3,5 stars.
There were a couple of things that I didn't like, to be honest, but in general I really enjoyed the book, specially the second half, I'm looking forward the final book.

Spoiler

Things that I didn't like:
* The whale solution. Maybe it's because it has been so long since I read the second one, but felt a bit Deus ex machina to me.
* I hate when, at the same time, unrelated things start to go wrong at the same time just to add tension.
* The destruction of the village was so cruel that it was hard to read. Good job, because I guess this is the intended effect.
Things that I specially liked:
* Jia's machinations. Sad to read, but really entertaining.
* The Blossom Gang
* Goztan and Kinri arc

I’m so glad that I finally made time to return to this series. It’s definitely my favourite ongoing series right now, and despite a slower start here because it had been a while since book #2, I found it fairly easy to get back into and start to really love once more. This was actually supposed to be the final book but as Liu wrote it was clear to him it needed to be split into two books as there was too much to include. Although I wish I knew the end, I am also glad to go back into the world once again later this year when the final one comes out. I’ll be super sad to leave it, but I also can’t wait to see what Liu has up his sleeves!

What I absolutely loved about this book was the second half. The first half had lots of great moments and developed the story across the world with particular focus on some of the key characters of this book. Definitely Unredeemed Dara and the Lyucu are a key focus point for lots of the first half, and although Dara does feature at some moments it’s the second half of the book which is based on Dara predominantly and which I adored.

The world continues to evolve and develop in this book with more scholars/masters teaching students and a huge focus on invention and innovation. The Lyucu story is pretty stable at the start of this, but it soon turns fractious and savage and filled with unspeakable horrors. Meanwhile, the focus on stories which starts right from page 1 is maintained throughout the whole book and I loved the way that Liu managed to weave extra mini stories about gods, heroes, enslavement, bravery, determination, culture, love, trust and so much more in. We see segments of the Gods and we see the mortals of the world as they tell one another stories and act out tales to one another around campfires, on ships, in towns and cities. We see innovative ideas starting to shape new stories and new ways of living, and we see blending together of cultures and divisions of cultures based on the leadership.

The characters who stand out most to me from this are definitely the Blossom Gang and Kinri and Dandelion, however Thera’s story was a heartbreaking one and Goztan and Tanvanaki have a pretty hard road in this book too with the shift in ruthlessness and their harsh pasts.

The second half of this book is a big shift from where you think things are headed at the start, and I adored it. I’m so glad Liu took the time to delve into the culture of Dara through a foreigner’s and native’s eyes and to compare and contrast and meld it into one. This section of the book is filled with ideas that I loved, love itself, passion and care and friendship. It’s filled with flavour and food and performance and drama. It’s long and yet I still could have read more. I just fell head over heels for this part and it was a definite 5*s for me.

The representation in this book was definitely something I noticed with gay characters mentioned and disabled characters being enabled and a key focus. One of the Blossom Gang, Rati Yera, is in a wheelchair and yet she’s vital to the gang and their success and she’s never looked down on or pitied or dismissed. She is an inspiring inventor of amazing works and she is admired by her friends and strangers alike. I really enjoyed her inclusion and felt like so much of her character is defined by her route through life and I loved seeing her triumphs along with the rest of the gang.

There were a few reveals in the end of the book I didn’t anticipate and I love when a book manages to surprise me and excite me and this did that. I look forward to seeing how the threads of so many disparate and unique stories are pulled together in the final book. I’m certain it’s going to be a wild ride.

5*s on this one for me as although I know it won’t be for everyone with the slower start and shift in focus, it ticked everything I didn’t know I wanted. Loved it. <3

I’m enjoying the story a lot still.
The characters are well written and the world building is top notch. The story really didn’t go further than it was at the end of “Wall of Storms”. That isn’t to say that lots didn’t happen, it did. It just means that it didn’t push the story any further.

I’m still looking forward to the end, and all the subplots in between.

Oh my goodness, this book is SO long.

I love Ken Liu and I think no one writes a better short story. And I understand he’s trying to write an epic novel, telling the story of two proud cultures. But he refuses to make any choices - including in the novel a level of detail that is completely unnecessary. I don’t care how how silkmotic lights work. I don’t need 10 pages on every invention. I don’t need 100 pages about the restaurant competition, especially if that means the second half of the book completely ignores the story of Thera. Plus, oh my goodness, there is another book. A 900 page cliffhanger? I think not.

The beginning was a little confusing. But with a 1500+ trilogy, the author can’t expect the reader to go back and reread the first 2 books.

A really iron handed editor should have ruthlessly cut this book down to 400 pages.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The best book I read this year.

4.5 stars

Even though I have so, so, so many (positive) things to say about this book, I am going to keep this review as brief and concise as possible. It's nearly impossible to write a spoiler-free review for a third book in a series where so much time has passed and in which the stakes are so high, because even mentioning a character name could be seen as a potential spoiler and I don't want to ruin this incredible story for anyone.

I went into this book with tempered expectations, because I had heard from many people that this was their least favourite book in the series so far. The main reason being that the second half was one of the weakest parts of the series in their opinion.
Well, to probably no one's surprise, I once again have the unpopular opinion and found the second half of this book to be the most enjoyable segment of the entire series so far. Now, I'm not saying that it's the best part of the series, but I just can't deny that I loved what Ken Liu decided to focus on and ate those chapters up (yes, pun intended, iykyk).
I have always been more of a character-driven reader and don't tend to prefer stories that focus heavily on military/political aspects, so it is already a huge surprise for me that I am adoring this series as much as I have been. I think that is why I loved the second half of this book so much, we get to spend more down-time with characters, we get to learn a lot about Dara culture, the stakes are a bit lower and we get to see some wonderful interpersonal relationships develop.

Ken Liu continues to amaze me with his storytelling abilities, this story is just so unique. The world building continues to expand and deepen, there are more cool innovations, the battles keep getting more intense, the incredible women continue to carry the story, the gods keep on meddling, the characters and their relationships only get more complex and the stakes are constantly getting higher. Also, this series places a huge focus on history, the clashing of cultures and on how the stories we tell ourselves might not be as accurate as we want them to be. Our realities are shaped by the narratives that we construct for ourselves, it's human nature. It was honestly a highlight of the book to see some characters' beliefs and worldviews be challenged, because that made this story and these characters feel even more realistic.

So, if you enjoyed book 1 and 2, then I really can't see how you wouldn't end up at least liking this book. No, it's not perfect, but I had a blast. This is essentially part one of the finale though, so I am eager to find out how everything will wrap up!
Liu makes some unexpected and unconventional storytelling decisions, but I can only admire him for it. It honestly feels like I am reading his passion project, exactly as he intended it to be, and I love that.
It pains my heart to see how incredibly underrated this series is. Wake up people, get started on this series!!

As with book 1 this is essentially a setup book for the final showdown in the 4th book. When betrayals happen they always go back to explain the motivations and why those they betrayed didn't see it coming. I enjoyed Thera's time with the Agon, Jia controlling the empire, and Zomi still figuring out how to deal with things. However I must bring up the food wars restaurant competition that happens about halfway through the book and you then proceed to spend like 75% of the rest of the book on this competition. All to get the characters involved in the specific places they need to be for the next book. Usually I am impressed by how things are weaved together like hey this person was the daughter of this person who left 20 years ago which led to her pursuing this dream which led to this character finding her, etc. etc. This time with the cooking competition I could only think about how while this is happening people are actively being tortured and it's all to lead to how they fight the Lycucu, but man. Wild way to go about it. Outside of that I still enjoyed the characters involved and their stories, I enjoyed the romance building up in it, and the last bit where things come to a close was also good. Just a huge middle part that had me scratching my head.