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solxtos 's review for:
The Fate of the Tearling
by Erika Johansen
I've spent the last hour trying to process this book's conclusion and I'm still in denial.
Out of the hundreds, thousands of potential conclusions, we get the king of all deus ex machinas ever devised? I genuinely cannot wrap my head around it. The sapphires, the ultimate plot device, are presented as all-powerful. Kelsea blows the heads off of a hundred men in an instant, barely cognizant of the action. Yet somehow, the monster children is where we draw the line? Creating an alternate timeline is fair game, but her actually using her powers in combat is suddenly, after 3 books of insane displays of power, off the table??? Not only did she have the crown and both Tear & Row's sapphires but she had vast knowledge on Row's weaknesses and personality from Katie's memory. I just don't get it, I really don't. If I had known this series would end with Kelsea as a librarian in pseudo-Manhattan, I wouldn't have picked it up. Putting the conclusion aside, with great difficulty, there are a few other questions/problems I have with this book.
1. Elyssa & Mhurn
There was absolutely no reason for Elyssa to be alive. It contributed to nothing, nor was the interaction anything of substance. I have no idea why, in the last 100 pages of the book, the author decided to revive her for a 1min long conversation with her daughter just to never be seen again. Well, not until we see her cooking in that damned ending. Elyssa's purpose as being Kelsea's predecessor worked well with the storyline, and didn't need to be touched. I'm usually a fan of big parent-child interactions in fantasy but the interaction wasn't even satisfying. Elyssa's advertised personality of vanity and thoughtlessness seemed too forced as well. Yes, we get that she's a vain piece of shit but the flow of conversation and Elyssa's replies didn't read like normal dialogue to me. And don't get me wrong, Elyssa secretly being alive could've made for a wonderful plot twist if only it had served a purpose. I adore the Mace, but I'm kinda disappointed he went along with this. It's in character but still, a shame.
As for Mhurn, his being Kelsea's father was another plot point that had much potential. She killed her father and only knew she was her father until months later, it's really the perfect source of angst. That is, if it wasn't mentioned briefly in the last 90 pages of the trilogy. Kelsea's father has been hyped up throughout the series, with cryptic replies from those who knew that seemed to indicate future plot relevance. But no, one of, if not the biggest, anticipated reveal was jammed into the final book and barely even touched upon. The suspense was built so perfectly for the reveal too, only to be mishandled the last second.
2. The Loose Ends
There are so many characters and topics that we don't learn the answer to. Who is Breanna? What truly happened in Arlen Thorne and the Mace's past? How did Rowland Finn learn dark magic? What exactly were those dark children (be specific please, no vague 'they're a great evil' statements that don't actually tell us anything)? What exactly are the sapphires? What happened to the Holy Father? There was just so much story left to tell, which makes the conclusion even more dissatisfying: it was completely and utterly unnecessary.
3. The True Queen
The entire series, from the very first page of the first book, is very heavily structured around one idea: Kelsea being the True Queen. It's on the inside of the cover, in each summary, in the beginning of every chapter. The little quotes on top of every chapter in EVERY book are little excerpts from history books centuries after the book's conclusion, that document Kelsea and the Mace's great achievements. I began looking forward to seeing this conclusion unravel, as the implications of the little quotes were interesting to think about. What was the point of all this? To throw us off and achieve the most unpredictable ending ever? I'll admit, the ending was unpredictable, just because it was so ass. The entire pretense of the trilogy was discarded, despite having such crazy potential. That's what bothers me the most about this series: it had so much potential. Yet every single topic of interest was either neglected or ruined needlessly.
4. The Fetch
God, the Fetch. The most enigmatic character in the entire novel, with only the Red Queen as a rival. Every appearance he would make enriched that section of the novel and I found myself looking forward to learning more about him. You can imagine my surprise when I learn the Fetch was just some weak loser who couldn't think himself out of a box as a kid. Worst part is, his name's GAVIN. Really kicking us when we're down here, I'm so distraught. When Kelsea confronts him, all the mystery and allure of the Fetch disintegrates. He starts begging her to understand his mistake, begging. Despite having had 300 years to process his mistakes, he still folds when confronted and couldn't even face it with dignity. Kelsea's attraction to him amounted to absolutely nothing as well, which was just disappointing. She talked about how she'd never love someone like she did the Fetch and proceeds to have what, two interactions with him? Their dynamic never even approaches romantic, it's just one of many discarded plot lines that served no purpose whatsoever.
Giving this book 2stars because the book wasn't half-bad until that conclusion fucked it up. 3 stars for the first 90% of the book, 1 star for that sad, sad 10%.
PS. What the hell was the point of snapping Jonathan Tear's neck? Kelsea went back in time to kill Row and prevent him from doing his weird demon shit, but decides to snap Johnny boy's neck first for WHAT? If she was trying to get rid of all Tear blood (for a reason I currently cannot think of), she would've killed Katie or at least made her have a miscarriage since she knew she carried either Jonathan or Row's kid, both dudes of Tear blood.
Out of the hundreds, thousands of potential conclusions, we get the king of all deus ex machinas ever devised? I genuinely cannot wrap my head around it. The sapphires, the ultimate plot device, are presented as all-powerful. Kelsea blows the heads off of a hundred men in an instant, barely cognizant of the action. Yet somehow, the monster children is where we draw the line? Creating an alternate timeline is fair game, but her actually using her powers in combat is suddenly, after 3 books of insane displays of power, off the table??? Not only did she have the crown and both Tear & Row's sapphires but she had vast knowledge on Row's weaknesses and personality from Katie's memory. I just don't get it, I really don't. If I had known this series would end with Kelsea as a librarian in pseudo-Manhattan, I wouldn't have picked it up. Putting the conclusion aside, with great difficulty, there are a few other questions/problems I have with this book.
1. Elyssa & Mhurn
There was absolutely no reason for Elyssa to be alive. It contributed to nothing, nor was the interaction anything of substance. I have no idea why, in the last 100 pages of the book, the author decided to revive her for a 1min long conversation with her daughter just to never be seen again. Well, not until we see her cooking in that damned ending. Elyssa's purpose as being Kelsea's predecessor worked well with the storyline, and didn't need to be touched. I'm usually a fan of big parent-child interactions in fantasy but the interaction wasn't even satisfying. Elyssa's advertised personality of vanity and thoughtlessness seemed too forced as well. Yes, we get that she's a vain piece of shit but the flow of conversation and Elyssa's replies didn't read like normal dialogue to me. And don't get me wrong, Elyssa secretly being alive could've made for a wonderful plot twist if only it had served a purpose. I adore the Mace, but I'm kinda disappointed he went along with this. It's in character but still, a shame.
As for Mhurn, his being Kelsea's father was another plot point that had much potential. She killed her father and only knew she was her father until months later, it's really the perfect source of angst. That is, if it wasn't mentioned briefly in the last 90 pages of the trilogy. Kelsea's father has been hyped up throughout the series, with cryptic replies from those who knew that seemed to indicate future plot relevance. But no, one of, if not the biggest, anticipated reveal was jammed into the final book and barely even touched upon. The suspense was built so perfectly for the reveal too, only to be mishandled the last second.
2. The Loose Ends
There are so many characters and topics that we don't learn the answer to. Who is Breanna? What truly happened in Arlen Thorne and the Mace's past? How did Rowland Finn learn dark magic? What exactly were those dark children (be specific please, no vague 'they're a great evil' statements that don't actually tell us anything)? What exactly are the sapphires? What happened to the Holy Father? There was just so much story left to tell, which makes the conclusion even more dissatisfying: it was completely and utterly unnecessary.
3. The True Queen
The entire series, from the very first page of the first book, is very heavily structured around one idea: Kelsea being the True Queen. It's on the inside of the cover, in each summary, in the beginning of every chapter. The little quotes on top of every chapter in EVERY book are little excerpts from history books centuries after the book's conclusion, that document Kelsea and the Mace's great achievements. I began looking forward to seeing this conclusion unravel, as the implications of the little quotes were interesting to think about. What was the point of all this? To throw us off and achieve the most unpredictable ending ever? I'll admit, the ending was unpredictable, just because it was so ass. The entire pretense of the trilogy was discarded, despite having such crazy potential. That's what bothers me the most about this series: it had so much potential. Yet every single topic of interest was either neglected or ruined needlessly.
4. The Fetch
God, the Fetch. The most enigmatic character in the entire novel, with only the Red Queen as a rival. Every appearance he would make enriched that section of the novel and I found myself looking forward to learning more about him. You can imagine my surprise when I learn the Fetch was just some weak loser who couldn't think himself out of a box as a kid. Worst part is, his name's GAVIN. Really kicking us when we're down here, I'm so distraught. When Kelsea confronts him, all the mystery and allure of the Fetch disintegrates. He starts begging her to understand his mistake, begging. Despite having had 300 years to process his mistakes, he still folds when confronted and couldn't even face it with dignity. Kelsea's attraction to him amounted to absolutely nothing as well, which was just disappointing. She talked about how she'd never love someone like she did the Fetch and proceeds to have what, two interactions with him? Their dynamic never even approaches romantic, it's just one of many discarded plot lines that served no purpose whatsoever.
Giving this book 2stars because the book wasn't half-bad until that conclusion fucked it up. 3 stars for the first 90% of the book, 1 star for that sad, sad 10%.
PS. What the hell was the point of snapping Jonathan Tear's neck? Kelsea went back in time to kill Row and prevent him from doing his weird demon shit, but decides to snap Johnny boy's neck first for WHAT? If she was trying to get rid of all Tear blood (for a reason I currently cannot think of), she would've killed Katie or at least made her have a miscarriage since she knew she carried either Jonathan or Row's kid, both dudes of Tear blood.