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A review by abbie_
The Falcon Throne by Karen Miller
3.0
This will probably be quite a short review for a very long book, which unfortunately started off VERY strongly but then tapered off after about two thirds of the way through.
.
But for the first half of this book I was LOVING it, I was on a high fantasy kick - there’s nothing like the feeling of being completely immersed in a new world with a new set of characters, kingdoms and magic. We had prophecies, oracles, witches, a freaking spirit that spoke through corpses... it was wild and it was great... but... there is a but.
.
About 400 pages into this 700 page beast, it feels like Miller lost her way. Almost as if she had set herself a page quota she wanted to reach, and dammit she’d get there even if it meant basically repeating storylines, dragging them out, killing people off seemingly at random to create more drama, bringing them back to life... And don’t get me wrong, these last two have their place in high fantasy - who doesn’t love a surprise resurrection - but I just felt like it was getting too unravelled.
.
Character-wise, she does a good job for the most part. There are vile, detestable lords, cunning witches and high ladies doing their best to stay alive and in control in what is clearly a man’s world... but not enough of the latter for me, and too many whiny, arrogant lordlings parading about.
.
All in all, a bit below the standards I expect from a book this size, and I’m not sure I’ll bother continuing the series, although I am intrigued by some of the hanging storylines...
.
But for the first half of this book I was LOVING it, I was on a high fantasy kick - there’s nothing like the feeling of being completely immersed in a new world with a new set of characters, kingdoms and magic. We had prophecies, oracles, witches, a freaking spirit that spoke through corpses... it was wild and it was great... but... there is a but.
.
About 400 pages into this 700 page beast, it feels like Miller lost her way. Almost as if she had set herself a page quota she wanted to reach, and dammit she’d get there even if it meant basically repeating storylines, dragging them out, killing people off seemingly at random to create more drama, bringing them back to life... And don’t get me wrong, these last two have their place in high fantasy - who doesn’t love a surprise resurrection - but I just felt like it was getting too unravelled.
.
Character-wise, she does a good job for the most part. There are vile, detestable lords, cunning witches and high ladies doing their best to stay alive and in control in what is clearly a man’s world... but not enough of the latter for me, and too many whiny, arrogant lordlings parading about.
.
All in all, a bit below the standards I expect from a book this size, and I’m not sure I’ll bother continuing the series, although I am intrigued by some of the hanging storylines...