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A review by erebus53
The Burning Swift by Joseph Elliott
4.0
For Audiobook version unlisted on Goodreads at time of review.
Edition: Nudged Audio Children's Books, W. F. Howes Ltd.
Release: 1 March 2022
Narrated by: Gary Furlong, Fiona Hardingham, Nina Yndis
ASIN B09QT44DHL
The adventurous conclusion to the Shadow Skye trilogy, sees blood magic, monsters, lost lineage, ancient secrets, and an epic battle unfolding. It's a satisfying conclusion to the story arc.
Reading online, I found that some detractors of the series were upset by one of the main characters, Jaime, being really homophobic. It's not how I read it, because I always assumed the character was gay, and was struggling to understand himself having being raised by a clan that considered non-heteronormative couples to be immoral. Having left home, encountering other groups of people for whom it was perfectly acceptable, left him utterly conflicted as to whether the teachings of his people were Right. As this was not the only difference between his home and other cultures, it rang true to me. If you only ever know one way of living it can make you distrustful of people with different beliefs, and this book made that crystal clear. Some traditions help us know who we are, and some of the old ways are not as relevant as they were, and ought to be questioned. Not-so-spoilery alert: love conquers all.
Once more Agatha finds herself imperilled and rises to the challenge by being brave and saving herself and, let's face it, pretty much everyone else she meets (and we find out more about her mysterious parentage).
Sigrid fights venomous death-rats, makes allies and helps to rally them to the cause, as the Two-Kings' Army advances upon the clans of the north.
I am seldom one who is interested in blow-by-blow battles and wars. It's supposed to be exciting but it bores me, however the big clash foreshadowed in the previous book, is interesting and not overly complex. There is tension and weird things keep happening which makes it a lot less about military strategy and a lot more dynamic.
This has been a fun romp, and would be appealing to a young/teen audience.
Edition: Nudged Audio Children's Books, W. F. Howes Ltd.
Release: 1 March 2022
Narrated by: Gary Furlong, Fiona Hardingham, Nina Yndis
ASIN B09QT44DHL
The adventurous conclusion to the Shadow Skye trilogy, sees blood magic, monsters, lost lineage, ancient secrets, and an epic battle unfolding. It's a satisfying conclusion to the story arc.
Reading online, I found that some detractors of the series were upset by one of the main characters, Jaime, being really homophobic. It's not how I read it, because I always assumed the character was gay, and was struggling to understand himself having being raised by a clan that considered non-heteronormative couples to be immoral. Having left home, encountering other groups of people for whom it was perfectly acceptable, left him utterly conflicted as to whether the teachings of his people were Right. As this was not the only difference between his home and other cultures, it rang true to me. If you only ever know one way of living it can make you distrustful of people with different beliefs, and this book made that crystal clear. Some traditions help us know who we are, and some of the old ways are not as relevant as they were, and ought to be questioned. Not-so-spoilery alert: love conquers all.
Once more Agatha finds herself imperilled and rises to the challenge by being brave and saving herself and, let's face it, pretty much everyone else she meets (and we find out more about her mysterious parentage).
Sigrid fights venomous death-rats, makes allies and helps to rally them to the cause, as the Two-Kings' Army advances upon the clans of the north.
I am seldom one who is interested in blow-by-blow battles and wars. It's supposed to be exciting but it bores me, however the big clash foreshadowed in the previous book, is interesting and not overly complex. There is tension and weird things keep happening which makes it a lot less about military strategy and a lot more dynamic.
This has been a fun romp, and would be appealing to a young/teen audience.