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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Three is dead. Wren is now the Governor of Morningside, having watched his father be killed by Asher, and then, having removed Asher. Asher determined that the previous Governor had a trick he was using, a special machine, that he could control the Weir with, call them, and then send them away. However, Asher, with his enhanced abilities worked out that he could do other things to them as well, having greater control. And it was with this control, that he exerted his will over Cass, who had been turned into a Weir, and used her to kill Three.
It was an interesting move by Posey, as Three is bound to be a favourite character in the first book, and killing him could be a reason for a lot of people to stop reading the series. However, if you do, you are going to miss out on an utterly brilliant sequel.
The other clever part about killing Three is that it means that anybody is fair game. So often in these books, the main characters become immortal, unable to die, escaping near impossible situations, but with this series, the death of such a pivotal character signified that was not going to be the case.
There is also the concern of whether the story would be strong enough to survive without Three’s character, and again, Posey shows some incredible writing skill, by not only remembering his fallen hero, honouring him, but moving on and allowing the newly awakened Cass, Wren who has come into his new abilities, as well as the addition of Gamble and her crack unit to not so much fill the void, but to take up the mantle of where Three’s character was.
As with the first book, the writing is beautifully structured, flowing so easily that you can glide through the pages with ease, but be lost in this incredibly crafted story with such an in-depth world that it is obvious that Posey has poured hours into developing a finely crafted backdrop from which to tell his tale.
Whilst Wren has discovered the ability to awaken the Weir, bringing back the minds of those that once belonged to the body, making them almost human again, he is still only a child. As such, those around him do not see him as a leader, and they see his mother, a newly awakened Weir, as a danger.
Gamble and her team are just brilliant, the tactics, technical skill, manoeuvres that are discussed and used in this book show that Posey has done a lot of research on how a small unit of Special Forces troops operates in close combat operations. This attention to detail is what makes this book such a standout to other books of its genre, these little bits of detail that are so well done.
Wren soon learns the hard way about being Governor and Politics, and must make some difficult decisions for the future of Morningside, especially when he realises the danger that is coming.
This book is just as good as the original. I can’t say it is better, because Three was just an exceptional character, but it is getting close, especially for a sequel. There is a lot of fascinating intrigue, and things you don’t expect, all leading to what is going to be a spectacular final book. This is a must read series.
It was an interesting move by Posey, as Three is bound to be a favourite character in the first book, and killing him could be a reason for a lot of people to stop reading the series. However, if you do, you are going to miss out on an utterly brilliant sequel.
The other clever part about killing Three is that it means that anybody is fair game. So often in these books, the main characters become immortal, unable to die, escaping near impossible situations, but with this series, the death of such a pivotal character signified that was not going to be the case.
There is also the concern of whether the story would be strong enough to survive without Three’s character, and again, Posey shows some incredible writing skill, by not only remembering his fallen hero, honouring him, but moving on and allowing the newly awakened Cass, Wren who has come into his new abilities, as well as the addition of Gamble and her crack unit to not so much fill the void, but to take up the mantle of where Three’s character was.
As with the first book, the writing is beautifully structured, flowing so easily that you can glide through the pages with ease, but be lost in this incredibly crafted story with such an in-depth world that it is obvious that Posey has poured hours into developing a finely crafted backdrop from which to tell his tale.
Whilst Wren has discovered the ability to awaken the Weir, bringing back the minds of those that once belonged to the body, making them almost human again, he is still only a child. As such, those around him do not see him as a leader, and they see his mother, a newly awakened Weir, as a danger.
Gamble and her team are just brilliant, the tactics, technical skill, manoeuvres that are discussed and used in this book show that Posey has done a lot of research on how a small unit of Special Forces troops operates in close combat operations. This attention to detail is what makes this book such a standout to other books of its genre, these little bits of detail that are so well done.
Wren soon learns the hard way about being Governor and Politics, and must make some difficult decisions for the future of Morningside, especially when he realises the danger that is coming.
This book is just as good as the original. I can’t say it is better, because Three was just an exceptional character, but it is getting close, especially for a sequel. There is a lot of fascinating intrigue, and things you don’t expect, all leading to what is going to be a spectacular final book. This is a must read series.
Stick with the first book in trilogy. It's downhill after that
With Morningside Fall, Jay Posey's Legends of the Dustwalker saga is beginning to remind me of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Saga. Both series started off strong, with first novels that really impressed me with their imagination and their storytelling, and which guaranteed I would keep on reading. Unfortunately [minor spolier here], the second volume in both series suffers from the absence of the protagonist who made the first book so compelling.
That absence made this a frustrating reading experience for me. The world building was taken to the next level, the threat of the Weir was far better explored, and we finally get something of a primary antagonist in the final portions of the book. In addition, the writing was just as solid as it was in the first book, contributing to an enhancement of the overall atmosphere. There really was a lot to enjoy and appreciate here, but Wren is no Three, and that's a very big 'but' indeed.
I didn't like Wren much in the first book, and I didn't come to like him any better here. He's too innocent, too precocious, and too vulnerable. I wasn't necessarily looking for him to stand up and become a hero, but I was hoping he would serve some purpose other than to be the typical kid who needs to be rescued. He just rubs me the wrong way, leaving me exasperated and anxious to move on to the next scene that doesn't center on him. As for his mother, I really liked the darkness and the edge of Cass in the first book, but at lot of that seems blunted here. Sadly, it seems as if she's just not as interesting without Three there to challenge her on a personal and intellectual level.
It's not a bad read, and the last 100 or so pages are worth sticking it out for, but it was a long, slow, difficult read getting to that point. I found myself skimming in places, and getting tired of all the walk-on auditions to replace Three as Wren's guardian. Morningside Fall definitely suffers from middle-book syndrome, adding to the issue of trying to replace a protagonist, but it ends with enough promise to make a third book a likely-to-read, if not quite a must-read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
That absence made this a frustrating reading experience for me. The world building was taken to the next level, the threat of the Weir was far better explored, and we finally get something of a primary antagonist in the final portions of the book. In addition, the writing was just as solid as it was in the first book, contributing to an enhancement of the overall atmosphere. There really was a lot to enjoy and appreciate here, but Wren is no Three, and that's a very big 'but' indeed.
I didn't like Wren much in the first book, and I didn't come to like him any better here. He's too innocent, too precocious, and too vulnerable. I wasn't necessarily looking for him to stand up and become a hero, but I was hoping he would serve some purpose other than to be the typical kid who needs to be rescued. He just rubs me the wrong way, leaving me exasperated and anxious to move on to the next scene that doesn't center on him. As for his mother, I really liked the darkness and the edge of Cass in the first book, but at lot of that seems blunted here. Sadly, it seems as if she's just not as interesting without Three there to challenge her on a personal and intellectual level.
It's not a bad read, and the last 100 or so pages are worth sticking it out for, but it was a long, slow, difficult read getting to that point. I found myself skimming in places, and getting tired of all the walk-on auditions to replace Three as Wren's guardian. Morningside Fall definitely suffers from middle-book syndrome, adding to the issue of trying to replace a protagonist, but it ends with enough promise to make a third book a likely-to-read, if not quite a must-read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Meh. I wish that this had been As engaging as three. It wasn't. Three absorbed me and I didn't want to let it go. This could have been accomplished in half the the word count. Morningside Fall is at best an interlude.
I really enjoy this series. Great ending and a lot of fun to read
Given how surprisingly the previous novel, THREE ended, I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out or where this story was really going to go. That said, I was pleasantly surprised and mostly happy with the way things progressed. There were new and complex characters, including a fun military squad that spends a lot of time with Cass and the Awakened, who are more connected with Wren. I liked all of the characters––the squad was a lot of fun and helped contribute a lot to Cass' storyline, and Painter, who is completely engaging and complex in his connection to Wren and Wren's adversaries. Once again, the story was well paced and action-packed, especially when it came to Cass. The story didn't have as much impact as its predecessor, but I'm still glad I got to read and enjoy it. The ending is intense and demands for a continued reading, and I can't wait to see how it all wraps up!
Wren's term as Governor of Morningside is short-lived when it becomes apparent he's been targeted by people within the Council. With his mother and a group of trusted allies, he flees the city. But who is working against him and why are the Weir massing in greater numbers?
I got this from Angry Robot via Netgalley.
The Weir threat escalates in the second entry in the Duskwalker series. Wren is struggling to grow into his role as boy governor of Morningside and the influx of people into Morningside, both the dwellers outside the walls and the Awakened, the former Weir, are making the rest of the population uneasy. Sound pretty good? Well...
Okay, here's the deal. I loved Three, the first book in this series. However, I didn't love this book. I felt like it very much suffers from "Second book in the Trilogy" syndrome. There's a lot of setup toward bigger things down the road but mostly there's a lot of running through the wastelands shooting at Weir. There is no new character to take Three's lead role so we get a lot of interchangeable warrior types acting as Wren's bodyguards and with no lynchpin character driving things forward, my attention waned quite a bit. If it weren't for the last 20% of the book, I probably would have given it a 2.
The last 20% made up for a lot of my distaste for the rest of the book. A lot of stuff happens. Wren figures out how to stop the Weir, the mastermind is revealed, and a battle of monstrous proportions happens. The revelation of who the blindfolded man was was very satisfying. The third book is going to be an asskicker of Muhammed Ali proportions.
Morningside Fall is worth a read but I don't think it holds up very well when compared to Three. I do plan on sticking with the series, though. Three out of five stars.
I got this from Angry Robot via Netgalley.
The Weir threat escalates in the second entry in the Duskwalker series. Wren is struggling to grow into his role as boy governor of Morningside and the influx of people into Morningside, both the dwellers outside the walls and the Awakened, the former Weir, are making the rest of the population uneasy. Sound pretty good? Well...
Okay, here's the deal. I loved Three, the first book in this series. However, I didn't love this book. I felt like it very much suffers from "Second book in the Trilogy" syndrome. There's a lot of setup toward bigger things down the road but mostly there's a lot of running through the wastelands shooting at Weir. There is no new character to take Three's lead role so we get a lot of interchangeable warrior types acting as Wren's bodyguards and with no lynchpin character driving things forward, my attention waned quite a bit. If it weren't for the last 20% of the book, I probably would have given it a 2.
The last 20% made up for a lot of my distaste for the rest of the book. A lot of stuff happens. Wren figures out how to stop the Weir, the mastermind is revealed, and a battle of monstrous proportions happens. The revelation of who the blindfolded man was was very satisfying. The third book is going to be an asskicker of Muhammed Ali proportions.
Morningside Fall is worth a read but I don't think it holds up very well when compared to Three. I do plan on sticking with the series, though. Three out of five stars.
Wow! Jay Posey does it again. I have to admit I don't expect much from the middle book of a trilogy and this one seemed to start slowly, but it kept getting packed with details I knew I would need later . . . and I was right. When this book kicks off from the exposition/introduction into the rising action, it just goes full throttle until the resolution that leaves the reader satisfied, but still wanting the next book.
Highly recommended if you like sci-fi, apocalyptic fiction!
Highly recommended if you like sci-fi, apocalyptic fiction!
DAMN.
ASHER is one of the best villains I've found in books. I hate that guy so fucking much.
ASHER is one of the best villains I've found in books. I hate that guy so fucking much.
A big string of actions scenes with a short story's worth of actual plot. Doesn't live up to expectations set by "Three" which was amazing.