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I liked it. Overall: 2.5/5 (13/25)
Fantastic for LOL fans, who will get references and foreshadowing from the first readthrough, and just as great for all readers who appreciate a tragedy. If you like mad kings, LOL, Hamlet/Macbeth, or Fountain of Youth tales, give it a try.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2.5/5
After an assassination attempt, the queen is poisoned. Kalista is tasked with finding a mystical island that may hold a cure. With the queen poisoned and Aunt Kalista gone, the king goes nuts. Meanwhile, trouble brews on the misty isles.
The plot is basic but serviceable and enjoyable, with serious setting plot holes mentioned below. I am personally a sucker for tragedy, so the score is higher than it deserves based on merits alone.
Setting: 1/5
Not a lot of world-building here unfortunately. The kingdom of Camavor isn't fleshed out much or given any unique traits (similar to Greek city-states, I think) to pique interest. The misty isle nobody can find without magic trope has been done a hundred times before. It's supposed to be home to tons of wizards/magical scholars, but they don't help in defending the island when things go sour. Ryze protects himself and another trio of Sentinels make weapons and use them. All others, including the most powerful wizards, just stand there and get killed without even trying to cast a single spell. Worst protectors of relics ever.
How much magic, how it works and who can use it is all confusing or ignored. Knights are the dominant fighting force in Camavor and other places have magical artifacts, but don't use them in the wars shown. The island collects and hides magical artifacts, but again, nobody uses them to save themselves, the island or all the other relics. There is magic, but nobody wants to use it against the physical forces crushing them, and no reason is given for this. Bad world-building and plot holes.
Characters: 3.5/5
Kalista is flawed with believing in all those around her. She suffers loss and betrayal through the queen's poisoning and doomed romance, and her faith in her king to come to his senses. Her decisions lead her to her fate and I liked her character.
Erlok Grael is a Thresher with a grudge. Think Glokta-light. He didn't get the job he thought he deserved so the world must burn. No character arc or change for this guy; he's just a villain.
Ryze is an arrogant apprentice still struggling to understand and master his runic powers. He doesn't change or grow much in this story, but the events do leave their mark as a lesson learned about the dangers of magic.
Viego loses his wife then loses his mind. Quick trip to looney town. It is a brief negative arc and not a major focus, despite being the catalyst for the Ruination.
I liked the characterization for Kalista, Ryze and the cat Captain, but something didn't hit right with the baddies and the other characters.
Style: 2.5/5
The prose is simplistic, the foreshadowing is mixed. If you know LOL, it's obvious. If you're new to the LOL characters, the good parts are subtle while the bad parts are blunt and repetitive. The good you might only notice on a reread and could make the book more enjoyable a second time through.
The pacing gets interrupted with common tropey side-quest stuff (seer's premonition, kidnap caper, chance encounters) that I wished was better polished or made more interesting.
When the tragic parts are on display, it's excellent - but there is a lot of other stuff taking time and attention away from having a more tempered plot and developed characters.
Themes: 3.5/5
Love, Loss, Grief, Madness, Loyalty, Betrayal, War, Political Intrigue, Revenge, Pride, Envy, Privilege, Misplaced Trust, Honor, Duty (hehe), Dangers of Power and Magic, Greed. So many great themes mentioned but left thin and underdeveloped. Glad to see them but they didn't make me think or question.
Fantastic for LOL fans, who will get references and foreshadowing from the first readthrough, and just as great for all readers who appreciate a tragedy. If you like mad kings, LOL, Hamlet/Macbeth, or Fountain of Youth tales, give it a try.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2.5/5
After an assassination attempt, the queen is poisoned. Kalista is tasked with finding a mystical island that may hold a cure. With the queen poisoned and Aunt Kalista gone, the king goes nuts. Meanwhile, trouble brews on the misty isles.
The plot is basic but serviceable and enjoyable, with serious setting plot holes mentioned below. I am personally a sucker for tragedy, so the score is higher than it deserves based on merits alone.
Setting: 1/5
Not a lot of world-building here unfortunately. The kingdom of Camavor isn't fleshed out much or given any unique traits (similar to Greek city-states, I think) to pique interest. The misty isle nobody can find without magic trope has been done a hundred times before. It's supposed to be home to tons of wizards/magical scholars, but they don't help in defending the island when things go sour. Ryze protects himself and another trio of Sentinels make weapons and use them. All others, including the most powerful wizards, just stand there and get killed without even trying to cast a single spell. Worst protectors of relics ever.
How much magic, how it works and who can use it is all confusing or ignored. Knights are the dominant fighting force in Camavor and other places have magical artifacts, but don't use them in the wars shown. The island collects and hides magical artifacts, but again, nobody uses them to save themselves, the island or all the other relics. There is magic, but nobody wants to use it against the physical forces crushing them, and no reason is given for this. Bad world-building and plot holes.
Characters: 3.5/5
Kalista is flawed with believing in all those around her. She suffers loss and betrayal through the queen's poisoning and doomed romance, and her faith in her king to come to his senses. Her decisions lead her to her fate and I liked her character.
Erlok Grael is a Thresher with a grudge. Think Glokta-light. He didn't get the job he thought he deserved so the world must burn. No character arc or change for this guy; he's just a villain.
Ryze is an arrogant apprentice still struggling to understand and master his runic powers. He doesn't change or grow much in this story, but the events do leave their mark as a lesson learned about the dangers of magic.
Viego loses his wife then loses his mind. Quick trip to looney town. It is a brief negative arc and not a major focus, despite being the catalyst for the Ruination.
I liked the characterization for Kalista, Ryze and the cat Captain, but something didn't hit right with the baddies and the other characters.
Style: 2.5/5
The prose is simplistic, the foreshadowing is mixed. If you know LOL, it's obvious. If you're new to the LOL characters, the good parts are subtle while the bad parts are blunt and repetitive. The good you might only notice on a reread and could make the book more enjoyable a second time through.
The pacing gets interrupted with common tropey side-quest stuff (seer's premonition, kidnap caper, chance encounters) that I wished was better polished or made more interesting.
When the tragic parts are on display, it's excellent - but there is a lot of other stuff taking time and attention away from having a more tempered plot and developed characters.
Themes: 3.5/5
Love, Loss, Grief, Madness, Loyalty, Betrayal, War, Political Intrigue, Revenge, Pride, Envy, Privilege, Misplaced Trust, Honor, Duty (hehe), Dangers of Power and Magic, Greed. So many great themes mentioned but left thin and underdeveloped. Glad to see them but they didn't make me think or question.