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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Woah. I have so much love for this series.
I won’t go into plot as it is the third book but I will say if it has been a while since you read Of Sand and Malice Made, I recommend a reread.
These books have been so consistently great. I love how we dive straight back in where the last book left (it was the same with the second), no rehash of previous plots and stories, just straight in. It’s so refreshing! The world and plot gets ever more complex yet it’s never overwhelming. More magic has seeped into this book as more players enter the game. However, it’s still about the characters we’ve watched grow and begun to love.
The character development is fantastic. I never thought I’d warm to some (i totally have now) and there were those who I loved from the start who I’m now seeing as flawed, but equally compelling and intriguing. I love them all. Well, apart from those I hate. One in particular that I always hated, well now their true colours have come to light I am thrilled. I am sooo ready for the next one, I really dislike becoming this invested in an unfinished series, but i’ll cope for this, as it’s so worth it.
Ps. We get the reveal we’ve been waiting 2 (and a half) books for! You know the one... i had my suspicions and to be proved right is very interesting... can’t wait to see where Beaulieu takes us from here.
I won’t go into plot as it is the third book but I will say if it has been a while since you read Of Sand and Malice Made, I recommend a reread.
These books have been so consistently great. I love how we dive straight back in where the last book left (it was the same with the second), no rehash of previous plots and stories, just straight in. It’s so refreshing! The world and plot gets ever more complex yet it’s never overwhelming. More magic has seeped into this book as more players enter the game. However, it’s still about the characters we’ve watched grow and begun to love.
The character development is fantastic. I never thought I’d warm to some (i totally have now) and there were those who I loved from the start who I’m now seeing as flawed, but equally compelling and intriguing. I love them all. Well, apart from those I hate. One in particular that I always hated, well now their true colours have come to light I am thrilled. I am sooo ready for the next one, I really dislike becoming this invested in an unfinished series, but i’ll cope for this, as it’s so worth it.
Ps. We get the reveal we’ve been waiting 2 (and a half) books for! You know the one... i had my suspicions and to be proved right is very interesting... can’t wait to see where Beaulieu takes us from here.
I don't know what it is about these books. They take me so long to finish. I don't dislike them but I also don't know if I like them? Yet I'll probably keep reading...but also there are getting to be too many characters/story threads...
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Seldom have I read consecutive books in a series so closely together, but as I explained in my review of book 2, a misunderstanding of what book I was requesting on NetGalley has necessitated such haste. Now, there are advantages: I remembered everything that had happened in the previous book! Nevertheless, I was concerned that diving into A Veil of Spears so soon after the previous book would leave me feeling bored; worse still, I wasn’t sure what kind of review I could muster. The thing about such a long-running series like this is that, after a while, you start to run out of things to say. What am I going to do? Praise the characters again? The careful plotting? The cool worldbuilding? I’m going to try to focus on specifics in this book, without going into spoilers.
Spoilers for previous books, of course.
A Veil of Spears opens with more of the 12 Kings of Sharakhai dead. The playing board is now covered with blood, if you will, and shifting allegiances are the order of the day. One King has gone rogue and begun co-opting desert tribes. Another aligns himself with the Queen of Qaimir against the blood mage Hamzakiir. Meanwhile, or nominal main protagonist Çeda forges more firmly her connections with the thirteenth tribe and the Moonless Host that fights against the Kings. The result is a series of events that culminate in a bloody, messy battle in which the fates of multiple Kings rest even as, back in Sharakhai, other Kings plot to take power for themselves.
In my previous review, I likened this series to Malazan or Game of Thrones in terms of its ever-growing cast and various points of view. This book only solidifies that comparison. It’s indeed becoming a tad difficult to follow, focus on, and remember the various characters and their motivations. That’s why I appreciate how Beaulieu ensures Çeda remains the spiritual centre of this series. Even as other characters appropriate more and more time on the page, Çeda’s journey as a character remains the most important. She connects us to all of the mythology, from the appearances of goddess Nalamae to the dark and twisted origins of the asirim. Her self-righteous and often headstrong nature puts her into conflict not just with enemies but also with allies, including her own grandfather and great-great-grandmother. I just love how incredibly flawed Çeda is, and how much she continues to mess things up and make things worse, while still being a morally upstanding and heroic persona.
To contrast this, Beaulieu almost gleefully plumbs depths of depravity in other characters. Ramahd, a one-time ally of Çeda, comes to mind. His sister-in-law and now queen, Meryam, seems to be in the midst of a Xanatos gambit that will drag her into darkness. Ramahd constantly questions her in the name of standing up for Qaimir, but he inevitably gives way to pressure from her in the name of loyalty and helps her with many a dirty deed done dirt cheap. The result is a character who is pitiable: in attempting to serve two masters (his queen and his country), Ramahd abandons all claim to moral backbone. I mean, we already saw this in the previous book when he sold out Çeda in a heartbeat to save his own life from a scary demon guy, but my interpretation of his character is solidified by the events in this book.
Part of me is very wary about how complex the mythology of this series is starting to become. It’s beautiful, in a way, how Beaulieu is connecting disparate elements and pulling things together into a tighter pattern. This does create a sense for the reader that everything is building, leading up towards a promised climax in a later book. However, as with my issue with characters, I think I’ve probably forgotten a lot about the mythos of this despite having just read 2 of the books nearly back to back! We are getting into “I need to keep the fandom wiki open” territory here. For some readers, of course, that might be a selling point!
A Veil of Spears cements my impression that this would be a wonderful fantasy series to adapt, though I shudder to think about the amount of T&A that HBO would shove into it. Rather than falling back on trite adjectives like cinematic, I’d prefer to praise the structure that Beaulieu gives to the plot. Each book advances the series in a clear and almost predictable way—after three books, Çeda has come such a long way from being the White Wolf dominating in the fighting pits. She has been a Blade Maiden and is now—in deed if not in name—a rebel against the Kings. Her growth and her character arc, along with the titanic shifts in the balance of power from novel to novel, make for compelling story fuel for a small screen adaptation.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
I didn’t enjoy this instalment quite as much as the previous 2 in the series. In fact it took a conscious effort from me to find time to pick it up, rather than being unable to put it down as with the others. The only thing pushing me was the fact that it was due back at the library a week ago. If I wasn’t on a time limit I might still be struggling my way through.
My issues with A Veil Of Spears start with the number of character POVs we have. Namely, I don’t want to read about Davud. His thread is repetitive and does nothing to hook me into the story. Perhaps he will play an integral role later on, but it still feels like he’s a minor character trying to be made relevant. I can’t stand Anila and almost wish Sukru had done away with them both.
I loved the world of Sharakhai but unfortunately we spent little time in the city during this story. The idea of being surrounded by nothing but sand dunes in the desert doesn’t fill me with wonder. On top of the setting, the characters I’d come to love in the first 2 novels seemed to fall flat. Sumeya and Melis became space fillers towards the end, where before they had personalities and interesting dialogue. I also find it hard to believe they would have bowed to such a different way of thinking so quickly.
While I am slightly disappointed, I’m sure I will read Beneath The Twisted Trees when it is released and perhaps be drawn into the story once more.
I didn’t enjoy this instalment quite as much as the previous 2 in the series. In fact it took a conscious effort from me to find time to pick it up, rather than being unable to put it down as with the others. The only thing pushing me was the fact that it was due back at the library a week ago. If I wasn’t on a time limit I might still be struggling my way through.
My issues with A Veil Of Spears start with the number of character POVs we have. Namely, I don’t want to read about Davud. His thread is repetitive and does nothing to hook me into the story. Perhaps he will play an integral role later on, but it still feels like he’s a minor character trying to be made relevant. I can’t stand Anila and almost wish Sukru had done away with them both.
I loved the world of Sharakhai but unfortunately we spent little time in the city during this story. The idea of being surrounded by nothing but sand dunes in the desert doesn’t fill me with wonder. On top of the setting, the characters I’d come to love in the first 2 novels seemed to fall flat. Sumeya and Melis became space fillers towards the end, where before they had personalities and interesting dialogue. I also find it hard to believe they would have bowed to such a different way of thinking so quickly.
While I am slightly disappointed, I’m sure I will read Beneath The Twisted Trees when it is released and perhaps be drawn into the story once more.
I liked the story, however i think the book is the weakest in the series. The scale have been raised with lots of battle scenes where multiple tribes, demi-god and demons are fighting each other. But it lost the more personal touch of Çeda's revenge that the previous books had.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes