality,
I didn't like how it ended, I know it's an ongoing series, but I'd like to have proof that the story doesn't end here, Is there another one coming out eventually Why do authors and their publishers keep torturing us like this I was hoping for things to wrap up so if the cliffhangers from the last book but we get a completely new plot line.
That being said, the plot line is really good and the characters are familiar so after the initial disappointment of things not getting resolved, I sat back and enjoyed the story.
Much better written than the last few runelord books but still lacking, I have noted repetitive storylines right the way through the series but this book moved away from that in some of its plot.
I agree with another review suggesting that bookshould have been feathered into book, Not only would that have led to a more cohesive story but editing would have cut out some of the repetition and perhaps styled the book better by removing chunks of poorly written dross.
I gave this asimply because it wasn't like reading one of the other books in the same series like the others have been.
Some original content. The world of the Runelords has been combined by magic with another parallel world to form a new one, the beginning of a process that may unify all worlds into the one true world.
This story picks up after the events of "The Wyrmling Horde" and follows two of Farland's wellknown heroes, Borenson and Myrrima, on a quest to save their devastated land and the people of the new world from certain destruction.
But the land is not the only thing that has been altered forever: in the change, Borenson has merged with a mighty and monstrous creature from the other world, Aaath Ulber.
He begins to be a different person, a berserker warrior, as well as having a huge new body because of the transformation of worlds.
Thousands have died, lands have sunk below the sea and, elsewhere, risen from it, The supernatural rulers of the world are part of a universal evil, yet play a Byzantine game of dark power politics among themselves.
And Aaath Ulber is now the most significant pawn in that game, Check out my youtube channel where I review books
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Another good addition to the series this one certainly has a middle book syndrome it was just about preparing for what is going to happen in the next novel and due to it's size it could have just been part of the next one.
The series overall is fun to read and I am enjoying it but the books seem to be shorter and shorter and for a fantasy novel I like them to be long and complex.
Other than that no big complaints, Did you wonder where Borenson and Myrrima were during the events of "Worldbinder" and "The Wyrmling Horde" Well, this book tells their story.
This whole book felt like a "Side quest", Don't get me wrong, it was an excellent book and expands the story, but it is a side quest none the less, The main plot of Fallion, Jaz, Talon, and Rhianna doesn't even happen during this book, There are references throughout to let you know how the books are connected, but it only follows Borenson and his remaining family on their journey from Landsfallen to Mystarria.
One of the best things about this book is it's return to normalcy, This book really leaned on the "Runelord" and "Endowment" magic systems, It's been so long since that was a focus of the series, and it's always welcome,
This book starts with the effects of "Worldbinder" in Landsfallen, It felt kind of like "The Snap" from Infinity War and was really done excellently, The rest of the story is essentially following Borensonnow Aaath Ulber as he goes on a journey to find and destory the Wyrmlings and get his revenge while also freeing the people.
It kind of mixes the story of the Avengers from Endgame with Hawkeye's story from the beginning of Endgame,
Sadly, this book has such a dark and depressing tone, The first three books, particularly Wizardborn, which has similar plots/events to this one, occasionally had sad moments, but were almost entirely enfused with hope, especially the end of the book.
This books ending, while similar to Wizardborn's, is just too depressing, I need to know what happens, but I hope that this is the darkest the series gets,
This book finally explores the repercussions of Borenson's mistakes and he tries to either rectify or ignore them, Farland does explore many deep themes, such as redemption, forgiveness, consequences of choices, and moral questions surrounding war, Some of the answers I agree with, some of them I don't, But Farland does explore them in this short book, which I really appreciate,
This book wouldn't be as frustrating if the final book was out, Unfortunately, since Farland hasn't finished it, this book serves as our currently final book and leaves the audience not only on a cliffhanger with this Bplot but also on a cliffhanger with the Aplot from the other books.
This will all be fixed if/when Farland finishes A Tale of Tales,
If I can add some more praise, the action in this book and the pacing was fantastic, I think that Farland learned from his earlier books and has nailed pacing again,
Overall, I certainly enjoyed this book, and as a book itself it is very good, However, as a part of the series, it is frustrating reading a "side quest" and as such creates a sense of frustration that maybe the book doesn't rightly deserve because of its amazing plot, action, pacing, and themes.
Still, I enjoyed it and cannot wait for the final book, But for now,.out of!
Your fans are here David Farland, and we are waiting, We cannot wait to see what you have in store, I just wasn't ready for all the heartbreak, Fantastic book and I'm praying the final book David wrote wraps everything up because there is quite a bit to cover, Love this series! Overall I was very disappointed in this book, A slow moving read, that leaves you wishing you'd started a different series, This book felt like it could have been two or three long chapters in a great book as opposed to the entire piece of a mediocre novel.
I gave this bookbecause I do enjoy the concept of the entire series, and the characters, while flat in this book are exciting throughout the entire series.
. . I guess in the end I gave the bookin part because of the author's past performance, I'd only read this if your a dedicated fan of the series, . . Me I'm just hoping that the author picks it up in the coming books and regains some of the glory that grabbed me early on.
Possible Spoiler
I definitely enjoy the Runelords series, it is a different kind of fantasy to be sure, I do find myself often questioning whether or not this series will have any kind of pleasant conclusion, Things just have never seem to get better, its like the protagonists take two steps forward and they kill their dog, None of our heros will be able to enjoy anything they save, which makes these books a bit depressing, Still, I will read through, Good Story. I've never read anything by David before, but on a whim, I thought I'd give it a chance, I should have read the books before this one in this series, but he does such a good job at writing, that I didn't feel lost at all.
I plan on trying some of his other books in the future,
I'd rate it a strong PGfor Violence, I could have given that a R, but felt that the tone of the rest of the book didn't deserve it, Sexual content was PGbecause while nothing was explained, it was surely hinted at, Language was decent.
All in all, I really enjoyed it, I was excited to hear that this book would star my favorite warrior, Borenson and his wife, It was great seeing him enjoy the retired life, He was content and finally at peace, Then that crappy world collided with ours and he merged with a "true human", turning him into a monster,
He became the warrior of old and so much more, My problem was when the two merged, I had hoped that Borenson would remain dominant, Nope, not so much as a whimper, One positive is this guy reminds me of Wolverine in beserker mode, If you love Wolverine, this new character is for you,
I'll continue reading the series for two reasons:, my friend recommended it to me and, it has many elements that I like, I'll stick through it. It's just not my favorite series,
You decide. It's not great when you have to keep pushing yourself to finish something, is it
This was the last in a series the final ninth book is unfinished, the author died a little over a year ago in an accident.
I can't help but wonder about the giant story he would have had to write for the ninth one,
I took this man's writing courses without having read him, He had well over a dozen books under his name, had taught the likes of Brandon Sanderson and Stephanie Meyer, and was really super approachable.
I read this as a way to grieve a person I never met other than a few email exchanges over my homework, which were always constructive and kind.
I wish the story was as great as the guy who taught me, This is written from a distant third, The character arcs are tiny, almost nonexistent, The world building is immense and in depth, The magic system would work well in a video game,
But if it weren't for the homage I was doing reading these, I would have quit at book one or two.
Like James Cameron's Avatar, world building just isn't enough to keep me coming back,
But hey, if you're a writer, his courses are still available online in a big bundle, I highly recommend them, no matter what genre you write, Some of his rules are no longer used, like the old manuscript format, but he was pretty good at what he did,
Here's hoping that last book gets written, I'll even pick up a copy when it comes out,
Here's to you, Dave, I almost rated down for the ending of this one, It was altogether too hooklike, This book made me realize that Sir Borrenson is basically the main character of the entire series, While reading this I felt pained at the fact that after the binding of the worlds his own family began to distance themselves from him.
In the previous book his daughter Talon had the same effects cast upon her, While she was accepted and welcomed by her companions Fillion,Jax,and Kirissa while her father was considered to have become a monster by his own wife and children.
It made me sad to read about one of my favorite characters being disowned by his family, I honestly don't know what to think, On the one hand, I'm expecting a blowout bash and an end to the whole series because, let's face, nothing else has come out since.
Instead, I come to realize that the only real main character in the series is Borenson,
Yeah, the guy who lost his walnuts, Got stripped of all his powers, Repeatedly. The one who fell for a glamour, the one who got distanced from his family, the one who was repeatedly shat upon throughout the series.
Don't get me wrong, If the story, or rather, ALL the stories are about him, rather than him just being a solid but minor thread of plot throughout the series, then he gets one hell of a sendoff.
Sort of.
Or rather scratch that. This is no end to any book, It's fine as an average fantasy title as long as I don't prop it up against the ongoing story of the new nightmare presented in the last four books.
But as an end to the full nightmare besetting humanity and all the multiple worlds THERE IS NO END,
Maybe there's a slight, hasty writeoff, A halfhearted nod that makes us think that this whole series is not what we think it is, . . or what it should have been,
But let's face it: the fourth book gave us the full payoff in action and heroic action and enemies dying, A small fraction of what is needed, assuming that was the author's goal, occurs in this one,
Borenson goes wild, Great. Fun, even. But the end is not so much a plot hole as a plot chasm,
What do I think would fix this
No less than two more books, at least one Hail Mary, and at least two requisite Deus Ex Machinas.
At the very least, I expected a real payoff in the form of the complete and utter defeat of the enemy, not just a northern subsidiary.
Hmmm. grumble grumble I was invested enough to read the whole thing, It's not like I didn't have fun, sigh.