sarahxify's Reviews (703)

24/08/2020 4.5/5
Despite the size of this book, I absolutely flew through it. I am so invested in the lives of these characters and will definitely need to reread all of these books when I'm finished them. At this point I can't turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens and I'm probably missing lots of important details. I highly recommend these books, especially if you're looking for "escapist" reads.

26/02/21   5/5 

 31/01/2025 4/5
This one is so packed with story and detail, and I got even more out of it this time around, realising how many threads there are in this trilogy that come up later in the books. It's truly impressive how rich this story is from the very first trilogy, and Hobb's characters are deeply drawn, believable, and likeable (with the exception of Regal, who is almost preposterously evil). There are some pacing issues with this one - it's very packed and very detailed, but drags on for quite long sections in the middle. 

 This is the story of a young American missionary family, who go to the DRC (then known as the Belgian Congo) in the 1960s to try and convert the Congolese people to Christianity.  As the Congolese start to fight for independence, they are increasily caught up in the political situation , mostly because of the tyrannical rule of Nathan, the father and preacher in the family. 

I thought this story was cleverly told; the author uses the voice of Orleanna, the mother, as well as the four children to show the reader the different aspects of the story. Orleanna is more aware of the complicated political sitation, and the children are more in touch with the people to whom Nathan is preaching, and what they truly think of his message. 

This was much more of an epic than I expected it to be - there were multiple points where I thought the story could have wrapped up, but instead the author chooses to show how the lives of her characters were more wholly affected by their time in the Congo. There is a lot of warmth and heart in this novel, especially when the author describes how a place can get under your skin and affect your perception of what you thought you knew. Highly recommend. 

Discussed in depth in episode #69 of The Bookcast Club podcast. Episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1116755/10563435

This was okay. It was exploring a lot of interesting topics > mental health, complex family relationships, but something about the writing didn't land with me and I never really got into the story. 

I gave this a 4-star rating on my first readthrough, but on a second reading I was blown away by how thorough and detailed this is. There is so much foreshadowing, and the characters are fully realised, which is so refreshing in a fantasy novel! 

I read about 40% of this and really wasn't into it, so decided not to finish it. The writing style and characterisation didn't work for me; I wanted to know more about the characters and understand them more. They felt rather abstract and removed, and for me this makes me lose interest in a book.