Gods and Warriors: Warrior Bronze

Gods and Warriors #5

by Michelle Paver

Michelle Paver's superb Bronze Age epic reaches its dramatic, spine-tingling conclusion. Hylas and Pirra return to Akea for their final confrontation with their arch-enemies, the Crows. They must recover the dagger of Koronos if they are to end the warriors' brutal rule. Only if old and new friends join forces can they hope to triumph - but the price of victory may be higher than either Hylas or Pirra has dreamed . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Historical, Mythology, Fiction, Childrens

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2016

About the author

Michelle Paver was born in central Africa, but came to England as a child. After gaining a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a city law firm, but eventually gave that up to write full-time.

The hugely successful Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series arose from Michelle's lifelong passion for animals, anthropology and the distant past—as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in southern California. To research the books, Michelle has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild orca (killer whales), and got nose-to-nose with polar bears—and, of course, wolves.

Reviews

[Jelena Milenković · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so happy that I stumbled upon this series!

And so satisfied with its ending, couldn't ask for much more (well, I could. For more of Spirit, but I'll be reasonable, this one time xD)

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked the first title in this series to use with my Chatterbooks group. I enjoyed it so much I just had to read the entire series. Warrior Bronze is a thrilling, satisfying conclusion the story. I'll miss Hylas and Pirra. I'll miss Havoc and Echo and especially Spirit even more.

[Benedict · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent conclusion to a near-perfect series.

The fifth and final instalment in the Gods And Warriors series follows Hylas, Pirra, Havoc and Echo travelling back to Hylas' homeland in pursuit of the Dagger of Koronos, hoping to retrieve it and end the terrible reign of The Crows once and for all.

It continues in the same style as the previous books, and the story is tight, believable and creative. The climactic finale was splendidly written, and the conclusions reached were as good as I expected.

This series is so wonderfully told. I wish more people would read it because this is an absolute gem of a series, and the ending has not let it down in the slightest.

[Lenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Príbeh dvoch odvážnych detí z gréckej doby bronzovej sa skončil. Diel, v ktorom sa striedali dramatické scény, roztomilé scény ale aj vtipné okamihy. Záver mi prišiel veľmi uponáhľaný a jedna udalosť ma tam nahnevala ale čo už. Každopádne príjemné čítanie na leto a určite odporúčam najmä mladším čitateľom (12-15 rokov).

[Eldin Stråth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️
Såklart rätt så bra, men det var en del delar som störde mig rätt mycket. Jag hade gärna sett ett annat slut på det hela och bara.. nej jag vet inte. Det kändes inte helt som ett slut?

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading the series aloud to my kids. We all enjoyed it!

[Rebeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

After five books I realized this series reminds me of Avatar: the last airbender, which by the way I love.
Reasons:
- group of friends traveling around the world (or at least Mediterranean)
- good vs evil
- magical elements
I guess that's it but pretty much covers it.

That being said (I really had to let that out) let's move to actual review.

I absolutely love this book. And not just that book but the whole series. I already mentioned in one of the previous reviews that it's really hard for me to read series. Usually I lose interest after reading the first book. That's not the case with this one. I admit it took me about a year to read the whole series but I did finish each book within few days.

First the story was interesting and dynamic through the whole book. It was fast pacing and it kept me going on. It was a super fast read and I enjoyed it a lot.

I had no clue that Issi was pretending to be a boy and it was a complete surprise when it was revealed that Pirra and Issi actually already met. I really like Issi and wish we would know more about her and her story.

Can we talk about Akastos being the leader or chief or whatever they were called? I got really excited when I found out. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I really liked him during the whole series. He made me laugh quite a few times. And him being their leader kinda makes perfect sense now that I think about and wouldn't like it any other way.

I was always intrigued by relationship between Hylas and Telamon. It is no secret that I rooted for Telamons redemption and happy reunion of two best friends. I really enjoyed the dynamic between those two characters but at the end I hoped they would smooth things over. Development of Telamon is written really good throughout each book and jealousy and self-pity is increasing book after book which I enjoyed but like I said I did hope he would turn sides. I want to believe that there was still some good in him and I can't understand fully how he could turn his back on his childhood best friend. I did hope that seeing Issi would be a trigger. Some kind of a reminder of old times but I guess there isn't happy ending for everyone so...

Another relationship I'm very fond of is between Hylas and Pirra. I became a big fan of them I think in second book, when I finaly accepted that there will never be anything between Pirra and Telamon. I am satisfied with amount of interactions between Hylas and Pirra and I was very happy for their kiss. It was adorable.

All in all I can say it was a perfect ending to an amazing series.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this series for five years now and gosh what a perfect ending to a perfect series

[Magda Karlsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jag älskade boken. Hela vägen var den spännande och med olika vändningar så att man aldrig blev uttråkad. Men jag måste erkänna att jag blev ganska arg Michelle avslutade boken utan att Pira och Hylas kysstes efter att han hade frågat om Pira ville vara hans flicka, och att Isis var så lätt att hitta, jag hade tyckt det var bättre om hon var fångad av kråkorna och gjord till slav, det hade varit mer spännande.

Hela serien har gott upp och ner. Första och andra var väldigt spännande, jag var inte lika positiv emot den tredje boken. Fjärde var väldigt långdragen och jag kom inte riktigt in i berättelsen och ville läsa mer och mer förens andra halvan av boken men jag tvingade mig själv att läsa vidare och det är jag väldigt glad för.

[Maja Kron · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

This was a lot better than the previous one, probably since it was the last. So much was going on all the time and you never lost interest in the story. It was a bit predictable and so on, but it's a middle-grade book so what can you really expect. It was very good for what it was, and I loved the ending.

I'm not too sure how to feel about the 'you can only get this high position if your sight comes back' thing. I know it was probably very difficult to be blind during the bronze age, but at the same time, what message does it send to the young readers if a character has gone blind can't get some sort of power...

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book five and the end of the God's and Warriors series that I very much enjoyed. This is good fiction for older children and young adults, as well as older young adult readers. This is set in the bronze age in and around what is now Greece.

In this book Hylas, Pirra and all the animals that have joined them meet together in a final showdown with Telamon and the crows. Other key characters also turn up, but I won't say more to avoid spoilers and because, in any case, if you have read the first four books in this series, you will want to read this one, and if you haven't then you should start at book 1.

[David Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great series

The first book was hard to read but after that it was like butter on a piece of toast. This series had it all - love, jealousy, anger, struggle and two very different heroes. Although I would have liked to see Issi more in the series, I like how strong willed and independent she was.
For me the love story really came alive in book 4 and by book 5, it was painful to see the conflict that Hylas had to endure.
So goodbye for now to a great author and perhaps again we will meet in the pages of a book.

[miha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moja prva prebrana knjiga v 2018, čist všeč :) In še zares sem bral knjigo in to v slovenšični, sem že skor pozabu kok je to fino ko samo poslušam vse v angleščini.

Všeč mi je bil zaključek, všeč mi je blo da se najdeta spet Hilas in Isi po dolgem dolgem času narazen in tud to da sta Pira in on mejčkeno zaljubljena mi je čist všeč :) Bom pa mogu it celo serijo še enkrat čez, ker sem jo bral tako narazen da se že vsega ne spomnim kaj je blo v petih knjigah

[Nancy Rimassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The End Is Near

This story is the ending chapter of the series and is predictable as one would expect. The boy gets the girl, the enemies are vanquished and the good folk live happily ever after. Still it is an entertaining read and if you read the first four books, you have to read this one.

[Crystal E. Fall · Rating 3 out of 5]

En bra avslutning på serien som knyter ihop allting på ett snyggt, och kanske även lite ironiskt sätt. Det märks att jag inte längre är målgruppen för den här boken, men det är en perfekt gastkramande berättelse för yngre barn/tonåringar som tycker om historia, äventyr och fantasi. Djurens perspektiv, lejonet Amok och falken Ecko, tillhör de bästa delarna. 3.5 Stjärnor.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant! Satisfying finish to this series which I initially didn’t hold too much faith getting into because how much I liked the Wolf Brother series. Spirit made a tiny little comeback, but that is just as well, as he belongs to the frolick and fun in the ocean!

[Alex T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullet review:
+A solid conclusion to the series.
+A thrilling climax.
+I like how we got to see quite a few old faces in this book.
+The characters and world-building are sill great.
*The pattern of a new animal sidekick being introduced in each book is a bit predicable. I really thought we broke this habit in book four but in this book they're back to doing it again.
-Hylas and Pirra are personality-wise and relationship-wise rather similar to the protagonists of Paver's other series, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, which can be rather distracting as someone who read both series.

Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...

[Mr Saikaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this series with my Yr 8 English class.

They loved it.

[Arlene Szalay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good finish to series

[Nighteye · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good big ending as expected, fashinating as usual.

[Vidar Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jag gillar boken. Lycka till Hylas och Pira i framtiden!

[Sarah Staunton-lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great concluding book to a captivating series

[Tindra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den var ett värdigt slut för serien

[Elin Nilsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riktigt bra slut på serien!

[Pandora Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good ending, it didn't drop the ball.

[Alex Loughnane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly pretty mid ending to the franchise the location was mid and the plot was mid.

[Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sträckläste på EN DAG! Detta är sista boken i serien, där de sista pusselbitarna faller på plats och Paver får till ett snyggt avslut på berättelsen om Hylas och Pira.

[Melissa Petro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente final. Disfrute mucho esta saga, la recomiendo.

[Fainne Firmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved this series from when the first book was published, and I loved the ending as well. It gave me everything I wanted - even surprised me a little at one point - and over all was the perfect ending to a fantastic book series.

There is only one way I believe this book, or any of its predecessors, could be improved. That's by putting it in a slightly older age group, because with all the subtext these books have . . . it would fit in just fine if the author had wanted to take more a "Song of the Lioness" route when it came to Hylas and Pirra. Don't get me wrong - I am perfectly happy with how their relationship worked out. I just think that the author probably could have stepped a little outside of the usual parameters for this age group and gotten away with it. And I wouldn't have complained. Hylas and Pirra are an adorable ship. Give them more than the one kiss!

Also some of Telamon's threat would have been way worse if the subtext had been acknowledge . . . I'll switch topics now.

The plot followed the pretty typical conclusion pattern, but it worked out very nicely. I was pleasantly surprised at how some threads were tied up, and I liked how the characters worked and interacted. I only wish the book could have been a little longer, a little more expansive on everything. But otherwise it was great.

I especially loved the return of Spirit. For the past several books, I've been wondering at his absence since they'd been travelling quite a bit on the ocean. Thankfully he returned, and while he didn't have much (or really any) bearing on the plot, at least he returned! A horse I'd completely forgotten about also returned, so that was cool too.

I'm keeping this review mostly spoiler free, and all I can say is that I'm glad I finally got my hands on this book and that I didn't want to put it down. I'm sure I confused my roommates from the numerous times I yelled "what" or burst into laughter while reading thing. It the finale to a great series, and I only wish the series could go on!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

'You can't fool the Angry Ones, Telamon. You can't fool your Ancestors, either. Your father knows what you did.'

With Warrior Bronze, the story of Hylas and Pirra comes to an end. Finally, we get some answers to the questions we've been asking, most notably Issi of course. I doubt I'm spoiling anything when I'm saying that she's still alive and kicking. However, it's a bit of a shame we only see relatively little of her. There are just a few parts of her POV in the book; some more would have been nice.

This book also features the return of some familiar faces, together with some big reveals. The end itself is not very exhilirating of course, you can already smell it from a mile off, but Paver does succeed in adding some extra twists in the last chapter anyway.

It's been fun while it lasted, and it sure has its moments, with some amazing characters and scenes. However, the books never had that something that can be found in CoAD. Hylas and Pirra are very likeable characters, but Torak and Renn still have something extra. As does their story itself. Here, it sometimes feels a bit rushed and as if Paver has worked herself into a corner and has to make a strange U turn to get out. For instance, I've always felt it's a bit odd that Thestor, Telamon's father, is simply killed off off-page, just like Yassassara earlier in the series. The way Koronos meets his end is also a bit of an anticlimax; it seems as if there were too many characters to take into account and some just had to meet their maker-author so Telamon could be the real big bad guy. All of those elements did feel forced in some way.

All in all, a pleasurable read, but if you're really expecting something akin to Paver's other children's series, you might be disappointed a bit.

8/10
Average rating for the series: 8/10