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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was lacking, especially at the end. It feels as though a lot of plot points only served to speed up the end. I still adore Nod and its babies, and Trouble Dog. I'd love to read more stories about the Druff.
Light if Impossible Stars is the triumphant finale to the excellent Embers of War series. It builds on the foundations of the first two books and manages to round off the whole series in a way that is both satisfying but also leaves room for further books in the universe, which is no mean feat.
Everything you'd expect from a Gareth L. Powell book is here, an interesting cast of diverse characters, fast-paced action, and a deep and innovative universe. Strangely for the final book in the series, this book opens with some completely new characters. This could have been a colossal misstep, but Cordelia Pa is such an interesting character to follow that you just overlook the fact she has been dropped in the final book. Don't worry though the old favorites from the previous books are all present, correct, and as well-written as ever.
Like it's predecessors, Light of Impossible Stars is an action-packed page-turner of a story. The good guys are bounced from one threat to another, and you're never quite sure how it is going to turn out and who is going to make a mistake that gets them eaten by giant, metal space shrimp or blasted into shrapnel.
So, all in all, a fantastic end to an excellent series that is undoubtedly Gareth L. Powell's finest work. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next because his stuff just keeps getting better.
Everything you'd expect from a Gareth L. Powell book is here, an interesting cast of diverse characters, fast-paced action, and a deep and innovative universe. Strangely for the final book in the series, this book opens with some completely new characters. This could have been a colossal misstep, but Cordelia Pa is such an interesting character to follow that you just overlook the fact she has been dropped in the final book. Don't worry though the old favorites from the previous books are all present, correct, and as well-written as ever.
Like it's predecessors, Light of Impossible Stars is an action-packed page-turner of a story. The good guys are bounced from one threat to another, and you're never quite sure how it is going to turn out and who is going to make a mistake that gets them eaten by giant, metal space shrimp or blasted into shrapnel.
So, all in all, a fantastic end to an excellent series that is undoubtedly Gareth L. Powell's finest work. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next because his stuff just keeps getting better.
Fairly satisfying ending to the trilogy. As expected, everything works out in the end, in a fairly contrived way. I did really enjoy the trilogy overall.
Ahoy me mateys! Grab your grog! Here be book 3 of the 10th installment of the 3 Bells trilogy showcase where for 3 days straight I will be reviewing 3 books in a row. The catch is that the 3 books will showcase an entire trilogy. So throw your 3 sheets to the wind and get ready to celebrate with me. Grog optional . . .
Unpopular opinion time! I really did not like the last book of this trilogy. I still love Trouble Dog and Sal. But ultimately the story went places that I didn’t care about and found nonsensical. I liked the new character of Cordelia Pa. I am completely in love with Nod who went from being an okay character in book one to a delight. In fact the part the Druff played in this book ended up being one of me favorite parts.
The main problems in this book were two fold – dangling plot points and problematic character motivation. In terms of characters, Sal and Trouble Dog were the only ones that still kinda felt real in this installment. All the other characters seemed incidental or became two dimensional. Characters previously important in other books do nothing in this one (like Lucy or Preston). Other characters sacrifice themselves for no real purpose. Ona Sudak really was the most boring bad guy ever who twirls their bad guy mustache and has no real motivation. The “realization” moment by her at the end was just ludicrous.
As for dangling plot points. Well the ideas of reality quakes and plates were fascinating and never really explained. Both could have been used awesomely and weren’t. Cordelia is a fun character but kinda magics her way through the end of the book. The sci-fi feel of the book just went “poof!” And how she saved the world was lame. There is a trans character added in for no reason (okay as a random lust interest) who actually has a sex change operation in the MIDDLE of a battle. Then leaves abruptly at the end of the book. Michael goes on a salvage hunt that could have been cut out of the book with no substantive change to the plot. There is a memory switch that really adds nothing to the plot. The void creatures are never explained satisfactorily or actually dealt with. They really are magic space dragons. The loss of an eye side plot was so lacklustre. The fleet of knives lose and randomly go back to do what they could have done all along. And not to mention the deus ex machina savior thrown in at the end.
I could go on and on but who has time to that. On to a new adventure. This one walks the plank! Arrr!
Side note: I still be glad I met Trouble Dog.
Unpopular opinion time! I really did not like the last book of this trilogy. I still love Trouble Dog and Sal. But ultimately the story went places that I didn’t care about and found nonsensical. I liked the new character of Cordelia Pa. I am completely in love with Nod who went from being an okay character in book one to a delight. In fact the part the Druff played in this book ended up being one of me favorite parts.
The main problems in this book were two fold – dangling plot points and problematic character motivation. In terms of characters, Sal and Trouble Dog were the only ones that still kinda felt real in this installment. All the other characters seemed incidental or became two dimensional. Characters previously important in other books do nothing in this one (like Lucy or Preston). Other characters sacrifice themselves for no real purpose. Ona Sudak really was the most boring bad guy ever who twirls their bad guy mustache and has no real motivation. The “realization” moment by her at the end was just ludicrous.
As for dangling plot points. Well the ideas of reality quakes and plates were fascinating and never really explained. Both could have been used awesomely and weren’t. Cordelia is a fun character but kinda magics her way through the end of the book. The sci-fi feel of the book just went “poof!” And how she saved the world was lame. There is a trans character added in for no reason (okay as a random lust interest) who actually has a sex change operation in the MIDDLE of a battle. Then leaves abruptly at the end of the book. Michael goes on a salvage hunt that could have been cut out of the book with no substantive change to the plot. There is a memory switch that really adds nothing to the plot. The void creatures are never explained satisfactorily or actually dealt with. They really are magic space dragons. The loss of an eye side plot was so lacklustre. The fleet of knives lose and randomly go back to do what they could have done all along. And not to mention the deus ex machina savior thrown in at the end.
I could go on and on but who has time to that. On to a new adventure. This one walks the plank! Arrr!
Side note: I still be glad I met Trouble Dog.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, it ended the series. For a book that started out as essentially the Space Red Cross / Search and Rescue, the story travelled a very long way. It's really unfortunate that books like this can't end without a giant deus ex machina girl born to be a space wizard by a nebulously explained extra-dimensional being.
Loved the Druff link of the storyline, and some of the ties that go back to book 1 (storylines I thought were abandoned and long forgotten). The introduction of yet ANOTHER world with it's own rules/society I found hard to get interested in by now. The evolving "family" dynamics also lost some of the heartwarming luster as love interests die off so quickly there's no substantial movement.
It was a satisfying ending to the trilogy, but my least favourite of the three. I would have appreciated more development of characters/story lines and less introducing new characters/world/storylines for the final segment. (Again, some characters remained static and stuck in binary thinking the whole way through. Wished for more on that front).
It was a satisfying ending to the trilogy, but my least favourite of the three. I would have appreciated more development of characters/story lines and less introducing new characters/world/storylines for the final segment. (Again, some characters remained static and stuck in binary thinking the whole way through. Wished for more on that front).