Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Stolen Throne

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Stolen Throne by David Gaider

4 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I’m glad I enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Dragon Age, so it was nice to be able to enjoy more of the franchise’s extra content.

To start, I really liked Maric’s journey across the book. Especially how his relationship with his closest friend, Loghain, played into it. He goes from a whiny and naïve boy to a hardened king, willing to do what’s necessary. It’s not fully framed as good either, even more so when taking his relationship with Loghain into the mix. They’re two friends who clearly love and are devoted to each other, yet still hurt each other.

I also thought the book’s description’s were well done. I had a solid pictures of characters and locations, but also the action and feelings in the moment. The combat is the best example of this. They felt visceral and fast-moving. Keeping that quick pace is something I see books struggle with a lot, so this was nice to see.

I also think the characters were largely compelling. While there was one I couldn’t really get behind, I think most were allowed a lot of depth and complexity. Even characters now handled well had it to an extent. I really felt like that the main cast were a group of young people that were suffering the consequences of growing up in a war.

However, the book has its flaws as well.

The most obvious issue was how women were written. Despite a level of complexity all characters had, the women felt a little flat. While Rowen had moments of a lot of depth, overall she and the other leading woman were largely objects. They became items for Maric and Loghain to fight and have conflict over, instead of being fully people. It was disappointing.

I also think the book’s pacing was off. I felt like some important moments were glossed over, meanwhile other moments were dragged out. This was even more obvious at the end of the book. The climax felt off and dissatisfying. While the epilogue was solid, I ended the book feeling like I’d been denied something.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. I had fun reading it, but I’d hesitate to recommend it to anyone that isn’t already a fan of Dragon Age.

Content Warnings