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I loved this. And I hated this.
It’s really hard to put into words why this book left me feeling so conflicted. But if I had to condense it into as simple a reason as possible, it’s this: there is simply too much going on.
The Lace, the voice, the sweetmetal sea, the visionaries, the ley lines, moderators, dreamers, dreams, apocalypses, Night Wash, Nathan Farooq-Lane, Greywaren…
The Lynch Brother’s family history is almost completely rewritten, which was inventive and infuriating in equal measure.
There’s too many convoluted plot points and as a result none of the characters truly shine…
AND YET.
And yet there’s still so much to love. But it’s hard to know if what I love here is really what I loved in CDTH.
Declan and Jordan are the stars in this series for me, and I think without them this final instalment would not have been half as satisfying. Declan’s character development is filled with nuance and growth and I looked forward to his chapters so much. Jordan’s dilemma of being a dream and finding her own identity is fascinating and poignant. Even Matthew had a few moments of self-reflection. Stiefvater has always been excellent with character details and I think - for the most part - that remains true in ‘Greywaren.’
As for the epilogue… well it was nice to get some of the nostalgia from TRC back, even though I feel I could have done with moreee of it.
Plus I genuinely think the series showed how hard it is to be in that transition period of life - not quite kids, not quite adults, with the future feeling like a threat rather than a promise of possibilities.
I’m rambling now.
I think another main issue with this book is Ronan… he is noticeably absent and then there’s a reveal about him which… well, it would be a spoiler to say. But I wasn’t particularly happy about it.
Overall, I LOVED CDTH, but the rest of this series fell a little flat for me, which is a shame considering my love of TRC. There are still flashes of brilliance, and Stiefvater’s prose is gorgeous as always, but I think there is simply too much going on. I will try rereading the series again at some point, maybe its one of those series that improves upon a a second reading.
It’s really hard to put into words why this book left me feeling so conflicted. But if I had to condense it into as simple a reason as possible, it’s this: there is simply too much going on.
The Lace, the voice, the sweetmetal sea, the visionaries, the ley lines, moderators, dreamers, dreams, apocalypses, Night Wash, Nathan Farooq-Lane, Greywaren…
The Lynch Brother’s family history is almost completely rewritten, which was inventive and infuriating in equal measure.
There’s too many convoluted plot points and as a result none of the characters truly shine…
AND YET.
And yet there’s still so much to love. But it’s hard to know if what I love here is really what I loved in CDTH.
Declan and Jordan are the stars in this series for me, and I think without them this final instalment would not have been half as satisfying. Declan’s character development is filled with nuance and growth and I looked forward to his chapters so much. Jordan’s dilemma of being a dream and finding her own identity is fascinating and poignant. Even Matthew had a few moments of self-reflection. Stiefvater has always been excellent with character details and I think - for the most part - that remains true in ‘Greywaren.’
As for the epilogue… well it was nice to get some of the nostalgia from TRC back, even though I feel I could have done with moreee of it.
Plus I genuinely think the series showed how hard it is to be in that transition period of life - not quite kids, not quite adults, with the future feeling like a threat rather than a promise of possibilities.
I’m rambling now.
I think another main issue with this book is Ronan… he is noticeably absent and then there’s a reveal about him which… well, it would be a spoiler to say. But I wasn’t particularly happy about it.
Overall, I LOVED CDTH, but the rest of this series fell a little flat for me, which is a shame considering my love of TRC. There are still flashes of brilliance, and Stiefvater’s prose is gorgeous as always, but I think there is simply too much going on. I will try rereading the series again at some point, maybe its one of those series that improves upon a a second reading.