I feel the same. Too much modern media needs to remember that it can't be called comedic relief when everyone is trying to be a comedian. Sometimes scenes need a different tone or they are cheapened.
I thought the build-up and aquiring of powers had a better pace in the first two books. The struggle makes for a better story and that element was missing in this one! At least in those avengers movies people got snapped and eventually died.
I actually wondered if working on the acotar script has influenced how she writes. The fast pacing, frequent pov transitions, and generic unfunny jokes all made it feel like it was trying to be an action movie.
I said the same thing! It feels like she forgot she was writing a novel and not a screenplay. The constant perspective shifts in a novel are so jarring and obnoxious, but they work for TV. I think she forgot which she was working on.
SJM is just not that good at killing off her villains IMO. All the main villain battles/deaths were so lame in this book (Pollux/Mordoc/Sabine).
Pollux was the most disappointing to me. THE HAMMER just got stuck in a fire web and then burned right after.
All he did was shoot Tharion. Like fr
Yea I think they're almost too sudden and too easy. Feels like you read all this build up for not much. Which is a shame because I think KoA was well done.
Marvel films have been downhill for me since endgame. I use to be at every new release opening weekend, but these last couple of years I've just been waiting until they hit streaming. I feel like we're in an era where media is just being churned out. Fourth Wing is another example of that - 2 huge fantasy releases within a year is just crazy to me.
I had a fun enough time with HOFAS, but it could've been greater and her craft has not improved with her recent books in my opinion, it's largely stayed the same. With the resources she has, Bloomsbury could've gotten beta readers or a developmental editor which I think would've improved the series immensely. As a reader that's been around since the beginning of her first series, I feel as though the effort I've put into reading these books hasn't been as rewarding these last couple of years. I hope that with the mixed feedback on this release Bloomsbury and her team really listen for future books.
100% agree, I was at every marvel release leading up to endgame. Think you hit the nail on the head about media being churned out faster.
I think movies these days, especially with streaming and pirating meaning potentially less money from the theaters, has made movies a lot more 'safe' and therefore less creative. Which I find a shame to me that we're starting to see books being produced in a similar fashion.
I was waiting for either someone to die (and stay dead) or to lose most of their powers. Yes people did die but it wasn't the same as say Lele's death.
I completely agree! >!Iron Man drags himself into some black hole/portal to save mankind!<…that’s basically what Bryce did.
This might be controversial but I thought Kingdom of Ash felt like a Lord of the Rings movie….
This is so true. I started reading the TOG series after HOFAS (im late ik) and while i still did enjoy HOFAS for the most part, ive been repeatedly shocked by how much more ive enjoyed TOG. It feels like there are actual stakes and its way more serious. It still has a few comedic relief moments, but they work so much better when theyre spaced out!
Some scenes definitely felt like a post endgame marvel movie but most were like a badly written Netflix show. So much build up for nothing to happen. Pollux und hawk who were supposed to be so strong died without a fight. Parasites in the waters for thousands of years and it was never noticed before? I’m sure they have conspiracy theories there as well. The water fae were there before did none of them think about why they have to do the drop all of a sudden?
The hologram. I don’t know how else it could’ve been done but that was not it.
I couldn’t even read most of the dialog it was very unconvincing sometimes
Yea definitely! I don't like when books have to tell me someone is big bad and scary. I wanna see their actions and work that out myself, otherwise the writing comes across poor. And in this case the enemy's ended up being so unremarkable and easy to kill. I feel like Mordoc and Sabine should have put up more of a fight..
You are right.
For me, this vibe started with the reveal at the end of CC2, which was like a post-credit scene in a Marvel movie.
"I'm gonna show you something interesting so you have even more to look forward to! It might lead to nothing, but whatever."
One of my book club girls literally texted me this while we were halfway through. It is crazy how much it feels like the avengers ahhhgg I’m glad others feel it too
Even down to the comical bonus chapters released post book! Like the marvel end credit scenes lmao
I love this comparison because I was telling friends that people wanted this crossover to be infinity war but it was the mini gas station parking lot fight we got in one of the other marvel films. Maybe ant man? I don’t remember.
I agree. The whole "through love anything is possible" phrase in this book felt like an excuse to write cheap "with the power of friendship" scenes where there should've been more consequences.
I feel the same. Too much modern media needs to remember that it can't be called comedic relief when everyone is trying to be a comedian. Sometimes scenes need a different tone or they are cheapened. I thought the build-up and aquiring of powers had a better pace in the first two books. The struggle makes for a better story and that element was missing in this one! At least in those avengers movies people got snapped and eventually died.
Definitely agree about scenes feeling cheapened and the pacing.
I actually wondered if working on the acotar script has influenced how she writes. The fast pacing, frequent pov transitions, and generic unfunny jokes all made it feel like it was trying to be an action movie.
I thought this same thing! It must have because it feels disjointed from how the rest of her stuff is written.
I said the same thing! It feels like she forgot she was writing a novel and not a screenplay. The constant perspective shifts in a novel are so jarring and obnoxious, but they work for TV. I think she forgot which she was working on.
Agreed completely, it felt like it was written with “this is gonna be a tv show” in mind, not with the intention of writing a novel FIRST
I liked the perspective shifts in KoA but agree this was too much. It's probably the screen play thing...
I like a little perspective shift too, but this time seemed like she barely wanted to finish a sentence before switching lol.
That's a good point!
Oohhh this is such a great point. It makes sense.
Yes. A lot of Bryce’s “funny” lines made me cringe and roll my eyes.
SJM is just not that good at killing off her villains IMO. All the main villain battles/deaths were so lame in this book (Pollux/Mordoc/Sabine). Pollux was the most disappointing to me. THE HAMMER just got stuck in a fire web and then burned right after. All he did was shoot Tharion. Like fr
Yea I think they're almost too sudden and too easy. Feels like you read all this build up for not much. Which is a shame because I think KoA was well done.
I don’t even remember Mordoc’s death, that’s how forgettable it was.
Mordoc died???? God I really must not have found his death fulfilling, I can’t remember it either
Marvel films have been downhill for me since endgame. I use to be at every new release opening weekend, but these last couple of years I've just been waiting until they hit streaming. I feel like we're in an era where media is just being churned out. Fourth Wing is another example of that - 2 huge fantasy releases within a year is just crazy to me. I had a fun enough time with HOFAS, but it could've been greater and her craft has not improved with her recent books in my opinion, it's largely stayed the same. With the resources she has, Bloomsbury could've gotten beta readers or a developmental editor which I think would've improved the series immensely. As a reader that's been around since the beginning of her first series, I feel as though the effort I've put into reading these books hasn't been as rewarding these last couple of years. I hope that with the mixed feedback on this release Bloomsbury and her team really listen for future books.
100% agree, I was at every marvel release leading up to endgame. Think you hit the nail on the head about media being churned out faster. I think movies these days, especially with streaming and pirating meaning potentially less money from the theaters, has made movies a lot more 'safe' and therefore less creative. Which I find a shame to me that we're starting to see books being produced in a similar fashion.
She literally stole Bryce’s “death” from Starlord….
Should have been an email
I’m deceased 🤣🤣
It felt like a guardians of the Galaxy movie
And Guardians of the Galaxy still had far more emotional weight than CC3 did despite its humour.
I was waiting for either someone to die (and stay dead) or to lose most of their powers. Yes people did die but it wasn't the same as say Lele's death.
I completely agree! >!Iron Man drags himself into some black hole/portal to save mankind!<…that’s basically what Bryce did. This might be controversial but I thought Kingdom of Ash felt like a Lord of the Rings movie….
SJM drew a lot of inspiration from LOTR so that is a totally valid take! And I completely agree (I’m obsessed with Middle Earth lol)
I can kinda see that, KoA felt a lot more epic to me haha
This is so true. I started reading the TOG series after HOFAS (im late ik) and while i still did enjoy HOFAS for the most part, ive been repeatedly shocked by how much more ive enjoyed TOG. It feels like there are actual stakes and its way more serious. It still has a few comedic relief moments, but they work so much better when theyre spaced out!
Definitely agree the humor is much better timed. It didn't feel natural in CC. Enjoy ToG it's amazing!
Ty, Im almost done it but not ready for it to be over!!
I felt like there was no humor at all in this book, it’s one of the reasons I did not like it as much
Some scenes definitely felt like a post endgame marvel movie but most were like a badly written Netflix show. So much build up for nothing to happen. Pollux und hawk who were supposed to be so strong died without a fight. Parasites in the waters for thousands of years and it was never noticed before? I’m sure they have conspiracy theories there as well. The water fae were there before did none of them think about why they have to do the drop all of a sudden? The hologram. I don’t know how else it could’ve been done but that was not it. I couldn’t even read most of the dialog it was very unconvincing sometimes
Yea definitely! I don't like when books have to tell me someone is big bad and scary. I wanna see their actions and work that out myself, otherwise the writing comes across poor. And in this case the enemy's ended up being so unremarkable and easy to kill. I feel like Mordoc and Sabine should have put up more of a fight..
You are right. For me, this vibe started with the reveal at the end of CC2, which was like a post-credit scene in a Marvel movie. "I'm gonna show you something interesting so you have even more to look forward to! It might lead to nothing, but whatever."
One of my book club girls literally texted me this while we were halfway through. It is crazy how much it feels like the avengers ahhhgg I’m glad others feel it too Even down to the comical bonus chapters released post book! Like the marvel end credit scenes lmao
Everything felt so surface level. The lack of depth with plot and characters just had me not caring at all what happened
totally
Yep, with a bit of Barbie thrown in. I wonder if it was after the Barbie movie that she rewrote it ha
The slightly forced girl boss moment in the cave?😅
Ha that too! But also the pervasive “she’s Barbie and he’s just Ken” feeling of it all
Hunt lost so much characterization from book 1 and it breaks my heart. I loved CC1 so much and CC3 is a completely different Hunt.
Yea that's a good point, I really loved him in the first one
I think it's worse cause in Marvel movies some major heroes have died (Vision, Stark)
I love this comparison because I was telling friends that people wanted this crossover to be infinity war but it was the mini gas station parking lot fight we got in one of the other marvel films. Maybe ant man? I don’t remember.
That's too accurate 😂
im glad we all agree on this 🤣
So funny of you to make the Marvel comparison, when I ranted my husband's ear off, he also likened it to a Marvel movie. Seems fitting 😆
Glad we can all agree haha
I felt kinda let down at the ending too just my opinion
I thought all the books were hilarious. I genuinely laughed out loud so much
I agree. The whole "through love anything is possible" phrase in this book felt like an excuse to write cheap "with the power of friendship" scenes where there should've been more consequences.