David Lim
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.