This book would have been a lot better with some rigid editing. It took forever to get through that thousand pages. I also got an impression that the same story could have worked a lot better if Matthew Stover didn’t obsess with bringing Caine to everything and just wrote the story with new characters in the same world.
Still, even though it might pale in comparison with its predecessor, Heroes Die, it is still among the better fantasy books I’ve read, be it for its complex setting, cool characters, complicated plot or philosophical contemplations.
| Positive: | Negative: |
| Multiple points of view | Obsession with putting Caine at the center of everything feels forced |
| Great sci-fi fueled fantasy setting | Tendency to overwrite things from multiple perspectives kills the pace |
| Good sinister atmosphere | Complicated situations are sometimes resolved with underwhelming simple solutions |
| Cool characters | |
|
Numerous nice twists
|
|
|
Good detailed fight scenes
|
|
|
Fine story of the fight against corporate corruption
|
|
| Good angle at happy endings being intrinsically inconclusive | |
| Thought-provoking on the dangers of money-driven corporate world |
Visual novel & other stuff impressions 