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erica_reads_itall 's review for:
Winter
by Marissa Meyer
A review of this book seems pointless; anyone who has made their way through the previous three installments in the series will probably read the finale, and enjoy it. And that's saying something - making a story engaging and enjoyable for 800+ pages, not to mention the 2000 or so pages that preceded it, is a significant achievement.
Still, this could have been so much more. There were places where the story seemed to stutter, characters who appeared and became important for a hundred pages or more and were then killed off unceremoniously, with no emotional consequences for the reader or the other characters, or simply allowed to disappear. Characters from previous novels were brought back, seemingly destined for great things, and then allowed to drift in and out of the story with apparently no purpose. These deficiencies of editing are understandable - the novel is long - and even at the end of the book I was excited for what I was sure would be a thrilling and dramatic climax.
But... it wasn't. In such an inventive and thoroughly written world, this undeveloped climax made no sense.
Also... Winter. She's the title character of this book, although she plays only a modest role in its story - which is a good thing, because she's a thoroughly annoying character. She is beautiful, pure, and insane, the latter entirely of her own volition, and everyone in the kingdom is devoted to her solely because of her beauty. It's almost enough to make one sympathize with Levana... who would, actually, have been a much more interesting title character for this story.
Still, this could have been so much more. There were places where the story seemed to stutter, characters who appeared and became important for a hundred pages or more and were then killed off unceremoniously, with no emotional consequences for the reader or the other characters, or simply allowed to disappear. Characters from previous novels were brought back, seemingly destined for great things, and then allowed to drift in and out of the story with apparently no purpose.
Spoiler
One character undergoes a major procedure meant to alter personality, wakes up a totally different person, and then goes back to his old personality, without explanation, in the next scene.But... it wasn't.
Spoiler
There was a climax, of course, but it was just a standard fight scene. Nothing epic. Nothing with any real meaning. Allies and enemies played predictable roles. The hero was brave and selfless, but not in any new way. The villain was selfish and small despite her enormous power, and that destroyed her.Also... Winter. She's the title character of this book, although she plays only a modest role in its story - which is a good thing, because she's a thoroughly annoying character. She is beautiful, pure, and insane, the latter entirely of her own volition, and everyone in the kingdom is devoted to her solely because of her beauty. It's almost enough to make one sympathize with Levana... who would, actually, have been a much more interesting title character for this story.