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dieslaughing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
carrousalem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dayvayen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kathflynn's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
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? No
4.25
graculus's review against another edition
4.0
Second books of a trilogy are always a bit of a dicey proposition - they might work just as well or the first or, more often in my experience, prove a bit of a disappointment. Sometimes their main role is to set things up for the big finale and can leave you feeling a bit flat. I'm really glad to say that Shadow Baron was one of the former, as it did some excellent work in developing some of the supporting characters from Notorious Sorcerer, as well as propelling the overall story-line forward.
The book starts pretty much as the previous volume finished, with our protagonist (Siyon) trying to find his feet in his new role as the Alchemist, not helped by his grief over the sudden loss of his new-found relationship. Things seem to have stabilised for a while, till one of the nobility's garden parties is invaded by creatures from another realm and magic appears to be waking up all over Bezim. Alongside this, one of the supporting characters from the previous book (Anahid) finds herself the owner of a pleasure house after a gambling excursion unexpectedly works out and has to deal with the underworld for the first time.
Overall, Shadow Baron does a really good job of building on the events of the first book but also not completely letting a focus on Siyon overpower everything else. In some ways, it's his relationships with other characters (and vice versa) that are on display here - Anahid is juggling social responsibilities and her desire to have something for herself but she's always completely certain that Siyon (and others) will have her back. The same goes for Siyon, when he needs help, just from his former crew but also from his newer friends.
All in all, I enjoyed this very much and am really looking forward to the final book of the trilogy, with hopefully a resolution of the situation around Siyon's love life. This was nicely handled here, with Siyon affected but not completely overwhelmed by what happened in book 1, but I would really like to see a good outcome in the final book!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
The book starts pretty much as the previous volume finished, with our protagonist (Siyon) trying to find his feet in his new role as the Alchemist, not helped by his grief over the sudden loss of his new-found relationship. Things seem to have stabilised for a while, till one of the nobility's garden parties is invaded by creatures from another realm and magic appears to be waking up all over Bezim. Alongside this, one of the supporting characters from the previous book (Anahid) finds herself the owner of a pleasure house after a gambling excursion unexpectedly works out and has to deal with the underworld for the first time.
Overall, Shadow Baron does a really good job of building on the events of the first book but also not completely letting a focus on Siyon overpower everything else. In some ways, it's his relationships with other characters (and vice versa) that are on display here - Anahid is juggling social responsibilities and her desire to have something for herself but she's always completely certain that Siyon (and others) will have her back. The same goes for Siyon, when he needs help, just from his former crew but also from his newer friends.
All in all, I enjoyed this very much and am really looking forward to the final book of the trilogy, with hopefully a resolution of the situation around Siyon's love life. This was nicely handled here, with Siyon affected but not completely overwhelmed by what happened in book 1, but I would really like to see a good outcome in the final book!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
talenyn's review against another edition
3.0
Bezim loves nothing more than a spectacle. And what a brilliant spectacle the debut installment of The Burnished City trilogy, Notorious Sorcerer, was! With her complex world-building and compelling characters, Evans set the bar terribly high for her sophomore novel, Shadow Baron. Unfortunately, I’m not certain it lived up the test.
Shadow Baron felt like a shade (pun intended) of its predecessor. Many of the details that I loved in the first book — like the fact that the older MCs (Siyon & Anahid) continue to find adulting quite difficult — lost their sparkle as the sequel dragged on. This was, I think, largely an effect of the slow and circuitous pacing. The MCs' confusion and frustration just didn’t seem to have forward momentum. Instead the plot meandered its way right off the Scarp into darker waters at around the 85% mark and flat out ran to the (still ambiguous) ending from there.
Another issue, which may be more personal than structural, is that the story felt constrained by its setting. Unlike the previous novel, this story happened entirely within the familiar confines of the Burnished City. There was no further exploration of the Mundane and very little mention of the other three planes. I assume the focus was meant to be on the class struggle in Bezim, which may be critical to the plot in part three. But it was definitely a (disappointing to me) tone shift away from epic fantasy-style adventure.
Despite my gripes, the writing and the plot still show great promise. So I'm willing to bet that this second book will impact differently (and better) when I (re)read all three books in a row once the final installment is published. I'll update my review at that time. For now, I give this 3.5 stars and would still recommend the series based on the strength of the first book.
Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this ebook.
Shadow Baron felt like a shade (pun intended) of its predecessor. Many of the details that I loved in the first book — like the fact that the older MCs (Siyon & Anahid) continue to find adulting quite difficult — lost their sparkle as the sequel dragged on. This was, I think, largely an effect of the slow and circuitous pacing. The MCs' confusion and frustration just didn’t seem to have forward momentum. Instead the plot meandered its way right off the Scarp into darker waters at around the 85% mark and flat out ran to the (still ambiguous) ending from there.
Another issue, which may be more personal than structural, is that the story felt constrained by its setting. Unlike the previous novel, this story happened entirely within the familiar confines of the Burnished City. There was no further exploration of the Mundane and very little mention of the other three planes. I assume the focus was meant to be on the class struggle in Bezim, which may be critical to the plot in part three. But it was definitely a (disappointing to me) tone shift away from epic fantasy-style adventure.
Despite my gripes, the writing and the plot still show great promise. So I'm willing to bet that this second book will impact differently (and better) when I (re)read all three books in a row once the final installment is published. I'll update my review at that time. For now, I give this 3.5 stars and would still recommend the series based on the strength of the first book.
Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this ebook.
storiesandsours's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0