A review by wardenred
The Unconquered City by K.A. Doore

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-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

4.25

No one could have imagined what the Empress did. No one will be able to imagine the next terrible thing that happens.

This trilogy as a whole was sure a wild ride, and I’m going to miss Ghadid and the deserts and cities around it. As far as this book specifically goes, it’s so hard to talk about it because it wraps up so much from all over the series. And in terms of plotting and worldbuilding it does it so exceptionally well! It truly completes the story in all the ways that matter. As a series conclusion, it’s definitely a five-star read, but at the same time, I just can’t rate it as high as the previous one. Because while it has all the elements to wrap up the overarching story, the way they’re put together is not exactly smooth. 

I really appreciate how K.A. Doore gives each of the protagonists such a unique voice and outlook. Illi is completely unlike Thana and Amastan, and it took me a bit to get used to seeing this world through her eyes. She’s definitely a strong character, well-suited for telling this part of the story. But at the same time, I just couldn’t stop comparing her with Thana, because I’ve read their books so close together and because Illi goes through a bunch of very similar story beats, like leaving the city with a caravan or working closely with Heru. And while the way Illi tackles all these things is completely inline with her personality and arc and it wouldn’t make sense for her to be just like Thana, I just loved how Thana had this chemistry with everyone and was constantly conflicted and tended to keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what she’d choose after all.

In contrast, Illi’s arc is fairly predictable. A minor character in the previous book, she was the one who stayed in Ghadid back then while Thana went off adventuring, and so she was among those who bore the brunt of the Big Awful Thing That Changed Everything, the thing that Thana hardly had the time to start processing amidst her book’s events. Now, years later, she has strong (and fairly well-portrayed) PTSD after those events and that forces her to retreat into her shell and be prickly and careful with her affection for other people. And her arc is all about learning that you shouldn’t let fear stop you from loving and living, and that healing is easier when you can lean on others and let them lean on you. Which, cool, great message, except it gets kinda preachy in how it’s delivered and, predictably, makes it harder to put the character into situations where they would have genuine interactions with others and help those others wrap up their own arcs. Which I think was part of the lack of smoothness about the book.

Overall, though, the big plot was quite plainly fantastically resolved. Hetu continued to grumpily entertain every time he showed up. The further expansion of the setting was marvelous. Amastan and Yutif did meet again, and it was nothing like I imagined and everything I could wish for. Every time Thana and Mo appeared on the page together, no matter what dark shit was happening around them, I wanted to squee. Canthem was a great new character to meet. I loved how good they were for Illi, they’re overall the sort of character I’d love to be friends with, and past a bit of awkwardness at their introduction, I felt this was great nonbinary rep.

Definitely going to recommend the series to all fantasy lovers hungry for rich worldbuilding, queernorm settings, and big, diverse casts with plenty of character growth.
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