benj_78 's review for:

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

4.0

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When a friend told me about this book, I envisioned a lot of clever tricks with assassins slipping between sparse shadows in a three-sun world. I figured there would be quite a bit of explanation about how the suns were aligned and the rotation of the planet as well. That was not really the case. This book starts with a recounting of a murder (interspersed with a graphic sexual act that mirrored the motions of the slaying), then about 200 pages of a very adult Harry Potter-esque story revolving around a school. The main character, Mia, wants to be the best assassin in the world, so she seeks out the Red Church to learn from the best. There are various teachers for specific crafts, a haunted library (replete with monsters), bullies, tests, and even a dance where the girl gets all angsty over a boy. The gender roles are reversed, and this is definitely not a children's book, but I couldn't help but draw comparisons more than once. I thought we'd spend a little time at the assassin school then continue on with the revenge plot. But this book is just setting up the sequels where all that stuff happens. A little disappointing.

However, I really did like the tone and setup. The characters weren't the most complex I have ever come across but they serviced the story well enough. Mia often joked about the school "not being a bloody nursery" whenever anything despicable occurred. So you don't feel too bad when any of them gets tortured or killed. The students (acolytes) knew what they signed up for and they were being trained to be killers after all. That being said, the author was not afraid to kill off characters that we spent a lot of time with. I was truly shocked by a few of the decisions made later in the book (in a good way).

It was a fairly tight story logic-wise. I was only baffled by

Spoiler

Mia's decision to not kill an innocent child to secure her place among the Blades. She was fine with murdering fellow classmates that "deserved it" and had killed hundreds of people in the Truedark Massacre four years ago; so why would one child stop her from achieving her life's goal? I understand that it is wrong on all levels, but her character didn't seem all that concerned with morals up to that point. She had flashes of loyalty and talked about honor. But I figured she would have some internal struggle about it, do it, then feel deep remorse about it later (like Tric). It turns out that decision was more of a plot device to get her out of the mountain for a while; rather than a big turn for her character. She goes on to murder dozens of people by the end.

But other than that, the actions made sense within that world. I really like that

Spoiler

Ash and her brother were sleeper agents intent on wiping out the Red Church. It never set right with me that they'd be anxious to join the organization that maimed their father. I actually smiled when Ash revealed herself to Tric and tossed him off of the balcony. What?!... cool!

Also, the last few chapters were chock-full of murder. You get this book for action and it does deliver in spades by the end.

As far as recommendations go, I'd give it a thumbs-up as long as you're not the squeamish type. Murder and sex scenes (I could have done without a couple of those) are described in great detail. Also, the characters are a fairly vulgar bunch. If you're cool with that, this is a fairly unique book to have add to your collection. I'm definitely interested in seeing where this story goes. I have a feeling I'll like the story better the further along we go.