Gremriel reviewed The Fiend Queen by Barbara Ann Wright (A Pyradisté Adventure, Book 4)
Review of 'The Fiend Queen' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Urg.
I thought long and hard about the final installment of the Katya and Starbride series. The first two books were amazing; I had some issues with the third and I must admit: I'm not sure about The Fiend Queen.
When I first saw that title, I thought I had an idea how it was going to end. And I was wrong. In fact, the title confuses me, as there is no Fiend Queen. I can't say much more without this review getting riddled with spoiler tags.
At the start of the book, Katya and Starbride are still seperated, each locked into the battles of their lives, but they find eachother soon enough, only to find them once again split up after they fight Roland in dark tunnels. It gets a bit hazy there, as Katya finds herself in an unknown underground complex where she finds clues that will change …
Urg.
I thought long and hard about the final installment of the Katya and Starbride series. The first two books were amazing; I had some issues with the third and I must admit: I'm not sure about The Fiend Queen.
When I first saw that title, I thought I had an idea how it was going to end. And I was wrong. In fact, the title confuses me, as there is no Fiend Queen. I can't say much more without this review getting riddled with spoiler tags.
At the start of the book, Katya and Starbride are still seperated, each locked into the battles of their lives, but they find eachother soon enough, only to find them once again split up after they fight Roland in dark tunnels. It gets a bit hazy there, as Katya finds herself in an unknown underground complex where she finds clues that will change the people of Farraday and Allusia forever; Starbride however is forced to make a monumental decision that might end the war, but can possibly destroy her.
The Katya parts have an interesting, almost retro-active worldbuilding. Starbride undergoes a massive change. She discovers the origins of the Fiends, but is that knowledge helping her? The change is so massive and abrupt, it's almost unnerving. One moment I was rooting for her and then within a chapter, I was almost fearing her.
Lucky for me, most everyone else in the book shares that sentiment, and just as one war ends, the next starts.
It was well-written, with a lot of drama, death and destruction. Kudos to the author for having the guts to kill off major characters. But I was missing something. I expected more on the matter of the differences between Adsnzi and Pyrdystés. Sure, Redtrue has to make a difficult decision, but there's nothing about the conseqeunces. I expected more about getting rid of the Fiend. I expected more on the aftermath.
What Katya wanted as soon as the Starbride became consort was, in my opinion, glossed over.
I said in my comment when I started to read I hoped I wasn't being disappointed. And I can't shake the feeling that I am. The series as a whole gets 5 stars from me (the first two being classics in my opinion). But I wouldn't be honest to myself if I gave The Fiend Queen more that 3 stars. I'm sorry.
