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A review by willrefuge
Thron in Flammen: Roman by Brian Staveley
4.0
All three siblings are back for the second book of the Unhewn Throne trilogy, plus some chapters later on from Gwenna. Unlike the first, each sibling gets equal time. So if you were a bit annoyed in the first to only find one Adare POV to every 3 of Kaden and Valyn's, well, I guess you're vindicated (I wasn't exactly appalled, but it was a flaw of the first one).
The first book of the Unhewn Throne wasn't exactly what I would call inconsistent. Neither was it unrealistic or unbelievable. It was just... too convenient.
Think of the first few Harry Potter books. Everyone has read those. Well, pretty much everyone. Anyways, it's like that. There are the parts conducive to the plot, to the main story, and then there's everything else. Days, weeks at a time are left out because nothing vital happens. This isn't like that exactly, it's just... It glosses over the parts that aren't directly relevant to the plot. The characters know it right away. It's a realistic seeming tale, but it's like the POV characters aren't human.
In THE PROVIDENCE OF FIRE, they're human. Mistakes are made, no one is perfect, and assumptions made by one character aren't universally accepted by the others. In fact, through most of the book, all three children of the throne are working on information different from the others. More importantly, while THE EMPEROR'S BLADES showed us each sibling's strengths, their weaknesses weren't necessarily aired. That changes in the second. Weakness and strength are on equal display. Mistakes are made, assumptions are made, and no one escapes the consequences unscathed. Moreover, each character has an arc.
Maybe that's not the right word. There's character growth, a change in the status quo. The siblings seem more real, more human. PoF isn't better because the plot is better, nor the execution of the story. It's better because everything comes together more naturally.
If you liked the first, well, I think you'll like the second even more. I did.
Next to the Faithful and the Fallen, this could be the best series I've read all year (yes, I know it's early. Shove it).
4.7ish/5 stars.
ps - the cover's also cooler than the first
The first book of the Unhewn Throne wasn't exactly what I would call inconsistent. Neither was it unrealistic or unbelievable. It was just... too convenient.
Think of the first few Harry Potter books. Everyone has read those. Well, pretty much everyone. Anyways, it's like that. There are the parts conducive to the plot, to the main story, and then there's everything else. Days, weeks at a time are left out because nothing vital happens. This isn't like that exactly, it's just... It glosses over the parts that aren't directly relevant to the plot. The characters know it right away. It's a realistic seeming tale, but it's like the POV characters aren't human.
In THE PROVIDENCE OF FIRE, they're human. Mistakes are made, no one is perfect, and assumptions made by one character aren't universally accepted by the others. In fact, through most of the book, all three children of the throne are working on information different from the others. More importantly, while THE EMPEROR'S BLADES showed us each sibling's strengths, their weaknesses weren't necessarily aired. That changes in the second. Weakness and strength are on equal display. Mistakes are made, assumptions are made, and no one escapes the consequences unscathed. Moreover, each character has an arc.
Maybe that's not the right word. There's character growth, a change in the status quo. The siblings seem more real, more human. PoF isn't better because the plot is better, nor the execution of the story. It's better because everything comes together more naturally.
If you liked the first, well, I think you'll like the second even more. I did.
Next to the Faithful and the Fallen, this could be the best series I've read all year (yes, I know it's early. Shove it).
4.7ish/5 stars.
ps - the cover's also cooler than the first