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A review by theglossreview
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
4.0
4 stars! Yes, we are back to 4 stars for The Scholomance. The third was as good as the first volume. The second one was weaker due to the endless repetition and slow-moving plot.
Spoilers ahead: Based on the second book, I made predictions for this one. I am so glad that not all of them came true. It would have been horrible if El had been hit by the same fate as her mother. However, my prediction for Orion was quite accurate: Just as I imagined, he disappeared for a while and then returned, turned into an evil wizard with dark new powers and less capacity for common humanity after a time spent near the void and only in the company of monsters.
But this is where Orion defeated my expectations: He did not emerge WITH an army of monsters, but after having EATEN AND ABSORBED an army of monsters. Technically, he didn’t return, but was DRAGGED OUT OF SCHOOL by El and her allies.
Surprise: Her allies were Ad and … LIESEL MÜLLER. Liesel was one of the best parts of this book and deserved more attention.
Another defeated expectation: I expected Orion to stay near the void for YEARS and I assumed that El would grieve for him for just as long. But how long has it actually been until
a) he is rescued and
b) El becomes romantically entangled (albeit rather physically than romantically) again?
It’s been ONE WEEK. Only one week.
That’s something I don’t like in The Golden Enclaves: The lack of meaning of time and space. The entire plot takes place within only a couple of weeks, within which the main characters are literally JET SETTING ALL OVER THE WORLD. Not with magical portals, but actual airplanes. It’s highly unrealistic. Especially considering that El has only left the UK once before: Where’s the appreciation? The price, timing, environmental impact, culture shock, expenditure of energy and sheer wonder of global air travel are glossed over constantly. Each aspect is mentioned once or twice, but apart from that it’s like it’s nothing special, barely an inconvenience. (Never mind visa and passport control?)
The whole trilogy is a bit of a “me me me” show for El. It’s like each person she’s close to has a few chapters dedicated to them but they simply disappear from the plot (and El’s mind) while it’s not “their turn”. That’s not how relationships work. But to be fair: The El Show still works if you like El! And I do.
Overall, the book was an action-packed romp around the world with a genius twist and big reveals. I’m happy with this conclusion to the trilogy!
Spoilers ahead: Based on the second book, I made predictions for this one. I am so glad that not all of them came true. It would have been horrible if El had been hit by the same fate as her mother. However, my prediction for Orion was quite accurate: Just as I imagined, he disappeared for a while and then returned, turned into an evil wizard with dark new powers and less capacity for common humanity after a time spent near the void and only in the company of monsters.
But this is where Orion defeated my expectations: He did not emerge WITH an army of monsters, but after having EATEN AND ABSORBED an army of monsters. Technically, he didn’t return, but was DRAGGED OUT OF SCHOOL by El and her allies.
Surprise: Her allies were Ad and … LIESEL MÜLLER. Liesel was one of the best parts of this book and deserved more attention.
Another defeated expectation: I expected Orion to stay near the void for YEARS and I assumed that El would grieve for him for just as long. But how long has it actually been until
a) he is rescued and
b) El becomes romantically entangled (albeit rather physically than romantically) again?
It’s been ONE WEEK. Only one week.
That’s something I don’t like in The Golden Enclaves: The lack of meaning of time and space. The entire plot takes place within only a couple of weeks, within which the main characters are literally JET SETTING ALL OVER THE WORLD. Not with magical portals, but actual airplanes. It’s highly unrealistic. Especially considering that El has only left the UK once before: Where’s the appreciation? The price, timing, environmental impact, culture shock, expenditure of energy and sheer wonder of global air travel are glossed over constantly. Each aspect is mentioned once or twice, but apart from that it’s like it’s nothing special, barely an inconvenience. (Never mind visa and passport control?)
The whole trilogy is a bit of a “me me me” show for El. It’s like each person she’s close to has a few chapters dedicated to them but they simply disappear from the plot (and El’s mind) while it’s not “their turn”. That’s not how relationships work. But to be fair: The El Show still works if you like El! And I do.
Overall, the book was an action-packed romp around the world with a genius twist and big reveals. I’m happy with this conclusion to the trilogy!