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A review by anoveldestination
King of Sword and Sky by C.L. Wilson
3.0
*Spoilers for the first two books in the series!*
I loved the first two books in this series, but I was quite disappointed by this third book. I still enjoyed it because I'm invested in the characters in this book, but the characters and their growth were the only things I enjoyed. Not a lot happens in this book. The main plotline and mystery revolve around the mysterious illness killing the Tairen kits. That could've been an intriguing plot, but it ends up having a fairly simple solution, and there's not a lot of action, so the plot felt weak. The plot didn't need 467 pages.
Most of those pages go to worldbuilding. This is the first book where we see the land of the Fey, and Wilson does a lot of worldbuilding. It was too much in my opinion, and some details about Fey culture and politics were repeated too many times. Also, one thing that rubbed me the wrong way is how all the characters seem to idolize the strict roles for men and women in Fey society. Towards the end of the book, it does seem like the gender roles are slightly less strict. Not all Fey women are healers, and there are comments about men working in the kitchens. However, I still don't like that all of the characters in the book seem to go along with this idea that men are warriors and women are healers that must be protected. We do see Ellysetta learning from the warriors, but her role as a healer and the person who will bring fertility back to the land is stressed a lot more. I feel like there's a lot of lost potential with the subplot of Ellysetta training like the warriors do.
Finally, I didn't like the conversations about how it was the duty of women to have children. There were also some comments about the sentience and killing of unborn tairen that felt similar to arguments used by pro-life advocates. This could be a misinterpretation, but I felt a strong pro-life message in the book that didn't sit well with me.
Strict gender roles themselves in literature aren't an issue. The issue for me is when these systems are idolized and not challenged by any characters because the theme becomes that we shouldn't question these systems.
I loved the first two books in this series, but I was quite disappointed by this third book. I still enjoyed it because I'm invested in the characters in this book, but the characters and their growth were the only things I enjoyed. Not a lot happens in this book. The main plotline and mystery revolve around the mysterious illness killing the Tairen kits. That could've been an intriguing plot, but it ends up having a fairly simple solution, and there's not a lot of action, so the plot felt weak. The plot didn't need 467 pages.
Most of those pages go to worldbuilding. This is the first book where we see the land of the Fey, and Wilson does a lot of worldbuilding. It was too much in my opinion, and some details about Fey culture and politics were repeated too many times. Also, one thing that rubbed me the wrong way is how all the characters seem to idolize the strict roles for men and women in Fey society. Towards the end of the book, it does seem like the gender roles are slightly less strict. Not all Fey women are healers, and there are comments about men working in the kitchens. However, I still don't like that all of the characters in the book seem to go along with this idea that men are warriors and women are healers that must be protected. We do see Ellysetta learning from the warriors, but her role as a healer and the person who will bring fertility back to the land is stressed a lot more. I feel like there's a lot of lost potential with the subplot of Ellysetta training like the warriors do.
Finally, I didn't like the conversations about how it was the duty of women to have children. There were also some comments about the sentience and killing of unborn tairen that felt similar to arguments used by pro-life advocates. This could be a misinterpretation, but I felt a strong pro-life message in the book that didn't sit well with me.
Strict gender roles themselves in literature aren't an issue. The issue for me is when these systems are idolized and not challenged by any characters because the theme becomes that we shouldn't question these systems.