Prophecy
Over the weekend, I finished Prophecy, the sequel to Rhapsody. It is more of the same, really - no surprise there.
I still like the characters overall. I still like the grand story overall. But it still feels like a lot is happening, while nothing happens. So much has been made of the prophecies and the F'dor threat that having a 650-page novel climax with perhaps a dozen pages of confrontation with a minion if a bit of a let down.
The details of the Rakshas are interesting, even if it sort of further makes Ashe over-the-top as far as fuckeduppedness.
Jo's fate hardly comes as a surprise. As said before, she felt sort of expendable - a low level character among epics who doesn't even like to follow orders. The story also needed some example of this insidious evil the reader has been warned about since almost the beginning.
The Gwydion/Emily situation is revealed! Then concealed. Oy. This is like some soap opera with how it's being drawn out. I also tend to be minorly offended over the whole "perfect soulmates" thing in stories. I find myself empathizing more with Achmed and Grunthor while resenting how "pretty boy" Ashe pushes his way into a serious relationship with Rhapsody. It isn't the same, but it reminds me of my reaction to the end of Disney's Beauty and the Beast where it actually feels unfair to me that Belle should fall in love with someone only to have them magically prettied up. It's like other characters aren't worthy of a protagonist's love unless they're physical perfection.
And Rhapsody still has her massive blind spot when it comes to her own dazzling presence. That's a little wearying, as much as I like other elements of the character. Frankly, I feel it's more fascinating to explore how someone in her position would deal with that power, struggling to retain humility when they evoke something close to worship. Just glossing it over from the character's side, making so they don't even realize or notice, feels so cheap, lazy, and dissatisfying to me.
I don't trust Llauron at all. Even when first meeting him, he seemed just a little too pleasant to be true. Now it's been made clear that he's, at the very least, a scheming ass. And at the worst, he's the F'dor's host. Though it's said that's not the case, and the prophecies seem (if you trust that interpretation) to indicate it can't be the case, it almost feels like it must be. No one else seems to be in a position that would make as good a bad guy, and it's been admitted that he's making a play for personal power. It all fits awful well with the stated modus operandi of the big, bad villainous force.
Well, we'll see how the third book shakes out and what we get in the way of a "real" showdown.
I still like the characters overall. I still like the grand story overall. But it still feels like a lot is happening, while nothing happens. So much has been made of the prophecies and the F'dor threat that having a 650-page novel climax with perhaps a dozen pages of confrontation with a minion if a bit of a let down.
The details of the Rakshas are interesting, even if it sort of further makes Ashe over-the-top as far as fuckeduppedness.
Jo's fate hardly comes as a surprise. As said before, she felt sort of expendable - a low level character among epics who doesn't even like to follow orders. The story also needed some example of this insidious evil the reader has been warned about since almost the beginning.
The Gwydion/Emily situation is revealed! Then concealed. Oy. This is like some soap opera with how it's being drawn out. I also tend to be minorly offended over the whole "perfect soulmates" thing in stories. I find myself empathizing more with Achmed and Grunthor while resenting how "pretty boy" Ashe pushes his way into a serious relationship with Rhapsody. It isn't the same, but it reminds me of my reaction to the end of Disney's Beauty and the Beast where it actually feels unfair to me that Belle should fall in love with someone only to have them magically prettied up. It's like other characters aren't worthy of a protagonist's love unless they're physical perfection.
And Rhapsody still has her massive blind spot when it comes to her own dazzling presence. That's a little wearying, as much as I like other elements of the character. Frankly, I feel it's more fascinating to explore how someone in her position would deal with that power, struggling to retain humility when they evoke something close to worship. Just glossing it over from the character's side, making so they don't even realize or notice, feels so cheap, lazy, and dissatisfying to me.
I don't trust Llauron at all. Even when first meeting him, he seemed just a little too pleasant to be true. Now it's been made clear that he's, at the very least, a scheming ass. And at the worst, he's the F'dor's host. Though it's said that's not the case, and the prophecies seem (if you trust that interpretation) to indicate it can't be the case, it almost feels like it must be. No one else seems to be in a position that would make as good a bad guy, and it's been admitted that he's making a play for personal power. It all fits awful well with the stated modus operandi of the big, bad villainous force.
Well, we'll see how the third book shakes out and what we get in the way of a "real" showdown.
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