A review by cavalary
The Dead and the Rotten by Jon Hillman

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Compared to the first two books, the way the writing style improved and how Marigold developed as a character continue to be impressive, but the epic story from the third book, while not forgotten, is pretty much set aside, this one once again depicting a heroic fantasy adventure. It’s not the one that Marigold initially signs up for, however, and while he rather accidentally happens to be there at the conclusion of the “main event”, his primary goal once it begins is simply to survive the night, preferably along with a few of those who happened to be around him at the time, the other battles and the push towards the source of the problem being left to others and “off camera” until the end. The high point comes halfway through, in chapters eight and ten, when the thrill and the desperation of the battle reach their peak while somehow still leaving room for a few moments of grim humor.

The main problem is that the chapters alternate between Marigold and Helman, and I could have really done without the latter. Sure, they present how and why things are happening and will probably have some relevance in future books, but that could have been achieved without constantly breaking up the action for that despicable, infuriating, nauseating depiction of “chaotic evil”, an utter moron incapable of seeing anything other than his most basic and selfish desires, bringing about a localized apocalypse without realizing much of anything even when it’s quite literally staring him right in the face, and constantly behaving in a manner that will trigger the entire gamut of negative reactions from anyone on this side, or in fact on either side, of unrequited love, or of abuse, or who simply has any shred of morality, ethics, empathy, or even simply sanity. Otherwise, I’d still mention Marigold’s unbelievable strength and fortitude, all of the hero’s luck and the fact that, after the end of the actual adventure, too much is spent on presenting the aftermath and most probably setting up the next book or books, but those are lesser problems.