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reallynotconor 's review for:
Infernal Devices
by Philip Reeve
I'm not angry, just disappointed. Ok, maybe a little angry.
This book killed my love for these characters. In terms of the world itself, this book did nothing but add to the incredible world that Phillip Reeve had created, but in terms of the actual characters, it was shit. Tom is annoying and constantly comments on how every woman is so much more beautiful than his wife and how ugly Hester is in comparison, and Hester is downright hateable. The only redeeming character is their teenage daughter, Wren, and even then you need to warm up to her.
The setting takes place 16 years after Predators Gold. Tom and Hester are comfortably living on Anchorage in Vineland. Wren meets a lost boy and agrees to steal a book for him, and she ends up getting kidnapped by the lost boys and sold off to Brighton, which is now run by Nimrod Pennyroyal, my least favourite character in this series. He is arguably more annoying than Delores Umbridge. tom and hester need to go on an adventure to find Wren and ultimately discover that they have a shit tonne of marital issues that unfold beautifully in the climax of the book.
The first half of the book is really jarring to read, and it really took me a while to get into it, but once the second half begins, it is a lot easier to enjoy until the very last few pages, where Wren confronts Hester, saying that she knows that she betrayed anchorage in Predators gold, which is honestly a good point. This is something she needs to pay for, but instead of being remorseful, HESTOR CONFESSES THAT SHE WISHES WREN WAS NEVER BORN AND THREATEND TO KILL HER. WHAT THE FUCK
When Tom walks up and learns the situation, he chooses to forgive Pennyroyal for what he has done, which is a lot better than Hester, especially since Pennyroyal shot Tom in the heart. This overwhelms Hester, and she runs away into the fog of the destroyed air city, which is falling from the sky. Tom follows her, and Shrike shows up (he had a whole side plot that explained this), and bitch slaps Tom into a seizure and kidnaps Hester, which concludes the book. We don't know if Tom, Wren, Wren's kind of love interest, and Pennyroyal had survived or even if they were OK. All we know is that Shrike has Hester and he wants to make her into a stalker
This book felt like it wanted to do so much but achieved so little. Considering I am now at the end of the series (minus the prequals which I own), this has become tiresome to read and honestly just makes me sad seeing what this incredible world has come to. Hester loves being a psychopath and Tom loves being unfaithful. Goodbye to the loveable nervous wreck that Tom was and the cold badass who grows to learn to open her heart to others and love again that Hester became. Tragically, both of these characters that are near and dear to me are dead and replaced with husks of their former selves.
Worldbuilding 10/10
Characters 3/1o
plot 5/10
overall 3/5
Please do better. The next book, A Darkling Plain, will hopefully focus on Wren because I am honestly exhausted by the characters I, at one point in my life, loved and admired. It is a real shame that the characters from my comfort book have fallen so far.
This book killed my love for these characters. In terms of the world itself, this book did nothing but add to the incredible world that Phillip Reeve had created, but in terms of the actual characters, it was shit. Tom is annoying and constantly comments on how every woman is so much more beautiful than his wife and how ugly Hester is in comparison, and Hester is downright hateable. The only redeeming character is their teenage daughter, Wren, and even then you need to warm up to her.
The setting takes place 16 years after Predators Gold. Tom and Hester are comfortably living on Anchorage in Vineland. Wren meets a lost boy and agrees to steal a book for him, and she ends up getting kidnapped by the lost boys and sold off to Brighton, which is now run by Nimrod Pennyroyal, my least favourite character in this series. He is arguably more annoying than Delores Umbridge. tom and hester need to go on an adventure to find Wren and ultimately discover that they have a shit tonne of marital issues that unfold beautifully in the climax of the book.
The first half of the book is really jarring to read, and it really took me a while to get into it, but once the second half begins, it is a lot easier to enjoy until the very last few pages, where Wren confronts Hester, saying that she knows that she betrayed anchorage in Predators gold, which is honestly a good point. This is something she needs to pay for, but instead of being remorseful, HESTOR CONFESSES THAT SHE WISHES WREN WAS NEVER BORN AND THREATEND TO KILL HER. WHAT THE FUCK
When Tom walks up and learns the situation, he chooses to forgive Pennyroyal for what he has done, which is a lot better than Hester, especially since Pennyroyal shot Tom in the heart. This overwhelms Hester, and she runs away into the fog of the destroyed air city, which is falling from the sky. Tom follows her, and Shrike shows up (he had a whole side plot that explained this), and bitch slaps Tom into a seizure and kidnaps Hester, which concludes the book. We don't know if Tom, Wren, Wren's kind of love interest, and Pennyroyal had survived or even if they were OK. All we know is that Shrike has Hester and he wants to make her into a stalker
This book felt like it wanted to do so much but achieved so little. Considering I am now at the end of the series (minus the prequals which I own), this has become tiresome to read and honestly just makes me sad seeing what this incredible world has come to. Hester loves being a psychopath and Tom loves being unfaithful. Goodbye to the loveable nervous wreck that Tom was and the cold badass who grows to learn to open her heart to others and love again that Hester became. Tragically, both of these characters that are near and dear to me are dead and replaced with husks of their former selves.
Worldbuilding 10/10
Characters 3/1o
plot 5/10
overall 3/5
Please do better. The next book, A Darkling Plain, will hopefully focus on Wren because I am honestly exhausted by the characters I, at one point in my life, loved and admired. It is a real shame that the characters from my comfort book have fallen so far.