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A review by lesserjoke
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
3.0
Given the fairly direct character parallels, this sequel continues to read like Six of Crows fanfiction with the serial numbers barely scratched off. (If author Roshani Chokshi hasn't read that bestselling YA fantasy series about a teenage heist gang whose members so clearly resemble her own cast, it's an extraordinary coincidence and still an issue that a competent editor should have cautioned against.) And that's fine, so far as it goes! It's an engaging concept, and even though this volume's high levels of angst make it less fun than its predecessor, there remains that delirious National Treasure vibe to the worldbuilding, where seemingly no artifact can be hidden or deadly trap rigged without some elaborate riddle hinting at a solution. The Crow knockoffs are a good match for such circumstances, despite spending a majority of this novel in painfully-obvious mutual pining situations that a quick conversation could clear up or missing the equally apparent warning signs of the eventual villain reveal.
Ultimately this title's biggest fault is probably that it's the middle book of a trilogy, a slower stretch of story that introduces new complications but never quite gets around to resolving much before the inevitable cliffhanger ending. Little here is actively bad, but it's not particularly distinctive for the genre, either. I expect I'll push on to the next/last installment at some point -- for the continued autistic Jewish representation, if nothing else -- but I can't say that I'm in any hurry for it.
[Content warning for antisemitism, racism, domestic abuse, slut-shaming, rape, and gore.]
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Ultimately this title's biggest fault is probably that it's the middle book of a trilogy, a slower stretch of story that introduces new complications but never quite gets around to resolving much before the inevitable cliffhanger ending. Little here is actively bad, but it's not particularly distinctive for the genre, either. I expect I'll push on to the next/last installment at some point -- for the continued autistic Jewish representation, if nothing else -- but I can't say that I'm in any hurry for it.
[Content warning for antisemitism, racism, domestic abuse, slut-shaming, rape, and gore.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog