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slow-paced
I adore this series, and this book is no exception, but one thing I've been struggling with just a little is the lack of clear overall plot. The books are obviously connected, but it doesn't seem like they're building toward anything. In Magyk, it appears it might be the Supreme Custodian or DomDaniel. But they both die in that book. In the Flyte, I thought maybe it's about Septimus's journey as a wizard or how they undo what the Supreme Custodian did, but that doesn't quite work either. There's also the looming threat of the possible return of DomDaniel, or that Simon might become a problem, or wait, maybe it's Merrin, actually? But by the end of Darke, I finally figured out the connection: the darke and the Two-Faced Ring. It seems both obvious and not at all, in hindsight. It's a more abstract Big Bad than, say, DomDaniel. But now that I've figured it out, I haven't stopped thinking about the previous books, and the hints that we were building to this, so I'm super excited to read Fyre.
Anyway, there's so much to love in this book. As usual, I'm delighted by how our characters are developing. Septimus and Simon are no longer enemies! They're not quite brothers, but the opportunity is actually there now! And Simon being able to use his darke knowledge for good? Amazing. I'm also a big fan of what happened to Beetle (he's the Chief Hermetic Scribe!!! I'm so proud of him!!) , though I'm curious and confused as to how he survived without the suspension charm? I don't think that was actually explained, though it's possible I missed it in the excitement. The thing with Snorri was a little. . . hmm. I mean, it happens, and she's not wrong in her reasons. I'm mostly just sad because I like her a lot. But she finally reunited with her dad! Yay! I also love Merrin as a character. He's a miserable little snot and an absolute wet cat of a man. I had such a hard time taking him seriously in this book. He's so pathetic. This is all said in a complimentary way. I can honestly say that I did not seriously expect anyone, let alone Marcellus, to actually cut off Merrin's thumb to get the Two-Faced Ring off. We're told that's the only way to get it off, but this is a children's book. You can't just have a "good character" maim someone in a children's book! And yet!! I am not complaining. I loved this twist. I'm just shocked that it happened.
Other plot elements that I loved include the return to the Ramblings, the defense of Wizard Tower, the wizard sandwich shop, finding Wolf Boy's family, seeing Nicko back on a boat (where he belongs), Gothyk Grotto, Marcia cancelling the birthday party in the most Marcia way possible (I love her), seeing big complicated magyk, and of course the dragon fight. How to Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite movies ever, so all I could think about was the battle with the Green Death. They even look similar! It was epic and I loved it.
Darke does the same thing Queste does, wherein we're introduced to something (the Queste, Darke week) that we expect to be the bulk of the book, only for there to be hundreds of pages of build up. Don't get me wrong, I love the build up, but it's also a little frustrating, because I keep wondering when we're going to get to this Big Important Thing we were introduced to ages ago. Though, it is really cool that Angie Sage is able to play with my expectations as a reader like this and still have a satisfying story.
I've been excited for the previous books because I love the characters and the world and I'm interested in seeing what adventures they get up to next. The plot was definitely more of a secondary curiosity to me. But Fyre? I'm so excited to see how the plot plays out. I think it's going to be an epic conclusion, and I can't wait to read it.
Anyway, there's so much to love in this book. As usual, I'm delighted by how our characters are developing. Septimus and Simon are no longer enemies! They're not quite brothers, but the opportunity is actually there now! And Simon being able to use his darke knowledge for good? Amazing. I'm also a big fan of what happened to Beetle
Other plot elements that I loved include the return to the Ramblings, the defense of Wizard Tower, the wizard sandwich shop, finding Wolf Boy's family, seeing Nicko back on a boat (where he belongs), Gothyk Grotto, Marcia cancelling the birthday party in the most Marcia way possible (I love her), seeing big complicated magyk, and of course the dragon fight. How to Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite movies ever, so all I could think about was the battle with the Green Death. They even look similar! It was epic and I loved it.
Darke does the same thing Queste does, wherein we're introduced to something (the Queste, Darke week) that we expect to be the bulk of the book, only for there to be hundreds of pages of build up. Don't get me wrong, I love the build up, but it's also a little frustrating, because I keep wondering when we're going to get to this Big Important Thing we were introduced to ages ago. Though, it is really cool that Angie Sage is able to play with my expectations as a reader like this and still have a satisfying story.
I've been excited for the previous books because I love the characters and the world and I'm interested in seeing what adventures they get up to next. The plot was definitely more of a secondary curiosity to me. But Fyre? I'm so excited to see how the plot plays out. I think it's going to be an epic conclusion, and I can't wait to read it.