Not having much luck with ends of trilogies this month, apparently. While I still really like the voice, worldbuilding and prose, generally, the plotting and pace felt very strange in this. And because so much—too much, imo—of various things from the past are incorporated in this one, it feels very contrived and convenient at time. Combined with the strange need to bring in every character from the first book, it simultaneously feels like a lot is happening when actually very little plot occurs.

This sort of feels like the second Kvothe book, where it’s just like bizarre wish fulfillment. Some of which does hit, but more often than not noticeable plot holes are never explained and other things, for sake of theme, I think? generate various new B plot tangents that weren’t what I was interested in. The found family aspect feels especially contrived sometimes because it is mired in archaic honourifics and time jumps to that attempt to create artificial community and intimacy.

What does land is the world building aspects that I’d been waiting for since the beginning. How spells work, the titular reveals of the Book of Life, and the core dynamics of the main characters, all work well for me. It’s just too puffed up and mired with all this other stuff.

But the main reason it didn’t work for me was the antagonist, which felt like a caricature and a contrivance from the past. And Diana just doesn’t feel like she should have such a firm grasp on everything, mostly because she basically never fails. Coupled with Matthew’s hereditary “blood rage”, as a blood wolf vampire, it feels like initially a good counter balance until actually examined. The wolf dynamics are really weird, and completely lacks empathy and understanding of actual wolves but is repeatedly reiterated. I like it somewhat as a metaphor for toxic masculinity… but I just can’t stand Matthew regardless due to his wildly shitty behaviour and the posturing of the family dynamics with the wolf pack mentality, which focus solely on when a person is perceived to be in danger, pretty much. And then the toxic elements aren’t actually addressed with Matthew at a character growth level regardless.

If you’re in it to find out the large reveals, you’ll leave happy. But I’m not sure anything else about this, other than the general pleasant readability that, if you’re on book three, you probably already know you like, I can’t say you’ll find any other stand out aspects of the book.