Joanna White

This book was a little disjointed but the plot had me coming back wondering what was going to happen next. I have not read any of the other books in the series so maybe some of the odd bits I would understand better if I had.

Spoilers Below

The world building could use some work. The book starts with a vague description of the worlds technology that is repeated a couple times but then is just chocked up to "magic" with no real explanation of what that magic even is. The main character (Jace) spends the first 4 chapters angry, cursing, wishing death on everyone and justifying his violent actions by it. All a sudden in chapter 4 he starts praying and saying God will take care of him and to trust in God. This is a shock and a rather jolting moment as it is pretty out of character as to what has been presented so far. There is no arch or explanation. It is possible that the humans have been left with a ruined and not full view of what it means to be a Christian what with the Ietons destruction, but none of this is explored. There are several moments where you have to turn back a page to see if you missed something but the book just jumps with little to no explanation. Jace is brought to a ruined Cathedral that is described as having beautiful stained glass, glorious ceilings, old wooden pews covered in overgrowth. The Author then processed to call the front of the church a stage which personally made me cringe not only is it the incorrect name (Chancel being correct) but it immediately takes away the sense of awe and respect that was previously held. The end of the book comes quick with enemies becoming, not really friends, but no longer enemies in a rather quick fashion that I think the book would have benefited from exploring more. The relationship between Jace and his women of interest (Lellaey) is odd. Lellaey is put into extreme danger before we get a chance to attach to her so we are left feeling ambivalent about the situation. Jace seems to be indifferent towards her also at times, with other times leaving you wondering if they have been intimate. At the end of the book I was left wondering if they had a real relationship, or if she was obsessed with him. With Jace having a odd mix of duty and allegiance to old feelings in return. The book ends with Jace and Lallaey being told they have lost their memories repeatedly and have been together for a very long time over and over again. This may account for their odd relationship throughout the book but again it is not explored. A little more insight into Jaces thoughts and feelings, or some foreshadowing, would have helped clear up this odd relationship tremendously. Overall I did enjoy the book, I wanted to pick it up again and see what happened next.… (mehr)