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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
This series would have been better as a duology.
This whole book was alarmingly mediocre. The older characters developed in unrealistic ways and the new characters felt like cardboard cut-outs.
Read the first 2 books and stop there.
This whole book was alarmingly mediocre. The older characters developed in unrealistic ways and the new characters felt like cardboard cut-outs.
Read the first 2 books and stop there.
I'm not angry, just disappointed. Ok, maybe a little angry.
This book killed my love for these characters. In terms of the world itself, this book did nothing but add to the incredible world that Phillip Reeve had created, but in terms of the actual characters, it was shit. Tom is annoying and constantly comments on how every woman is so much more beautiful than his wife and how ugly Hester is in comparison, and Hester is downright hateable. The only redeeming character is their teenage daughter, Wren, and even then you need to warm up to her.
The setting takes place 16 years after Predators Gold. Tom and Hester are comfortably living on Anchorage in Vineland. Wren meets a lost boy and agrees to steal a book for him, and she ends up getting kidnapped by the lost boys and sold off to Brighton, which is now run by Nimrod Pennyroyal, my least favourite character in this series. He is arguably more annoying than Delores Umbridge. tom and hester need to go on an adventure to find Wren and ultimately discover that they have a shit tonne of marital issues that unfold beautifully in the climax of the book.
The first half of the book is really jarring to read, and it really took me a while to get into it, but once the second half begins, it is a lot easier to enjoy until the very last few pages, where Wren confronts Hester, saying that she knows that she betrayed anchorage in Predators gold, which is honestly a good point. This is something she needs to pay for, but instead of being remorseful, HESTOR CONFESSES THAT SHE WISHES WREN WAS NEVER BORN AND THREATEND TO KILL HER. WHAT THE FUCK
When Tom walks up and learns the situation, he chooses to forgive Pennyroyal for what he has done, which is a lot better than Hester, especially since Pennyroyal shot Tom in the heart. This overwhelms Hester, and she runs away into the fog of the destroyed air city, which is falling from the sky. Tom follows her, and Shrike shows up (he had a whole side plot that explained this), and bitch slaps Tom into a seizure and kidnaps Hester, which concludes the book. We don't know if Tom, Wren, Wren's kind of love interest, and Pennyroyal had survived or even if they were OK. All we know is that Shrike has Hester and he wants to make her into a stalker
This book felt like it wanted to do so much but achieved so little. Considering I am now at the end of the series (minus the prequals which I own), this has become tiresome to read and honestly just makes me sad seeing what this incredible world has come to. Hester loves being a psychopath and Tom loves being unfaithful. Goodbye to the loveable nervous wreck that Tom was and the cold badass who grows to learn to open her heart to others and love again that Hester became. Tragically, both of these characters that are near and dear to me are dead and replaced with husks of their former selves.
Worldbuilding 10/10
Characters 3/1o
plot 5/10
overall 3/5
Please do better. The next book, A Darkling Plain, will hopefully focus on Wren because I am honestly exhausted by the characters I, at one point in my life, loved and admired. It is a real shame that the characters from my comfort book have fallen so far.
This book killed my love for these characters. In terms of the world itself, this book did nothing but add to the incredible world that Phillip Reeve had created, but in terms of the actual characters, it was shit. Tom is annoying and constantly comments on how every woman is so much more beautiful than his wife and how ugly Hester is in comparison, and Hester is downright hateable. The only redeeming character is their teenage daughter, Wren, and even then you need to warm up to her.
The setting takes place 16 years after Predators Gold. Tom and Hester are comfortably living on Anchorage in Vineland. Wren meets a lost boy and agrees to steal a book for him, and she ends up getting kidnapped by the lost boys and sold off to Brighton, which is now run by Nimrod Pennyroyal, my least favourite character in this series. He is arguably more annoying than Delores Umbridge. tom and hester need to go on an adventure to find Wren and ultimately discover that they have a shit tonne of marital issues that unfold beautifully in the climax of the book.
The first half of the book is really jarring to read, and it really took me a while to get into it, but once the second half begins, it is a lot easier to enjoy until the very last few pages, where Wren confronts Hester, saying that she knows that she betrayed anchorage in Predators gold, which is honestly a good point. This is something she needs to pay for, but instead of being remorseful, HESTOR CONFESSES THAT SHE WISHES WREN WAS NEVER BORN AND THREATEND TO KILL HER. WHAT THE FUCK
When Tom walks up and learns the situation, he chooses to forgive Pennyroyal for what he has done, which is a lot better than Hester, especially since Pennyroyal shot Tom in the heart. This overwhelms Hester, and she runs away into the fog of the destroyed air city, which is falling from the sky. Tom follows her, and Shrike shows up (he had a whole side plot that explained this), and bitch slaps Tom into a seizure and kidnaps Hester, which concludes the book. We don't know if Tom, Wren, Wren's kind of love interest, and Pennyroyal had survived or even if they were OK. All we know is that Shrike has Hester and he wants to make her into a stalker
This book felt like it wanted to do so much but achieved so little. Considering I am now at the end of the series (minus the prequals which I own), this has become tiresome to read and honestly just makes me sad seeing what this incredible world has come to. Hester loves being a psychopath and Tom loves being unfaithful. Goodbye to the loveable nervous wreck that Tom was and the cold badass who grows to learn to open her heart to others and love again that Hester became. Tragically, both of these characters that are near and dear to me are dead and replaced with husks of their former selves.
Worldbuilding 10/10
Characters 3/1o
plot 5/10
overall 3/5
Please do better. The next book, A Darkling Plain, will hopefully focus on Wren because I am honestly exhausted by the characters I, at one point in my life, loved and admired. It is a real shame that the characters from my comfort book have fallen so far.
Quite entertaining but nowhere near as fun for me as the previous one.
... I don’t know how you can hate a character you created yourself as much as Philip Reeve hates Hester Shaw. Does she have flaws? For sure, but instead of giving her a stable live and some character development you give her a husband who never really loved her and a daughter who.. guess what.. also doesn’t love her. And as reason for that, you give a disfigured face. Slow clap for the message you’re sending buddy. The story is however something different and would be quite fascinating were it not for characters like Tom and Wren.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book the least of the series so far. It’s very similar to the other two just not as much going on or grabbing my attention. There are still many cringe and cliché scenes and story arcs, however definitely more brilliant world-building, such an interesting and original idea and it keeps me coming back.
Overall I didn’t love this one and it kind of finished on a sour note. Seems almost like a part 1 of the finale.
Overall I didn’t love this one and it kind of finished on a sour note. Seems almost like a part 1 of the finale.
I found the characters very annoying and that made it difficult for me to continue.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes