Brian Staveley: Providence of fire (2015, Tor)
606 pages
English language
Published Sept. 22, 2015 by Tor.
The world of the Annurian Empire is an ambitiously drawn one. Adare, Valyn, and Kaden, the three children of the assassinated emperor, go their separate ways and find themselves embroiled in inevitable conflict.
Listened to this.
Excellent follow up to the Emperor's Blades! I really didn't want this one to end and look forward to book three. Fantastic narration by Simon Vance as usual.
This book hands down went farther than its first volume. Richer, faster moving, more twists than a series of switchbacks. Glad I carried on.
That's not to say I wasn't bothered by story drivers. I felt like I was the person in the theater shouting, 'OH NO, DON'T GO IN THAT DOOR!' at least 4 or 5 times I questioned character motives. However its hard to discern like the previous books was it my perspective or theirs I was understanding. I'm not sure. However I gripped my armchair and sometimes winced knowing full well the crap was about to hit the fan due to a decision.
I was also left with an open set of questions of one of the characters Triste and an escape. It was after the fact that questions were never asked, or probed, or delved into which left me slightly baffled. If a character has some …
This book hands down went farther than its first volume. Richer, faster moving, more twists than a series of switchbacks. Glad I carried on.
That's not to say I wasn't bothered by story drivers. I felt like I was the person in the theater shouting, 'OH NO, DON'T GO IN THAT DOOR!' at least 4 or 5 times I questioned character motives. However its hard to discern like the previous books was it my perspective or theirs I was understanding. I'm not sure. However I gripped my armchair and sometimes winced knowing full well the crap was about to hit the fan due to a decision.
I was also left with an open set of questions of one of the characters Triste and an escape. It was after the fact that questions were never asked, or probed, or delved into which left me slightly baffled. If a character has some really deep character issues shouldn't they be reviewed when not being attacked? In the end resolution is found, timely enough, but its this start stop, pull, push, sometimes strange character motivators, over motivators, or things in between that left me feeling a little less smooth of play than there could have been.
Again, I enjoyed this book. I like the world that's built and the contexts everyone is dealing with. There is some real uniqueness to it all. I hope if you've read the first book you take up the second. Yes, you'll be left with some open questions, but I bet you'll be hungry for the next one.
Which by the way.. I am just finding out is not out. Just my Kent-Kissing luck.. (which btw I still don't understand what or why Kent-kissing is such a bad thing.. lolol)
