Review of 'A Darker Shade of Magic 03. A Conjuring of Light' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
Predictable and excessively long. The pacing was terrible with the first several hundred pages accomplishing little and the last few chapters wrapping everything up neatly. Holland's backstory and development was by far the most interesting part; the other characters simply became caricatures of themselves. The threat never felt real and its resolution was far too easy. Whilst Holland sacrificed himself, it didn't feel like much of one given his incredible suffering whilst alive and the total loss of hope in White London recovering. (Not that it made his final scene any less heartbreaking.) The chapters about minor characters amounted to very little, with the lack of development from Ned's chapters being especially disappointing. The concept of multiple Londons was great and yet this book decided that almost everything would happen in a single world. It felt like such a waste.
I have the same feeling of disappointment I came away …
Predictable and excessively long. The pacing was terrible with the first several hundred pages accomplishing little and the last few chapters wrapping everything up neatly. Holland's backstory and development was by far the most interesting part; the other characters simply became caricatures of themselves. The threat never felt real and its resolution was far too easy. Whilst Holland sacrificed himself, it didn't feel like much of one given his incredible suffering whilst alive and the total loss of hope in White London recovering. (Not that it made his final scene any less heartbreaking.) The chapters about minor characters amounted to very little, with the lack of development from Ned's chapters being especially disappointing. The concept of multiple Londons was great and yet this book decided that almost everything would happen in a single world. It felt like such a waste.
I have the same feeling of disappointment I came away with from Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners series. I think a big part of the disappointment in both series is due to an all-powerful threat too easily defeated and with relatively little sacrifice.
