Patrick
I was surprised to learn I'm in the minority of readers who thought that book 2 more enjoyable than book 1. I had a great time reading this book. First time reading this type of book structure, the constant context switching kept me wanting more. Islington was good about leaving some type of cliff hanger on any of the POVs and made me want to keep reading to see what would happen.
I enjoyed all three worlds similarly, but if I had to pick a favorite I'd go with Luceum. I love that we got to see Vis in a world where he finds a family and live out his dream of running away from the hierarchy. My favorite moment in maybe the whole book was when he confided in his troupe about the shame he feels running away from suus after watching his family get executed. "You were not a warrior then." ;-;. Dad campfire scene reminds me of when Kakashi talked to his dad in Naruto and I LOVE that trope. So much of the trauma of Vis' past gets leveraged in this book and it really makes me feel like he was growing emotionally. My one gripe is that he Vis seemed a little too disinterested in the workings of will while in Luceum.
Obiteum was cool and felt high stakes at times but felt slow in others. Rip Ahmose. Why didn't Vis just control him to stop him from killing himself? The part where Vis is questioning the monarch and runs away from Neq made me laugh soooo hard for some reason "SIAMUUUUUUNN!!!!". Caeror carried here, sad he "disappeared" so early. How tf did Vis know to go back to Qabr to enter that room? Let me just completely ignore the golden glowing sarcophagus in the middle of the room that's described to be SUPER important and grab these new cool weapons! ???. Weird section but I'll look over it.
Res. Lot of good, and a lot of wtf moments here. I think my biggest issue I can't get over is Vis' morals. Book 1 had them so clearly defined and I feel like he stepped on a lot of his past self. I understand his top motivation was finding out what who was responsible for Iudicium (which is snuffed out later in Res so... what's his motivation now?), but for all his previous anti-will standards to be forgotten to avenge Callidus felt like a bit of an overreaction. Like dude, when he saw Relucia in the sapper? He makes a point to show how much he HATES sappers and how inhumane they are, then suddenly he's threatening torture/slavery to get answers? Then she's all "it's for the greater good" and he's like "despicable.". Then when ka's like "it's for the greater good" he's like "ok I'm down". I understand its much more nuanced than that but still... Speaking of confusing moments: Eidhin is all "I know my line and will never cross it". Then at the end of the book when Vis chooses against Eidhin's line he's all "I'm still going to support and follow you." ??? Anways, I loved Ostius' character, reminds me of Jack Sparrow's demeanor for some reason lol. Vis is now officially a Disney princess with Diago. Eidhin's dad said "I would do ANYTHING to save my son" and Vis is surprised when he found out he lied to him to save his son? lol i just think that's funny. Oh yea. Aequa. That moment had me SHOOK. I understand why people are upset by the way it happened but I think I'm in the minority who thought the shock value that scene created outweighs the killing of a fleshed out character. I'm more upset at the AFTER. Oh woopdeedoo I'm just gonna snap both my legs back into place and continue the mission like nothing happened! Let me still accomplish all my goals!
I know I've been complaining a ton but overall this book was a great read and improved upon many the aspects I loved about the first book. Lots of questions at the end of this book, its going to super suck waiting another couple years. I love how Vis manifests differently in the different worlds but stays (sorta) the same. I could yap a bunch more about my theories but I'll just leave at: that neckalce Ostius gave Vis and Rurarc gave Vis feel too similar and suspicious. Wonder where all this will go!
I was surprised to learn I'm in the minority of readers who thought that book 2 more enjoyable than book 1. I had a great time reading this book. First time reading this type of book structure, the constant context switching kept me wanting more. Islington was good about leaving some type of cliff hanger on any of the POVs and made me want to keep reading to see what would happen.
I enjoyed all three worlds similarly, but if I had to pick a favorite I'd go with Luceum. I love that we got to see Vis in a world where he finds a family and live out his dream of running away from the hierarchy. My favorite moment in maybe the whole book was when he confided in his troupe about the shame he feels running away from suus after watching his family get executed. "You were not a warrior then." ;-;. Dad campfire scene reminds me of when Kakashi talked to his dad in Naruto and I LOVE that trope. So much of the trauma of Vis' past gets leveraged in this book and it really makes me feel like he was growing emotionally. My one gripe is that he Vis seemed a little too disinterested in the workings of will while in Luceum.
Obiteum was cool and felt high stakes at times but felt slow in others. Rip Ahmose. Why didn't Vis just control him to stop him from killing himself? The part where Vis is questioning the monarch and runs away from Neq made me laugh soooo hard for some reason "SIAMUUUUUUNN!!!!". Caeror carried here, sad he "disappeared" so early. How tf did Vis know to go back to Qabr to enter that room? Let me just completely ignore the golden glowing sarcophagus in the middle of the room that's described to be SUPER important and grab these new cool weapons! ???. Weird section but I'll look over it.
Res. Lot of good, and a lot of wtf moments here. I think my biggest issue I can't get over is Vis' morals. Book 1 had them so clearly defined and I feel like he stepped on a lot of his past self. I understand his top motivation was finding out what who was responsible for Iudicium (which is snuffed out later in Res so... what's his motivation now?), but for all his previous anti-will standards to be forgotten to avenge Callidus felt like a bit of an overreaction. Like dude, when he saw Relucia in the sapper? He makes a point to show how much he HATES sappers and how inhumane they are, then suddenly he's threatening torture/slavery to get answers? Then she's all "it's for the greater good" and he's like "despicable.". Then when ka's like "it's for the greater good" he's like "ok I'm down". I understand its much more nuanced than that but still... Speaking of confusing moments: Eidhin is all "I know my line and will never cross it". Then at the end of the book when Vis chooses against Eidhin's line he's all "I'm still going to support and follow you." ??? Anways, I loved Ostius' character, reminds me of Jack Sparrow's demeanor for some reason lol. Vis is now officially a Disney princess with Diago. Eidhin's dad said "I would do ANYTHING to save my son" and Vis is surprised when he found out he lied to him to save his son? lol i just think that's funny. Oh yea. Aequa. That moment had me SHOOK. I understand why people are upset by the way it happened but I think I'm in the minority who thought the shock value that scene created outweighs the killing of a fleshed out character. I'm more upset at the AFTER. Oh woopdeedoo I'm just gonna snap both my legs back into place and continue the mission like nothing happened! Let me still accomplish all my goals!
I know I've been complaining a ton but overall this book was a great read and improved upon many the aspects I loved about the first book. Lots of questions at the end of this book, its going to super suck waiting another couple years. I love how Vis manifests differently in the different worlds but stays (sorta) the same. I could yap a bunch more about my theories but I'll just leave at: that neckalce Ostius gave Vis and Rurarc gave Vis feel too similar and suspicious. Wonder where all this will go!