fandom4ever 's review for:

The Return of Daud by Adam Christopher

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The second book in the Dishonored book series, The Return of Daud takes place eight months after The Corroded Man, just as the second game is beginning. I was intrigued to read this book because I was looking forward to diving more into the character of Daud, Empress Jessamine’s murderer. We got just about nothing on him in the first game and got to actually play as him in The Knife of Dunwall/Brigmore Witches DLCs, so I was curious what he had been up to in the fifteen years since his banishment from Dunwall by Corvo. In essence, I did get more information on Daud and his new obsession with wanting to kill the Outsider. I liked that he blamed the Outsider for much of his ills and thus had not used his Mark in a long time and was very hesitant to start using it again. Because Daud used the Mark more than Corvo in the first book, there was a lot more description of how it felt to transverse. It was just so interesting to see that using the Mark caused pain to the user, more so as their energy is sapped. 

Despite these good character and world-building moments, the book spirals off the rails in the last sixty pages or so. Too many groups come into the picture to which the mysteries are never solved. In fact, Daud’s whole mission here is not wrapped up because this book is supposed to lead into that terrible standalone expansion Death of the Outsider, which I in no way have any interest in playing or reading the third book that takes place after it. I was extremely disappointed that this turned out to be more of a part of a story rather than a full story on its own, and the book certainly doesn’t let you know this is the case. I had to look into the wiki to confirm my suspicions. 

Overall, it was an okay read if you go in knowing what to expect. As stated, there were many things I enjoyed learning for a world that is in desperate need of more fleshing out. I just don’t understand how you can have a book that doesn’t conclude its story.