Wrong Train, Right Time (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wrongtrainrighttime) wrote2017-01-25 09:33 pm
wrongtrainrighttime) wrote2017-01-25 09:33 pm
Master of the House of Darts (Obsidian and Blood #3) by Aliette de Bodard
de Bodard, Aliette. Master of the House of Darts (Obsidian and Blood #3) Self-published, 2015. eBook. Finished 1/9/2017.
Servant of the Underworld, Harbinger of the Storm
I have less and less to say as the series goes on since, well, I zoomed through the second and third books so quickly and because all the good stuff from Book 1 continues and holds up well as it goes through. In a way, the trilogy feels more like one big book in my mind rather than three separate books.
The main threat in Master of the House of Darts is plague. It's an interesting choice of threat in that it plays on Acatl’s ongoing reluctance to rest and not let himself be run into the ground. Suddenly, that persistent and endearing little flaw becomes a much more serious weakness, even a threat to everyone around him, due to the nature of plague and sickness. Just an interesting reflection on him.
One thing I quite liked about this book is how the previous book comes back to doom Acatl and in fact his allies. The solution to the previous book winds up being the problem in this one. Overall I found this book to be much more intricately tied to Book 2 than Book 2 was tied to Book 1; 2 and 3 feel more like halves of the same novel than discrete adventures. I feel like the trilogy could be more accurately divided up into two parts: Book 1, and then Book 2+3. I wonder if this is an artifact of the trilogy format? It gets harder to keep individual episodes in an ongoing series completely standalone, not if one wants any kind of continuity or character development. Hmm. Something to think about.
I realize now that I have said very little about Teomitl, Acatl's sort-of apprentice and a very important supporting characters, especially in this book. I guess he didn't make much of an impact on me, not even his slowly changing relationship with Acatl. I was, it must be said, far more interested in the mysteries, the world, and Acatl's struggles with both. Again, possibly an artifact of the speed with which I read the books. Perhaps on a reread I'll have more leisure time to devote to examining Teomitl and his progress over the books.
Still, overall a really interesting set of reads. I'm glad I took the plunge and bought them. I look forward to reading Aliette de Bodard's other novels in other universes.
Servant of the Underworld, Harbinger of the Storm
I have less and less to say as the series goes on since, well, I zoomed through the second and third books so quickly and because all the good stuff from Book 1 continues and holds up well as it goes through. In a way, the trilogy feels more like one big book in my mind rather than three separate books.
The main threat in Master of the House of Darts is plague. It's an interesting choice of threat in that it plays on Acatl’s ongoing reluctance to rest and not let himself be run into the ground. Suddenly, that persistent and endearing little flaw becomes a much more serious weakness, even a threat to everyone around him, due to the nature of plague and sickness. Just an interesting reflection on him.
One thing I quite liked about this book is how the previous book comes back to doom Acatl and in fact his allies. The solution to the previous book winds up being the problem in this one. Overall I found this book to be much more intricately tied to Book 2 than Book 2 was tied to Book 1; 2 and 3 feel more like halves of the same novel than discrete adventures. I feel like the trilogy could be more accurately divided up into two parts: Book 1, and then Book 2+3. I wonder if this is an artifact of the trilogy format? It gets harder to keep individual episodes in an ongoing series completely standalone, not if one wants any kind of continuity or character development. Hmm. Something to think about.
I realize now that I have said very little about Teomitl, Acatl's sort-of apprentice and a very important supporting characters, especially in this book. I guess he didn't make much of an impact on me, not even his slowly changing relationship with Acatl. I was, it must be said, far more interested in the mysteries, the world, and Acatl's struggles with both. Again, possibly an artifact of the speed with which I read the books. Perhaps on a reread I'll have more leisure time to devote to examining Teomitl and his progress over the books.
Still, overall a really interesting set of reads. I'm glad I took the plunge and bought them. I look forward to reading Aliette de Bodard's other novels in other universes.