Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
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:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So many second books in a series split up the relationships that had invested the reader in the series in the first place. I often dislike this but in this book it was better done than in most series.
What I didn't like was the introduction of the new POV, Celcha. I'm not sure what her perspective added to the story.
I'm amused that the canith and the humans seems so likely to get into romantic relationships after all their enmity!
This book did feel like a circle. I'm a little confused as to exactly where we are on the timeline. Livira's book seems like it's of the utmost importance, but we still don't know why. I liked how Livira learned to take back control of her book and its stories by falling into them and having awareness of what she was trying to do in the stories she told.
I fear that this review is not going to make much sense to someone who hasn't read the book. For tht person I'll say that I did like this one, I intend to read the last book in the series. I'm not sure how much happened to further the overarching plot of the book since so much of it was either about Celcha or about scattered friends coming back together. Maybe Celcha's moon people will end up having a more important role to play, or maybe they are just there to show that more people than canith, humans and the terrifying insect people have an interest in the library.
So far there's only been a binary choice in how to deal with knowledge: use it and dole it out as the population with access to it can handle it, or to destroy it. This binary means that everyone has to choose a side. There's even a bit of a meditation on this problem in the book. Is there another way, or more other ways that have been discarded? I think that a new philosophy of how to deal with the library is probably coming up in the next book.
What I didn't like was the introduction of the new POV, Celcha. I'm not sure what her perspective added to the story.
I'm amused that the canith and the humans seems so likely to get into romantic relationships after all their enmity!
This book did feel like a circle. I'm a little confused as to exactly where we are on the timeline. Livira's book seems like it's of the utmost importance, but we still don't know why. I liked how Livira learned to take back control of her book and its stories by falling into them and having awareness of what she was trying to do in the stories she told.
I fear that this review is not going to make much sense to someone who hasn't read the book. For tht person I'll say that I did like this one, I intend to read the last book in the series. I'm not sure how much happened to further the overarching plot of the book since so much of it was either about Celcha or about scattered friends coming back together. Maybe Celcha's moon people will end up having a more important role to play, or maybe they are just there to show that more people than canith, humans and the terrifying insect people have an interest in the library.
So far there's only been a binary choice in how to deal with knowledge: use it and dole it out as the population with access to it can handle it, or to destroy it. This binary means that everyone has to choose a side. There's even a bit of a meditation on this problem in the book. Is there another way, or more other ways that have been discarded? I think that a new philosophy of how to deal with the library is probably coming up in the next book.
I liked it, def took a bit to get up to speed again from first book. Really interesting world and the focus on knowledge and how accessible it is impacts civilizations and individual people is really interesting.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
The interconnectedness of each story element, even seemingly minor moments, is so tight without being trite. Lawerence demonstrates his usual expert use of character and their relations with one another. These moments particularly shine for me, especially inconsequential ones like Malar’s (tragic) death being particularly impactful for Clovis due to their shared warrior spirit. Her romance with Arpix- a worrisome rational man and a brazen warrior woman- felt real enough to have me completely invested. Another example is Kerrol, a personal favorite, being chagrined at not understanding Starval’s decision to join Mayland. Most special of all was the ending: the tragedy of Celcha’s creation had me moved, the sacrifice of Meelan had me teary eyed, and the three unique call to adventures has me yearning to read the final book.