Rating: 
Summary: very disappointing
Review: i have a deep amount of respect for c.j. cherryh. she has the ability to set a mood that is practically unparalled. her ability to tell a story, however, is not up to the same level.the storyline of this series is just not that good. it's extraordinarily repetitive. all tristen's time in the greyspace is essentially the same, with some subtle differences. the ending is massively disappointing. same old greyspace battle with tristen, and then a very basic "could have happened 1/3 of the way through the series" battle in the 'real world'. that was pretty much it for the ending. didn't even really sum things up, but that horse has been beaten to death, so i won't touch that much. the last 2 books are just the same old settings, which were great at first, but you have to take things up a notch. i realize that certain authors, such as tolkein, you have to soak in - they don't have blazing storytelling - but cherryh takes it a little too far for my taste.
Rating: 
Summary: Cherryh, Please do not let this be the last book !
Review: I have a most enjoyable one week plus reading the Fortress series. Fortress in the Eye of Time, the first book, was simply exquisite. Fortress of Eagle and Fortress of Owl were slow paced but the great characterization more than made up for it. I just love Tristen, who is one of the most lovable and appealing heroes I have come across in fantasies. Tristen's innocence, his joy in every revelation in nature and the world he is summoned to, his discovery of men and his growing love for his friends is beautifully written. I just have to know what happen to him next. Initially Fortress of Dragons seems a worthy addition to the series until I come to the last one hundred pages. I am just frustrated and disappointed. How could Fortress of Dragons be the final book of the series ? There are too many questions with unsatisfactory answers. What exactly is Tristen's purpose ? Who exactly is Tristen ? Lord of Shadows? The prophesized High King? An ancient magical being reincarnated? How could the writer gives such a vague ending to this wonderfully appealing character ? Also, what about Cefwyn's two sons ? Do they have roles to play in Tristen's life ? The last two pages of the book, so called spotlights, detailing a letter exchange between the two dear friends, Tristen and Cefwyn, just makes me scream for a sequel. I fervently hope Cherryh will continue with the series and do justice to Tristen and his friends. Cherryh, please don't destroy the series with such a vague ending.
Rating: 
Summary: PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT THE LAST BOOK!
Review: I have never written one of these before, so bear with me. I have read hundreds of fantasy novels, and out of all of those, the Fortress series is one of the best series I have ever come across. I read the first two novels when they were in paperback. I was hooked! I then did something I have never done before, I bought the third book in hardback. I could not wait for it to come out in paperback. I finished each of these books in only 2 days. After finishing the third book, I ordered Fortress Of Dragons before it was even published. I loved it when I finally got it. However, there were some problems I did not like about the fourth book. Cefwyn was becoming a floor mat to be walked all over. I wanted to hit him in the head and say "You are the King, if you know someone is plotting against you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! If you want to be with certain people DO IT! " I loved Tristen like I have always loved him(he is the only "main" character to me). However, I do not feel he was challenged, magically, at all. I wanted to see a huge battle, both physically, and magically, for all to see. I wanted to see him grow both magically and politically. I wanted to see him become High King (after all, the best Kings are the ones who do not feel the are good enough). There was also many, many questions from all the way back to the first book, that have been left unanswered. What was Mauryl's purpose when Shaping Tristen? Is Mauryl dead? Who and what is Owl? Who and what were the Sihhe? Are they dead or just in the "grey place". Where did they come from? Was Tristen Barrakketh? Why did his past not Unfold to him? Is he going to become High King(I hope so)? How is everyone going to take that? What is going to become of Cefwyn's two sons? Can, and will Tristen fall in love and have children? If so who would she be? If I knew this was not going to be the last book I would give this book 5 stars. Ms. Cherryh, PLEASE write more books. This series has so many options on where it could go. Think of the POSSIBILITIES! I love reading a series over and over again, but I do not want to come away from it every time feeling like it is not done. THIS SERIES IS NOT FINISHED!
Rating:
Summary: The Plot Summary is a Must
Review: I have this whole series, and fortunately re-read all three not too long ago. I have an elephant's memory, and generally don't have trouble remembering who did what to whom when. In this particular case, though, read the several page plot summary. Really. Cherryh does love baroque plots. This one, though, verges on roccoco. When a character thinks about a situation or circumstance, they don't think just of the surface. The character thinks of iterations and implications and alternatives and ... you get the idea? Read the summary, even if you've read all three previous books. The book itself is excellent. The prose is nice and clean, the book moves along at a great pace, while not over-running itself. In the past few books she's published, Cherryh has managed to overcome her tendency to lose the reader in the last couple chapters with unclear action. Yeah, the denoument involves a lot of fast moves, sometimes moving contrary to each other, but you're clear on who's doing what. There is one persistent fault of diction I have noted consistently through the past few books. For some reason, Cherryh or her proof-reader is using "principle" for "principal." Small, but if you notice it once, you keep noticing it. Good book, good series, but read the plot summary.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the last in its series?
Review: I loved this book. I loved Tristen. I still love Tristen... Now that has been said, I wonder if anyone knows whether this is truly the last book? I've heard it is, and I heard it isn't. On Ms Cherryh's website it says it's the concluding volume, but a friend told me that she had said there was more than fitted in one book and so there would be more. I surely hope there will be another book, for Dragons just SCREAMS for a sequel... The book is great, but the ending is... not an ending at all.
Rating:
Summary: padding on padding
Review: I loved this series for two books. Number three began to get pretty repetitive and the absence of character development led to dullness. Tristan was charming at first, and Cherryh handled his ignorance and amazement at the world he was created into with considerable skill, avoiding all corniness. Cefwyn was an interesting mix of good and bad. I was deeply interested in the rich detail of court intrigue and Cefwyn's constant reflections on the possible ramifications for his and the kingdom's political future of his various options for action vis a vis his enemies within and without his realm. Unfortunately, Tristan in the end was just an awfully awfully good guy, which is dead boring. How many times, over four volumes, did we get his point of view about how awfully much he loved Cef and Cef's wife? Enough with the pigeon feeding! And Cefwyn lost his edge of rakish wickedness as he settled down into happy happy marriage. The intrigues were the same intrigues amongst the same few people for four volumes - Cherryh never took it to a new level, never had any real crisis. In the end the political maneuvering amounted to alot of dithering. And in the meantime it got very very repititious. And filled almost the entire book. About 3/4 of the way through this book, I read a few reviews here and realized to my astonishment that this was supposed to be the last of the series. Huh? But - nothing has happened yet! I guess you could say that something happened at the end, although Cherryh devotes about 1% of the book to the "climax" and 99% to the same old tired retread of the same old tired musings. Who Tristan really was was not really handled. What the outcome of the conflict will be once the dust settles is not handled. My personal opinion is that Cherryh has decided that this is not the last volume of this series at all. So she just didn't end it. A token battle at the end - just to clear the way for more books about how much Tris loves Cef and Cef loves his wife and ...
Rating:
Summary: Challenge
Review: I was devoted to the other three books; Fortress in the Eye of Time made me fall in love with Tristen and Fortress of Eagles and Fortress of Owls made me fear for his destiny. By the way--what WAS Tristen's destiny? The final battle was a bit painless and didn't reflect Tristen's growing power; I also did not sense any action of Tristen's that defined him as a Shadow-Lord, no matter what he thinks. Cefwyn and Tristen were face to face for a whole page, and nothing between them was resolved for good. Threads of this story are still stragling behind it and I finished the series furious that I didn't know anything more about Tristen than I had before. So although I loved the series, and the characters, and the story, I was more than frusterated with the "hurried" ending and challenge the author (who is, and has always been, my favorite)to FINISH the story of Tristen, Cefwyn, and Ninevrise.
Rating:
Summary: Builds you up, then lets you down
Review: I've been a fan of CJ Cherryh since the Thieves' World days, and I was curious about this series in particular. Fortress of Dragons was billed as the finale to the series, which involved intrigue, magic, envy, desire, battle, love, you name it -- all the good stuff. The hero, Tristen, is a true innocent, a Summoning and Shaping who has yet to experience a full year being alive (again) and who does not remember much at all of his past life. There are so many parts in this book where Cherryh builds you up, gets you all nervous and excited... and then lets you down with a really boring follow up. The end of the novel itself, which was supposed to wrap up the Fortress trilogy, is so vague and fails to answer so many questions you want to throw the book across the room. I was disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Fortress of Dragons well worth waiting for
Review: I've waited a year for this book and was not disappointed. This is a wonderful conclusion to the series. It contains intrigue, adventure, romance, loyal friends. Many questions are answered, and we learn more about Tristram, Cefwyn, Ninevrese, and are introduced to new characters. Ms. Cherryh's strongest points as a writer are her ability to develop characters so well that I feel as though I know them. This, of course, means that I care about what happens to them. Along with her character development, she also keeps you in suspense about their fate. This book, like the previous 3 in the series is no exception. I kept having to resist the urge to turn to the back and read the end. Do resist that urge. Getting there is well worth it with this book.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful weekend I spent curled up with this!
Review: Looking back at the series this book concluded, it seems to me that Fortress in the Eye of Time reads as one book, and the three that follow read as another. A couple of months pass between the events of the first, and the events of the rest, which flow with scarcely a break, one into the other. I'm amazed that some reviewers thought the book needed more drama--it seemed crammed with it to me. During Tarien's labor, I could feel my heartrate increase; I kept reading, of course, but was almost afraid to. The characters were as delightful as ever, and the relationships as believable, though I missed the interplay between Cefwyn and Tristan, as they were separated for just about the whole book. Cefwyn seemed to lose some perceptiveness without Tristan's presence. This is my one quibble with this final installment. The book seems a chapter short. Cefwyn, lacking his friends' otherworldly awareness, was acting in the dark throughout much of this book and the last. I wish we'd had a chapter of meetings and conversations so I might have known that Cefwyn did understand how much was done for love of him. With the exception of Ninevrise's love, Cefwyn seems to take the love he has for granted, and to feel some discontent for what he doesn't have, which is the adoration that Tristan frequently attracts. He doesn't seem to realize that's a function of the difference between Sihhe and Men. Idrys's final advice seems a throwback to earlier days, and I would have expected a shrewder acknowledgment of what was possible from Idrys. Tristan has gained the upper hand on his demons, internal and external, but I'm not sure Cefwyn has. Ms. Cherryh always leaves things open-ended in her books, and I like that in her--I like to feel that life goes on for the characters even after the pages run out, but I also like to feel that the characters are on a good path so I can part from them with an easy mind. I feel some uneasiness about Cefwyn and Idrys that I wish I could shake: the other potential troubles I'm confident the characters can handle.
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