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violentoceans 's review for:
The Shadow Throne
by Django Wexler
Ah, the second book conundrum.
This book had a lot of things going for it. As with the first book, the writing was really good. I appreciate that Wexler doesn't feel the need to turn everything into an exposé and bash his readers over the head with the stuff they should be able to figure out on their own. I also like the thread of (normalized) feminism that runs through these books, giving women prerogative without feeling the need to constantly justify the choices that the female characters are making while failing to do similarly for the male characters. And I especially enjoy the ambiguity surrounding Janus: Is he a good guy? Probably. Could he be a bad guy? Maybe.
But despite all that, this FEELS like a second book--a march of characters from point A to point B to get everything in position for the third book. Because of that, the book doesn't feel like it moves as quickly as the first book and parts seem very plodding. (Fermenting a revolution is hard work.) I think this book is also dragged down a bit by its villain. An occupied country fighting against you makes for a great villain. A small, fat Duke who sits behind a desk managing information and dispatching orders? Not so much. At times you're left thinking, "If someone would just kill Orlanko, we could just go ahead and wrap this all up. He might have connections, but he's only one man."
I'll definitely be picking up the third book though.
This book had a lot of things going for it. As with the first book, the writing was really good. I appreciate that Wexler doesn't feel the need to turn everything into an exposé and bash his readers over the head with the stuff they should be able to figure out on their own. I also like the thread of (normalized) feminism that runs through these books, giving women prerogative without feeling the need to constantly justify the choices that the female characters are making while failing to do similarly for the male characters. And I especially enjoy the ambiguity surrounding Janus: Is he a good guy? Probably. Could he be a bad guy? Maybe.
But despite all that, this FEELS like a second book--a march of characters from point A to point B to get everything in position for the third book. Because of that, the book doesn't feel like it moves as quickly as the first book and parts seem very plodding. (Fermenting a revolution is hard work.) I think this book is also dragged down a bit by its villain. An occupied country fighting against you makes for a great villain. A small, fat Duke who sits behind a desk managing information and dispatching orders? Not so much. At times you're left thinking, "If someone would just kill Orlanko, we could just go ahead and wrap this all up. He might have connections, but he's only one man."
I'll definitely be picking up the third book though.