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cupofnova's review
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
I stopped reading at page 334 out of 447. I'm not continuing it. If I could go back in time, I would have stopped reading this series after the first book. Everything else just gets worse after that.
Kellen is pushed around by the plot. He could have done something himself, but no. In the end, he's just following what others want, even if it doesn't go exactly as planned. His character can be boiled down to the self-loathing pawn that can't do anything besides murder, run away, or magically bullshitting an antagonist's plan into working out in the end.
!!!SPOILER AND TRIGGER WARNING!!!
For pretty much no reason besides wanting to pretend like the shadowblack is still important and some politician is dangerous, Kellen is forced to sexually assault a girl. I don't think she is even an adult. It seems like the author intended the reader to feel bad for Kellen for feeling/being violated. Which, yeah, its an absolutely disgusting, gutrolling scene. But it is also a completely pointless scene. You can show someone is a threat without this awful inclusion! Initially, this female character is solely created to suffer. She was made by the author to be assaulted and immediately disposed of. Men get to die in this series. Women are constantly subjected to drawn out suffering, that we're supposed to forget about in seconds and just move on because if it's not the main character, "who cares?".
I'm not surprised that the only praise I ever see for this series is for the first book. It's the only one worth reading, and even then, it's nothing but an interesting magic system in a sloppy story.
Kellen is pushed around by the plot. He could have done something himself, but no. In the end, he's just following what others want, even if it doesn't go exactly as planned. His character can be boiled down to the self-loathing pawn that can't do anything besides murder, run away, or magically bullshitting an antagonist's plan into working out in the end.
!!!SPOILER AND TRIGGER WARNING!!!
For pretty much no reason besides wanting to pretend like the shadowblack is still important and some politician is dangerous, Kellen is forced to sexually assault a girl. I don't think she is even an adult. It seems like the author intended the reader to feel bad for Kellen for feeling/being violated. Which, yeah, its an absolutely disgusting, gutrolling scene. But it is also a completely pointless scene. You can show someone is a threat without this awful inclusion! Initially, this female character is solely created to suffer. She was made by the author to be assaulted and immediately disposed of. Men get to die in this series. Women are constantly subjected to drawn out suffering, that we're supposed to forget about in seconds and just move on because if it's not the main character, "who cares?".
I'm not surprised that the only praise I ever see for this series is for the first book. It's the only one worth reading, and even then, it's nothing but an interesting magic system in a sloppy story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, War, and Vomit
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