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adventurous
dark
funny
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
Another fun romp by de Castell with plenty of wit, violence, and creative "how are they going to get out of this one?" twists.
De Castell's clearly having fun with this series. The origin and evolution of Temper made me giggle repeatedly, and I can't help but wonder if he wasn't at least partially dreamed up as a way to make Joe Jameson do <i>another</i> accent (which he crushes, because obviously). As a huge fan of logic puzzles, I'm also endlessly enthralled by de Castell's ability to seemingly write himself into a corner only to wriggle free in a way I don't see coming but that feels organic and earned.
The unique magic system of this world gets even more fleshed out this time around, and the worldbuilding is even more expansive and intricate. There does seem to be some minor retconning of the magic system and world from the first book, but hey, maybe there wasn't originally going to be a sequel and de Castell wanted to stretch things a bit as his ideas formed.
What keeps this from being a <i>Greatcoats</i>-level 4.5 or 5 stars for me is the lack of emotional punch (though, again, there's more humor) and the heavy exposition style. Much of this book is Cade speaking directly to the reader. That can be an effective storytelling device, but here it often got repetitive. There was even a moment when I found myself wondering if the story had initially been serialized, what with the number of times Cade recapped key plot points, before I remembered that's clearly not the case. Maybe it was intentional, but it didn't quite work for me.
SPOILERS
Shame on and/or kudos to Joe Jameson for making me think for a moment there that Ferius Parfax stumbled into this world. It wasn't far off, but still - the grin I grinned when the word "Spellslinger" came up for the first time. If nothing else, this really teases the idea of a Cade-meets-Falcio crossover that will probably never happen, but hey, a girl can dream.
And a derisive eyeroll at the cover artist who, while otherwise doing a fantastic job, AGAIN put a spoiler on the cover. Come on.
...So when are we getting <i>The Malevolent Nine</i>?
De Castell's clearly having fun with this series. The origin and evolution of Temper made me giggle repeatedly, and I can't help but wonder if he wasn't at least partially dreamed up as a way to make Joe Jameson do <i>another</i> accent (which he crushes, because obviously). As a huge fan of logic puzzles, I'm also endlessly enthralled by de Castell's ability to seemingly write himself into a corner only to wriggle free in a way I don't see coming but that feels organic and earned.
The unique magic system of this world gets even more fleshed out this time around, and the worldbuilding is even more expansive and intricate. There does seem to be some minor retconning of the magic system and world from the first book, but hey, maybe there wasn't originally going to be a sequel and de Castell wanted to stretch things a bit as his ideas formed.
What keeps this from being a <i>Greatcoats</i>-level 4.5 or 5 stars for me is the lack of emotional punch (though, again, there's more humor) and the heavy exposition style. Much of this book is Cade speaking directly to the reader. That can be an effective storytelling device, but here it often got repetitive. There was even a moment when I found myself wondering if the story had initially been serialized, what with the number of times Cade recapped key plot points, before I remembered that's clearly not the case. Maybe it was intentional, but it didn't quite work for me.
SPOILERS
And a derisive eyeroll at the cover artist who, while otherwise doing a fantastic job, AGAIN put a spoiler on the cover. Come on.
...So when are we getting <i>The Malevolent Nine</i>?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, Pregnancy
Minor: Rape, Sexual content