Scan barcode
A review by iam
A Chip and a Chair by Cordelia Kingsbridge
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*softly* what the fuck
I can't believe it's over. And what a way to go!
Content warnings include: graphic violence, murder and death, bombs going off, terrorism, homophobia antisemitism and racism and related slurs, Nazis, kidnapping, sex on-page, torture, character is threatened with rape, gambling addiction, anger management issues, grief; mentions of attempted suicide.
I'm also on the fence about the portrayal of a non-neurotypical character who might have a mental illness, which was never confirmed or named, but seemed to me like it might have the potential to be harmful because it just felt... very off to me, both in how it was described and how other characters talked about it.
SO!
The last book in what turned into one of my favourite series ever. Then again, who am I kidding, it's been a favourite ever since book 1. After the absolutely amazing first four books in the series my expectations were high, and I had no doubt that Cordelia Kingsbridge would deliver - and she did.
A Chip and a Chair (I haven't quite figured that title out yet) is a fantastic finale for a series that kept raising not just the stakes but also the expectations with every book.
The main question it would answer is, of course: "Who is the Seven of Spades?". I was both anxious and excited about the reveal, not just about the "who?" but also the "how?".
As it was, I was very pleased. The suspension is held for a big part of the book with several twists and turns and the big reveal is at exactly the right time and the right way.
Equally well handled was the book-specific arc/case that Dominic and Levi solve (and I use that term very loosely here.) The whole Nazi terrorist thing was terrifying - I remember thinking about how intensely the plot escalated in One-Eyed Royals but A Chip and a Chair trumps that by miles.
I don't usually listen to music while reading, but my reading experience here was definitely elevated by the playlist the author made specifically for this book! You can find that playlist here.
I do still think that books 1, 2 and 3 are my favourites of the series. Books 4 and 5 were great, no question, but there were a few tiny things that.... didn't quite add up as neatly as before.
In A Chip and a Chair it was specifically about the retrospective view of the SoS - I would have liked to see a little more in depth details of the hows and whys of their kills, and their personal background. I understand why that wasn't included though. It wouldn't have fit in the flow of the narrative and probably would have broken the tension of the book's climax.
Another thing was the aftermath - I hestitate to say epilogue because there isn't one, but I mean the chapters after the final showdown. It was a good one (I hate books that just end right after the final showdown with no aftermath shown), but again there were a few details that made me wonder about their meaning, and I guess I would have liked to see some different things than the ones that were shown - but that's on me.
I read that there was so struggle about finishing edits on the book and I feel like it shows. There's a small editing mistake (?) that wasn't in the previous books: there was no differentiation between a "-" for hypenated words and for breaks in a sentence, so I sometimes had to read a sentence twice to understand in which way a "-" was used. I think that will be solved in future versions though.
Overall I absolutely adore this book.
The pacing was perfect for me, and made me unable to put the book down. The entire last half of the book, but possibly even the entire book, is one big blur that ramps up the stakes again and again. It's action-packed, high stakes and high adrenaline almost the entire way through.
I also loved the cast of side-characters chosen for the focus of this book (a cast that has expanded greatly over the 5 books) and how even the ones that weren't that important for this book's plot kept making appearances, often through Levi and Dominic seeking them out because they were important to them.
I especially loved Rebel! He portrayal in the entire series is great and totally spot on for a dog, and she was very present in A Chip and a Chair and every single scene with her was PERFECT.
I also definitely benefitted from rereading the entire series right before reading the last book - I don't think a reread is entirely necessary if you can remember the gists of the previous books, but I at least think I wouldn't have understood some references to the previous books and missed some details.
I can't believe it's over. And what a way to go!
Content warnings include: graphic violence, murder and death, bombs going off, terrorism, homophobia antisemitism and racism and related slurs, Nazis, kidnapping, sex on-page, torture, character is threatened with rape, gambling addiction, anger management issues, grief; mentions of attempted suicide.
I'm also on the fence about the portrayal of a non-neurotypical character who might have a mental illness, which was never confirmed or named, but seemed to me like it might have the potential to be harmful because it just felt... very off to me, both in how it was described and how other characters talked about it.
SO!
The last book in what turned into one of my favourite series ever. Then again, who am I kidding, it's been a favourite ever since book 1. After the absolutely amazing first four books in the series my expectations were high, and I had no doubt that Cordelia Kingsbridge would deliver - and she did.
A Chip and a Chair (I haven't quite figured that title out yet) is a fantastic finale for a series that kept raising not just the stakes but also the expectations with every book.
The main question it would answer is, of course: "Who is the Seven of Spades?". I was both anxious and excited about the reveal, not just about the "who?" but also the "how?".
As it was, I was very pleased. The suspension is held for a big part of the book with several twists and turns and the big reveal is at exactly the right time and the right way.
Equally well handled was the book-specific arc/case that Dominic and Levi solve (and I use that term very loosely here.) The whole Nazi terrorist thing was terrifying - I remember thinking about how intensely the plot escalated in One-Eyed Royals but A Chip and a Chair trumps that by miles.
I don't usually listen to music while reading, but my reading experience here was definitely elevated by the playlist the author made specifically for this book! You can find that playlist here.
I do still think that books 1, 2 and 3 are my favourites of the series. Books 4 and 5 were great, no question, but there were a few tiny things that.... didn't quite add up as neatly as before.
In A Chip and a Chair it was specifically about the retrospective view of the SoS - I would have liked to see a little more in depth details of the hows and whys of their kills, and their personal background. I understand why that wasn't included though. It wouldn't have fit in the flow of the narrative and probably would have broken the tension of the book's climax.
Another thing was the aftermath - I hestitate to say epilogue because there isn't one, but I mean the chapters after the final showdown. It was a good one (I hate books that just end right after the final showdown with no aftermath shown), but again there were a few details that made me wonder about their meaning, and I guess I would have liked to see some different things than the ones that were shown - but that's on me.
I read that there was so struggle about finishing edits on the book and I feel like it shows. There's a small editing mistake (?) that wasn't in the previous books: there was no differentiation between a "-" for hypenated words and for breaks in a sentence, so I sometimes had to read a sentence twice to understand in which way a "-" was used. I think that will be solved in future versions though.
Overall I absolutely adore this book.
The pacing was perfect for me, and made me unable to put the book down. The entire last half of the book, but possibly even the entire book, is one big blur that ramps up the stakes again and again. It's action-packed, high stakes and high adrenaline almost the entire way through.
I also loved the cast of side-characters chosen for the focus of this book (a cast that has expanded greatly over the 5 books) and how even the ones that weren't that important for this book's plot kept making appearances, often through Levi and Dominic seeking them out because they were important to them.
I especially loved Rebel! He portrayal in the entire series is great and totally spot on for a dog, and she was very present in A Chip and a Chair and every single scene with her was PERFECT.
I also definitely benefitted from rereading the entire series right before reading the last book - I don't think a reread is entirely necessary if you can remember the gists of the previous books, but I at least think I wouldn't have understood some references to the previous books and missed some details.