Wildcard #2 ~ “The final book in a series you started prior to this year.”
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
My opinion in three sentences:
This began with a vengeance, grabbing a hold of the reader and not really letting go until one had definitely been swept away by the tide. Nevertheless, I found this my least favourite of the trilogy, with a whole background to the universe we’d never previously encountered that was used to explain many a thing. The handling of the two protagonists’ relationship was bumpy, too, alternating between loving affection and self-sacrificial distance with alarming speed and unconvincing regularity.
(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:
My biggest struggle with the prequel was the slow start, and thankfully it was quite the opposite in this instalment. Sim managed a good balance between making it accessible for those reading as a stand-alone (though, seriously folks, books one and two are even better) and satisfying for those who were ploughing straight on from the previous as though it were simply another page turn. Once so perfectly snared, Sim took the opportunity for more leisurely elements, but kept the action sequences coming, too.
A warning for the book:
All of a sudden in this series, we touch upon a much wider exploration of the universe (fair enough, if done well.) Here, however, for those unfamiliar with some of the less famous stories and/or characters of Greek mythology, it suddenly becomes a lot of information all at once to balance alongside the multiple perspectives, locations and unrelatable plot elements. To (presumably) avoid info-dumping, lots of the background to this mythology is glossed over, too, which sadly makes it all a little confusing and inaccessible to the wider audience – something perhaps a glossary of the mythological characters could solve in a future edition?
Recommended for fans of:
- Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve
- Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
- Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Dreaming With Your Eyes Wide Open 