This book disappointed me. It started well, with Tyree facing personal demons and the burden of ruling an empire. Add to that a murder of similar power who is murdering the Seers, the messengers of the faith. This is an excellent conflict to start a novel with. But from there, it spirals into angst-ridden nonsense and disjointed vignettes.
First, Tyrees acts stupidly. The previous novels demonstrate his power at observations, but twice in this book, he is just dumb, completely missing the obvious. It was nonsensical to spend two novels to convince the reader of his awesome ability only to have them disappear. It made the villain seem less intense or evil, and more, just a person prospered because Tyrees was an imbecile.
Second, Tyrees’ obsession with Shaamlik and with Cubas seemed a plot device with no purpose. What did they teach us about his character that we didn’t already know? Nothing.
Third, the ending. It was as if O’Riordan got tired of writing, dumped in a few half-formed ideas and ended the book. No closer. No redemption. No understanding of Tyrees, who he was and who he is. Nothing. Like the last few pages of the book were missing. I felt cheated.
A sad end to an interesting series, really. So much potential, wasted. ( )