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A review by simonmee
The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron
4.0
I enjoyed the pacing and grand scale of this book, and I am happy to give it 4 stars, but as I went through the lack of care in character development played on my mind.
Some of the issues came from certain characters resolving/putting on hold what drove them in The Red Knight, particularly Ranald Lachlan and Gavin Muriens. Hopefully they regain purpose later in the series.
I also suspect part of the problem is due to the multiplicity of threads. The actions of some rely on baffling inaction of others. Having plausible reasons for everyone to be in the right place to move the story is understandably difficult but there were occasions where major characters failed to do much.
The King of Alba, whom a number of plots revolve around, gets angry on occasion. That’s about it.
The Duke of Andronicus, who should be a major adversary, gets worried on occasion. That’s about it.
Ser Random, the wealthy merchant taking on very risky venture, advances deus ex machina money on occasion. That’s about it.
As a subclass of this, the female characters serve mainly as plot devices by being healers, suppliers of magical power, or expositioners of new information. All of these activities have little bearing on their actual character development. The author also chose to have female POV sections, putting the onus on him to make them interesting. Generally they are not:
We are told that Sauce is a former prostitute turned knight. The book appears to consider that enough for her to be a fully fleshed character. I’m not expecting the author to tie every (or even any) new interaction with her past but I felt that all the book gave her was her past.
Two of the potentially most interesting POV female characters due to their position and magical power, the Queen of Alba and Ghause, end up being the most boring. We read about their great powers and their schemes. At the end of the book they have undertaken no acts of note to advance the plot and appear primarily as vessels for exposition. Also, they are attractive, which is hammered home regularly.
Irene seizes the throne following the attempted coup at the beginning of the book. Then, despite her new position of power and differing motivations than Gabriel, she proceeds to do nothing other than lurk as a figure of uncertain allegiances/attraction. The book doesn't even bother providing any resolution in her case.
I still have an interest in the series but I worry that character development may fall by the wayside as the pace quickens.
Some of the issues came from certain characters resolving/putting on hold what drove them in The Red Knight, particularly Ranald Lachlan and Gavin Muriens. Hopefully they regain purpose later in the series.
I also suspect part of the problem is due to the multiplicity of threads. The actions of some rely on baffling inaction of others. Having plausible reasons for everyone to be in the right place to move the story is understandably difficult but there were occasions where major characters failed to do much.
The King of Alba, whom a number of plots revolve around, gets angry on occasion. That’s about it.
The Duke of Andronicus, who should be a major adversary, gets worried on occasion. That’s about it.
Ser Random, the wealthy merchant taking on very risky venture, advances deus ex machina money on occasion. That’s about it.
As a subclass of this, the female characters serve mainly as plot devices by being healers, suppliers of magical power, or expositioners of new information. All of these activities have little bearing on their actual character development. The author also chose to have female POV sections, putting the onus on him to make them interesting. Generally they are not:
We are told that Sauce is a former prostitute turned knight. The book appears to consider that enough for her to be a fully fleshed character. I’m not expecting the author to tie every (or even any) new interaction with her past but I felt that all the book gave her was her past.
Two of the potentially most interesting POV female characters due to their position and magical power, the Queen of Alba and Ghause, end up being the most boring. We read about their great powers and their schemes. At the end of the book they have undertaken no acts of note to advance the plot and appear primarily as vessels for exposition. Also, they are attractive, which is hammered home regularly.
Irene seizes the throne following the attempted coup at the beginning of the book. Then, despite her new position of power and differing motivations than Gabriel, she proceeds to do nothing other than lurk as a figure of uncertain allegiances/attraction. The book doesn't even bother providing any resolution in her case.
I still have an interest in the series but I worry that character development may fall by the wayside as the pace quickens.