The Bone Shard War (The Drowning Empire)

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I love that this series focuses so much on side characters, that nobody seems lost in an epic fantasy plot. There is a fantastic cast of characters, a compelling plot, a unique magic system and a vividly written world. Nils: I was most surprised by Nisong as she was a character who I had previously hated, believing her to be evil, yet in this finale I grew to really sympathise and even become fond of her.

The strangest thing was that Lin went from being me favorite character (by far) to being irritating and whiny. It's a stunning idea and for once, I really wish the author would add to it in the future, after the conclusion of the trilogy.I would still highly recommend the first book in this series, The Bone Shard Daughter, but I will admit I have mixed feelings towards the sequels.

All this talk of stories and history, and they were repeating it –actors on a stage putting on a slightly different rendition of the same play, night after night. I actually can't wait to dig into her new series, The Gods Bellow, because, as I witnessed, Stewart has some really fun ideas brewing in her mind and apparently there are cats being objects of worship in it. I do appreciate that Stewart committed to one big event at a time rather than including "nothing" chapters from other characters to build suspense. They will never follow you for who you are, only for what they think you might do for them and only out of fear. Two years have passed since the end of The Bone Shard Emperor, and it did take me some time to adjust to this time skip decision.And hope was a clinging, grasping thing, an ember that refused to be extinguished no matter how much sand I heaped atop of it. It’s where Beth and I fell in with the Ossalen, where we theorised over Alanga artefacts (so many WhatsApp messages! More importantly, what I appreciate about this is how at the same time, Stewart also demonstrated the importance of our mindset as we proceed through life and struggles. I do have to admit that I was a little lost at times simply because with a two year gap in the plot, the first half of this book was a lot of going back and forth in time.

Having her first person narration gave us insight into Lin’s doubts and insecurities, so we do know she was always questioning if she was doing the right thing. The first half of this novel sees our characters on side quests or on missions to thwart each other’s plans. Of course, there are many villains in the story, and not all are redeemable, and I liked that there were different types of antagonists in the story. The magic system Stewart creates and the worldbuilding surrounding it are what make this series as good as it is. Die kurzen Kapitel, die zwischendurch eingestreuten Actionszenen und die vielen verschiedenen PoVs sorgen hier einfach für reichlich Abwechslung und regen den Lesefluss an.I know it seems like fantasy books always get longer with every book in a series, but The Bone Shard War simply did not have enough substance to support over 600 pages. It has all the roller coaster of emotions we've come to expect from Andrea's work and I'm sad to see cast, except Ragan, go but I'm more than happy where they leave us. If fact the Shardless Few resolution really didn't make a lot of sense either and kinda got dropped in the final conflicts of the book. Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! The Bone Shard Daughter is epic fantasy at its most human and heartfelt, concerned with the real lives caught in the gears of empire and rebellion.

Yet where Stewart takes them in the next two books is incredible too, the entire Empire changes by the end and the scope of this arc awed me. Beth: I agree Nils, I think Stewart’s worldbuilding is the strength of the whole trilogy to be honest, I feel it’s the defining element – when I think of this trilogy, I think of the Ossalen and islands and bone shard magic. Now this sweeping tale of magic, revolution and mystery, where a young woman's sense of identity will make or break an empire, finally comes to an epic conclusion.Nils: Nisong is complex, messy, full of anger, regret, confusion and not really knowing her place in this world. Stewart has drawn a fascinating world with characters who have deep foundations, and who will quickly capture readers' hearts . Same goes for Nisong who allied herself with Ragan which hits you right away with surprise and wanting to know how this alliance came to be.