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A review by jessmahler
Arcanum 101 by Mercedes Lackey, Rosemary Edghill
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, but before I say why, let me put in a disclaimer/warning:
If you aren't a long time fan of Lackey's Elves on the Road world (Bedlam's Bard mostly, but also Urban Elves, and Diana Tregard series) move on. This book is less a novel in it's own right and more fan service for folks who want another taste of their favorite world and characters.
And actually, that's pretty much why I enjoyed the book. Tomas was an interesting enough character, though he could have been more thoroughly developed. VeeVee has potential, but spends more time infodumping her own history than interacting or moving the plot. Cameos or secondary character roles for Eric Banyon, Hosea Songmaker, Kayla Smith, Dottie (mechanic from Fairgrove) and a few others turned an otherwise mediocre story into a really fun read just from the excitement of seeing what they were up to and the anticipation of who was going to pop up next.
Ending was a bit of a disappointment, very rushed and it felt like the authors tried to cram 3 or 4 potential plots into the story without fully developing any--Tomas' struggle to accept magic, family drama in the Torres family, two romance plots...
I'm happy I bought it, and I'll pick up a sequel if they write one just to see my old fave's again, but I hope they'd put more effort into a well developed plot and characters
If you aren't a long time fan of Lackey's Elves on the Road world (Bedlam's Bard mostly, but also Urban Elves, and Diana Tregard series) move on. This book is less a novel in it's own right and more fan service for folks who want another taste of their favorite world and characters.
And actually, that's pretty much why I enjoyed the book. Tomas was an interesting enough character, though he could have been more thoroughly developed. VeeVee has potential, but spends more time infodumping her own history than interacting or moving the plot. Cameos or secondary character roles for Eric Banyon, Hosea Songmaker, Kayla Smith, Dottie (mechanic from Fairgrove) and a few others turned an otherwise mediocre story into a really fun read just from the excitement of seeing what they were up to and the anticipation of who was going to pop up next.
Ending was a bit of a disappointment, very rushed and it felt like the authors tried to cram 3 or 4 potential plots into the story without fully developing any--Tomas' struggle to accept magic, family drama in the Torres family, two romance plots...
I'm happy I bought it, and I'll pick up a sequel if they write one just to see my old fave's again, but I hope they'd put more effort into a well developed plot and characters