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madeliney 's review for:
A Reaper at the Gates
by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I was initially going to give this below 4 stars but the last 30% or so of the book felt like all that buildup and back-and-forth was finally starting to culminate into excitement and moving things forward in a big way. I think it makes sense that all the building was necessary though and I still find myself enjoying the series.
I like that the author is committed to fleshing out so many of the characters, including our cast of “villains.” It makes everything feel so much more compelling and I like what she’s done with Keris and The Nightbringer. I like the buildup of the reader and characters themselves realizing that his warpath of vengeance kind of has a point and that they’d do the same in his shoes (although it would be more ideal if we could all just talk it out).
Helene:
In the 3rd book, Helene became my favorite perspective. In the 2nd, it just felt like she was constantly traveling every which way and her narrative was focused so heavily on finding Elias and Laia. She suffers horribly but her strength and persistence (character growth?) was the most fun to tag along with especially as the stakes rose. Her ending was a twist I didn’t see coming but I liked it. I’m really hoping her arc in the fourth books continues to be satisfying.
Elias:
Elias has fallen in my rankings… At first, I found his perspective the most interesting as he tried to adjust to his new role but it ended up feeling like it got a little repetitive in the middle chunk. I think it was probably necessary, we needed to see him resist, go back and go forth with the jinn, and try to cling to his humanity but I still wish it was broken up a little bit more or there was some other sprinkle of zest added in to make it less repetitive. It was a little sad to see his chapter headings change from Elias to The Soul Catcher. I hope he will be okay.
Laia:
Remains a middling perspective. Sometimes, I love her. Sometimes, she’s so frustrating. In the beginning, she was too naive and unsure of herself. Now, she’s impulsive and throws herself into danger without a second thought. I realize this is a character arc, so I don’t hold it against her especially considering what she’s gone through and what she has on her plate (quite a lot). I think she’s a solid character. In terms of her surrounding cast, I wish we got to know Darrin more in this one before we left him behind. We spent so much time (like 700 pages) talking about Darrin and doing very dangerous things for Darrin and sacrificing (dying) for Darrin (Laia even remarks on this in this book!) but we as readers don’t know him very well. I also saw the reveal with Cook coming from book 1, but I’m just a genius. I think it was still done well and the wrap-up of that arc was very satisfying and stirred my empty heart.
I like that the author is committed to fleshing out so many of the characters, including our cast of “villains.” It makes everything feel so much more compelling and I like what she’s done with Keris and The Nightbringer. I like the buildup of the reader and characters themselves realizing that his warpath of vengeance kind of has a point and that they’d do the same in his shoes (although it would be more ideal if we could all just talk it out).
Helene:
In the 3rd book, Helene became my favorite perspective. In the 2nd, it just felt like she was constantly traveling every which way and her narrative was focused so heavily on finding Elias and Laia. She suffers horribly but her strength and persistence (character growth?) was the most fun to tag along with especially as the stakes rose. Her ending was a twist I didn’t see coming but I liked it. I’m really hoping her arc in the fourth books continues to be satisfying.
Elias:
Elias has fallen in my rankings… At first, I found his perspective the most interesting as he tried to adjust to his new role but it ended up feeling like it got a little repetitive in the middle chunk. I think it was probably necessary, we needed to see him resist, go back and go forth with the jinn, and try to cling to his humanity but I still wish it was broken up a little bit more or there was some other sprinkle of zest added in to make it less repetitive. It was a little sad to see his chapter headings change from Elias to The Soul Catcher. I hope he will be okay.
Laia:
Remains a middling perspective. Sometimes, I love her. Sometimes, she’s so frustrating. In the beginning, she was too naive and unsure of herself. Now, she’s impulsive and throws herself into danger without a second thought. I realize this is a character arc, so I don’t hold it against her especially considering what she’s gone through and what she has on her plate (quite a lot). I think she’s a solid character. In terms of her surrounding cast, I wish we got to know Darrin more in this one before we left him behind. We spent so much time (like 700 pages) talking about Darrin and doing very dangerous things for Darrin and sacrificing (dying) for Darrin (Laia even remarks on this in this book!) but we as readers don’t know him very well. I also saw the reveal with Cook coming from book 1, but I’m just a genius. I think it was still done well and the wrap-up of that arc was very satisfying and stirred my empty heart.