Rating: 
Summary: slow to start, but absorbing
Review: It took me a while to get into this book, because I had difficulty making it past West's prose style--very ornate, with frequent use of repetition as a stylistic device. However, around about halfway through the book I was sucked in. West has extremely well-developed characterization and plots. She is also excellent at world-building; the Dominion and Essaliyen felt convincingly real and convincingly different. The plotting and scheming is also done well; the effect overall is so good that it felt almost as if I were reading a historical novel. The heart of the book for me was the relationship between Sendari, Diora, and Teresa, but the northern stuff with Valedan was compelling as well, although Kiriel came across as a little too much like a Mary Sue. Overall, five stars for plot, five stars for characterization, five stars for world building, two stars for prose style.
Rating: 
Summary: Michelle West is wonderful!
Review: It's really hard picking a new author, but when I found this book in the store, and read it, I was stunned! The Broken Crown is the first book that I have bought by Michelle West, and I was definately not dissapointed. It's gripping plot, and wonderful characters kept me reading untill the end. It truely is a breath-taking, beautiful book, it left me satisfied, yet it left me wanting more. I can't wait untill the second book arrives in bookstores. This book is a must for all fantasy lovers
Rating:
Summary: West continues to develop depth, insight in her sixth novel.
Review: Michelle West has begun to develop as an author in ways that begin to move her beyond the genre fantasies that she writes. Her newest book returns her to the world explored in the Sacred Hunt. As her writing continues to develop she becomes much more adept at developing fully three dimensional characters where she explores human strength and frailty in a completly captivating fashion. A touch of mystery leaves the reader with many opportunities for speculation and exploration and the ever present desire to read more. I hope the release of the second volume in the Sunsword series will happen quickly. A great read, with real depth and real perception
Rating:
Summary: A superlative effort
Review: Michelle West has just entered that small pantheon of writers I consider to be both stylistically excellent and engaging as storytellers with her sterling effort in The Broken Crown. Like her fellows in this cadre such as Stephen Donaldson, Paula Volsky, and Ursla K. LeGuin, Michelle West writes both intricately and expressively, allowing her imagination full reign. Not just another Jordan-esque schlock fantasy epic, The Broken Crown paints vivid portraits of distinctly human characters as opposed to predictable stereotypes, and creates foreign cultures both familiar and alien. One of the best books I have read in some time. Highly recommended to thise fantasy readers who delight in the baroque, both stylistically and plotwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and difficult to follow
Review: Ms. West/Sagura writes well and her sentences are well-constructed, but she skips all over the place without explanations for the reader so it is impossible to follow the story. She focuses on one character for a few pages, then abruptly switches to another leaving the reader without a protagonist. There is no cohesion or logic to the changes and after awhile, I just gave up trying to piece it together. If you want to read a long, absorbing story with a cast of hundreds, try the George R. R. Martin series "A Song of Ice and Fire". The first book of that series is "A Game of Thrones".
Rating: 
Summary: convoluted
Review: Ms. Wests style is comparable to legal briefs, except legal briefs are easier to read and understand. Hundreds of pages go by and very little happens - almost like a soap opera, except that soap operas are usually cogent and easily understood - and, like this book - boring. This book is slow to develop a plot, if a plot is ever discovered. I never did find the plot but, then again, I kept falling asleep while reading it.
My library is comprised of several thousand volumes and this series (I actually bought the whole thing) will be relegated to the very, very few that I have not read nor will read.
Rating: 
Summary: Difficult
Review: My response to this book is complicated.The author is clearly not a hack writer. The writing style is difficult to skim or read quickly because of its originality. Michelle West's prose is admirable and unique. In addition, the world she has created is full of nuances and is very well fleshed-out. The cast of characters is impressively large, and the political machinations and complex interpersonal relationships the author has brought to life here are unarguably imaginative. A word of warning, however. The world West imagines is not a very pleasant or inviting one. She envisions a world where slavery and the brutal repression of women is institutionalized, where many characters--even protagonists-treat human lives as props in schemes, to be casually used and carelessly tossed aside. This harsh and depressing tone is relentless and, instead of serving as a backdrop for a moral struggle between good and evil, seems incidental to the plot direction of the book, which concerns itself mainly with the setup for various impending political clashes. Truly likable characters seem few and far between. If you are the type of reader who can become emotionally immersed in the world of an expansive fantasy novel (and good for you if so!), I offer the following warning: I personally experienced the cruel and unjust society depicted within the novel as almost unbearably depressing, partially because West is a good writer. I felt that I was expected to accept the horrific injustices as normal, as all of the main characters seemed to do. Reading the book was a very frustrating and emotionally taxing experience for me. But if you can enjoy a complex, plot-driven fantasy without being permanently scarred by the inclusion of numerous atrocities, this might be a satisfying read for you.
Rating:
Summary: Difficult
Review: My response to this book is complicated. The author is clearly not a hack writer. The writing style is difficult to skim or read quickly because of its originality. Michelle West's prose is admirable and unique. In addition, the world she has created is full of nuances and is very well fleshed-out. The cast of characters is impressively large, and the political machinations and complex interpersonal relationships the author has brought to life here are unarguably imaginative. A word of warning, however. The world West imagines is not a very pleasant or inviting one. She envisions a world where slavery and the brutal repression of women is institutionalized, where many characters--even protagonists-treat human lives as props in schemes, to be casually used and carelessly tossed aside. This harsh and depressing tone is relentless and, instead of serving as a backdrop for a moral struggle between good and evil, seems incidental to the plot direction of the book, which concerns itself mainly with the setup for various impending political clashes. Truly likable characters seem few and far between. If you are the type of reader who can become emotionally immersed in the world of an expansive fantasy novel (and good for you if so!), I offer the following warning: I personally experienced the cruel and unjust society depicted within the novel as almost unbearably depressing, partially because West is a good writer. I felt that I was expected to accept the horrific injustices as normal, as all of the main characters seemed to do. Reading the book was a very frustrating and emotionally taxing experience for me. But if you can enjoy a complex, plot-driven fantasy without being permanently scarred by the inclusion of numerous atrocities, this might be a satisfying read for you.
Rating:
Summary: truly delightful
Review: my sister bought this book because she liked the picture on the front. i hadn't planned on reading it, but when i ran out of other books to read, i did. i was very pleasantly surprised. it's a little confusing at the beginning, but most good books are. there are a lot of characters. thankfully she included a character list. not the usual fantasy gibberish. it's a very insightful and very interesting book. one warning though: the end leaves a lot to be desired, so expect to have to purchase the sequels.
Rating:
Summary: unusual in some very good ways
Review: Not much epic fantasy is by and (mostly) about women, but that's what intrigued me to start with about this book. What kept me reading the series was the characters and the situations they find themselves in: complex, dramatic, at times tragic. Despite a narrative voice that seems to spend a lot of time explaining, the characters themselves have a reticence, dignity, and mystery that makes we want to learn more about them. The weaknesses of this series are all in pacing and clarity. I'm currently reading the fourth book, and have lost count of the number of "dramatic standoffs" where people stand around with their weapons drawn and talk to one another page after page. I'm no action addict, but there seems something contrived about a lot of these moments, and one at times is left with the impression that the entire "action" of the book is taking place over cups of coffee. Although the world of the book is well painted and interesting, it seems claustrophobic, missing some of the sweeping vistas that make epic fantasy thrilling. Too, her prose is at times unnecessarily difficult to untangle, and the narrative shifts points of view at times without the signals that make such shifts easy to follow. All told, though, these are unusual books in lots of ways, and for some the relative lack of the more overt kinds of conflict and action will be most welcome. The books are all well structured, even if they do seem to meander at times. It's certainly interesting enough to hold older readers' attention, and is a rewarding read for fans of the genre.
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