Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan
- Thread starter btkong
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I'm about 200 pages in, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I liked Tower Lord too.
As a matter of fact, I keep thinking how much he's improved as an author since Bloodsong. I think he attracted a certain kind of reader with Bloodsong, and the next two books just don't appeal to those folks.
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As a matter of fact, I keep thinking how much he's improved as an author since Bloodsong. I think he attracted a certain kind of reader with Bloodsong, and the next two books just don't appeal to those folks.
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I don't think you'll be disappointed. I think some people just want to read about Vaelin performing heroic deeds with his sword. The David Gemmel style of fantasy. His evolution into multiple POV characters and more complex plotting upset readers who liked the more simple single POV heroic fantasy style of Bloodsong.
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The story definitely changed after blood song..... it's almost like the story and world exploded really fast. Blood Song is mostly about Vaelin growing up, then the last quarter of it starts to move very quickly with the war starting and all of that. Now at this point, the entire world is involved and the scope of the story is massive... idk. I haven't been able to pinpoint it quite yet but it did change for sure. Blood Song is still my favorite in the series by far.
I read another 60 or so pages last night, and I think Queen of Fire is an excellent read. Very well written, great world building including all the various cultures. The characterization is top notch I really enjoy all the POVs.
You couldn't pull off a story like this with a single POV. It's a shame if people don't appreciate it.
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You couldn't pull off a story like this with a single POV. It's a shame if people don't appreciate it.
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Just finished the Frentis chapter that ended at page 100 or so. I'm enjoying the movement of the chess pieces on the board this far. I honestly don't get the hate for Tower Lord (I loved it), and as long as this slow build of Queen of Fire is going somewhere interesting I'll be more than satisfied.
I guess others are much harsher critics than I am I guess...
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I guess others are much harsher critics than I am I guess...
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So I read Blood Song way back when it was a indie book and it totally blew me away, mainly because Ryan managed to fit so many excellent story arcs into one single book; The training, the bonding and brotherhood, The Trials, Frentis et al.and below it all the superb introduction to our Antagonist via the lore and stories ( I for one never saw the ending of that book coming).
Then came book 2, in which the spotlight shifts from Vaelin and moves to other characters, most of which were pretty decent, but overall it seemed more..detached compared to the earlier focus on Vaelin. Still, I enjoyed the scenes with Frentis and "The Lady", especially the last bits, which are quite chilling and very well written. It's here we are introduced to The Ally and somehow I feel this is where the entire buildup of the book begins to slide. When you start defining evil, you realize that its not really so bad after all.
Now coming back to the Queen of Fire...it's no doubt that this is the final book a trilogy, because every POV includes some war,battle or general struggle. Vaelin, our increasingly broken hero, now bereft of his trademark song, embarks on a journey seemingly to nowhere to find and destroy The Ally. This part is pretty OK, some of the cultures and people introduced seem a bit far fetched, even for fantasy, but it lends itself to the lore nicely. On the other hand we have Lyrna, who really gets on my nerves in this book...I appreciated her maturing and growth in book 2, but now she reminds me of the typical tyrant conqueror. The POVs of our old pals Frentis, Caenis etc. are more or less enjoyable. But the major, major thing which let me down was the ending. It was simply meh...I expected a great deal more given the terror and manipulation previously demonstrated by our antagonists. The ending is also quite ambiguous, probably for future series, but as a trilogy it's pretty disappointing.
Soooo...ratings..just for perspective, I'm including that of the previous books in the series:
Blood Song: 9/10 (Possibly even a 10, but there are very,very few books I will admit that are a 10 in my mind)
Tower Lord: 8/10
Queen of Fire: 7.5/10
I think this more or less mirrors the general reaction of the Fantasy Sphere...we all expected a bit more from such an excellent beginning
Then came book 2, in which the spotlight shifts from Vaelin and moves to other characters, most of which were pretty decent, but overall it seemed more..detached compared to the earlier focus on Vaelin. Still, I enjoyed the scenes with Frentis and "The Lady", especially the last bits, which are quite chilling and very well written. It's here we are introduced to The Ally and somehow I feel this is where the entire buildup of the book begins to slide. When you start defining evil, you realize that its not really so bad after all.
Now coming back to the Queen of Fire...it's no doubt that this is the final book a trilogy, because every POV includes some war,battle or general struggle. Vaelin, our increasingly broken hero, now bereft of his trademark song, embarks on a journey seemingly to nowhere to find and destroy The Ally. This part is pretty OK, some of the cultures and people introduced seem a bit far fetched, even for fantasy, but it lends itself to the lore nicely. On the other hand we have Lyrna, who really gets on my nerves in this book...I appreciated her maturing and growth in book 2, but now she reminds me of the typical tyrant conqueror. The POVs of our old pals Frentis, Caenis etc. are more or less enjoyable. But the major, major thing which let me down was the ending. It was simply meh...I expected a great deal more given the terror and manipulation previously demonstrated by our antagonists. The ending is also quite ambiguous, probably for future series, but as a trilogy it's pretty disappointing.
Soooo...ratings..just for perspective, I'm including that of the previous books in the series:
Blood Song: 9/10 (Possibly even a 10, but there are very,very few books I will admit that are a 10 in my mind)
Tower Lord: 8/10
Queen of Fire: 7.5/10
I think this more or less mirrors the general reaction of the Fantasy Sphere...we all expected a bit more from such an excellent beginning
I finished Queen of Fire a few days ago, but I've been busy. I loved it, I loved the entire series. Excellent military fantasy. I have no idea what fault people are finding with the ending( I haven't bothered reading any of the reviews). I thought it suited the story very well.
It's such an interesting world. I really enjoyed exploring it. The characters were very well done with their own unique personalities, and it was nice that their personalities weren't set in stone throughout the story. It's one of the thing that made it feel "real". Speaking of realistic, the battle scenes were excellent. Everything from a siege to large scale battles, and one on one fight scenes were always kept plausible.
I look forward to future works from Anthony Ryan.
I rate it 9/10. The series as a whole also gets a 9/10.
It's such an interesting world. I really enjoyed exploring it. The characters were very well done with their own unique personalities, and it was nice that their personalities weren't set in stone throughout the story. It's one of the thing that made it feel "real". Speaking of realistic, the battle scenes were excellent. Everything from a siege to large scale battles, and one on one fight scenes were always kept plausible.
I look forward to future works from Anthony Ryan.
I rate it 9/10. The series as a whole also gets a 9/10.
I'm at 63% and I can safely say it only gets better 
The quick and easy version is that I loved the series, thought it hit all the right notes for me, and will cause quite a jumble to my to 25 list
Overall a 90/100
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