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A review by vesves
Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano
3.0
Full review HERE
This book has to deal with what I like to call the "Outside the Wall" problem. The first book has us trapped on Internment, with no idea whatsoever what we will find on the ground. No. Idea. Whatsoever. Is it the future? Is it 1872? Is this another planet? When a book sets up the big "What's on the other side of the wall?" reveal, it has to pay off. I'm not fully satisfied with the payoff.
They become holed up in this hotel that's closed for the winter, and almost never leave it. It became clear that this is an alternate reality, because there are 1920's elements, then there are elephants called "elegors," a fictional natural resource that seems to be the source of a war, a Bible-like book simply called "The Text," and jets. It's hard to be omniscient when your first-person narrator is obviously not omniscient. But I still have a million questions. At least a million. There are mermaids in the water, so are there other mythical creatures around? How are they even functioning when their bodies are used to being 35,000 feet in the sky? Etc etc.
I still don't think I fully understand why they trusted Jack Piper. They're baby birds and he's the first thing they see, so suddenly he must be trustworthy, and they really don't question anything about him for the whole book. He's "friends" with the king, somehow. I didn't really get that dynamic or why that mattered, except that it gives Celeste a way to talk to him. Also why would the KING trust this pushy girl from the sky claiming to be a princess, when those on the ground know NOTHING about how Internment operates? More questions.
Celeste probably became my favorite character just by virtue of having the most dimension, though Pen is a close second. They were written very well, and it was interesting to see the "friend triangle" that formed as a result. I liked seeing Morgan struggle with just going along with whatever Pen says and does, simply because they're best friends.
I just wish there was more description. I would have a very hard time describing anything around the hotel. I picture some snow and rocks. There's a cemetery somewhere nearby. Also an amusement park. And a hospital. As stated earlier, I wanted more of the world. Some people feel like paragraphs of description is just fluff, unnecessary to the story. I can't get enough of it. Related to this, was there a map in this book? I don't remember, but there should have been, if not.
This book has to deal with what I like to call the "Outside the Wall" problem. The first book has us trapped on Internment, with no idea whatsoever what we will find on the ground. No. Idea. Whatsoever. Is it the future? Is it 1872? Is this another planet? When a book sets up the big "What's on the other side of the wall?" reveal, it has to pay off. I'm not fully satisfied with the payoff.
They become holed up in this hotel that's closed for the winter, and almost never leave it. It became clear that this is an alternate reality, because there are 1920's elements, then there are elephants called "elegors," a fictional natural resource that seems to be the source of a war, a Bible-like book simply called "The Text," and jets. It's hard to be omniscient when your first-person narrator is obviously not omniscient. But I still have a million questions. At least a million. There are mermaids in the water, so are there other mythical creatures around? How are they even functioning when their bodies are used to being 35,000 feet in the sky? Etc etc.
I still don't think I fully understand why they trusted Jack Piper. They're baby birds and he's the first thing they see, so suddenly he must be trustworthy, and they really don't question anything about him for the whole book. He's "friends" with the king, somehow. I didn't really get that dynamic or why that mattered, except that it gives Celeste a way to talk to him. Also why would the KING trust this pushy girl from the sky claiming to be a princess, when those on the ground know NOTHING about how Internment operates? More questions.
Celeste probably became my favorite character just by virtue of having the most dimension, though Pen is a close second. They were written very well, and it was interesting to see the "friend triangle" that formed as a result. I liked seeing Morgan struggle with just going along with whatever Pen says and does, simply because they're best friends.
I just wish there was more description. I would have a very hard time describing anything around the hotel. I picture some snow and rocks. There's a cemetery somewhere nearby. Also an amusement park. And a hospital. As stated earlier, I wanted more of the world. Some people feel like paragraphs of description is just fluff, unnecessary to the story. I can't get enough of it. Related to this, was there a map in this book? I don't remember, but there should have been, if not.