This book is very typical of the series. While there are a lot of slow sections that I struggle through, the end of each book always rewards me for my patience. Kate Elliott is capable of writing some truly amazing scenes. Her characterization is also some of the best in the fantasy genre. I think this series would be among my favorites if the pacing were faster.

A disclaimer: for someone who’s read a lot of fantasy, I am not a big series reader. In fact, after beginning Crown of Stars I realized that, should I make it through all seven volumes, it would become the only completed adult epic fantasy series longer than a trilogy that I'd ever read in its entirety. Every word there counts: I’ve read entire epic fantasy series for younger readers, mostly when I was one. I’ve read series that wouldn’t quite count as “epic fantasy,” because they ended, then ad...

”This war seems like a desert to me, a barren wasteland. But still, it must be crossed.”Either the series fatigue has finally got me or this novel was too long by at least 900 pages.Gathering Story is a brick of a book that could be much shorter. Again, whole passages or even POVs (sorry Stronghand, you lost your charm when you decided to mimic humans) could be cut out without doing any harm to the whole story. Roughly 7/8 of the novel is storm-mongering. We are repeatedly told that the great ca...

Long but engaging read. Nice way to pass the time. =)

The continuation of the Crown of Stars continues where the last book leaves off. This book is great and reaches the pinnacle peak of what the series has been hinting at. This book is big, but has a lot of great movement in the plot and character development.

These damn tomes are getting to me this late in the year and I have many more to go, including the last two in this series!!!!!! It better end good or out they go!! Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

EPIC.This book is epic. And normally, I like epic. But for some reason, this series makes me feel stupid. There are so many characters doing so many things in so many places, and what with the wacky time shifting and whatnot in this book, I just can't keep up. I spent most of my time going... "wait, WHERE are we? What is happening? Where did Liath go?"I feel badly about it, because this author does things I normally like... taking archetypes and twisting them around, avoiding the happy endings f...

I read these a while ago and was one of best sets I read so far, so anticipating all the way through all 7 books omg such good set I wished they never end, one of those where you finish and think "NOW WHAT?! :(" AWESOME!

WHERE IS MY HBO MINISERIES. WHERE IS IT.

I remember starting this series and loving how vivid the characters and world-building was, and now I'm just not that into it. I've had a long pause prior to returning to the series and I think I should have just read the whole thing straight through instead of waiting. The world, based on medieval Europe, is detailed and more elaborate than other fantasy worlds, but it's also easy to get lost in the numerous characters and the complex politics of the series. And lost I was.

The best book in the series so far in my opinion as so many plot threads finally came together. The last two hundred pages of this book had me on the edge of my seat. I liked most of the characters stories in this book though I have had to accept that I am never going to like Sanglant very much. My favorites were Hanna and Rosvita and Stronghand as each one of them grew so much as characters . I am hoping they are setting Rosvita up to become skopos eventually. Hugh still hasn't gotten the comeu...

The Gathering Storm seriously cut into my reading stats for the year! At almost 1000 pages, it took me a month to read (I did take a break around the middle). This series has definitely reached sprawling epic category. But if you like this kind of thing and have the patience for it, it's really brilliant. Not enough people know about this series. There are a lot of characters and timelines to keep track of in this book. I'll admit to being a bit fuzzy on some of them, and on their locations at t...

This is my favorite entry in the series so far. I have been able to say that about each book as I read them. Imagine liking each book in a series more than the one before it; hooray for me. Kate Elliott's particular brand of thoroughly-researched, early-medieval European, multiple POV, years-spanning epic is clearly right up my alley. I sincerely hope that by the time you have read the prior four books, you will know whether or not it is right for you also. Book four felt very long, though enjoy...

Good grief, this is a big book! 978 pages, and something happening on every page as the diverse characters approach the fiery climax which (I presume) sets the scene for the final two (!) volumes of Crown of Stars.She has created a magnificent fantasy world comparable to that of the Crossroads sequence, which I loved, and I eagerly await the follow up to Black Wolves. I have to admit, unfortunately, that I did not get on with the Cold Magic books (read the first, abandoned the second) but this i...

One of the great things about this book, about this series in fact, is that it's nearly impossible to put it down. You may have prior commitments or friends to hang out with or whatever, but you still can't help but wonder when Liath and Sanglant will finally reunite, or where Hanna and Rosvita and friends will end up when they travel through the crowns, or if Alain will ever find happiness in the present. Almost no one finds true happiness in this fifth volume of the Crown of Stars series as th...

Oh. My. Goodness!Such a good book! Elliott did a masterful job playing out every single storyline. She kept shuffling through them all and I'd always get so into that each one that I hated having to read the next, never mind that I'd been wanting to read more of it a chapter or so previously.It had such a great ending too. I can't wait to see what the last two books have in store. I'd say more, but then there would be spoilers. We all hate spoilers, so I won't do that to anyone.

Still very enjoyable, but a bit of a disappointment compared to the previous volumes. It felt like a lot of shuffling of pieces took entirely too much space, and at a certain point I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the obvious mumbo-jumbo for the sake of getting the timeline to fit all the disparate threads. This character gets sick for three months! This character travels in time for a year and a half! This character gets stuck in a cage and eats algae for a month! This character travels to N...

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.The Crown of Stars series is well-thought out and obviously well-planned. It's epic in scope and it's got a lot of texture. There are many complex characters who we follow in parallel, as in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Some of them are very likable, and there are some really excellent villains (e.g., Hugh). Ms. Elliott's creatures are imaginative and enjoyable, and I especially liked the way they interact with the humans. Ms. Elliott uses a lot of descr...

I am really enjoying this series a lot. I like the way you actually care about the supporting characters as well as the main ones.My only complaint, and it is a small one, is when you get really excited to see where the story is going with one character.....right as the author switches viewpoints.This one has a pretty satisfying 'ending'. I can't wait to get started on the next one.

As the Crown of Stars series nears its end, this book loses its individual identity. There's no real 'spine' overtly holding this book together as a unit. No new characters to speak of.As a result, The Gathering Storm does feel 'looser' in the plot department.On the other hand, the cataclysm that the series is centered around is drawing close. One of the more prominent subplots here are the Seven Sleepers' quest to take control of the Crown so they can cast the spell to keep the exiled bit of Ea...