Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.5 stars
I had high hopes for this as I truly enjoyed the original trilogy. And in particular, I loved its ending, it was quite possibly the smoothest most satisfying ending for any series I’ve read, so quite honestly I was nervous to pick up this book. But I did, in hopes it would be new characters in the same world. It is not. And it has simply ruined the love I had for some of the characters and their endings.
For the first time, I hate Darrow. The only reason this book was interesting enough to keep going was the new characters Ephrium and Lyria, and Lysander with Cassius. I found myself dreading the chapters from Darrow’s perspective. But ephriam and Lyria’s story, and bringing up just reasons for hating the republic felt valuable to the world that Brown has built, it felt necessary to ensuring that things don’t just get fixed in a day, or a year, or even in ten. Their storylines were valuable and I truly did like those portions. Lysander and Cassius’s storyline was interesting because we were left in this illusion in the original trilogy that Darrow’s decision to bomb the docks meant he knew someday they would go to war with the rim, it would just delay the inevitable. For this to be revisited is interesting, but frustrating… Lysander is an okay character who I did not hate, but did not love. And who’s complicated feelings on superiority, power, and equality, were imo more akin to how real people think. In that way, it was engaging. However the rest of the plot with Lysander frustrates me.
It seems so unfitting that Cassius dies in this book, he really was the only og character I contained a hope of survival for, him and Sevro. Everyone else from the original trilogy could die and I would not care based off of this new installment…
One last thought on this all: while every character is complex and I either liked or disliked them in this book, there is one character I truly LOVED. And that is Volga. Truly she deserved so much better. And as I approach the next book I hope that she has a happy ending.
I had high hopes for this as I truly enjoyed the original trilogy. And in particular, I loved its ending, it was quite possibly the smoothest most satisfying ending for any series I’ve read, so quite honestly I was nervous to pick up this book. But I did, in hopes it would be new characters in the same world. It is not. And it has simply ruined the love I had for some of the characters and their endings.
For the first time, I hate Darrow. The only reason this book was interesting enough to keep going was the new characters Ephrium and Lyria, and Lysander with Cassius. I found myself dreading the chapters from Darrow’s perspective. But ephriam and Lyria’s story, and bringing up just reasons for hating the republic felt valuable to the world that Brown has built, it felt necessary to ensuring that things don’t just get fixed in a day, or a year, or even in ten. Their storylines were valuable and I truly did like those portions. Lysander and Cassius’s storyline was interesting because we were left in this illusion in the original trilogy that Darrow’s decision to bomb the docks meant he knew someday they would go to war with the rim, it would just delay the inevitable. For this to be revisited is interesting, but frustrating… Lysander is an okay character who I did not hate, but did not love. And who’s complicated feelings on superiority, power, and equality, were imo more akin to how real people think. In that way, it was engaging. However the rest of the plot with Lysander frustrates me.
It seems so unfitting that Cassius dies in this book, he really was the only og character I contained a hope of survival for, him and Sevro. Everyone else from the original trilogy could die and I would not care based off of this new installment…
One last thought on this all: while every character is complex and I either liked or disliked them in this book, there is one character I truly LOVED. And that is Volga. Truly she deserved so much better. And as I approach the next book I hope that she has a happy ending.