This book from the original Sevenwaters trilogy has stayed with me for over a decade and thousands of other books.
The depth of the story and the way This book from the original Sevenwaters trilogy has stayed with me for over a decade and thousands of other books.
The depth of the story and the way it is woven into the historical situations of the time and the beliefs as they were shifting and warring with one another.
The way that friendship and respect turn to love and companionship both in a friend and romantic sense.
The tempers people throw when they don't get their way and the lives they are willing to destroy for it.
Just such a beautiful tale, maybe even more so now that I am reading it at 40 instead of in my 20s.
As with any hard science fiction novel, the pacing is not always the fastest.
But if you are at all interested inThis covers a LOT of topics in Sci-Fi.
As with any hard science fiction novel, the pacing is not always the fastest.
But if you are at all interested in the science and environment of Mars, this one delves deep.
The style goes through the narrative voices of different residents of Mars as they go through their different professions, political views, and relationships.
As a lover of weird maps, I thought the topography section was somewhat fascinating, but it did still read a bit like a science textbook.
Overall, highly interesting, and the time and research that went into this was immense.
My heart is so heavy. We always knew a certain death was coming... but it was always going to be too soon.
My eyes were full so many times; sometimes, My heart is so heavy. We always knew a certain death was coming... but it was always going to be too soon.
My eyes were full so many times; sometimes, some of that would trickle out, and sometimes, a sob would force its way out.
So much about humanity, parenting, friendship, emotions, and community.
Quotes... All of the quotes, here are some I had the forethought to write down "You can never fool dogs. They know all that’s best in you.�
"Disappointment with our children is always just Disappointment with ourselves"
“No one tells you before you procreate that the hardest thing about being a good parent is that you never feel like one.�
“That’s the lot of being a parent: at first all activities are done for their sake, and in the end for ours. Eventually, we realize that everything is about us wanting to be wherever they are, as much as possible, for as long as they let us.�
Every book makes me love Bobo more Is this going too fast for you? Everything has airways gone too fast for me, I'm not very quick.
“If we get divorced, I hope we don’t part as friends. I hate it when people say that. If we get divorced as friends, that means we don’t love each other enough to be able to hurt each other anymore. So if you love me, really love me, you need to love me so much that it drives you mad.� He will never stop.�
Fredrick Backman, to have gotten to luck out on a signed edition when I couldn't meet you on this signing tour at least felt a bit better. You have impacted my life so much in this trilogy. I will never be the same. You are a literary gift to the world.
A fitting end to the original trilogy. It was my second favorite of the series, with Book 2 being the best so far.
The main thing missing from this wasA fitting end to the original trilogy. It was my second favorite of the series, with Book 2 being the best so far.
The main thing missing from this was any depth to the relationships other than Tobias and Avery. I did love more on the brothers and the Wallace family.
The mysteries in this one were good, and the puzzles were fun.
I liked the game in the bag, but I didn't love the end result of the inheritance. It worked out fine.
I do look forward to a book based on the brothers, though, so I will definitely be reading that.
The prevailing emotion of this closure to the trilogy was underwhelming. The first two books were very unique and thrilling, and I was left wanting moThe prevailing emotion of this closure to the trilogy was underwhelming. The first two books were very unique and thrilling, and I was left wanting more at every turn.
This is still a good book and worth the read, but it changed the entire tone of the trilogy in a way that didn't work for me as a reader.
I love Ravi the most; he deserved better treatment than he received, even if I understand its reasoning. There's always more than one way to do something.
The podcast and interviews that made the first two books stand out were few and far between. I guess I didn't fully understand why a formula that worked so well for the first two novels was disregarded so much in this one.
I DID love the tie between all three books, even if it felt a bit far-fetched and forced.
Ultimately, it was like, but far from love. Solid 3 Stars. But I will check out any future Holly Jackson works....more
Here I was thinking that Black Leopard, Red Wolf was phenomenal and then BAM! Marlon James drops Moon Witch, Spider King on us and it is even BETTER!!Here I was thinking that Black Leopard, Red Wolf was phenomenal and then BAM! Marlon James drops Moon Witch, Spider King on us and it is even BETTER!!!!
**EXPERIENCE THIS ONE IN AUDIO** Bahni Turpin brings Sogolon to life
African culture, folklore, beliefs, personalities, and especially language are some of the many things that make this trilogy special.
These books are NOT for the faint of heart! The writing is confrontational, aggressive, abrasive, intense, and full of dark candor. And I was loving every second of it! Marlon James is an author that reminds me of the way that I am pushed and pulled and prodded into my own psyche to THINK and to SPECULATE and to just freaking experience cruel and still beautiful aspects of life. I find this similar to the way that I am forced to feel things and think about them from a Joe Hill or a Chuck Palahniuk book. He challenges me as both a reader and a human. This is a TRUE gift! Albeit a gift that not everyone wants to receive or can handle, but a gift all the same.
Having a female character (Sogolon) as the main narrative POV as opposed to Tracker lent a tiny bit more softness to the story. I LOVE how things are coming together. It was awesome to get to see how events have led up to this point from the two vastly different POVs and motivations. I am seeing the big picture of this trilogy. Questions I had in the first novel have been given answers and leading information of how things could potentially continue into the third and final book of this Dark Star Trilogy.
The lion pride was both lovely and heartbreaking. I thought this entire section was masterfully written.
There were again SO many amazing quotes that made me laugh and that I would share. Some that I had a chance to take note of are: "This boy looks like his clothes commit wickedness by hiding him."
"Why everything that come out of your mouth just scream little penis?"
"Is every old man a crying bitch in Congo?"
Sogolon's witty snark was on point! How could I not love her as a character? I loved how different she was here from how she was portrayed through Tracker's eyes.
5+ Stars, Marlon James is a literary gift to the world....more
I literally don't even know how to review the unique experience of listening to this book adequately. And let me tell you, this is one you WANT to lisI literally don't even know how to review the unique experience of listening to this book adequately. And let me tell you, this is one you WANT to listen to. Unless there are some crazy awesome drawings, I am missing from the physical book, the narrative performance of Dion Graham was award-worthy. Marlon James put heart and soul into writing this novel, and Dion Graham put heart and soul into bringing it to life.
This book is intense. This book is unlike anything you will ever read.
This book WILL make you uncomfortable; you are supposed to be uncomfortable with the horrors running rampant in and around Congo. I guess this graphicness is where the comparison to Game of Thrones comes in. Eh... To me, the comparison is a stretch. Yes, there is technically a monarchy issue at its heart, and yes, there are graphic gore and blood and sexual scenes, but no. This one stands on its own.
Marlon James brings an added layer of intensity with the brilliant cadence of his reading, and you can feel it when you listen. He gets your adrenaline going. Sometimes it is like, Woah, dude, this is too much, but really that is what you SHOULD be feeling there. Bravo!
The African culture and mythology are just immensely fascinating. In a lifelong obsession with world mythology and especially animal-centric themes, I have, of course, been led down African paths of beliefs. This was awesome to have a bit of background knowledge. Even if the details of my memory were sparse, I was brought back into the throes of oppressive violence and control at the best of times. Marlon James' extensive research to the point of immersive understanding was evident through the pages. You can feel his sweat and passion seeping from the words.
Now let's be honest. This book is not always "enjoyable" per se. The topics are dark and horrible and REAL and weird as crap in some instances of hazes of memory, drugs, mythological changes and shapeshifting, and the gratuitous amount of penises slanging all around. Marlon James graphically depicts each and every torrid detail, especially in moments of violence and sex and the blurring of lines between the two. Probably not the best pick if you are not into gender fluidity. However, I thought this was very interestingly approached, and I enjoyed the portrayal of the approach.
Suppose we want to accurately compare the REAL depiction of a character who is sugar-coating NOTHING about their personality. In that case, you can look to despicable Stephen King characters that were uncomfortable to read the thoughts of at times. Then you could add in the envelope-pushing graphicness that can splendidly be found in Joe Hill's ability to look the genuinely dark corners of humanity in the eye and lay them bare. Now bring in Marlon James and the intensely violent parts of the lore of this area of the world and the different linguistic styles and slang, and bam, you have Black Leopard, Red Wolf. With androgynous women and massive slongs, men who can tear open their stomachs to create wombs and carry children.
A Burn that Ashton Kutcher would be proud of: "I am your uncle. I am the only one you have."
"Then I shall live in trees and shit in the river."
Captured a chuckle from me: "This bastard was becoming my favorite in Congo that was not a buffalo."
The section about the great floods was great to speculate about, and chapter 19 is the most intense chapter of the entire book. My head may have exploded for a second.
I rate this one 5 stars for taking me on a journey I was unprepared for, with little beforehand knowledge of what I was jumping into. It was long, and it was intense most of the time. The intro was the slowest, and even that wasn't too slow. I can't wait to pick up the next book. The ending was a great stopping point.
Trigger Warnings: pretty much think of something that could be triggering... there's a 90% chance it's in this book. Yes, that DOES include dendrophilia....more
Whew.... Need to process... A lot going on. Definitely liked the third couple more than the 2nd. Still love Lilac even if she got a bit cray cray therWhew.... Need to process... A lot going on. Definitely liked the third couple more than the 2nd. Still love Lilac even if she got a bit cray cray there.
This series still stands out as one of the greatest Young Adult Science Fiction series ever written. The duo of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's writteThis series still stands out as one of the greatest Young Adult Science Fiction series ever written. The duo of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's written words blended into this perfection in character creation, realistic dialogue, and a fight against universal capitalism.
I love these characters! Kady, AIDAN, Nik, and "Little Spider" are my favorites of the cast.
A slightly less action-filled conclusion to this chaotic, action-packed jaunt across the universe for their lives and, more importantly, to get the truth out.
Just as fun in audio, and I love that the narrators could be utilized across the trilogy to the point that voices were familiar friends to come back. The physical format is still slightly preferred for me, but I love its telling in all mediums.
Three Sisters weaves in a bit of Lale, Gita & Cilka from the prior novels when time is spent at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Through this trilogy, author HeathThree Sisters weaves in a bit of Lale, Gita & Cilka from the prior novels when time is spent at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Through this trilogy, author Heather Morris has obviously found a passionate way to bring the atrocities to life in an actual portrait character study through this trilogy. Each novel has a link but can easily be read as stand-alone novels.
As with the prior novels, the strength lies in the telling of their time at the concentration camps and less so in what happens afterward.
Cibi was by far my favorite character, and I loved the sisters' bond. I am glad to have shared this harrowing journey with them.
This was my least favorite of the trilogy, even though it gave me more of Quinn and had Fiji in the lead. I love every moment and line of Mr. Snuggly,This was my least favorite of the trilogy, even though it gave me more of Quinn and had Fiji in the lead. I love every moment and line of Mr. Snuggly, but I missed him being more present. It was bittersweet. Honestly, I didn't particularly appreciate where the romance ended up. Felt like Fiji got pretty short-changed.
I loved the further exploration of the hotel and Olivia. Overall, I would say that Harris technically wrapped up the main storylines, but it still left me wanting more. I wanted there to be more, and I guess there will be no more books.
So... There's only one more book left, and I am already mad about it. I totally read this book because I heard Quinn (from the Sookie Stackhouse SerieSo... There's only one more book left, and I am already mad about it. I totally read this book because I heard Quinn (from the Sookie Stackhouse Series) was in it. But I am woefully depressed at his short cameo. It was cool to have Barry the Bellboy back, but I liked him less as a character in this one.
There are so many secrets to uncover and explore, and I loved getting to know more about Olivia. Even with Manfred being a bit of a meh character, it was still interesting to see some of his true psychic power moments.
The TRUE star of this series was the elderly and *drumroll* Mr. Snuggly. I love SO much that he has a freaking lisp. It adds a tremendous amount of personality to his character. I loved that he was a bigger character in this one.
I also loved getting to know more about Joe and Chuy. There are so many more fascinating stories to be told in this world. I sincerely hope that Charlaine Harris doesn't leave it at this trilogy.
I can't wait to read book 3! This one was a joy to read, and I couldn't put it down.
The Becoming is SO good! I didn't want it to end. I am not ready to now have to wait for the final book. I should probably suck it up and finally say The Becoming is SO good! I didn't want it to end. I am not ready to now have to wait for the final book. I should probably suck it up and finally say goodbye to my dear Fallon in Chronicles of the One while I wait, but I haven't been ready. I really hope that Nora Roberts isn't going to end the Dragon Heart legacy after only ONE more book. There is such an expansive world here and so many unforgettable characters and stories that I would love to read about. I hope this one will be more than just the initially intended trilogy! Please, Nora, do it for the fans.
While I thoroughly enjoyed and wrestled with my thoughts on The Awakening, the depth of this one was so much more, and I have wanted more of Talamh. I also love the narration on this one; that helps with my own butchered pronunciation attempts at all of the names of characters and locations, and my brain's inability to find the Gaelic pronunciation of certain letter combinations, hahaha.
I love the additional political issues that weave into the overall plot and how Nora Roberts has taken rife historical lore and merged it with the contemporary. It's evident that Nora Roberts is a veteran author, and this reads like it was written by one.
I loved everything about it (except that I envy the ability to churn out books at Breen's speed).
5+ stars.
PS> If you kill off Bollocks, we may have to have words....more
Oh, what to say? At first, I thought I wasn't going to like this one as much, but it came through in the end, and I LOVED it! Of course, we had to losOh, what to say? At first, I thought I wasn't going to like this one as much, but it came through in the end, and I LOVED it! Of course, we had to lose some amazing characters along the way, but in the end, I feel like Jay did the full trilogy justice with this one. I love Mia. I am glad that she could find herself among the shadows when Godsgrave made me wonder if she would become the story's villain.
Jay's humor was slightly less in this one but still thrummed below the surface. I love that Jay decided to bring even more character development and show more of the character's backstory as this trilogy reached its crescendo. It was a fantastic job all around, and I loved the merge with mythological creatures.
What does one even say at the end of this.... I don't want to torture these characters anymore, but I have SO many questions about the lore and the woWhat does one even say at the end of this.... I don't want to torture these characters anymore, but I have SO many questions about the lore and the world, and if we don't get an Akolan tale, I will be SO SAD! I need the deets on these things, Emily A. Duncan. Emily is wow. If I could only pick one subgenre to read for the rest of my life, it would always be Dark Fantasy. Having them to add to the amazing genre with the stories of Anne Bishop and Jay Kristoff and contributing to keeping the darkness alive breathes new life into this area that isn't for everyone but packs more power than any other subgenre I have ever read.
When I describe this trilogy to other people, I tell them that there are only Grey characters, REALLY REALLY dark grey characters, except for maybe Anna and Rashid. Rashid is definitely the light in the dark. The depth of character is phenomenal.
I love this trio; of course, the girl and the monster reign supreme in my heart. The darker the girl, the more I loved her!
The lore was my favorite part; I loved the little sections before each chapter and how they brought a special depth to each chapter.
I have heard this described as a Joan of Arc retelling, which I guess very, very vaguely would fit, but this is SO unique and different from that that you would have to dig to find that. I guess it has to be just the incident of this book having a lot of fan art created for it that fed into that.
Some quotes I love Such as Malachiasz's witty, dark humor: “And you’ll go back to Tranavia and retake your throne, execute the ones who wronged you, and spend the rest of your life on the cusp of godhood and trying to crack open the mysteries of the universe?� “Dramatic. I would like to take a nap as well.�
"'I've always wanted to rescue someone!' Malchieasz said cheerfully. 'What a novel change of pace.' Rolling chaos and absolutely covered in blood. His eyes were murky; he was barely holding onto himself. He grinned at her"
"'You're a mess.' 'A mouth just opened on your neck so, really, speak for yourself.'"
The moment that gave me chills: "Fitting, he says, for your last image to be of me, your last heartbeat in my hands. He wants me to destroy every single piece of you."
The great banter between Kacper and Serefin: "Deflecting by way of catastrophizing is a great strategy."
Oh, Laini Taylor, I'm already dreading the end of this series again. I love these characters SO much and this world you have beautifully depicted. YouOh, Laini Taylor, I'm already dreading the end of this series again. I love these characters SO much and this world you have beautifully depicted. You are a true gift to me as a reader.
This is a re-read four years later because I didn't previously possess this gem and found it at the library book sale. I knew I had to own this treasured story for myself. I also happened to come across the audio version so that I could make progress in both formats. I loved the narration that I listened to, especially how creepy she could make some of the secondary character voices. Bravo!
Karou and Zuz are lovably awesome, and I love the Madrigal story! I can't wait to return to Karou's dark adventures.
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