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Everworld #9
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David, Christopher, April, and Jalil weren't the only ones swept away to Everworld. There is always the Other One. The one responsible for their presence in Everworld. Senna is on the fringe but also at the very center of the group. At last -- here is Senna's story.
First published August 31, 2000
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K.A. Applegate
251 books489 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 18, 2023
The only book where the mysterious Senna graces us with her presence as a narrator. Loved this one. She slowly guides you to the dark side and leaves you stranded in the dark, begging for more.
There is a simple and slow-paced but well-crafted and perfectly executed plot to glue everything together. I’d even argue one of the better constructed stand-alone plots in the series. A lot of threads expertly woven together. The quest to find Senna’s mother. Sobek, an outcast god. The dwarfs holding the dam to squeeze Egypt bone-dry. The amazons. And the way it all came together. Like a house of cards, carefully constructed, only to collapse in on itself at the very end, in a neat stacked little deck. So much to love.
But once again, it's the characters that really drive the story forward. Senna reveals a lot about her past and answers many questions but she raises more questions with every answer she gives. It’s like thinking you’re just a handful of pieces shy of finishing a puzzle, only to find that there are a hundred more pieces still left in the box. There are a lot of glimpses into her mind and you sense there is a lot more to come. But it’s like trying to find a monster in a huge pitch black cave stretching hundreds of miles with a tiny flashlight. It’s enough to know something is there, moving shadows, something lurking in the dark, watching you, stalking you, toying with you but you haven’t got a clue what it is.
There is a simple and slow-paced but well-crafted and perfectly executed plot to glue everything together. I’d even argue one of the better constructed stand-alone plots in the series. A lot of threads expertly woven together. The quest to find Senna’s mother. Sobek, an outcast god. The dwarfs holding the dam to squeeze Egypt bone-dry. The amazons. And the way it all came together. Like a house of cards, carefully constructed, only to collapse in on itself at the very end, in a neat stacked little deck. So much to love.
But once again, it's the characters that really drive the story forward. Senna reveals a lot about her past and answers many questions but she raises more questions with every answer she gives. It’s like thinking you’re just a handful of pieces shy of finishing a puzzle, only to find that there are a hundred more pieces still left in the box. There are a lot of glimpses into her mind and you sense there is a lot more to come. But it’s like trying to find a monster in a huge pitch black cave stretching hundreds of miles with a tiny flashlight. It’s enough to know something is there, moving shadows, something lurking in the dark, watching you, stalking you, toying with you but you haven’t got a clue what it is.
April 21, 2019
This is another one of those series that kind of fell apart as it went on. Like, the earlier books were 4-5 stars mostly. Great, thrilling reads. Then it kinda started to get stale and it was a bit more effort to read them.
Then we were offered this gem - a new point of view, and from the drama queen who got our heroes into this whole mess! It promised great things!
But it was woefully inadequate and disappointing. I just was not feeling it. Senna has some serious issues.
I basically just finished this series because I felt like I needed to see it through but my memory stopped paying any decent attention after about book 5.
Then we were offered this gem - a new point of view, and from the drama queen who got our heroes into this whole mess! It promised great things!
But it was woefully inadequate and disappointing. I just was not feeling it. Senna has some serious issues.
I basically just finished this series because I felt like I needed to see it through but my memory stopped paying any decent attention after about book 5.
February 16, 2016
2.5 stars rounded up? I finished this over the weekend, and yet am struggling to figure out what to say about it -- my thoughts would probably come together after typing up quotes, but I'm too lazy to do that rn, so we'll just see what I can cobble together without them!
This one wasn't as good as I remembered; I was really looking forward to Senna's only POV book, because it hits you like a surprise, a sudden shakeup of the usual formula by giving the antagonist her own narrated book. And it should be great (much like the villains' POVs in The Andalite Chronicles and Visser, oh jeez). I really liked seeing her complicated relationship with her mother; Senna's vulnerability & pain about being abandoned as a child is one of the most interesting things about her, how it's forged her into this flinty creature as a result.
However, Senna's LUST FOR POWER AND SEEING PEOPLE IN PAIN MUAHAHAHA borders on sociopathic -- which she could very well be -- but that's less interesting to read about, because it devolves a little into moustache-twirling eeeevil. You see the experiences that made her this way, and I like the little hints of weakness in her, but something just doesn't sit right with me and I can't figure out why -- maybe it's that we've spent so little time with her and so she hasn't had much time to gain depth, compared to the others.
I'm still waiting for real payoff on the Senna/April beef, too. We see her terrorising April as a child, haunting her with her shapeshifting abilities -- but is that really the only reason April hates her, in addition to being an ~usurper~ of her happy family dynamic? I mean, that's a completely legitimate reason tbh, Senna is a spiteful manipulative [CENSORED]... but the way the series has talked about their enmity has implied that there's something Even Bigger behind it, maybe a specific inciting incident. (It's been so long since I read this series, I honest-to-god can't remember if there is something else. What could be interesting -- by which I mean horrifying -- is if Senna shapeshifted into April and seduced April's boyfriend or something. I can't tell if I have this vague idea because it really is what happened, or just because I had the idea myself??)
We also start seeing some of Senna's other schemes, bringing a gun-toting supremacist over to Everworld to be her army (I'm mainly interested to see how this affects Christopher & Jalil, and how it tips the power balance in Everworld itself). There are also some hints of something bigger -- 'the watcher' between the worlds -- which hints at bigger mysteries and another overarching storyline.
There's just something distant and at a remove in Senna's narration, however: she clams up and stays quiet and doesn't engage with the rest of the team, for her own reasons, but it means I feel like I'm watching the events through smudged glass. I found myself missing the rest of the team, and having their warm witty feelsy narration rather than Senna's cold calculations. It was nice seeing the way they interacted with each other from the outside, and I ended up just wanting more of our original quartet (April grabbing Jalil's arm and saying "This one's mine" to protect him from the Amazons, awww). Nothing they said or thought mattered to me, Senna narrates at one point, which kind of encapsulates my problem with her book: it's an alienating POV, because it closes you off from everyone else in the book. If your narrator doesn't give a damn, then why should you? Several times, she even outright refuses to join their conversations, instead retreating into her own head & internal narration & basically doing the equivalent of stroking an imaginary white cat while Plotting and Scheming, which isn't very engaging to read.
I mean. It's interesting seeing her cruel manipulations and pressing the others' buttons, keeping them on-edge -- I was especially interested in her battle of willpower with Christopher, hammering on his personal buttons and triggers, considering trying to sink him back into alcoholism, reverse and undo the good development that he's had.
But mostly I'm just dogged by this feeling that she's nowhere near as badass as she thinks she is. If she's not going to be a distant, unknowable, untouchable figure like she was in the first book -- if she's going to be more human -- then probably my favourite parts about Senna are not seeing her as a calculating scheming villainness, but the abandoned girl desperate for love and closing herself off when she doesn't get it, when her very home is a place where she isn't wanted. I'm most fascinated when she loses her temper in Everworld and resorts to screaming tantrums, spittle flying. When she loses her enigmatic cool, basically, rather than her usual smug, condescending attitude. She arrogantly reduces the team to pawns, shallow tropes for her to manipulate, but they are nowhere near as simple or predictable she she'd like to think.
I dunno, man. She's a teenaged girl in over her head, so I think I'd like to see more of her desperation and trying hard to keep a handle on a situation that's beyond her, rather than this "I SHALL RULE AND BE A GODDESS!!!!!! I'M THE BEST EVER! FUCK YEAH! EVERYONE ELSE ARE ANTS TO BE CRUSHED BENEATH MY HEEL" megalomania. I think that's the crux of what bothers me: she comes across as flat-out insane, delusional about her own capabilities. Writing-wise, it's a very tough balance to walk between making her relatable and human, with depths/layers/vulnerabilities, but also have her maintain her cards-to-her-chest mystique, but also be a teenager, but also be a powerful antagonistic force... There are hints of it, this careful balancing-act she has to do, but just not as much as I would've liked. In such a short book, there's just not enough time to tackle all of it, so it has to be skimmed over in brief.
This review just turned into incoherent rambling about Senna's characterisation and I haven't even mentioned the main plot, ooopsss. :( But it features Egyptian mythology, Senna's mother, and Amazons singing Aretha Franklin! It's cool.
Favourite quotes added (there... weren't that many, compared to others in the series):
This one wasn't as good as I remembered; I was really looking forward to Senna's only POV book, because it hits you like a surprise, a sudden shakeup of the usual formula by giving the antagonist her own narrated book. And it should be great (much like the villains' POVs in The Andalite Chronicles and Visser, oh jeez). I really liked seeing her complicated relationship with her mother; Senna's vulnerability & pain about being abandoned as a child is one of the most interesting things about her, how it's forged her into this flinty creature as a result.
However, Senna's LUST FOR POWER AND SEEING PEOPLE IN PAIN MUAHAHAHA borders on sociopathic -- which she could very well be -- but that's less interesting to read about, because it devolves a little into moustache-twirling eeeevil. You see the experiences that made her this way, and I like the little hints of weakness in her, but something just doesn't sit right with me and I can't figure out why -- maybe it's that we've spent so little time with her and so she hasn't had much time to gain depth, compared to the others.
I'm still waiting for real payoff on the Senna/April beef, too. We see her terrorising April as a child, haunting her with her shapeshifting abilities -- but is that really the only reason April hates her, in addition to being an ~usurper~ of her happy family dynamic? I mean, that's a completely legitimate reason tbh, Senna is a spiteful manipulative [CENSORED]... but the way the series has talked about their enmity has implied that there's something Even Bigger behind it, maybe a specific inciting incident. (It's been so long since I read this series, I honest-to-god can't remember if there is something else. What could be interesting -- by which I mean horrifying -- is if Senna shapeshifted into April and seduced April's boyfriend or something. I can't tell if I have this vague idea because it really is what happened, or just because I had the idea myself??)
We also start seeing some of Senna's other schemes, bringing a gun-toting supremacist over to Everworld to be her army (I'm mainly interested to see how this affects Christopher & Jalil, and how it tips the power balance in Everworld itself). There are also some hints of something bigger -- 'the watcher' between the worlds -- which hints at bigger mysteries and another overarching storyline.
There's just something distant and at a remove in Senna's narration, however: she clams up and stays quiet and doesn't engage with the rest of the team, for her own reasons, but it means I feel like I'm watching the events through smudged glass. I found myself missing the rest of the team, and having their warm witty feelsy narration rather than Senna's cold calculations. It was nice seeing the way they interacted with each other from the outside, and I ended up just wanting more of our original quartet (April grabbing Jalil's arm and saying "This one's mine" to protect him from the Amazons, awww). Nothing they said or thought mattered to me, Senna narrates at one point, which kind of encapsulates my problem with her book: it's an alienating POV, because it closes you off from everyone else in the book. If your narrator doesn't give a damn, then why should you? Several times, she even outright refuses to join their conversations, instead retreating into her own head & internal narration & basically doing the equivalent of stroking an imaginary white cat while Plotting and Scheming, which isn't very engaging to read.
I mean. It's interesting seeing her cruel manipulations and pressing the others' buttons, keeping them on-edge -- I was especially interested in her battle of willpower with Christopher, hammering on his personal buttons and triggers, considering trying to sink him back into alcoholism, reverse and undo the good development that he's had.
But mostly I'm just dogged by this feeling that she's nowhere near as badass as she thinks she is. If she's not going to be a distant, unknowable, untouchable figure like she was in the first book -- if she's going to be more human -- then probably my favourite parts about Senna are not seeing her as a calculating scheming villainness, but the abandoned girl desperate for love and closing herself off when she doesn't get it, when her very home is a place where she isn't wanted. I'm most fascinated when she loses her temper in Everworld and resorts to screaming tantrums, spittle flying. When she loses her enigmatic cool, basically, rather than her usual smug, condescending attitude. She arrogantly reduces the team to pawns, shallow tropes for her to manipulate, but they are nowhere near as simple or predictable she she'd like to think.
I dunno, man. She's a teenaged girl in over her head, so I think I'd like to see more of her desperation and trying hard to keep a handle on a situation that's beyond her, rather than this "I SHALL RULE AND BE A GODDESS!!!!!! I'M THE BEST EVER! FUCK YEAH! EVERYONE ELSE ARE ANTS TO BE CRUSHED BENEATH MY HEEL" megalomania. I think that's the crux of what bothers me: she comes across as flat-out insane, delusional about her own capabilities. Writing-wise, it's a very tough balance to walk between making her relatable and human, with depths/layers/vulnerabilities, but also have her maintain her cards-to-her-chest mystique, but also be a teenager, but also be a powerful antagonistic force... There are hints of it, this careful balancing-act she has to do, but just not as much as I would've liked. In such a short book, there's just not enough time to tackle all of it, so it has to be skimmed over in brief.
This review just turned into incoherent rambling about Senna's characterisation and I haven't even mentioned the main plot, ooopsss. :( But it features Egyptian mythology, Senna's mother, and Amazons singing Aretha Franklin! It's cool.
Favourite quotes added (there... weren't that many, compared to others in the series):
December 3, 2015
This is Senna’s story. From the unloved love-child to the powerful witch-key of Everworld, Senna’s hunger for power and control is evident in everything she does. An outsider, she’s wary of betrayal at every moment – because she is the ultimate betrayer.
Senna’s story is one I’ve always loved. I love seeing the world from her twisted point of view. I’d like to note that Senna’s voice in this book is very similar to Mean Rachel from Animorphs #32: The Separation, which is one of the only Animorphs books Applegate wrote during the ghost-writer phase after #26 – except that of course, Senna’s not dangerously out of control and wildly reckless, but the voice is still similar. It’s still got that massive sense of entitlement, with completely no shame at anything she does and an incessant hatred towards those she might not be able to control.
Senna and the others are on their way to find Senna’s mother, the only person Senna says can open the door for the Coo-Hatch into a different universe. I’m still not sure if this is true, or if Senna was just saying so to a) meet her mother again or b) make sure she wasn’t the one to be used as the key. Basically Senna will say or do anything to keep people off-balance, and I can never tell if she’s lying or not. Betrayal runs in her veins, but at least we get to see more of her backstory – how she ended up as April’s illegitimate sister, how her entitlement twisted her soul into something terrifying, how her aloofness was more than a defence mechanism, and born out of sheer jealousy. Her home life was no piece of cake, to be sure, but it’s the age-old nature vs nurture debate – was it the way April’s mother treated Senna, or was it Senna herself that was the problem?
I believe it was Senna herself, because after all, when she does find her mother in EverWorld she can’t help but fuck everything up by betraying her.
This is why I love reading the point of view of the so-called villain… she’s not simply a lost little girl, she’s a very powerful witch, and she has plans that extend beyond what we’ve seen of the series so far. She’s strong and capable and she will fuck you up if you mess with her.
Senna’s story is one I’ve always loved. I love seeing the world from her twisted point of view. I’d like to note that Senna’s voice in this book is very similar to Mean Rachel from Animorphs #32: The Separation, which is one of the only Animorphs books Applegate wrote during the ghost-writer phase after #26 – except that of course, Senna’s not dangerously out of control and wildly reckless, but the voice is still similar. It’s still got that massive sense of entitlement, with completely no shame at anything she does and an incessant hatred towards those she might not be able to control.
Senna and the others are on their way to find Senna’s mother, the only person Senna says can open the door for the Coo-Hatch into a different universe. I’m still not sure if this is true, or if Senna was just saying so to a) meet her mother again or b) make sure she wasn’t the one to be used as the key. Basically Senna will say or do anything to keep people off-balance, and I can never tell if she’s lying or not. Betrayal runs in her veins, but at least we get to see more of her backstory – how she ended up as April’s illegitimate sister, how her entitlement twisted her soul into something terrifying, how her aloofness was more than a defence mechanism, and born out of sheer jealousy. Her home life was no piece of cake, to be sure, but it’s the age-old nature vs nurture debate – was it the way April’s mother treated Senna, or was it Senna herself that was the problem?
I believe it was Senna herself, because after all, when she does find her mother in EverWorld she can’t help but fuck everything up by betraying her.
This is why I love reading the point of view of the so-called villain… she’s not simply a lost little girl, she’s a very powerful witch, and she has plans that extend beyond what we’ve seen of the series so far. She’s strong and capable and she will fuck you up if you mess with her.
September 18, 2016
Jedna od boljih knjiga ovog serijala.:)
September 4, 2019
It never ceases to bother me when people call
Animorphs
' Rachel a "psychopath" or a "sociopath", whether in-universe or in fandom. Yes, Rachel is a character who loves combat and enjoys violence a bit too much, and that is a character flaw—but it doesn't make her a psychopath. For one thing, she clearly cares deeply about most if not all of her teammates, Tobias and Cassie chief among them. For another, the very fact that her own bloodlust frightens her at times, and that she spends so much time second-guessing herself, in and of itself precludes either one of those labels. Warrior, soldier, Blood Knight, adrenaline junkie, yes. Sociopath, most certainly not.
Senna, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure is the real deal.
I suspected it while I was reading the previous books, and now that we've finally had the chance to hear Senna's story in her own words, I'm sure: Senna is a bona fide sociopath. She has zero capacity for empathy and cares for no one other than herself. If she thinks of other people at all, she thinks only of how she can use them for her own ends, without even trying to justify it within the context of a morally palatable narrative, even to herself. Hell, the very concept of morality is one for which she harbors nothing but contempt: David, Jalil, April (however hypocritical she can be about it at times), and even Christopher all have at least a basic sense of right and wrong. Senna has only herself, and what she considers it acceptable for her to do to other people has little if anything to do with what she considers it acceptable for other people to do to her. As David points out in the very next book:
It's also there in the assumption that everybody else thinks the same way that she does. Whenever she's caught in a vulnerable position in front of the others, rather than being glad just to have gotten out of it or even feeling embarrassed the way a normal person would, she spends her time seething over the others' imaginary gloating at her vulnerability—never mind that they have much bigger things to worry about, and never mind that the only reason they'd have to gloat at her is in retaliation for all the times she's treated them like her own personal chess pieces. She's also determined to punish Jalil for having briefly having gotten the upper hand on her in the previous book, and imagines him gloating over it as well—while what Jalil did to her was by no means right or justified, we've read his narration and know that he mostly felt sick and disgusted with himself, and it doesn't change the fact that she would have done the same and worse to him in a heartbeat if she'd thought it would be to her advantage.
Even so, this book does make you feel for her. While her treatment of the others is and always has been deplorable, Senna is 100% justified in her anger at her mother, whose excuses for abandoning her to a family that resented her very existence in a world where she'd never fit only get more and more pathetic and self-pitying as time goes on:
Basically, Senna's mother abandoned her among strangers because it simply wasn't convenient for her to take care of a child, and even when filtered through Senna's incredibly biased perspective, her assessment of her mother's character and motives still has the ring of truth.
In short... this book, like the most of the rest of the series, embraces the same moral grayness and complicated characterization that I've come to expect from this author. It's not simplistic, it's not black-and-white, and while I generally do prefer to read about characters I actually like, it is still possible to admire Applegate's skill.
Senna, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure is the real deal.
I suspected it while I was reading the previous books, and now that we've finally had the chance to hear Senna's story in her own words, I'm sure: Senna is a bona fide sociopath. She has zero capacity for empathy and cares for no one other than herself. If she thinks of other people at all, she thinks only of how she can use them for her own ends, without even trying to justify it within the context of a morally palatable narrative, even to herself. Hell, the very concept of morality is one for which she harbors nothing but contempt: David, Jalil, April (however hypocritical she can be about it at times), and even Christopher all have at least a basic sense of right and wrong. Senna has only herself, and what she considers it acceptable for her to do to other people has little if anything to do with what she considers it acceptable for other people to do to her. As David points out in the very next book:
Senna has what you might call flexible morals: whatever she does to other people is fine; what anyone does to her is unforgivable.
It's also there in the assumption that everybody else thinks the same way that she does. Whenever she's caught in a vulnerable position in front of the others, rather than being glad just to have gotten out of it or even feeling embarrassed the way a normal person would, she spends her time seething over the others' imaginary gloating at her vulnerability—never mind that they have much bigger things to worry about, and never mind that the only reason they'd have to gloat at her is in retaliation for all the times she's treated them like her own personal chess pieces. She's also determined to punish Jalil for having briefly having gotten the upper hand on her in the previous book, and imagines him gloating over it as well—while what Jalil did to her was by no means right or justified, we've read his narration and know that he mostly felt sick and disgusted with himself, and it doesn't change the fact that she would have done the same and worse to him in a heartbeat if she'd thought it would be to her advantage.
Even so, this book does make you feel for her. While her treatment of the others is and always has been deplorable, Senna is 100% justified in her anger at her mother, whose excuses for abandoning her to a family that resented her very existence in a world where she'd never fit only get more and more pathetic and self-pitying as time goes on:
I wanted to scream. It was insane. It was incredible, bizarre. The story of my life was about her not making enough money? That was it? With all the bull she'd fed my father, she just wanted to run away so she wouldn't have to get a job?
I took a deep breath, tried to slow the spinning in my head. I pressed my hands against my temples. I was an inconvenience, that was the basic truth. Oh yes, all the rest of it, oh yes, she had felt the pressure of the powers who sought a gateway, but that was more of an excuse than an explanation. She'd been afraid of Loki, of all the predatory gods, but that wasn't the truth of it, that was just the gloss on the truth. The truth was that she was just a loser, a misfit, a selfish woman looking for an easier life.
Basically, Senna's mother abandoned her among strangers because it simply wasn't convenient for her to take care of a child, and even when filtered through Senna's incredibly biased perspective, her assessment of her mother's character and motives still has the ring of truth.
In short... this book, like the most of the rest of the series, embraces the same moral grayness and complicated characterization that I've come to expect from this author. It's not simplistic, it's not black-and-white, and while I generally do prefer to read about characters I actually like, it is still possible to admire Applegate's skill.
January 21, 2015
So good. But seriously, fuck Senna.
May 12, 2016
Overall opinion: More of a 2.8 or so rounded up. While it was mildly interesting getting inside of Senna’s head, very little of it was surprising, and I think I preferred keeping the mystique around her instead of revealing her motivations to the reader. The adventure itself was interesting, seeing what happens to Egyptian society so steeped as to be strangled in rituals, and the way that even when her plans go horribly awry and great powers interfere, Senna still has not only some tricks up her sleeve, but the cold heart to keep pursuing her goal, interferers and people from the past reappearing be darned.
In regards to the adventure/quest in this book: it is no less thrilling than their other adventures, but this time JACD and Senna are in Ancient Egypt, an Egypt which has stalled and become stagnant over the years in Everworld. So stagnant, in fact, that all of the Egyptian gods except Sobek are no longer the power houses they used to be – they are, after all, over a thousand years older than the Greek pantheon, for one – and they have become easy prey for the powerful, adaptable, and greedy Amazons. Yes, those Amazons. Senna is playing games, manipulating those around her as we have come to expect, all but double-crossing at every necessary opportunity. It felt different to have all of JACD “out there” at the same time instead of being in any of their heads, and seeing them through the eyes of an outsider. For Senna is and will always be an outsider – first by happenstance, and now by her own making.
Part 1: After getting past the initial surprise to find that this book is narrated by Senna (makes the title and cover all the more appropriate, doesn’t it?), I marked considerably fewer quotes than usual. At fifty pages in, with what feels like half of it being Senna telling us her analyses of her unwilling pawns (April, Christopher, David, and Jalil) – right down to giving them each their neat label that they are supposed to fit into (peacemaker, clown, hero, and scientist, respectfully) – the other half is finding Senna in a compromised/weak position again, only this time, at the hands of Sobek and his crocodiles. Her analyses are based on the root trope that each of her pawns represents, but she does acknowledge that she has to balance in a certain z factor: their free will, and ability to change. Already we have seen Jalil and Christopher actively bucking her designs, and I am looking forward to hopefully seeing more rebellion out of April and David, too. While there is a sort of interest in hearing how Senna views and describes our Everworld kids (I think I’ll start calling them JACD for short), it’s not really…remarkable, I guess. Hearing her analysis of the others is more like hearing a twisted psychologist’s simplified analysis of a patient they are subtly working with in an unauthorized experiment, while allowing that there might be uncovered surprises; whereas the analyses we get of JACD from themselves are more intuitive, more practical, more nuanced. JACD’s analyses of each other are more based out of not only their individual biases and history, but also in regard to how they can be cooperative and team-minded towards the big goal of just surviving in this world which seems determined to try to kill them – and for me, those analyses are much more interesting than Senna’s, the manipulator of the game.
So far the most interesting bit Senna has offered about the others has to do with Christopher and Jalil, and how Christopher is trying to be a better person (she did not count on that), and how Jalil is not only trying to actively push her influences back, but her concern that his lack of OCD in Everworld could be tied to another powerful entity messing with her delicate though flexible plans.
I’m starting to picture Senna’s control over the others like the black widow spider overseeing a large web, where the other players are all spiders too, though less deadly and powerful in a web not their own. Yet they still manage to avoid getting trapped like prey, and even if they are trapped in the web, they are able to navigate its strings with remarkable survivability.
^^^ Part 1 was written up to having read page 58
vvv Part 2 below and the Overall opinion above were written after finishing the book
Part 2: After those first fifty pages, things got more interesting. There were flashback’s of Senna’s childhood, both when she was living with her mother and after her mother deserted her with April’s family. These flashbacks were akin to JACD’s real world time, but à la Senna, the pathway between universes. We also got to see a bit of the – how shall I call it? – the void between the universes, and learn that Senna feels eyes on her when she passes through that nothingness in between the universes. I am very intrigued about that entity, and I hope that more will be revealed about it.
While the decision to have this book narrated by Senna might have been to reveal more of her – which it did – very little of what we learn seemed surprising. I think that means that one of the other members of JACD will probably miss out on having their own book, which I am not so happy about – I’d rather have had all four of them narrate one last book instead of sacrificing one to Senna. Especially since if the rotation does not change, then Jalil will be missing out on his final book. Having this book narrated by Senna does add depth to her, and helps realize how she came to be so power hunger and just a little bit twisted (). I was not so surprised to learn who her other soldiers were going to be in aiding her take power over Everworld, but I was a bit surprised to learn that Keith was joining her cult-army, too. Seems like Christopher just can’t catch a break, not really. I am really, REALLY enjoying the growing sub-plot with Christopher/Jalil/Keith/the white supremacists and all that is entailing.
Quotes:
In regards to the adventure/quest in this book: it is no less thrilling than their other adventures, but this time JACD and Senna are in Ancient Egypt, an Egypt which has stalled and become stagnant over the years in Everworld. So stagnant, in fact, that all of the Egyptian gods except Sobek are no longer the power houses they used to be – they are, after all, over a thousand years older than the Greek pantheon, for one – and they have become easy prey for the powerful, adaptable, and greedy Amazons. Yes, those Amazons. Senna is playing games, manipulating those around her as we have come to expect, all but double-crossing at every necessary opportunity. It felt different to have all of JACD “out there” at the same time instead of being in any of their heads, and seeing them through the eyes of an outsider. For Senna is and will always be an outsider – first by happenstance, and now by her own making.
Part 1: After getting past the initial surprise to find that this book is narrated by Senna (makes the title and cover all the more appropriate, doesn’t it?), I marked considerably fewer quotes than usual. At fifty pages in, with what feels like half of it being Senna telling us her analyses of her unwilling pawns (April, Christopher, David, and Jalil) – right down to giving them each their neat label that they are supposed to fit into (peacemaker, clown, hero, and scientist, respectfully) – the other half is finding Senna in a compromised/weak position again, only this time, at the hands of Sobek and his crocodiles. Her analyses are based on the root trope that each of her pawns represents, but she does acknowledge that she has to balance in a certain z factor: their free will, and ability to change. Already we have seen Jalil and Christopher actively bucking her designs, and I am looking forward to hopefully seeing more rebellion out of April and David, too. While there is a sort of interest in hearing how Senna views and describes our Everworld kids (I think I’ll start calling them JACD for short), it’s not really…remarkable, I guess. Hearing her analysis of the others is more like hearing a twisted psychologist’s simplified analysis of a patient they are subtly working with in an unauthorized experiment, while allowing that there might be uncovered surprises; whereas the analyses we get of JACD from themselves are more intuitive, more practical, more nuanced. JACD’s analyses of each other are more based out of not only their individual biases and history, but also in regard to how they can be cooperative and team-minded towards the big goal of just surviving in this world which seems determined to try to kill them – and for me, those analyses are much more interesting than Senna’s, the manipulator of the game.
So far the most interesting bit Senna has offered about the others has to do with Christopher and Jalil, and how Christopher is trying to be a better person (she did not count on that), and how Jalil is not only trying to actively push her influences back, but her concern that his lack of OCD in Everworld could be tied to another powerful entity messing with her delicate though flexible plans.
I’m starting to picture Senna’s control over the others like the black widow spider overseeing a large web, where the other players are all spiders too, though less deadly and powerful in a web not their own. Yet they still manage to avoid getting trapped like prey, and even if they are trapped in the web, they are able to navigate its strings with remarkable survivability.
^^^ Part 1 was written up to having read page 58
vvv Part 2 below and the Overall opinion above were written after finishing the book
Part 2: After those first fifty pages, things got more interesting. There were flashback’s of Senna’s childhood, both when she was living with her mother and after her mother deserted her with April’s family. These flashbacks were akin to JACD’s real world time, but à la Senna, the pathway between universes. We also got to see a bit of the – how shall I call it? – the void between the universes, and learn that Senna feels eyes on her when she passes through that nothingness in between the universes. I am very intrigued about that entity, and I hope that more will be revealed about it.
While the decision to have this book narrated by Senna might have been to reveal more of her – which it did – very little of what we learn seemed surprising. I think that means that one of the other members of JACD will probably miss out on having their own book, which I am not so happy about – I’d rather have had all four of them narrate one last book instead of sacrificing one to Senna. Especially since if the rotation does not change, then Jalil will be missing out on his final book. Having this book narrated by Senna does add depth to her, and helps realize how she came to be so power hunger and just a little bit twisted (). I was not so surprised to learn who her other soldiers were going to be in aiding her take power over Everworld, but I was a bit surprised to learn that Keith was joining her cult-army, too. Seems like Christopher just can’t catch a break, not really. I am really, REALLY enjoying the growing sub-plot with Christopher/Jalil/Keith/the white supremacists and all that is entailing.
Quotes:
June 30, 2021
2.5 stars, rounded up. The cast tracks down Senna's mother in Amazon-occupied Egypt--and more memorably this book is from Senna's PoV. Her backstory reveals suits her characterization; she's powerful, deeply unpleasant but in a hammy way (antagonist voices are hard to write!), and conceals a lot of vulnerability. Stubbornly not emotional vulnerability, which hit a trite note re: mommy issues and the unreliability of her characterization. But her physical/magical vulnerability and the imperfect control she has over the Old-Worlders is more nuanced, coming as it does right after Jalil has used her. For once in the entire series, this alliterative title actually fits!
The Old-World elements of the plot lean into the unintentional but persistent ableism/sanism of Applegate; the Everworld elements depict yet another flattened, un-divine mythology. So: a mixed bag on every level. Senna has been my bright light through this middling series; a book from her PoV was a fun surprise and I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately, she's more interesting from without than within--there just isn't enough space to create character depth that can rival her exterior mystique.
The Old-World elements of the plot lean into the unintentional but persistent ableism/sanism of Applegate; the Everworld elements depict yet another flattened, un-divine mythology. So: a mixed bag on every level. Senna has been my bright light through this middling series; a book from her PoV was a fun surprise and I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately, she's more interesting from without than within--there just isn't enough space to create character depth that can rival her exterior mystique.
October 17, 2019
This was the last book I made it to when I got this series as a kid, I never finished books 10, 11 or 12. As soon as I find the box their packed in, it's re-reading/finishing time!! hah!
December 21, 2020
(Possible minor spoilers below)
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually glad Applegate wrote this book from Senna's perspective. I was dreading it to start with, putting it off even. I never liked Senna, there was nothing redeemable in her character. I still don't like her as a person. She's a narcissistic, sadistic, megalomaniac who wants to rule Everworld, arch villain-style. And yet...
...this may be one of my favourite books in the series.
Hear me out.
I see many other reviewers saying they wished Senna had remained a sort of mystical figure you never get to know. One shrouded in mystery. That getting to know her inner workings shows her up to be a power-hungry moustache-twirling villain who throws her toys out of the pram when things don't go her way. I can understand that view. Now here's why I actually liked reading Senna's point of view.
1.) She thinks like a villain.
Oh she still has her teenage megalomaniac moments where she throws raging tantrums with spittle flying. However, she's not a clown like Christopher, and is mature enough (or stubborn enough? Maybe "mature" is the wrong word) to ignore most of his taunts. She doesn't have often stereotypically black and white notions of morality like April. She is for the most part cold and calculating. Her narration is not full of pop culture references and jokes. She looks at the world as a chess master looks at the chess board. Everworld is the board, and its people and gods are the players.
That, to me, is an appropriate villain mindset.
2.) We get to see the inner workings of the criminal mind
Let's be honest, if this were a Tolkien-esque fantasy series, you could get away with having shadowy overlords that are pure evil and barely tangible. But this is a teen series with a teen antagonist who is not only integrated into the protagonist group, but also for the most part, just a mortal teenage girl.
It's mythology with modern elements, and so it makes sense for Applegate to explore her antagonist's psychology.
Senna says she is not a sadist, but I'm not so sure, reading this quote:
I felt a physical pleasure, an intense rush of shuddering sensation, a wave of anger released and hurt avenged. I closed my eyes and let it pass through me, let it linger. The power, I loved it so. It filled me and fulfilled me.
Trying to figure out Senna's psychology is just one interesting question raised by this book. Is she a psychopath? Or a sadist? Can she be a sadist who is also a psychopath who also displays a level of narcissism bordering on megalomania? Does she derive pleasure from hurting others? Or is it pleasure derived from the exercise of her own power? Did she get the same high from diverting that river in the last book that she did from tormenting Jalil in this book? Insanity or personality disorder? I don't know, I'm no profiler. But this book has got me thinking about something I once studied (albeit in one seminar class of a criminology degree), so you can bet I'm going to look into this later.
Senna feels the need to uphold a certain reputation. She eats very little even though she is hungry, so that she can maintain an aura of mystique. She makes fun of David's need to be a "capital M man", but she herself reacts to humiliation the way a narcissist does. She hates it, she wants to kill everyone who witnessed it, even if they actually rescued her.
And so, because of what Jalil did to her in the last book, she has a chip on her shoulder now about punishing him. I like Jalil, I always have, and I want him to win against Senna. But I have to admit that what she does in this book with Fat Billy in Chapter VII is a form of psychological warfare that was chilling.
I had chosen David to play the soldier, Christopher to play the clown, April to play the peacemaker. And I had chosen Jalil to be the scientist. Because I could never rule safely till I had my hands on the software, as Jalil called it.
She sees them as chess pieces, albeit ones with free will that have to be manipulated properly.
Originally I had chosen Christopher because of his weaknesses. He would keep David off-guard, he would be an irritant, never let the group truly coalesce. A lightweight bigot, an alcoholic, a selfish coward. But Christopher was maturing and causing less dissention than I had hoped.
Pity. I would have to see what I could do about making beer. Maybe I could drown the reborn, new-and-improved Christopher in alcohol.
And she often contradicts herself:
Nothing they said or thought mattered to me. Still, I'd show them. I would show them.
But if their opinion doesn't matter, Senna, why do you need to show them anything?
It's things like these that show you the human side of Senna: contrary, fallible, youthfully petulant and entitled, but also cold and calculating. (Note I said human, not humane.)
Yet even when she is caught unawares, as she is at the end of the book, she has the presence of mind to use manipulation to turn the tides in her favour.
Honestly, she's a terrible person and deserves every comeuppance. But as a villain, she fascinates me.
3.) We get a whole different perspective of Everworld, literally
It is refreshing to see Senna's perspective, to see Everworld through her eyes. Her talk of the glow, and the power lines in Everworld that she can tap into, and that literally glow, shows a point of view so different to the others, it is fascinating. She also seems able to see their "spirits" leave their bodies and pass "through" her when they sleep, to cross the universal divide (this part I did find a bit strange).
And during all this, she is always scheming, always thinking of whether or not to share information with the others. Apart from Jalil, she is the only other one interested in trying to figure out how Everworld works: what are the gods? How did Sobek cut her off from the glow?
4.) Applegate introduces some sympathy for the Devil
Reading Senna's backstory, you finally get to see why she is how she is. She acts up, and is cruel to April for no reason other than jealousy, but that jealousy stems from her own abandonment and the knowledge that her stepmother hates her.
As for her motives in the Everworld plot, she puts it quite well when she speaks of the gods who plan to force her to be their gateway, and use her as their own private "turnstile". I fully understand rebelling against that. Rebelling to the extent of wanting to become goddess or queen of Everworld and crush everyone underfoot? Meh...I understand that less. But add a sprinkle of narcissism on top of an already boiling pot of abandonment issues, rage, and an isolationist "them against me" world view, and the question becomes how much is nature and how much is nurture?
Senna is also more active in this book. She does more with the group, more to help them, even though in truth she is helping herself. She actually takes on missions instead of hiding and pushing David out in front of her. It's nice to see that for a change.
5.) The book hints at some greater/cosmic being we never heard of before
Scary because the void was no void. Someone, something could see me as I crossed. I felt the mind. Felt its attention. Its interest. It watched me each time. It recognized me
This idea of some greater power watching Senna (she calls it the watcher) as she crosses between worlds is intriguing, though unfortunately not explored further in this book. I can't remember if it comes up in later books, but from the way it is mentioned in this book, it seems to be a distinct entity from Ka Anor. And Ka Anor has so far been portrayed as the "final boss" (excuse the term).
6.) The setting is intriguing
Everworld Egypt is a very interesting conception of Egypt. And there are Amazons in this book. This is my childhood nostalgia right here. Who of my generation didn't love stories of Egypt and Xena growing up?
Conclusion
So for all of the above reasons, this book is a 4.5 for me. Which is perhaps higher than I have rated previous books in the series. This came as a complete shock. I thought I'd hate Senna's book. But I really liked it.
However, I also like Cersei in Game of Thrones (tv show, not book. Haven't read the books), so maybe I just like reading stories narrated by villains. 🤷🏻♀️
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually glad Applegate wrote this book from Senna's perspective. I was dreading it to start with, putting it off even. I never liked Senna, there was nothing redeemable in her character. I still don't like her as a person. She's a narcissistic, sadistic, megalomaniac who wants to rule Everworld, arch villain-style. And yet...
...this may be one of my favourite books in the series.
Hear me out.
I see many other reviewers saying they wished Senna had remained a sort of mystical figure you never get to know. One shrouded in mystery. That getting to know her inner workings shows her up to be a power-hungry moustache-twirling villain who throws her toys out of the pram when things don't go her way. I can understand that view. Now here's why I actually liked reading Senna's point of view.
1.) She thinks like a villain.
Oh she still has her teenage megalomaniac moments where she throws raging tantrums with spittle flying. However, she's not a clown like Christopher, and is mature enough (or stubborn enough? Maybe "mature" is the wrong word) to ignore most of his taunts. She doesn't have often stereotypically black and white notions of morality like April. She is for the most part cold and calculating. Her narration is not full of pop culture references and jokes. She looks at the world as a chess master looks at the chess board. Everworld is the board, and its people and gods are the players.
That, to me, is an appropriate villain mindset.
2.) We get to see the inner workings of the criminal mind
Let's be honest, if this were a Tolkien-esque fantasy series, you could get away with having shadowy overlords that are pure evil and barely tangible. But this is a teen series with a teen antagonist who is not only integrated into the protagonist group, but also for the most part, just a mortal teenage girl.
It's mythology with modern elements, and so it makes sense for Applegate to explore her antagonist's psychology.
Senna says she is not a sadist, but I'm not so sure, reading this quote:
I felt a physical pleasure, an intense rush of shuddering sensation, a wave of anger released and hurt avenged. I closed my eyes and let it pass through me, let it linger. The power, I loved it so. It filled me and fulfilled me.
Trying to figure out Senna's psychology is just one interesting question raised by this book. Is she a psychopath? Or a sadist? Can she be a sadist who is also a psychopath who also displays a level of narcissism bordering on megalomania? Does she derive pleasure from hurting others? Or is it pleasure derived from the exercise of her own power? Did she get the same high from diverting that river in the last book that she did from tormenting Jalil in this book? Insanity or personality disorder? I don't know, I'm no profiler. But this book has got me thinking about something I once studied (albeit in one seminar class of a criminology degree), so you can bet I'm going to look into this later.
Senna feels the need to uphold a certain reputation. She eats very little even though she is hungry, so that she can maintain an aura of mystique. She makes fun of David's need to be a "capital M man", but she herself reacts to humiliation the way a narcissist does. She hates it, she wants to kill everyone who witnessed it, even if they actually rescued her.
And so, because of what Jalil did to her in the last book, she has a chip on her shoulder now about punishing him. I like Jalil, I always have, and I want him to win against Senna. But I have to admit that what she does in this book with Fat Billy in Chapter VII is a form of psychological warfare that was chilling.
I had chosen David to play the soldier, Christopher to play the clown, April to play the peacemaker. And I had chosen Jalil to be the scientist. Because I could never rule safely till I had my hands on the software, as Jalil called it.
She sees them as chess pieces, albeit ones with free will that have to be manipulated properly.
Originally I had chosen Christopher because of his weaknesses. He would keep David off-guard, he would be an irritant, never let the group truly coalesce. A lightweight bigot, an alcoholic, a selfish coward. But Christopher was maturing and causing less dissention than I had hoped.
Pity. I would have to see what I could do about making beer. Maybe I could drown the reborn, new-and-improved Christopher in alcohol.
And she often contradicts herself:
Nothing they said or thought mattered to me. Still, I'd show them. I would show them.
But if their opinion doesn't matter, Senna, why do you need to show them anything?
It's things like these that show you the human side of Senna: contrary, fallible, youthfully petulant and entitled, but also cold and calculating. (Note I said human, not humane.)
Yet even when she is caught unawares, as she is at the end of the book, she has the presence of mind to use manipulation to turn the tides in her favour.
Honestly, she's a terrible person and deserves every comeuppance. But as a villain, she fascinates me.
3.) We get a whole different perspective of Everworld, literally
It is refreshing to see Senna's perspective, to see Everworld through her eyes. Her talk of the glow, and the power lines in Everworld that she can tap into, and that literally glow, shows a point of view so different to the others, it is fascinating. She also seems able to see their "spirits" leave their bodies and pass "through" her when they sleep, to cross the universal divide (this part I did find a bit strange).
And during all this, she is always scheming, always thinking of whether or not to share information with the others. Apart from Jalil, she is the only other one interested in trying to figure out how Everworld works: what are the gods? How did Sobek cut her off from the glow?
4.) Applegate introduces some sympathy for the Devil
Reading Senna's backstory, you finally get to see why she is how she is. She acts up, and is cruel to April for no reason other than jealousy, but that jealousy stems from her own abandonment and the knowledge that her stepmother hates her.
As for her motives in the Everworld plot, she puts it quite well when she speaks of the gods who plan to force her to be their gateway, and use her as their own private "turnstile". I fully understand rebelling against that. Rebelling to the extent of wanting to become goddess or queen of Everworld and crush everyone underfoot? Meh...I understand that less. But add a sprinkle of narcissism on top of an already boiling pot of abandonment issues, rage, and an isolationist "them against me" world view, and the question becomes how much is nature and how much is nurture?
Senna is also more active in this book. She does more with the group, more to help them, even though in truth she is helping herself. She actually takes on missions instead of hiding and pushing David out in front of her. It's nice to see that for a change.
5.) The book hints at some greater/cosmic being we never heard of before
Scary because the void was no void. Someone, something could see me as I crossed. I felt the mind. Felt its attention. Its interest. It watched me each time. It recognized me
This idea of some greater power watching Senna (she calls it the watcher) as she crosses between worlds is intriguing, though unfortunately not explored further in this book. I can't remember if it comes up in later books, but from the way it is mentioned in this book, it seems to be a distinct entity from Ka Anor. And Ka Anor has so far been portrayed as the "final boss" (excuse the term).
6.) The setting is intriguing
Everworld Egypt is a very interesting conception of Egypt. And there are Amazons in this book. This is my childhood nostalgia right here. Who of my generation didn't love stories of Egypt and Xena growing up?
Conclusion
So for all of the above reasons, this book is a 4.5 for me. Which is perhaps higher than I have rated previous books in the series. This came as a complete shock. I thought I'd hate Senna's book. But I really liked it.
However, I also like Cersei in Game of Thrones (tv show, not book. Haven't read the books), so maybe I just like reading stories narrated by villains. 🤷🏻♀️
July 17, 2020
Wow.
I was NOT expecting that.
First of all, I was expecting another April book.
Second of all, Senna is pure evil.
Third of all, what does it say about me that Senna’s book has been my favorite?
So we FINALLY get the backstory on Senna.
We find out about how mom dropped her off with her and April’s dad then dipped. We found out the April’s mom didn’t quite treat the girls as equally as April would have us believe. We found out that Senna has some serious abandonment issues and who can blame her? All of a sudden, all her nasty behavior just makes sense.
She’s still a POS person though.
Our heroes make their way into Egypt, where dwarves and Amazonians have taken over, because gosh darn it, Egyptian gods are OLD and why not let cob webs grow on them?
So after fighting crocodiles and sweet talking Amazon warriors and FINDING SENNA’S MOM, we have another battle scene that just seems unlikely that our heroes should survive, but they do.
But in the meantime, Senna is building an army? What?! As much as this book added depth to her character and makes you feel for her at some points, it really just made me hate her even more because she really is a crappy, power hungry person with no consideration for anyone except herself.
I was NOT expecting that.
First of all, I was expecting another April book.
Second of all, Senna is pure evil.
Third of all, what does it say about me that Senna’s book has been my favorite?
So we FINALLY get the backstory on Senna.
We find out about how mom dropped her off with her and April’s dad then dipped. We found out the April’s mom didn’t quite treat the girls as equally as April would have us believe. We found out that Senna has some serious abandonment issues and who can blame her? All of a sudden, all her nasty behavior just makes sense.
She’s still a POS person though.
Our heroes make their way into Egypt, where dwarves and Amazonians have taken over, because gosh darn it, Egyptian gods are OLD and why not let cob webs grow on them?
So after fighting crocodiles and sweet talking Amazon warriors and FINDING SENNA’S MOM, we have another battle scene that just seems unlikely that our heroes should survive, but they do.
But in the meantime, Senna is building an army? What?! As much as this book added depth to her character and makes you feel for her at some points, it really just made me hate her even more because she really is a crappy, power hungry person with no consideration for anyone except herself.
February 9, 2017
Read first 8/2010
reread 10/2015
reread 10/2015
February 21, 2014
I just want to finish the series!
November 2, 2021
It was just a few books ago that I was wondering if we’d eventually get an entry narrated by Senna, and here we are! I thought it would be the last book, but instead it’s #9. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do a lot to justify itself. Yes, we get a sort of a look inside Senna’s mind but it does seem as shallow as it appeared from the outside. She’s apparently putting on more of a “show” regarding the extent of her powers than we might have realized but otherwise she’s every bit the self-centered person we had anticipated.
I suppose there’s some small bit of pathos in her sad tale of losing her mother and being thrust upon a family that didn’t want her; although she decides almost immediately to reject any chance at a meaningful relationship with them. And I do sympathize to some degree with her complaint that everybody wants to *use* her, objectifying her though not in the traditional sense. But if you’re looking for something that dramatically changes your understanding of this character, you’re product-out-of-luck. I also hoped maybe for a run-through of the series so far but from Senna’s point of view. Again, no such luck. In all, I guess it’s neat to hear her vengeful voice as narrator but it could have easily been a book by any of the others without losing much.
The plot is mostly unremarkable. The group gets on the outs with an alligator god, Sobek, but promise to un-dam the Nile to escape his wrath. The Nile had been dammed by dwarves, naturally, causing the vegetation on the lower side to rot and the people there to suffer. So exploding the dam would be a good thing, right? Except by doing so they flood the dwarves’ homes, leaving a trail of waterlogged bodies. Some of them are in their nightgowns, innocent people/dwarves killed in their homes without warning. This is the sole wow-factor moment in the book: a dark look into the murky morality of the politics of Everworld.
After this, the group deals with Amazonian women who have taken control of Egypt and they do find Senna’s mother, who is a lot less impressive than promised. What happens with her anyway? She’s supposed to help the Coo-Hatch. Does she? Hmm… I already can’t recall. It’s all a haze because they get attacked by Merlin, which leads directly into the next book.
There’s not a lot more to say. It’s a fine entry in the series, I suppose, but it still feels so much like it’s not really putting much effort into building an endgame. Senna’s story isn’t anything special. It’s slipping back into “just okay” when I thought it was starting to ramp up and become great. Come on, remaining three books—make me believe again!
I suppose there’s some small bit of pathos in her sad tale of losing her mother and being thrust upon a family that didn’t want her; although she decides almost immediately to reject any chance at a meaningful relationship with them. And I do sympathize to some degree with her complaint that everybody wants to *use* her, objectifying her though not in the traditional sense. But if you’re looking for something that dramatically changes your understanding of this character, you’re product-out-of-luck. I also hoped maybe for a run-through of the series so far but from Senna’s point of view. Again, no such luck. In all, I guess it’s neat to hear her vengeful voice as narrator but it could have easily been a book by any of the others without losing much.
The plot is mostly unremarkable. The group gets on the outs with an alligator god, Sobek, but promise to un-dam the Nile to escape his wrath. The Nile had been dammed by dwarves, naturally, causing the vegetation on the lower side to rot and the people there to suffer. So exploding the dam would be a good thing, right? Except by doing so they flood the dwarves’ homes, leaving a trail of waterlogged bodies. Some of them are in their nightgowns, innocent people/dwarves killed in their homes without warning. This is the sole wow-factor moment in the book: a dark look into the murky morality of the politics of Everworld.
After this, the group deals with Amazonian women who have taken control of Egypt and they do find Senna’s mother, who is a lot less impressive than promised. What happens with her anyway? She’s supposed to help the Coo-Hatch. Does she? Hmm… I already can’t recall. It’s all a haze because they get attacked by Merlin, which leads directly into the next book.
There’s not a lot more to say. It’s a fine entry in the series, I suppose, but it still feels so much like it’s not really putting much effort into building an endgame. Senna’s story isn’t anything special. It’s slipping back into “just okay” when I thought it was starting to ramp up and become great. Come on, remaining three books—make me believe again!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2020
3.5
This book was something...interesting.
We get the low down from the witch's POV, Senna and why she did what she did. It was interesting because in the first two books, she played herself off as a damsel in distress but then you get to the third, when it was narrated by her half-sister, April, and actually realise how twisted of a human she is.
This book dives into her past and the reason she is so messed up in the head and honestly, I have no sympathy for her. Senna is still a conniving, cunning little psycho. I do admire the fact that for once, one of the main characters isn't your usual self-righteous, "Oh, I am doing this for the good of the people" kind but someone who is power hungry and has no love and attachment to anyone. She blatantly goes on about how she hates everyone (relatable) and how she enjoys using them for her game of 'chess'. Gollum from the Lord of the Rings is her unsung hero (to put things into perspective).
I really did not like Senna, but I couldn't help but have appreciation for her ambitions and the need to be all-powerful and not the damsel.
However, she'll still a psychopath and some things she has done is honestly messed up. She was just so full of herself, I couldn't take it.
Once again, because it is from the narration of someone else, I have grown to have appreciation for the likes of David, (maybe a little bit towards Christopher) and how he - they - have come quite a long way. I initially said that these characters - April and Jalil included - were two-dimensional and not fleshed out but I would counter that and say that now that I'm down to the last three books, you can definitely see some growth.
This book was something...interesting.
We get the low down from the witch's POV, Senna and why she did what she did. It was interesting because in the first two books, she played herself off as a damsel in distress but then you get to the third, when it was narrated by her half-sister, April, and actually realise how twisted of a human she is.
This book dives into her past and the reason she is so messed up in the head and honestly, I have no sympathy for her. Senna is still a conniving, cunning little psycho. I do admire the fact that for once, one of the main characters isn't your usual self-righteous, "Oh, I am doing this for the good of the people" kind but someone who is power hungry and has no love and attachment to anyone. She blatantly goes on about how she hates everyone (relatable) and how she enjoys using them for her game of 'chess'. Gollum from the Lord of the Rings is her unsung hero (to put things into perspective).
I really did not like Senna, but I couldn't help but have appreciation for her ambitions and the need to be all-powerful and not the damsel.
However, she'll still a psychopath and some things she has done is honestly messed up. She was just so full of herself, I couldn't take it.
Once again, because it is from the narration of someone else, I have grown to have appreciation for the likes of David, (maybe a little bit towards Christopher) and how he - they - have come quite a long way. I initially said that these characters - April and Jalil included - were two-dimensional and not fleshed out but I would counter that and say that now that I'm down to the last three books, you can definitely see some growth.
March 8, 2018
Quanto mi sta antipatica Senna (SPOILER)
Cammina,cammina,i nostri raggiungono la porta per entrare in Egitto a cercare la grande strega sacerdotessa di Iside, ma la strada è sbarrata da una diga custodita dai nani e lungo il Nilo c'è un dio egizio incavolato nero perchè non può ritornare a casa sua. Ma tutto viene superato e la streghetta riesce,finalmente ad incontrare sua madre che l'ha abbandonata anni prima e che se può la tradisce anche qui ad Everworld (non so se sia più perfida la madre o la figlia). Nel frattempo troviamo le Amazzoni (?!?) che regnano sugli ormai incartapecoriti dei egiziani e faraoni, e anche con loro non mancano scene di crudeltà molto femminile.
Scopriamo com'è stata la vita della piccola Senna e iniziamo a capire un po' di più dei suoi poteri,di come sottomette chi vuole ai suoi voleri e di come si sente quando non riesce ad avere tutto sottomano. Torna anche Merlino,furibondo, ma poi non ho ben capito che fine fa.
Questo capitolo mi ha lasciato un po' perplessa: sul rapporto madre-figlia,sull'inserimento delle Amazzoni in quel contesto,mi aspettavo qualcosina in più sul grande Egitto, ma questa è Everworld e niente è come sembra.
Cammina,cammina,i nostri raggiungono la porta per entrare in Egitto a cercare la grande strega sacerdotessa di Iside, ma la strada è sbarrata da una diga custodita dai nani e lungo il Nilo c'è un dio egizio incavolato nero perchè non può ritornare a casa sua. Ma tutto viene superato e la streghetta riesce,finalmente ad incontrare sua madre che l'ha abbandonata anni prima e che se può la tradisce anche qui ad Everworld (non so se sia più perfida la madre o la figlia). Nel frattempo troviamo le Amazzoni (?!?) che regnano sugli ormai incartapecoriti dei egiziani e faraoni, e anche con loro non mancano scene di crudeltà molto femminile.
Scopriamo com'è stata la vita della piccola Senna e iniziamo a capire un po' di più dei suoi poteri,di come sottomette chi vuole ai suoi voleri e di come si sente quando non riesce ad avere tutto sottomano. Torna anche Merlino,furibondo, ma poi non ho ben capito che fine fa.
Questo capitolo mi ha lasciato un po' perplessa: sul rapporto madre-figlia,sull'inserimento delle Amazzoni in quel contesto,mi aspettavo qualcosina in più sul grande Egitto, ma questa è Everworld e niente è come sembra.
June 7, 2022
Book 9 in the EverWorld series is a little different than the rest. Senna is the voice/point of view character. Inside the illusion is a really good look at her as a person. The last 8 books described her in antagonist terms and this one gives you the other side of the coin.
The group finally ends up on Egypt after a short mission to help outcast God Sobek-who definitely would love to kill Senna. Then we meet her mom and Senna's whole deal is a little more clear.
This book definitely is a type of glue for the end of the series.
Just as good as I remember, maybe better with age and experience on my side.
The group finally ends up on Egypt after a short mission to help outcast God Sobek-who definitely would love to kill Senna. Then we meet her mom and Senna's whole deal is a little more clear.
This book definitely is a type of glue for the end of the series.
Just as good as I remember, maybe better with age and experience on my side.
June 22, 2017
Inside the Illusion offers us a glimpse inside Senna Wales' head. We are given reasons to sympathize with our favorite witch, though it doesn't do nearly enough to balance out her cold, calculating disregard of others in her need to amass as much power as she can. We get to see the stagnant, dying Egypt overrun by Amazons, a magical duel of sorts with Merlin, and Senna's plan to use her powers to introduce firearms into Everworld. Senna's narration is interesting, but there are no major revelations and I'm disappointed the series gets less Jalil as a result.
March 13, 2019
Senna is an interesting experience in character writing. On one hand she's super fascinating, playing Xanatos Speed-Chessmaster, and it's neat to see a protagonist with some fucking agency in this series. On the other hand, her motivations are weak. "I WANT TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD AND KILL EVERYONE IN MY PATH BECAUSE MY MOM NEVER LOVED ME." This is hard to identify with, but maybe that's just 'cause my mom loved me.
I was close to giving the book 4 stars because the end is fun, but realized I was bored as fuck for most of it so nah.
I was close to giving the book 4 stars because the end is fun, but realized I was bored as fuck for most of it so nah.
May 11, 2018
A great volume of a great series. Unlike the previous volumes, this one is told from the POV of an antagonist, Senna, who is merely travelling with the main characters. This book makes it very clear that Senna doesn't give a shit about the four protagonists outside of how she can manipulate them to do her will. She's a shitty person, and reading from her perspective makes for some compelling fiction.
April 4, 2021
And just like that, Im team Senna. Now that i know why she is the way she is, i get it. Given the chance, i would totally, 100% back whatever power play she wants to make. She could have even gotten the gang in on it, if she was just a little nicer, a bit more trustworthy. Im not saying i would want to take over Everworld, but i wouldn't mind carving out my own little piece.
Instead, she just sows chaos everywhere she goes. my kind of woman!
Instead, she just sows chaos everywhere she goes. my kind of woman!
October 24, 2024
I hate Senna more than anything and having a whole book from her perspective lowkey ruined it. Sobek was very interesting, Eshu was interesting, the Amazons and the fall of Egypt was interesting, but it was all told from the perspective of a self centered, arrogant, evil little tyrant that I can't stand.
March 12, 2020
I hate Senda. Literally, she is the worst person ever! And this entire book is from her viewpoint. If we were supposed to feel sorry for this character or gains some sort of feelings, other than hate for her then the author failed. Like, failed! If she died, I wouldn't be hurt about it.
May 3, 2019
I was wishing for a Senna narrated book and I wasn't disappointed. This book allows us to get in her head and understand her a little better even if you don't like her as a character.
October 5, 2019
This was a great book! Loved Senna's perspective.
October 5, 2019
Interesting to see Senna's point of view. Amazons were interesting, but Egypt gives were a bit disappointing. Just 3 more books to go to finish this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2019
Finally get some insight into Senna and a book from her perspective! Egypt and the crocodile God were cool.
April 26, 2020
A bit slow until the last couple of chapters.
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