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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This trilogy just keeps getting more interesting!
Book 2 had me questioning reality. I love the world and its creatures, and could not wait to find out more of the lore of the world. I have enjoyed the journey of the characters finding themselves and their family. 💜 can’t wait to see these kids save (destroy?) the world together in the next book.
Book 2 had me questioning reality. I love the world and its creatures, and could not wait to find out more of the lore of the world. I have enjoyed the journey of the characters finding themselves and their family. 💜 can’t wait to see these kids save (destroy?) the world together in the next book.
Listened to this too! Deka was annoying for like the first 40% (maybe the narrator too—not entirely sure which), but things picked up after that. There is a lot of Deka thinking and soliloquizing she just suddenly knows (her battle state feels like the LOTR eagles—a convenient plot device) and she cries A LOT! Overall, the last 60% was pretty good and I am sure I will pick up the 3rd book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️
To be completely honest, I didn’t finish The Merciless Ones. For me, it fell into the dreaded ‘book two curse’—it felt like a filler between the beginning and the final action, and I found it incredibly dull. Much of it read like a rehash of the first book rather than something fresh or forward-moving.
I know these books have a lot of fans, but they just aren’t for me. I ended up skipping through to see if it picked up, read the final chapter, and realised I didn’t really need the rest. The little I had read filled in enough of the blanks.
Needless to say, I won’t be continuing the series.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
There is a definite improvement in Forna's writing in the second book of the Deathless series, The Merciless Ones, which takes place six months after the events of book one. Despite the improvement in the overall writing, this is the weakest book in the trilogy.
I read all three books back-to-back, so there was no time for me to forget what had happened in previous books, but The Merciless Ones made me feel like I had missed something incredibly important in The Gilded Ones. Suddenly, our ragtag team of rebels is looking for Arcane objects of great power, and we, as readers, are just expected to know what they are and why they are important. Forna eventually gives us a little bit of background knowledge on these objects, but otherwise, we are thrown into the ocean without a life jacket and expected to swim. I did not like this shift from book one, and the objects felt as if they were contrived simply to drive the plot in the direction Forna eventually wanted it to go. I think mentioning these arcane objects in the first book would have been beneficial, so it wasn't so abrupt in book two.
Thankfully, I felt the pacing was better in The Merciless Ones compared to The Gilded Ones, where the story had fits and starts. The Merciless Ones was incredibly fast paced, introducing and fleshing out the world and characters of Otera along the way. Our cast of characters greatly expands in book two, but Forna does such a great job fleshing out their backstories and personalities that I had no problem keeping track of everyone. Sometimes there are so many side characters I get lost in the sauce, but that wasn't the case here.
Furthermore, Forna expands on the themes of trauma and our response to it. Several of our girls have experienced terrible cruelties that have influenced and driven their futures. These horrors are introduced in a tasteful way, and we work through these events with the characters to grow and expand with them. I loved the commentary on mental health, trauma, and overcoming adversity, and felt it helped me connect with each of the characters in a more meaningful way.
However, I liked Deka, our main character, less in this book than in the previous one. She is so overpowered, with new powers arriving at just the right moment, that the story sometimes felt contrived. On top of this, Deka is so confused and unsure of her own power that she is often insufferable. Everyone else seems to be growing and maturing, but Deka is stuck in this perpetual state of childhood. Because of this, the love story takes a backseat, which I was fine with. However, there are enough cute moments between Deka and Keita to keep the love alive. It felt more real in The Merciless Ones than it did previously.
“There’s nothing worse than ordinary men.”
Despite the inherent flaws, I loved Forna's commentary on misogyny and the patriarchy. While there is certainly a twist at the end that shifts some of the blame, it's obvious the current oppressive system is entirely the fault of ordinary men thinking they are something great. Forna's representation of the patriarchy and its harms is a perfect overlay with our current world. I'm all for eating terrible men, and Forna certainly ate. On top of this, we get a variety of queer characters, humor, friendship, and female-bonding. At the end of the day, it's Deka's relationship with the women in her life that truly matters.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the sequel to The Gilded Ones, Deka has become the weapon and servant of the gods, sent to do their will and bidding. Tasked with stealing an artifact and weapon from the men who seek to use it against the women of Otera, Deka comes face-to-face with revelations she didn't consider possible before, the least of which being that The Gilded Ones aren't the only gods in Otera.
This sequel was just as good as the first installment in this trilogy, and left me desperate to move onto the next (and final) book in the trilogy. The worldbuilding is lush, the characters are complex, and nothing is as it seems in this stunning novel. I'm excited to see where Deka's adventures take us in the final book of the trilogy. I'm invested!
I will note that the amount of plot holes in this series, alongside the abrupt revelations, make this book difficult to understand at times. It's definitely a more elementary read and for pleasure more than for learning.
This sequel was just as good as the first installment in this trilogy, and left me desperate to move onto the next (and final) book in the trilogy. The worldbuilding is lush, the characters are complex, and nothing is as it seems in this stunning novel. I'm excited to see where Deka's adventures take us in the final book of the trilogy. I'm invested!
I will note that the amount of plot holes in this series, alongside the abrupt revelations, make this book difficult to understand at times. It's definitely a more elementary read and for pleasure more than for learning.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’d want to give this book a lower rating but I think it’d be disingenuous to not recognize the aspects thar Namina Forna improved on.
But first let’s talk about the fact that a lot things stayed the same and that’s very frustrating…
This book hits hollow on soo many front. Just like the previous entry it is way too violent and gory without enough emotional pull to be engaging and without enough contrast to be impactful.
After the 30th depiction of torture, pain and misery they really start lose their value you know…
No death matters and the death toll here is high, really high. Yet, none of them were narratively interesting or emotionally compelling.
It also gets frustrating to have the writer trying to retroactively making care about characters.
Like fr, who tf is Katya?? We never cared about her, she died in book 1, we didn’t care, was reincarnated as a deathshriek, we didn’t care and now we suppose to feel something about her getting back w her lover that was never heard of prior to them rejoining?? Girl can you please spend that time writing sth that we care about!
This is a pervasive issue, it really feels like Namina Forna starts naming background characters mid way through to try to increase stakes or get us to care about someone dying. “Look this guy matter! He was actually the friend of so and so who didn’t join our forces in the past but… etc…”
This is weak
The things that did improve though, is that now the author shows us that gender diversity exists in the world… somewhat. I have to put that asterisk because a lot of the “Actually this character was non-binary” moments of the book feel like retconing almost. No-one who was introduced as trans or gender non-conforming matter to the plot, there’s yandaus apparently, the name for non-binary folks in that world. But we never meet someone who is and it’s kind of a way to say “okay girls! Oop and theys, didn’t want to forget u there”.
It’s better than before but it’s still weak.
And before concluding here I have to say that outside of all of this… the *actual* plot when downhill SO fast. I think the point was to show nuance and that both men and women can be at fault in many cases but still. The fact that gods of males are almost redeemed or at least “just as bad as the gods of females” doesn’t so what the author aimed for and actually muddy the metaphorical weight the book held prior. The first book felt like women being mad, I wish the author would’ve committed to that. Instead it feels like a swerve toward a more nuanced take but nuance isn’t what we were here for in the first place. Now it leaves the story feeling middle of the road, just a middle of the road gory YA novel about fantasy stuff .
This is the core of my issue, nothing here makes me wanna pick up the 3rd entry.
But first let’s talk about the fact that a lot things stayed the same and that’s very frustrating…
This book hits hollow on soo many front. Just like the previous entry it is way too violent and gory without enough emotional pull to be engaging and without enough contrast to be impactful.
After the 30th depiction of torture, pain and misery they really start lose their value you know…
No death matters and the death toll here is high, really high. Yet, none of them were narratively interesting or emotionally compelling.
It also gets frustrating to have the writer trying to retroactively making care about characters.
This is a pervasive issue, it really feels like Namina Forna starts naming background characters mid way through to try to increase stakes or get us to care about someone dying. “Look this guy matter! He was actually the friend of so and so who didn’t join our forces in the past but… etc…”
This is weak
The things that did improve though, is that now the author shows us that gender diversity exists in the world… somewhat. I have to put that asterisk because a lot of the “Actually this character was non-binary” moments of the book feel like retconing almost. No-one who was introduced as trans or gender non-conforming matter to the plot, there’s yandaus apparently, the name for non-binary folks in that world. But we never meet someone who is and it’s kind of a way to say “okay girls! Oop and theys, didn’t want to forget u there”.
It’s better than before but it’s still weak.
And before concluding here I have to say that outside of all of this… the *actual* plot when downhill SO fast. I think the point was to show nuance and that both men and women can be at fault in many cases but still. The fact that gods of males are almost redeemed or at least “just as bad as the gods of females” doesn’t so what the author aimed for and actually muddy the metaphorical weight the book held prior. The first book felt like women being mad, I wish the author would’ve committed to that. Instead it feels like a swerve toward a more nuanced take but nuance isn’t what we were here for in the first place. Now it leaves the story feeling middle of the road, just a middle of the road gory YA novel about fantasy stuff .
This is the core of my issue, nothing here makes me wanna pick up the 3rd entry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, interesting take! It did take a while for it to get past a three (it just felt a little slow) but once it hit about 350 pages it in, it started RUNNING. I did kind of expect that final twist, but otherwise, that ending was amazing!
Tally Hall Song: Hidden in the Sand
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes