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A review by roaming_enn
The Grand Design by John Marco
5.0
The first thing you must understand before you read this is that the sea comprises about 70% of the battleground. Therefore there will be a lot of technical vocabulary concerning ships and ship warfare. The first most helpful thing I did for myself was look up certain words such as dreadnought and schooner. The second most helpful thing I did was to look up starboard and port. Perhaps most people already know what they are, but I didn't, and when I looked it up, it helped immensely in understanding what was going on. But one thing I wish I had done for myself was write down the name of each ship, what kind of ship it was, and who's supposed to be on it.
Now, to get to the good stuff. This was probably my favorite out of the three. Not only did it contain my favorite character in the series, Simon Darquis, but the story truly was grand in scope. It was fascinating to see Biagio's plan unfolding, though at first, like the other characters, I wasn't sure he even had one. Each new character is something special, and many of them are used as pawns for Biagio's 'grand design,' as he calls it. Some of the most notable are Lorla, the teenage young woman in a little girl's body; the twin red-haired dukes Enli and Eneas, the latter of whom commands an army of the air, comprised of black ravens; and, my favorite, Simon Darquis, Biagio's love interest and the one he sends to abduct Richius' daughter. I feel like it was in this book that the shades of gray Marco is known for stand out the most. *Nobody* is purely evil or purely good. This is probably why I like his stuff so much. It was a struggle to get through because of all the new terminology, but it was well worth the effort.
This book deserves 5/5 stars.
Now, to get to the good stuff. This was probably my favorite out of the three. Not only did it contain my favorite character in the series, Simon Darquis, but the story truly was grand in scope. It was fascinating to see Biagio's plan unfolding, though at first, like the other characters, I wasn't sure he even had one. Each new character is something special, and many of them are used as pawns for Biagio's 'grand design,' as he calls it. Some of the most notable are Lorla, the teenage young woman in a little girl's body; the twin red-haired dukes Enli and Eneas, the latter of whom commands an army of the air, comprised of black ravens; and, my favorite, Simon Darquis, Biagio's love interest and the one he sends to abduct Richius' daughter. I feel like it was in this book that the shades of gray Marco is known for stand out the most. *Nobody* is purely evil or purely good. This is probably why I like his stuff so much. It was a struggle to get through because of all the new terminology, but it was well worth the effort.
This book deserves 5/5 stars.