Juan Sebastian’s Reviews > Ashes of Man > Status Update

Oh this book is just a complete fumble. Directionless, characters running around like chickens with their heads cut off; death flags and character assassinating passages in them; anticlimactic character-defining moments (why here and to something so stupidly basic??). Fumble fumble fumble.

Cute twist, albeit predictable. Still, the book is directionless and I fear the series might end up being a book, maybe even two books too long at this point. The meandering has returned and the momentum established by the stakes of last book has completely ground to a halt. Book 4 could have either been placed closer to the end or book 5 or 6 could’ve been the last from the impressions I’m getting at the moment.

I mean it’s good, but so far it just feels like book 4.5? I love that we took our time to grieve and process, but I’m pretty far in and the plot of this book without relation to the previous one is maybe barely getting started.

I’m surprised at how patient the book has been. It truly wants you to feel the consequences of last book and seems to understand how exhausted one might be after reading it. I feel like we might finally be getting into some plot but I enjoyed the time to breathe.

I’m kinda surprised by the start of this book. It is exactly the opposite of every other start of the other books. I like it but it took me unawares and I’m trying to adapt lmao.