Customer Reviews

Anvil of Tears (Reforged Trilogy)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was slow in the beginning but pulled through to capture my attention by the middle of the book. At first I was disappointed in the development of the characters. The authors use flashbacks for all of the characters. I would have liked less of this tedious detail relating to minor character, but I do see this helps establish the diversity of Anvil of Tears' universe. The magic (science) of the White Kingdom was very brief and yet the reader learns this world contrasted greatly to that of the Alliance worlds. I hope the second book will divulge more of the lost worlds. I liked Maeve- this winged fairy was especially arresting. Learning more about what happened to her turned the pages for me. Coldhand was slower to emerge but now I'm ready to find out more about what makes him tick. This book makes you imagine how magical kingdoms might be forced to mesh with typical high science worlds. All in all, an enjoyable read. Bring on the next book.

Anvil of tears is quite an interesting read... I can't help but feel that this long tale is missing the vital input of a great editor and would've benefitted greatly from this. The characters and plot unfold slow and a little clunky. The story is darker than I expected but holds up well to a new universe of rim world magic vs. core world science. There are classic battles weaved in throughout the tale - life vs. death, love vs. hate, magic vs. science, guilt vs. shame - and what happens when you are a survivor of a race that the seemingly whole universe seems to discriminate against. Finding out about each of the characters through first person "flash backs" was simply annoying and unfortunately these picked up greatly towards the end of the book. They managed to get both more interesting and annoying.

How Maeve ever managed to obtain any kind've rank on a ship is anyone's guess. She spends more time fighting, running or seeking drugs than anything else. Logan/Coldhand the bounty hunter hot on the trail of Maeve clearly has more questions than answers and while he lacks "feeling" of at least 80% of his physical and emotional ability to feel he's questioning almost all of her motives and actions - both from the present chase and events from the past year... For a hardcore bounty hunter you'd think he'd be more on top of the "lack of emotion what does it all mean without honor" thing.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the crew of the ship Blue Phoenix, while we find out how and why most are on the ship - we don't know why they even care about Maeve and what's next for them is evidently going to be left to tell in other books. There was a lot of time invested in the "getting to know" the rest of the crew back stories and they were simply dropped off for the main plot a little over halfway through the book. Tiberius, the captain of the ship, clearly has a knack for finding, hiring and nursing back to health strays that stay on to become part of his team. Unbelievably, a few tie back into the main plot.

Overall this was an interesting and long read. I was disappointed in the rapid ending after such a long and slow build up. It seemed not in keeping with the rest of the book. There was so much time spent in the novel on building the setting/universe that it would be interesting to see what the second installment is like...

Got this book on a whim and really am glad! I was captivated by the characters and the diversely rich worlds they were from. I really can't wait for the next book! Give it a shot, its a good read.

I LOVED IT the characters were amazing really good read i just didnt get the end will someone explain that to me

A bit of a slow start but truly an interesting read. the wide cast of characters was a bit confusing but they were all unique and interesting. I cannot wait for the next book.

It took me awhile to get into this book. I'm not typically a sci-fi reader, but since it was free I thought I'd give it a try. At one point, about a third of the way through, I put it aside for something else, but then picked it up again. I'm glad I did. From about halfway to the end it was a great read. Maeve was a complex buy sympathetic enough character to keep me interested. I like the way the different threads were pulled together in the end.

What didn't I like? The "bad guys" just kind of appeared about halfway through the book. You begin thinking the enemy is going to be one group, but they just get pushed to the background for another set and become a non-factor. It left me wondering why a big deal was made of them to begin with. Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Did I empathize with the main character? Yes. But did it leave at the end wondering where the antagonists came from? Yes.

Along with In the House of Five Dragons this book is awesome. Only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that the number of characters was a bit overwhelming and made the whole thing a bit fragmentary at times. But the characters are interesting and well-wrought. Same with the fascinating universe and the mixture of science and magic.

The twist at the end is great for books like these. Nothing simple like "Yay, the good guys won!" The fairy girl could have been a bit less pouty but I guess that was her character.

All in all, a book that was hard to put down and I can't wait for more like it!

I was looking for an engaging read and this story sure didn't disappoint. I was immediately drawn into the richly imagined universe and just couldn't stop turning the virtual pages. Well written and well edited, I'll definitely be coming back for more.