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A review by yiffy
Deceived by Paul S. Kemp
1.0
oh man. it's like the shortest in the tor novels so far but it also felt like the longest? i'll be honest and say that getting through this was a drag and it was only through sheer determination i managed to finish it at all.
the beginning was so slow, and there was like. so much tension built but the payoff was very little. things at the end felt rushed, and sometimes, intense moments were dragged on for too long that it just lost its edge.
i liked aryn tho. liked reading her internal conflict. thought it made her more interesting, more complex. didn't like how she and zeerid basically hooked up at the near end of the book despite having very little chemistry. it felt rushed and it came more of a surprise to me than whatever plot twist this book had.
like. i know its trying to mirror a dynamic in the original films but also it just fell flat that it felt so forced and unnecessary.
malgus was interesting, i guess. like there was a complexity in him that felt unexplored. i didnt like reading his chapters because it always felt too edgy. like, whatever complexity he carried was ultimately lost in his monologues that read too much like an edgy teen venting his angst. couldn't take it seriously. had to stop because of all those descriptors.
zeerid was just there. didn't like him, didn't dislike him. he's plain, unremarkable in most ways, didn't have much role in the book except for being aryn's companion. i probably wouldn't even know it if he got cut out of some parts and replaced with a cardboard lol
overall, it's just something i wouldnt recommend. aryn's cool but even she couldn't save this whole thing alone. malgus's character was better portrayed in the game, and the battle scenes weren't that good either, so if you're looking for mindless entertainment, you'd best get it elsewhere. if you're just invested in tor novels and would love to know more about background lore of the game, go ahead and read this.
the beginning was so slow, and there was like. so much tension built but the payoff was very little. things at the end felt rushed, and sometimes, intense moments were dragged on for too long that it just lost its edge.
i liked aryn tho. liked reading her internal conflict. thought it made her more interesting, more complex. didn't like how she and zeerid basically hooked up at the near end of the book despite having very little chemistry. it felt rushed and it came more of a surprise to me than whatever plot twist this book had.
like. i know its trying to mirror a dynamic in the original films but also it just fell flat that it felt so forced and unnecessary.
malgus was interesting, i guess. like there was a complexity in him that felt unexplored. i didnt like reading his chapters because it always felt too edgy. like, whatever complexity he carried was ultimately lost in his monologues that read too much like an edgy teen venting his angst. couldn't take it seriously. had to stop because of all those descriptors.
zeerid was just there. didn't like him, didn't dislike him. he's plain, unremarkable in most ways, didn't have much role in the book except for being aryn's companion. i probably wouldn't even know it if he got cut out of some parts and replaced with a cardboard lol
overall, it's just something i wouldnt recommend. aryn's cool but even she couldn't save this whole thing alone. malgus's character was better portrayed in the game, and the battle scenes weren't that good either, so if you're looking for mindless entertainment, you'd best get it elsewhere. if you're just invested in tor novels and would love to know more about background lore of the game, go ahead and read this.