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A review by alex_watkins
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
4.0
This book stacks up to the original, I found it much better than the Fire. I think in most cases it is due to sequels in general being superior to prequels (or maybe Star Wars ruined me), but I never finish a book and go "I have to know what happened before!" This book tackles the sequel with great aplomb but is also quite relevant to our modern world. Isn't that supposed to be a hallmark of fantasy? To comment on our own world through make-believe ones. Leck, Graceling's incredibly evil antagonist, has been vanquished, but the memory and effect of his horrible crimes live on. Bitterblue must confront the scars he left on her kingdom, fighting those who want to "move on," sound familiar? I was having some serious GWB torture and the post-election amnesia flashbacks. However, her prying into the past has some serious consequences.
The book kept me rapt with its mystery, what was really going on, what exactly did Leck do to leave everyone so damaged? Who is trying to prevent discussion of the recent past? By the time they unravel though they are mostly expected, and a bit of a disappointment for all the build up. Though big mysteries are often in reality quite pedestrian (but of course that's why we read fantasy)
The book though found a way to my heart with its portrayal of the irritable and morose but also incredibly gifted librarian, who loves nothing more than a good research problem. HIs dark mood is only lightened by his favorite cat. Bitterblue uncovers much of the mysteries in this same library, so besides the librarians foul (but amusing) temperament, a good plug for libraries.
Katsa joins the ranks of Tally from Uglies, as a character who becomes more of a caricature when she is sidelined in the sequels. Both of them become part of extra-governmental organizations fighting against tyranny. Of course bringing tyranny up in a fantasy novel is inherently problematic, they mostly cling to the enlightened monarch model, which when challenged can poke a great many holes in the story. If kings and queens are so bad, why do root for Bitterblue, who though a good queen, could easily have a bad son. It problematizes the whole idea of replacing a bad king with a good one, if in the story we know that other options exist.
Another lovely facet was how incredibly gay friendly the novel was. WIth a least 5 gay characters (I have my suspicions), though the main love story is straight. It was a love story that I didn't particularly care for, Bitterblue's interest was kinda an ass, and she passed over the much nicer guy for him (not that there was much of a love triangle, once again my suspicions). At least spoiler, they don't end up together, which is good because I find it so unrealistic for characters to end up with their first boyfriend when they are like 15.
The end was overly drawn out, with characters from a previous novel, which I had thought would wait for another book. Though it dragged on, it provided satisfying conclusions to all the plot-lines. My only complaint is the maps should have been in the front of the book so that I could have consulted them while reading.
The book kept me rapt with its mystery, what was really going on, what exactly did Leck do to leave everyone so damaged? Who is trying to prevent discussion of the recent past? By the time they unravel though they are mostly expected, and a bit of a disappointment for all the build up. Though big mysteries are often in reality quite pedestrian (but of course that's why we read fantasy)
The book though found a way to my heart with its portrayal of the irritable and morose but also incredibly gifted librarian, who loves nothing more than a good research problem. HIs dark mood is only lightened by his favorite cat. Bitterblue uncovers much of the mysteries in this same library, so besides the librarians foul (but amusing) temperament, a good plug for libraries.
Katsa joins the ranks of Tally from Uglies, as a character who becomes more of a caricature when she is sidelined in the sequels. Both of them become part of extra-governmental organizations fighting against tyranny. Of course bringing tyranny up in a fantasy novel is inherently problematic, they mostly cling to the enlightened monarch model, which when challenged can poke a great many holes in the story. If kings and queens are so bad, why do root for Bitterblue, who though a good queen, could easily have a bad son. It problematizes the whole idea of replacing a bad king with a good one, if in the story we know that other options exist.
Another lovely facet was how incredibly gay friendly the novel was. WIth a least 5 gay characters (I have my suspicions), though the main love story is straight. It was a love story that I didn't particularly care for, Bitterblue's interest was kinda an ass, and she passed over the much nicer guy for him (not that there was much of a love triangle, once again my suspicions). At least spoiler, they don't end up together, which is good because I find it so unrealistic for characters to end up with their first boyfriend when they are like 15.
The end was overly drawn out, with characters from a previous novel, which I had thought would wait for another book. Though it dragged on, it provided satisfying conclusions to all the plot-lines. My only complaint is the maps should have been in the front of the book so that I could have consulted them while reading.