Finally we are getting down to brass tacks. No more romping in the woods to no purpose. At last we get to talk about OZORNE.
First of all, most of thisFinally we are getting down to brass tacks. No more romping in the woods to no purpose. At last we get to talk about OZORNE.
First of all, most of this book was an extended tour of the capital of Carthak. There were animals, but mostly the dragon and a marmoset which was fine.
Second of all, I just have to say that this whole series would be so much more fun if Daine could have an actual human friend to regularly collaborate with. Numair and Alanna are always vaguely there on the fringes of the story, but the main cast is always Daine And The Animals. It got to the point where it seemed almost contrived how hard the story was working to keep her from communicating anything that was going on with any of the human members of her party.
Most of the story was good. I don't even mind the slow unraveling of plot-through-touring because it's concerned with our central problem, which is Ozorne. The last 15% where Daine with seemingly a single, long sweep of her hand lays waste to the royal palace, is fantastic. I love that. The BEST part is, hands down, the hug at the end. This series could be literally fantastic if it would just give me more of that....more
Okay. Is this a magic boarding school book? Kind of, but I think it's more accurate to think of it as a I came out to have a good time and I SURE DID.
Okay. Is this a magic boarding school book? Kind of, but I think it's more accurate to think of it as a kind of magic Hunger Games type book. It's set in an automated wizard school that's infested with every magical horrible monster imaginable and may or may not actually run on the power generated by its students' deaths? And it's all about El, our main character, and her schemes and maneuvers to navigate the politics of successfully not dying.
At first, El can come off as annoying. Ooh, so edgy and snarky and rude. Like why is she saddened that nobody likes her? Of course nobody likes her.
But as I went deeper into the story, it made more and more sense to me why she's the way that she is, and I ended up caring about her a lot. Her relationship with her mom, and her slowly-growing friendships with the two girls were great.
And then there's Orion. He's a rich, privileged, popular kid with the superpower of slaying horrible monsters, and he's El's frenemy. This isn't exactly true, but it reminded me of a sort of reverse-Uprooted dynamic, where El is the unfathomably rude, angry one and Orion is the wide-eyed innocent. The places where this comparison breaks down are the lack of uncomfortable power dynamic (good!) and the fact that Orion's innocence is from being Too Nice And Kind and totally tone-deaf to politics (GOOD!!!!) rather than true ignorance.
The other thing I have to mention is the WORLD.
Honestly, I don't remember a bunch of the characters' names but a day later I am still thinking about the monsters and magic rules. It's so interesting, and I loved how truly academic the whole book was, with everyone's specializations and the tiny little details and how many different ways there are to use and learn magic. It felt different and unique, and I can't wait to see more.
I'm NOT so happy about the ending though. What was that!? Now I'm nervous that book two will shoot us right back to where we were at the beginning, but it better not. That character development is worth its weight in gold, and I'm not interested in giving it up!...more
It's a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear, obviously. I have never read or seen the original, so I'm not goingI... don't know how to rate this book.
It's a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear, obviously. I have never read or seen the original, so I'm not going to say anything intelligent about the adaptation.
Here is what I liked:
• Well-written. This book is serious and bittersweet and its language was also serious and bittersweet. It's a book about earth magic and star magic, and it was lyrical enough to remind you of the underlying Shakespeare, while also accessible enough to relate to. It was artistically done, but didn't get bogged down in its own aesthetic.
• Complex family relationships. Overall, this is the story of the Lear family and their friends. There is anger, bitterness, love, grudges, forgiveness and all the things that make family relationships so fraught and so important. The book managed to share the perspectives of everyone involved and showcase everyone's faults and failings while still keeping the reader's empathy for them.
• Ban was my favorite person in the book. (Okay, Morimaros was my favorite person in the book, but he was basically a caricature of a Good Man And Good King, meant only to be a foil, so of course he was my favorite.) Ban was my favorite complex person in the book, but he was also??? Horrible?? And deliberately caused nine out of ten bad things that happened? So I'm not sure, as an author, how you can do that, but I'm impressed. Poor stupid, angry, awful Ban.
And then there's the bad parts:
• Earth magic is a red flag. It's always a red flag, especially when it's feminist earth magic, and this was no exception. There is a whole lot of womb talk. Lots of vaguely and specifically sexual content, as well as a lot of perfectly innocuous things turned sexual by the way they're described. One actual sex scene. It's gross.
• The book felt super slow until well after the halfway point. The beginning in particular dragged, and it took a while for me to get into anything that was going on.
• I can't really complain that this is a tragedy except that, actually, I CAN and I WILL. The story is pretty bittersweet and not actually as horribly sad as it could be, given what happens. But still, not even ONE person got to really be happy. And this is petty, but Morimaros didn't get to be happy! Nobody accomplished anything! Yes, that's the nature of tragedy and I should have known that, but I'm the same person who reads King Arthur books over and over and is shocked when everyone is horrible and dies every time, so. Maybe that's the real tragedy.
I thought this was going to be fantasy, because aren't necromancers usually? Actually, it's fantasy and sci-fi with a liberal helping of "and then theI thought this was going to be fantasy, because aren't necromancers usually? Actually, it's fantasy and sci-fi with a liberal helping of "and then there were none" mystery horror. And it's GOOD.
Gideon is a mouthy moron orphan jock of the usual type. Her nemesis is Harrow, a ruthless necromancer nerd and cultist queen of the goth Ninth House planet. They have to team up to compete with all the other Houses in a haunted palace, and people start dying really quickly.
First of all, the aesthetic of this book is RIGHT on the money. So many books try so hard to make their characters cool and most of the time fall flat. This one nails the "sure we're trying, but it's almost effortless" mark perfectly. The combination of ritualistic necromancy with irreverent science fiction modernism is great. Gideon herself is the best example of this - I mean, have you SEEN the cover art?
The spiky red hair with the skull face paint? The robes and sword with the Top Gun sunglasses? The combination of enforced silence with the fact that Gideon, when she does get to speak, says things like "yo, step off"? Flawless. Amazing. The language of the book pulls this pairing off just as well, combining almost jarringly modern language with some hardcore creepiness.
Both Gideon and Harrow clearly are attracted to girls, but there's almost no romance in the book. I was afraid some enemies-to-lovers stuff would go down, but in reality it's enemies-to-reluctant-soulmate-friends which is always BETTER.
Second of all... the plot. The suspense. The horror. The gore. I finished this at 1 in the morning which was clearly a mistake, because it was hard to go to sleep on the heels of so much creepiness. (Yes, I'm a light touch, that's why I don't actually read horror.) But I had to do it, because I couldn't stop reading in the middle!
There's still so much more about the world and the lore to explain, but there were plenty of mysteries very satisfyingly revealed and the plot strikes an excellent balance between "this book was great" and also "I really want the next one."
Edit 02/18/2023: WHAT an unhinged masterpiece. I understood a whole lot more this time and it was just as much fun. The prose in this just keeps on giving....more
This was good. It was a goose girl story, with only enough Middle Eastern influences to be barely noticeable.
Alyrra herself was the most interesting This was good. It was a goose girl story, with only enough Middle Eastern influences to be barely noticeable.
Alyrra herself was the most interesting part: her past trauma, her timidity and kindness, and eventually her courage in speaking out. I liked her, and I felt for her. The relationship between her and the prince had a spark of something good too, and I think this could have been a very, very good story if it had been a little more well-drawn.
Instead, there were too many moving parts despite the story's slow pace. So many pieces that almost but not quite fit together. I want to say that these things will be explained in a further installment of the series, but the author seems to say that this is a standalone with only companion books coming in the future. If so, I really wish it had been built better.
Some questions:
• The prince knew what had happened to Alyrra from the beginning, which took the wind out of the entire deception. If he knew, why the dance? Why interview Alyrra over and over and over and yet let the impostor run free? I understand Alyrra's silence and inaction -- I don't understand the prince's. He knew magic was involved. He knew who was behind it. Why allow the plot to proceed, unimpeded? They could have solved the entire bodyswap problem just as easily 25% of the way through the book as they did at the end, and it's not at all clear why they didn't. The tension of mistaken identity could have been wrenching, but it wasn't because we all knew the truth the whole time. In that light, all the misdirection just seems fruitless and frustrating.
• The Lady. What happened to her? Alyrra saved the prince through the power of trust and idealism, which already seems like almost too much of a stretch, but the Lady explicitly refrained from renouncing her vendetta against all the rest of his family. What about his dad, the king? Is she still targeting him? What about Alyrra and the prince's eventual children? Are they marked for death? I don't understand if this actually solved anything or not.
• Falada seemed... weirdly shoehorned in. I know that's a strange thing to say given that he's a fundamental part of the goose girl story, but. He's part of a race of primordial sentient horses that no one has ever heard of, and he stays in the city seemingly for no reason but to go on walks and have philosophical discussions with Alyrra. He pretty much does nothing, at all, in the whole story except have these discussions and then die halfway through the book. He surrenders himself willingly to death, which accomplishes nothing. His presence in the story had zero practical impact. And can he speak from beyond the grave? Or not? It was never really explained.
• The Wind comes up like... twice. Once to be briefly introduced, and once to be finally revealed. That's it. The twist is nice, but this has got to be executed better, and it wouldn't have been hard to do at all. We all know this, because we've all read Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.
• All the relationships in this book were weak. It's important that we really invest in Alyrra's relationships with her fellow servants and townspeople, that we know who they are and feel how she feels at home with them. We learned some names and a few glancing details, but most of the time that could have been spent building some investment in Alyrra's life and choices was spent watching her have pointless, inexplicable conversations with the suspicious prince and philosophical conversations about morality with Falada. Those two were the only presences aside from Alyrra's that felt real in the book (besides the counterweight of her brother) and even they didn't justify all the time spent.
This book has a good heart and good bones. I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much more....more
The first book was so good. The second book was very stressful but also super good. This book was painHonestly? To be completely frank? Not impressed.
The first book was so good. The second book was very stressful but also super good. This book was painful the entire way through and there was nearly zero emotional payoff.
We're separated from everyone we know and love nearly the entire time. Everyone thinks Fitz is dead, and then even the people who knew he was alive think he's dead again. He ranges far and further and even further on an interminable-seeming quest where I'm pretty sure he crossed the entire kingdom on foot. He meets some interesting people, but gets rid of them as soon as possible, and the person he can't get rid of (Starling) is the one person I want to jettison.
The first part, recovery from dying, is the most interesting. But after that there's just Nighteyes and Nighteyes and more Nighteyes and also some extra Nighteyes and I DON'T CARE about the WOLF. Fitz's flinging himself at Regal in the beginning doesn't help either. He had ONE advantage, that everyone thought he was dead, and proceeds to as ALMOST HIS FIRST SANE ACT alert all his enemies that he's still alive while keeping all his friends in the dark. Why? Fitz, why are you so stupid?
I'm convinced Verity's accidentally implanted command was all that saved Fitz for the entire book, because Verity on accident is smarter than Fitz's whole brain. It's got to be all the elfbark he's been mainlining his whole life, poor guy. Probably the beatings he received and keeps on receiving regularly for this entire book didn't help either.
Honestly? All of this would have been redeemable too.
Interminable walking isn't my favorite, but there was enough point and enough action to make it okay if there was payoff. I'm generally a patient reader, if there's payoff. But there wasn't. When they reached the goal, the process of waiting around there was almost as interminable as the walking. The Fool entertained a little bit, but not enough. The process of ending the story took so long that I was almost relieved when it was done, except that it ended badly and sadly for literally every named character except Starling.
There's got to be more to it than this. I will probably go on to try and dig it out of the rest of the books in this universe, but at the moment I'm too burnt out to think about it....more
I'm never sure when to award five stars, but I finished this book this morning, and all day afterward I kept thiThis book was SO GOOD. It was so good.
I'm never sure when to award five stars, but I finished this book this morning, and all day afterward I kept thinking, 'Boy, I sure can't wait until I get to finish that book and find out what happens next.' I wanted more of the story so badly I kept forgetting I had actually finished the thing already.
I loved it. Some highlights:
• Local abused people-pleasing teenager ascends throne, learns how to be a good ruler, refuses to stop apologizing to people. I love Maia and I WILL die for him, thank you.
• The language. It had its own formal rhythm, but it worked so well. Instead of being jarring or comically gimmicky, it did what unusual language choices are supposed to do in fantasy. It imbued the whole world with a quality I could almost feel, and made it much more real to me. I am working hard not to refer to myself as "we" all the time now, since it was an affectation I already had a tendency to overuse.
• Loyalty!!!!! MPGHMFKGMGMHG.
• Some parts of Maia's interactions with the court around him reminded me of King of Attolia, but I do hesitate to say that, because it's not really like KoA at all. This book is billed as intrigue-laden, but if there's intrigue it's not intrigue like that. I'm not going to be able to explain what exactly strikes this comparison in my mind, but if you read it you'll understand.
I loved the whole thing. I loved how many good people there were. And how slow and daily life-focused the book was sometimes. And Maia's awkward, naive goodness. And Ira and his sisters. And the guards. (The guards!!!!!!!) And the action was good too, but not as good as the emotional weight of the aftermath, which was very very good.
Edit 06/14/2024: I love this. I LOVE it. Just as good, if not better on the re-read. I still don't know anyone's name, but I very much don't need to. Maia is still the best boy ever. It's still an ode to the good and loyal that coexist everywhere alongside the selfish and bitter.
I love Csethiro Ceredin. She is such an unapologetic jock, and it bodes extremely well for her and Maia's future as a couple. Maia will be pondering deeply and say "hmm... maybe we should give them a second chance..." just before Csethiro leaps from her strategically elevated position to skewer the offender with her family's ceremonial spear. ...more
Maybe it's because I had just finished bending my brain around the first Malazan book before reading this, but this book was like an outline of somethMaybe it's because I had just finished bending my brain around the first Malazan book before reading this, but this book was like an outline of something that could be really good if fleshed out.
The selling point of an arcane library where the books are sentient and the librarians carry swords is a really good one. I was sold. But then more than half the book seems like it takes place completely separate from the library.
Most of the story struck familiar notes. In particular I was reminded of the Bartimaeus series, with its demon summoning, corrupt sorcerous world, complex hierarchies of demons, and a young sorcerer named Nathaniel. Also, Elisabeth and Nathaniel's dynamic was very much YA Uprooted, especially at first. I don't hate any of this, it's just a bit of a bait and switch when I was promised a dive into the world of magic libraries.
And then, there's the question of Silas.
Elisabeth and Nathaniel, while seemingly main characters, solve very few problems. Silas is Nathaniel's demon servant, and he does everything. He's the best character in the entire book. He's the most interesting. He's the most complex. He's the only one with real character development. He's the only one I care about. And yet, the book is not about him! Why?
It just felt like this book kept focusing on the wrong things. Elisabeth was fine and the story was fine, but I'm a little frustrated that it was such a familiar-seeming story when it had so many elements that could have been unique. Everything in the foreground was just that much less interesting than what was in the background, where I really wanted to be....more
It's a perfectly respectable size for an epic fantasy, but it FEELS absolutely massive. Up until the halfway pointThis book... what an absolute unit.
It's a perfectly respectable size for an epic fantasy, but it FEELS absolutely massive. Up until the halfway point we were still meeting brand new characters and settings. Up until the seventy percent mark, I had only disjointed fragments of an idea what was going on. I finally grasped the overall story (please don't ask me about specifics though) but within the world itself? I am still a little baby. I don't even know enough to know what I don't know.
• The worldbuilding is huge and unique. Especially the way the gods interact with the mortal plane, which (go figure) I still don't understand.
• The many, many characters. Also unique and surprising. Do they have emotions? Probably, but if so, I don't have emotions about their emotions. The only people I even vaguely can muster some investment for are Anomander Rake, Sorry, and Paran, and even that is mild. I do have to say that for what it's worth, I have never seen fat representation like this before.
• The plot. This is one of the first books I've read where I'm thinking, hey, these political and military campaigns probably actually match the complexity and uncertainty of real life. I just wish I understood what was going on a little more, because I'm sure it's fascinating.
I might go on to the second book. The buy-in cost of the first book of the series is usually the highest, but from where I'm sitting, I expect this series to buck that trend. Honestly, it is HARD to continue caring enough to read a story when you don't know what's going on. How can you get invested? The only answer is through a great exercise of patience, and I'm not sure I have enough. ...more
It was a good story. Certainly full of action scenes, violence, and all the necessary apprentice assassin tests, tricks,To be fair, was this bad? No.
It was a good story. Certainly full of action scenes, violence, and all the necessary apprentice assassin tests, tricks, and trials. The final climax in particular seems like it starts at the seventy percent mark and then just... keeps crescendoing. You think, okay, surely we've done it now. Surely it's over. But it's not over. There's still ten more fights to barely survive and shocking discoveries to make.
Three stars for the story.
Minus one star for the child rape. And the other kinds of rape. And the... other stuff. *gestures vaguely* I guess I'm just a pansy and a weakling because I can't take it and it really sucks the enjoyment out of an otherwise very gripping story. I only have so much brainpower and will to live, and it's just not economical for me to damage myself in such a way....more
Polite because its story did hold my interest and there were some interesting characters.
No thank youWe're giving this one a very polite no thank you.
Polite because its story did hold my interest and there were some interesting characters.
No thank you because of several reasons:
First of all, the style... was annoying. The similes and metaphors were over-the-top flowery and strange. A new universe's language sometimes takes some getting used to, but the ones here never stopped being jarring. (Sunsset, noonmeal/evemeal/mornmeal, sweetboy, saying "O" all the freaking time.) The way the narrator addressed the reader was so dramatic and overblown. The gimmicky mirroring of the perspectives at the beginning was almost INTOLERABLE. I wanted to set the book down right then.
Fortunately, it does get somewhat better, but I wouldn't say it approaches normal until more than halfway through the book. But second of all, even if you get past how it is written, there are sex scenes. There is dramatic, oh-I'm-so-funny swearing and vulgarity that mostly fails to be amusing. There are way too many scenes that seem embarrassingly self-aware, like they know that they were written blatantly for the purpose of making the reader sit back, whistle to themselves, and say, That was awesome.
Cringey. Tryhard.
I'm just not convinced by this book. I'm not convinced by Mia. The only thing that makes me want to pick up the next installment is the mysterious fate of Mia's brother, which isn't nearly enough....more
This was alright. It was not as good as the first book.
The things I like about this series are simple. I like Numair, and I like finding out why OzornThis was alright. It was not as good as the first book.
The things I like about this series are simple. I like Numair, and I like finding out why Ozorne is evil now when he was so cool as a boy. At the beginning, this book was promising - we ran into one of Numair's old classmates from wizard school! Aha!
That's basically it, though. From there, Numair and everyone else pretty much leaves the stage and we are left watching the Daine and Every Single Animal Show. It's... fine. I like Daine well enough, but I struggle to care about the animals, and this was just too much for me. Just so many animals, and so little of anything else....more
Maybe it's because I read it all in one sitting, but for some reason in my mind it's like: loving description of three LondonsThis book felt too fast.
Maybe it's because I read it all in one sitting, but for some reason in my mind it's like: loving description of three Londons, scary visit to White London, shenanigans, fight, fight, fight - done. The worldbuilding is very interesting. I like the idea of the four Londons, and how limited and coherent the Antari magic system was. I like Kell. I didn't really like Lila, but she grew on me.
The most interesting thing this book covered, though, was Holland. There's some emotion and investment in Kell and Lila's situation, there's some in Kell and Rhy's friendship... but almost all the emotion of the entire book is packed into how horrible Holland's situation is. Why has no one done anything for him? Could nothing be done? If the whole book had been a Holland rescue operation, I would have cared a lot more.
The most interesting things in the entire book, though, were things that the book did NOT cover, namely:
• Kell's lost memories and secret past (I know this is probably going to be unspooled in later books but... come on. Just a HINT?)
• The secret of Lila's eye (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're really just going to drop that OBVIOUS bomb in the middle of the book and then never address it again?!!)
Actually? Pretty good. But I'm here too late to care any more than that.Actually? Pretty good. But I'm here too late to care any more than that....more
This book was 600 freaking pages and I STILL barely have any idea what's going on, but like, I'm excited about it!! You knoBIG wow for this one, lads.
This book was 600 freaking pages and I STILL barely have any idea what's going on, but like, I'm excited about it!! You know?
The thread of this book starts out pretty clear in the beginning: two kids on a mysterious quest. From there, everything goes completely sideways. Some epic fantasy shenanigans are at work, that much we can say.
This book has magic time travel. It has visions of the future. Visions of the past. So many visions. It has Mysterious Amnesia Guy With OP Powers. It has hapless magic kids who are good friends to each other. It has Horde of Faceless Invaders From An Unknown Land. Davian is a Naive Baby when he starts out, and definitely would have been eaten alive in the very first town if it weren't for Wirr. At the end of the book there he is, stabbing people and draining the life essence out of their bodies. I'm so proud.
Each chapter reveals a puzzle piece or two to add to the growing picture of what's going on, but this is no 200-piece puzzle that can be completed by halfway through the book. This is an Extra Large 9000 Piece Deluxe Puzzle. Halfway through the book we are still trying to figure out what it all means. Even at the end, where some questions are answered, there are still fifty more crying out for urgent investigation.
(THE EPILOGUE!!! I was screaming. WHAT IS GOING ON, I NEED TO KNOW!)
It's so impressive when an author can feed me this many threads in a way where I remember and understand them all, and am totally, desperately invested in solving the mystery. The key to this is simple. Characters to like and care about. Relationships. This book has relationships that, while still mostly riding shotgun next to the driving demands of plot, are compelling:
• Wirr and his father (Benevolent mind control: the cure for abusive fathers? Yeah, I'm SAD about it.) • Asha and Davian (Big fan of their sincere friendship.) • Wirr and Davian (The TRUST of changing the Tenets!!!) • Caeden and the fate of the entire world, probably
I need the next book RIGHT away, please and thank you....more
I have to give this four stars because after book 2, I was almost CERTAIN there was no good way to bring this series to an end.
I mean, Jessamy has a cI have to give this four stars because after book 2, I was almost CERTAIN there was no good way to bring this series to an end.
I mean, Jessamy has a civil war on her hands, her mother and sisters on one side and her father and boyfriend on the other. She's mixed-race in a way almost nobody completely accepts. There are good people on both sides and a lot of bad people on one side. Kal is on the throne and there's no good way to safely descend a throne, as history has taught us all. And yet, he can't defend his throne against the Efean revolt without becoming the bad guy. Sounds like a recipe for horrendous disaster all around.
And yet... here we are. Mostly intact.
The solution for everything was believable, and also not soul-crushing. Jessamy's side-choosing was pulled off without the burdensome amounts of angst I feared. The undead baby situation was resolved. Kind of. Gargaron got what was coming to him. Overall, the only really sad things are that Bettany is still estranged from the rest of her family off-screen somewhere and that (view spoiler)[General Esladas died (hide spoiler)]. And yet, that was probably for the best also, given the situation he was in.
This book was tense and emotional and action-packed, but it's the neat tie-off that most impresses me.
I'm not the biggest fan of westerns, unless they're space westerns. But I LOVE Mistborn, so. I find myself at To be perfectly frank, this was alright.
I'm not the biggest fan of westerns, unless they're space westerns. But I LOVE Mistborn, so. I find myself at a three-star impasse. This is a much quicker, smaller story than Mistborn, which makes sense, because I'm not sure you could get any bigger than that.
Wax and Wayne themselves varied between amusing and annoying, but most of my investment is still in allomancy itself and the bits and pieces passed down from Mistborn (Marsh!!!!?) rather than the new characters and plot. ...more
These are the fastest extremely slow books I've ever read.
Me starting the book: *blows breath out cheeks* Hoo boy, this is gonna be a slog.
Me 15 minut
These are the fastest extremely slow books I've ever read.
Me starting the book: *blows breath out cheeks* Hoo boy, this is gonna be a slog.
Me 15 minutes later, riveted: I will continue reading for as many hours nonstop as it takes to finish this book regardless of food or sleep because I must.
The vibe of this story is a single extremely long, tense high note played on a violin as the walls close in around you. Fitz goes back to Buckkeep when he's barely convalescent, and Regal is still there. Somehow, being obviously a traitor and trying to seize the throne just gets you a smack on the wrist, so we jump right back into games of intrigue and trying not to die.
Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse?
I've heard these books called "character driven," which may be true but should NOT give you the idea that there's no plot here. There's so much plot that Fitz can barely turn around without tripping over one of his six separate secrets as he tries to avert disaster after looming disaster.
He does spend possibly too much time mooning after Molly, and Fitz and Chade obviously knowing that something is wrong with the king for more than a year and not really investigating it until it's too late is peak frustrating; there's so much going on, though, that it almost makes sense. Kettricken is a great character. Verity is in just as much danger as before. It's almost a relief when everything finally comes crashing down.
Fun is not the word that immediately leaps to mind to describe this book, but I was extremely riveted. Horrible, deadly games of intrigue and loyalty, both personal and professional, will ALWAYS command my full attention. I don't fully understand the peculiar morality that underpins Fitz and Chade's role (and Fitz doesn't either) but I'm emotionally compelled by it.
I couldn't have stopped reading if I wanted to. I almost couldn't go to sleep after I finished, because my head was spinning with so much of what I'd just read. I need the next one immediately. ...more
Early on, I was convinced this was going to be a four or maybe even five-star book. The blurb had me convinced thaDeeply conflicted on this one, lads.
Early on, I was convinced this was going to be a four or maybe even five-star book. The blurb had me convinced that Cerulia's mom was going to end up dead in the first or second chapter, and then we would maybe time-skip to her teenage years and see her take back her throne. Very wrong.
First of all, the balance of this book is more Cressa's story than Cerulia's. It was great to get to see her grow and find her feet as a ruler, and see the narrative go in a direction I definitely didn't expect. Several times. This is also a much bigger story than just that of a queen in hiding. The scale is large, covering multiple POVs in multiple countries, and the time covered here is epic. Cerulia starts at eight and ends at twenty years old. It's an impressive undertaking that I can see unfolding in a multitude of possible awesome ways.
On the other hand... we didn't get to spend much time with Cerulia. We visited her once or twice every five years, when her situation was by FAR the most interesting one in the book, with her mother's as a distant second. This was a little frustrating, when I had to see way more of Evil Regent and even Plot-Relevant But Somewhat Dull Scholar Kid than I would have liked.
This book flipped the script on me a couple times, but also didn't hold my focus as much as its quality of content should have. It's strange to call a book of this respectable length too fast but the year-leaping pace definitely shook off some of my ability to stay emotionally riveted. And strangely, it was almost too slow at the same time.
The plot is something I want to love, so I still have high hopes for the next installment. Since Cerulia is moving closer to the center of world events, I'm hoping she will be featured more and my interest level will pick up as the various storylines gradually converge. ...more
D. B. Guin
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