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A review by toggle_fow
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
5.0
Yeah, I read this in one night, on accident, intending to just get a head start on it and then unable to put it down until I finished it after midnight when I had to get up early the next morning.
Yeah, I loved it.
No, I'm not going to be able to write a review that makes any kind of sense.
So. The standout part of this book for me was not at all the El and Orion relationship. That was a huge part of what I loved about book one. Then it was present in book two, but much-reduced. Book three is barely about El and Orion at all. Which I thought would make me sad, but this book actually doesn't need it. The Golden Enclaves does well on its own.
What is the book about, then? I will do my weak and feeble best to tell you. It's about:
All the revelations in this book hit me right where they were supposed to. Orion's parents. The enclaves. The truth about who was destroying them. Honestly? It was great.
Add in a sprinkle of all the side elements I have enjoyed in the other books such as El's wantonly destructive power, her using it for good despite her predispositions, her web of slow-built allies, infodumps on lore and monsters, and it's a recipe for an excellent late-night read. Even if I did suffer the next day.
The only thing that wilted a little was, as I mentioned, the core of the "El and Orion" dynamic. It was so good in book one. It was so much FUN. And here we are, with it relegated to a little aside for a couple chapters. Overall, the book did well regardless, but it was still a little bittersweet to see the way everything ended up.
Yeah, I loved it.
No, I'm not going to be able to write a review that makes any kind of sense.
So. The standout part of this book for me was not at all the El and Orion relationship. That was a huge part of what I loved about book one. Then it was present in book two, but much-reduced. Book three is barely about El and Orion at all. Which I thought would make me sad, but this book actually doesn't need it. The Golden Enclaves does well on its own.
What is the book about, then? I will do my weak and feeble best to tell you. It's about:
1. El. She continues to hold herself and her emotions at a distance, but the book still does an absolutely stunning job of showcasing them. El's grief, her anger, her sorrow, her trauma. I was extremely impressed at how well everything was explored unflinchingly even when El herself as a character is doing her best to flinch away from it.
2. Community and systematic injustice. El's chip on her shoulder regarding her mom, her childhood, her father's family, the enclave system in general, etc. was all very visible inside the Scholomance. Now, however, we've left that closed system and are in the real world confronting all these things directly.
All the revelations in this book hit me right where they were supposed to. Orion's parents. The enclaves. The truth about who was destroying them. Honestly? It was great.
Add in a sprinkle of all the side elements I have enjoyed in the other books such as El's wantonly destructive power, her using it for good despite her predispositions, her web of slow-built allies, infodumps on lore and monsters, and it's a recipe for an excellent late-night read. Even if I did suffer the next day.
The only thing that wilted a little was, as I mentioned, the core of the "El and Orion" dynamic. It was so good in book one. It was so much FUN. And here we are, with it relegated to a little aside for a couple chapters. Overall, the book did well regardless, but it was still a little bittersweet to see the way everything ended up.