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ailsaod's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was mad about this book when I was 19 and reading it again I am confused. This is the book equivalent of 'love island' combined with 'Attack on Titan' with all the tonal whiplash that this combination suggests. It is a hot mess! I still enjoyed it (mostly) the second time around though it definitely can't be classified as 'good'.
Haplo is in this book even less than book one, though he is more clearly the main character here. He is also arguably at his most villainous in this book - though given the company I certainly cannot blame him. I cannot stand Zifnab (or Fiznab in the Dragonlance chronicles who he is based of off/is?). Like I would happily strangle the man to make him stop spouting fourth wall breaks and aging pop culture references and I don't find him funny at all. He is as fun to have around as Jar-Jar Binks and I don't understand why Weis and Hickman put him into one of their stories, let alone two! The other characters we meet are marginally less vexing but that only means they are unlikable and wildly melodramatic rather than outrageously annoying. There was a very convoluted romantic situation with siblings posing as spouses to seduce and then con a third party which was already a lot before just in concept before the third party's sibling was introduced to the mess. There is a scene of sexual assault (though it doesn't get too far thankfully) that arises from this situation so that is always fun. The authors clearly expect the reader to be routing for the main characters to survive the horrible things that happen but I really wasn't and to be honest it was pretty grim realising there were thousands (millions?) of much nicer people who died in the place of these selfish idiots! This book is known as the weakest in the series for a reason and I suppose when I first read it I was a long way from home with rather lacklustre company.
Once again the world building was interesting and I remember being thoroughly confused by the mystery of the stars the first time around - and fascinated when the answer was revealed. I will say that I do think the authors could have developed some of the implications of living wholly on top of the trees of a never-ending rainforest a bit further but it was still much better than Ringworld .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gore, and Racism
Minor: Sexual harassment and Slavery
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