RATING: 7/10
SYNOPSIS:
It’s time to go back home.
In the years since Lindon left Sacred Valley, he has attained power beyond anything his family thought possible. Now he’ll have to put those powers to the test, because a Dreadgod is on its way.
Lindon and his allies set out to evacuate the valley before the arrival of the Wandering Titan, but their sacred arts are weakened by an ancient curse. They’ll have to persuade the squabbling inhabitants of Sacred Valley to leave behind their home and set off into the outside world.
But it has been a long time since Lindon left, and more has changed than he realized.
He has always sought power to save his family…but now he might be too late.
REVIEW:
What can be bigger than a Dreadgod? And how can things get even more epic than that? These are the questions that have been answered in this book, as action escalates in an action packed, adrenalin pumping read that pushes the stakes higher than ever before!
Prose/Plot/pace: +7.5/10
The book starts off where Wintersteel ended. We get treated to the aftermath for that epic battle. Though all points were ticked off, the wrap up felt very hasty. The questions that were left hanging at end of last book all gets answered, in a fashion. Lindon (and all of us readers) are already looking forward to going home….hopefully before the Titan.
This sets up the next phase based in Sacred Valley. The brutality of the suppression field is told in all it’s glory and the toll it takes on our MC’s is riveting. The happy moments, interspersed with the sad ones…all the while overlapping the frustration of petty politics…a spicy hot pot mix of drama and action. Beautiful prose. The battle sequences are epic. The sense of scale of devastation left in the aftermath of such battles is told very realistically. Really awe inspiring scale of events!
The ending though quite epic was slightly off, getting a tiny roll eye moment from me. A classic underdog ending, but slightly overdone.
What makes this more special is the widening of scope of out-Cradle events. The macro universe events have upped their stakes and the impact to Cradle is a delicious cliffhanger that already makes me itch for the next book. The insights we get to Abidan, Mad King, Voroshir etc is fascinating and author opens up whole new avenues for the story to progress. I’m already salivating to see where the next book takes us.
Overall the book feels it lacked the bit of shine that were brilliant in past few books in the series. The dialogue and prose/humour felt more like first book of an author rather than near ending of a fantastic series. Maybe it’s due to the quick turnaround [not that I’m complaining!], but I’d be glad to wait for a couple more months for next book if it helps the author too.
Characters: +6.5/10
The story is mostly told from Lindon’s PoV. Sadly, the character development seems to have taken a backseat in favor of advancement. We get to see the full circle as we head back to where it all started, Lindon to his home and Yerin to where her master died. the emotional reunion I was expecting was a bit muted. Thought the interaction between the MCs and residents of SV is so reminiscent of real world events happening now. I loved that! Eithan is still full of surprises and Mercy is reluctantly taking on more Akura responsibilities. But then it all gets thrown out in the wild ride in SV. Glad to see more Ziel!
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