The Last Mortal Bond
The third (and I presume final) book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne (previous one commented upon here) is a gloriously epic story of a catastrophic mess. One of the big things that struck me in the previous novel was the unreliable narration - human characters are stuck dealing with immortals who may be truthful, lying, or just biased. That certainly keeps up in this installment to the point of questioning whether the gods that were introduced to the story are really gods. The intro chapter sort of blunts that, though, providing some heavy support for that "truth."
Kaden's storyline is perhaps the most central to the core (and sometimes hidden) conflict that's going on, as he's wrapped up with the gods-inhabiting-people. It's... story-crucial, but not as interesting to read. There's a little too much uncertainty and floundering along the way as the characters are largely driven by circumstance.
Adare's story is agonizing to read because she keeps making sooo many stupid mistakes. I complained in the first book that she didn't seem to have much influence or control given how she's supposed to be the expert diplomat/politician of the family. She spends almost this entire book (and most of the series, really) being manipulated and going from trying to make some noble gesture as a leader only to watch it blow up in her face and make things worse. Her heart is often in the right place, but she fails so often that it makes her look naive and clueless. It probably isn't until the last 1/4 of the book when she makes a decision that actually seems to be good by trusting Kaden enough to open up to him.
Valyn presents the most heartbreaking tale of the three royal siblings. He was probably my favorite of the three in the first two books, but after being stabbed in the back at the went of book 2, he's left an aimless wreck. An aimless wreck who happens to be very good at killing, granted, but as a character points out to him, he's no longer fighting for anything. I almost expected the story to reveal he'd been inhabited by a god of death or something himself, because without that, he's just... kind of a combat monster who's given up on anything else. As much as he fits in with the tribal horsemen of the setting, that's definitely not the fate I wanted to see for the character.
The Kettral are still one of my favorite elements to come out of the entire series, and the threads following Gwenna and the remains of her wing are probably the most interesting and engrossing to me (even if she curses up a storm constantly). I just wish Valyn hadn't fallen away from the group. What can I say, I like fantasy "special ops."
Well, I can also add I think part of what makes their place in the story more appealing is they have some greater measure of agency. Gwenna and Co. are mostly facing enemies. Their plans may go to hell sometimes, but Kaden and Adare are busy trying to fathom the motivations of gods and immortals who have thought so far ahead it's pointless.
Overall, it's an interesting series with some neat ideas. It presents multiple perspectives well, including gods, immortals, a couple societies, and religious sects. It doesn't have much of a happy ending, though, really for anyone. By the end, many of the main characters are dead or deeply damaged and the only victory that they manage is that human life goes on (which, given what's at stake, is arguably quite the victory).
Kaden's storyline is perhaps the most central to the core (and sometimes hidden) conflict that's going on, as he's wrapped up with the gods-inhabiting-people. It's... story-crucial, but not as interesting to read. There's a little too much uncertainty and floundering along the way as the characters are largely driven by circumstance.
Adare's story is agonizing to read because she keeps making sooo many stupid mistakes. I complained in the first book that she didn't seem to have much influence or control given how she's supposed to be the expert diplomat/politician of the family. She spends almost this entire book (and most of the series, really) being manipulated and going from trying to make some noble gesture as a leader only to watch it blow up in her face and make things worse. Her heart is often in the right place, but she fails so often that it makes her look naive and clueless. It probably isn't until the last 1/4 of the book when she makes a decision that actually seems to be good by trusting Kaden enough to open up to him.
Valyn presents the most heartbreaking tale of the three royal siblings. He was probably my favorite of the three in the first two books, but after being stabbed in the back at the went of book 2, he's left an aimless wreck. An aimless wreck who happens to be very good at killing, granted, but as a character points out to him, he's no longer fighting for anything. I almost expected the story to reveal he'd been inhabited by a god of death or something himself, because without that, he's just... kind of a combat monster who's given up on anything else. As much as he fits in with the tribal horsemen of the setting, that's definitely not the fate I wanted to see for the character.
The Kettral are still one of my favorite elements to come out of the entire series, and the threads following Gwenna and the remains of her wing are probably the most interesting and engrossing to me (even if she curses up a storm constantly). I just wish Valyn hadn't fallen away from the group. What can I say, I like fantasy "special ops."
Well, I can also add I think part of what makes their place in the story more appealing is they have some greater measure of agency. Gwenna and Co. are mostly facing enemies. Their plans may go to hell sometimes, but Kaden and Adare are busy trying to fathom the motivations of gods and immortals who have thought so far ahead it's pointless.
Overall, it's an interesting series with some neat ideas. It presents multiple perspectives well, including gods, immortals, a couple societies, and religious sects. It doesn't have much of a happy ending, though, really for anyone. By the end, many of the main characters are dead or deeply damaged and the only victory that they manage is that human life goes on (which, given what's at stake, is arguably quite the victory).
Comments
Post a Comment