Rating: 4 out of 5
The book that sees war at the very gates of Collegium again was somewhat underwhelming this time round – it just seemed to go on for too long. We see some interesting sides to the main characters, principally Seda and Tynan, while the others mostly idle by. Which is not to say that they don’t do anything, but I found little development in the stories of characters such as Straessa, Stenwold, and Eujen. They mostly end up doing the same sort of thing they were doing previously.
Now, in many ways a lot about this series as a whole is about the development of technology. This makes it so annoying that the Collegiates do not seem to be able to come up with any solution for the Wasp Sentinels. They are powerful, fast, and absolutely a very strong piece to put on the board, but it feels odd that no one—especially in a city that has previously been described, many many times, as a hotbed of inventors—can think of anything to do against it. Surely there would be a way to bring it down, especially after seeing it in battle a few times?
The rest of this volume goes deep into magic, most of it in a very big and impenetrable forest. The actions here all lead towards a confrontation with a big and bad Moth of the old times, but what is the meat of this plotline? Seda’s incidental glimpses are possibly the most interesting here, as we see her being almost capable of change. No guarantee as to how things will turn out, but the author at leaves open the opportunity that it does not come down to a bloodbath between Cheerwell and Seda.
All in all, I’m going to read the next one!
