Originally written: 22/11/19. Contains spoilers.
This one was better than Resurrection, definitely. This is possibly in part due to less pages spent with US President “Martin Flanery”. Honestly, these are Derek’s books and if he wants to use them to protest Trump that’s totally fair play, but isn’t there anywhere we can escape him now?
I continue to like Omen Darkly more and more. I hope he isn’t killed off at the end of the series. As for the other new characters, I couldn’t particularly care less about them. They serve their purpose in the story, but for me at least, that’s as far as it goes. They don’t really make me wish I were a part of the world in the way that previous characters did. So, Omen (and Temper, mustn’t forget) are the two good new characters and all the rest – eh.
Something that made the OG books so precious to me that I feel in these new ones has been lost to an extent is the sense of intimacy. The world and its inhabitants felt intimate to me, and don’t anymore. There’s a missing quality, somehow. Perhaps it’s really nothing more than the lack of some familiar characters or the new, sudden modernity, the city of Roarhaven. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely gone (for me, that is).
Valduggery marches on, much as I try to deny it. I’m a firm believer in platonic soulmates (the two lead characters of my OG series are this) and that’s what I think Val and Skul are meant to be, but then they have these moments that feel deeply romantic and I just revert right back to eleven year old me, who shipped them like hell.
No Fletcher Renn this time, which was sad because I love him, but more China (good!) and Tanith was back this time as well, if only for a few pages.
Val’s parents were back too, and less irritating than I remember them being. Little sister Alice too was there, and she barely irritated me (saying a lot, because child characters are rarely well done in my opinion).
The race to the end for the heroes and villains was great and tense, and I ended up blowing through the entire book in a day, despite telling myself that I wanted to pace it out better.
I look forward to Bedlam.
The Tea Room 