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A review by anaffpereira
Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
4.0
Truth be told, I'd have given up on Library of Souls if this wasn't the third book of a saga I was enjoying.
The other books were gripping and introduced us an interesting diversity of characters… but the first half of this book was dull and unexciting. Even worse, this book presented a weak plot, in my opinion.
In Library of Souls, most of the major plot points happened out of the blue, as if Ransom Riggs had just figure what to write in the last minute. If the Library of Souls was such a crucial element of Peculiardom's lore and culture, why haven't we heard about it before? This element would have been much more interesting and believable if it had been carefully planted in a previous book. Moreover, why did Caul's initial plan suddenly became untrue after being so well presented to the reader? Maybe because the author didn't think it through and found out it didn't fit the story? This all seems very sloppy in my opinion, upsetting even! Finally, as a villain, Caul/Jake is such a letdown… Plain, shallow, confusing and disappointing… He need a better and more developed backstory.
Nevertheless, the writing was rather beautiful, and Riggs sure knows how to set a tone and picture a very visual and immersive environment.
Overall, I'd give this book 3*, but as a whole, and given that I enjoyed its predecessors so much, I'll be giving it 4*.
The other books were gripping and introduced us an interesting diversity of characters… but the first half of this book was dull and unexciting. Even worse, this book presented a weak plot, in my opinion.
In Library of Souls, most of the major plot points happened out of the blue, as if Ransom Riggs had just figure what to write in the last minute. If the Library of Souls was such a crucial element of Peculiardom's lore and culture, why haven't we heard about it before? This element would have been much more interesting and believable if it had been carefully planted in a previous book. Moreover, why did Caul's initial plan suddenly became untrue after being so well presented to the reader? Maybe because the author didn't think it through and found out it didn't fit the story? This all seems very sloppy in my opinion, upsetting even! Finally, as a villain, Caul/Jake is such a letdown… Plain, shallow, confusing and disappointing… He need a better and more developed backstory.
Nevertheless, the writing was rather beautiful, and Riggs sure knows how to set a tone and picture a very visual and immersive environment.
Overall, I'd give this book 3*, but as a whole, and given that I enjoyed its predecessors so much, I'll be giving it 4*.