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A review by shannonxo
As the Shadow Rises by Katy Rose Pool
4.0
Apparently I'm really in a "let's finish all the series I've let sit languishing for a few years" mood.
There will be some mild There Will Come A Darkness spoilers so carry on at your own risk.
The last few trilogies I've read, the middle book has been so limp and full of useless filler that the entire thing felt entirely unnecessary. So needless to say I didn't come into this one with a lot of expectations. And that's on me. This second installment is surprisingly solid. A trilogy that was thought out from start to finish and thought out well. The stakes are higher, the characters more fleshed out and set on interesting new paths, and new figures, items and stories of lore and magic woven cleanly into the narrative. The prophecy that guided the first book continues on, threatening the Age of Darkness.
This wasn't perfect though. I had the same issues with this second book as I did the first, but perhaps a little worse because this is the second book. It took a long time to get into this because of the five POVs. There's a lot of ground to lay for each character before the story finally settled and got going. But what made this harder was that a) I forgot a lot of what happened in the first book and b) the in-narrative recap for each character was not good. And again, this was an okay book until the last quarter, with the ending earning a star all on it's own because it's just so exciting and intriguing and leaves me eager to continue with the next book.
It's also quite difficult for me to imagine this as an ancient Greece inspired world. I mean, there's literally the colosseum on the cover of this book and the author has confirmed is Grecian-esque, but it just does not feel coded that way. Like you can't help but think that a white author should not be writing this because to me it feels more middle eastern. That little element of yikes could not leave my head.
So what have all the main characters been up to? Forgive me if I spell anything wrong as I read via audio.
Jude is the character I remembered the least about in terms of specifics. He is the Keeper of the Word, but he's lost his grace after the battle at the lighthouse, which I completely forgot about and is something that wasn't recapped well. He is facing an investigation into both his and Hector's actions and how it relates to their oaths.
Anton is still one of my favourite characters. I love his wittiness and snark so much. The gambler has been revealed as the last Prophet, and he really could do without. After an attack by the Witnesses on the fort, he and Jude--the loversssss--run away together, trying to find Jude's lost sword to try and restore his grace.
Ephyra is my other favourite, and the Pale Hand is quite angsty this time around. Beru ran away from Ephyra after she killed Hector, and now Ephyra is determined to find the lost Chalice. Without Ephyra there to "heal" her, Beru will die soon and only the relic can save her. It takes Ephyra into a little bit of a Tomb Raider adventure with Ilya, Anton's traitorous brother, and I'm obsessed with their dynamic. Love it so much.
Beru may have ran off but she isn't alone for long, teaming up with Hector. What, didn't I just say he was dead? Well, surprise, someone who is not Ephrya has turned him into a revenant like Beru, and the pair are now connected. The pair set off to find a sisterhood of healers who can restore the piece of Hector inside Beru and heal him, all so Beru can atone for somethings before she dies at last.
Hasan remains my least favourite. I honestly could have skipped all his chapters and been okay with that. Wouldn't have missed all that much either. He's such a useless little loser to me, always whining and griping about how he isn't appreciated and no one listens to him.
What amuses me this time is I did not like the narrator. I really needed this series to have at least a male and female narrator, if not a different voice for each POV. Todd Boyce is okay, but some of the accents and voices he uses are not nice. There's one character named Evander, I think, and oh god, that was a big nope every time he spoke.
Third book, here I come!
There will be some mild There Will Come A Darkness spoilers so carry on at your own risk.
The last few trilogies I've read, the middle book has been so limp and full of useless filler that the entire thing felt entirely unnecessary. So needless to say I didn't come into this one with a lot of expectations. And that's on me. This second installment is surprisingly solid. A trilogy that was thought out from start to finish and thought out well. The stakes are higher, the characters more fleshed out and set on interesting new paths, and new figures, items and stories of lore and magic woven cleanly into the narrative. The prophecy that guided the first book continues on, threatening the Age of Darkness.
This wasn't perfect though. I had the same issues with this second book as I did the first, but perhaps a little worse because this is the second book. It took a long time to get into this because of the five POVs. There's a lot of ground to lay for each character before the story finally settled and got going. But what made this harder was that a) I forgot a lot of what happened in the first book and b) the in-narrative recap for each character was not good. And again, this was an okay book until the last quarter, with the ending earning a star all on it's own because it's just so exciting and intriguing and leaves me eager to continue with the next book.
It's also quite difficult for me to imagine this as an ancient Greece inspired world. I mean, there's literally the colosseum on the cover of this book and the author has confirmed is Grecian-esque, but it just does not feel coded that way. Like you can't help but think that a white author should not be writing this because to me it feels more middle eastern. That little element of yikes could not leave my head.
So what have all the main characters been up to? Forgive me if I spell anything wrong as I read via audio.
Jude is the character I remembered the least about in terms of specifics. He is the Keeper of the Word, but he's lost his grace after the battle at the lighthouse, which I completely forgot about and is something that wasn't recapped well. He is facing an investigation into both his and Hector's actions and how it relates to their oaths.
Anton is still one of my favourite characters. I love his wittiness and snark so much. The gambler has been revealed as the last Prophet, and he really could do without. After an attack by the Witnesses on the fort, he and Jude--the loversssss--run away together, trying to find Jude's lost sword to try and restore his grace.
Ephyra is my other favourite, and the Pale Hand is quite angsty this time around. Beru ran away from Ephyra after she killed Hector, and now Ephyra is determined to find the lost Chalice. Without Ephyra there to "heal" her, Beru will die soon and only the relic can save her. It takes Ephyra into a little bit of a Tomb Raider adventure with Ilya, Anton's traitorous brother, and I'm obsessed with their dynamic. Love it so much.
Beru may have ran off but she isn't alone for long, teaming up with Hector. What, didn't I just say he was dead? Well, surprise, someone who is not Ephrya has turned him into a revenant like Beru, and the pair are now connected. The pair set off to find a sisterhood of healers who can restore the piece of Hector inside Beru and heal him, all so Beru can atone for somethings before she dies at last.
Hasan remains my least favourite. I honestly could have skipped all his chapters and been okay with that. Wouldn't have missed all that much either. He's such a useless little loser to me, always whining and griping about how he isn't appreciated and no one listens to him.
What amuses me this time is I did not like the narrator. I really needed this series to have at least a male and female narrator, if not a different voice for each POV. Todd Boyce is okay, but some of the accents and voices he uses are not nice. There's one character named Evander, I think, and oh god, that was a big nope every time he spoke.
Third book, here I come!