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The Books of Elita #2
Voice of the Demon
Very Good plus/Near Fine. First Edition Hardcover. No marks or inscriptions. A very clean very tight copy with unmarked black cloth boards, very minor traces of foxing and dustiness to page edges and no bumping to corners. Dust jacket not price clipped or marked or torn with very slight creasing around top of spine. 478pp. The second Book of Elita, a glorious fantasy epic. ISBN 0575065257
- GenresFantasy
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 18, 2024
If the first Book of Elita felt like setup for the rest of the series, the second book is where the story really starts. We return to a fantasy Scotland Lusara delicately balanced between the competing powers of church, Guilde and court, poised atop an unhappy conquered populace waiting for a saviour. The work that Jacoby put into introducing us to this situation in the first book allows her to expand upon it here, tweaking threads, increasing tensions, playing up certain characters' ambition or paranoia in ways that now carry a lot of meaning for her readers.
Jacoby manages a large handful of perspectives with surety. There can be no doubt that this is Robert's story (indeed one is almost inclined to consider an alternative Bechdel test: can two characters of any gender have a conversation that is not about Robert?) but his continued inaction allows the others to shine. Both Jenn and Finnlay increasingly come into their own, and the uncommon decision to include the (not unlikeable) main antagonist as one of the frequent perspectives adds an interesting dimension to the development of the plot.
This is still a series that keeps its cards close to its chest. Now two books in, there are still big questions to be answered about some very fundamental plot points. We still don't know Nash's endgame or quite what the point of the Calyx is. The effect is one of caution rather than negligence, however, and patient readers will be rewarded with a couple of reveals that make sense of much of the earlier mystery, as well as some startling developments that forebode complications further down the line.
In terms of pacing, my criticisms from book one still persist. This is a slow series with occasional jarring time skips: both techniques that tend to alienate fantasy readers. There is a tendency to leave the smaller threads of story with loose ends, characters playing a big part in one section and then forgotten for the rest of the book as we move on to more important events. The large cast also means that there can be a mismatch between the extent to which characters are developed and their relative importance in the plot; I still find myself forgetting occasionally who is who or what they were supposed to be up to.
Still, the things that kept me reading into book two will keep me reading further. Jacoby has created a charismatic protagonist with a story that continues to intrigue. The setting feels both familiar and fresh, with a world I could happily get to know further. We are fed just enough information to keep us satisfied while the mysteries continue to draw us on. I will certainly be reading Black Eagle Rising and, if it continues in this vein, the rest of the series too.
Jacoby manages a large handful of perspectives with surety. There can be no doubt that this is Robert's story (indeed one is almost inclined to consider an alternative Bechdel test: can two characters of any gender have a conversation that is not about Robert?) but his continued inaction allows the others to shine. Both Jenn and Finnlay increasingly come into their own, and the uncommon decision to include the (not unlikeable) main antagonist as one of the frequent perspectives adds an interesting dimension to the development of the plot.
This is still a series that keeps its cards close to its chest. Now two books in, there are still big questions to be answered about some very fundamental plot points. We still don't know Nash's endgame or quite what the point of the Calyx is. The effect is one of caution rather than negligence, however, and patient readers will be rewarded with a couple of reveals that make sense of much of the earlier mystery, as well as some startling developments that forebode complications further down the line.
In terms of pacing, my criticisms from book one still persist. This is a slow series with occasional jarring time skips: both techniques that tend to alienate fantasy readers. There is a tendency to leave the smaller threads of story with loose ends, characters playing a big part in one section and then forgotten for the rest of the book as we move on to more important events. The large cast also means that there can be a mismatch between the extent to which characters are developed and their relative importance in the plot; I still find myself forgetting occasionally who is who or what they were supposed to be up to.
Still, the things that kept me reading into book two will keep me reading further. Jacoby has created a charismatic protagonist with a story that continues to intrigue. The setting feels both familiar and fresh, with a world I could happily get to know further. We are fed just enough information to keep us satisfied while the mysteries continue to draw us on. I will certainly be reading Black Eagle Rising and, if it continues in this vein, the rest of the series too.
August 1, 2014
The climax of this book was perfection,
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews