A worthy listen

Hard going at times due to the content matter but moments of ecstatic joy and a few treats - lots of twists and turns. Really well read

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Great worldbuilding makes up for structural flaws

I found this (audio) series a bit of a conundrum. Peloquin's worldbuilding, characters and story are very solid but the story may have benefitted from a more ruthless edit and different narrator. Book 1 (think of it as alternate reality Oliver Twist) gets off to a very slow and repetitive start. It took me about 18 chapters to get into it. Perhaps fortunately it kept auto-starting every time I got in the car and that kept me with it which meant I got to stick around when the worldbuilding started to gather momentum. Then I really started getting into it. Book 2 (think of it as alternate reality Oceans 11) is a much better read if you ignore some gob-smackingly glossed over major moments. And Book 3 (alternate reality Game of Thrones) is an absolute blood-bath but has a cracking pace and brings everything together for a satisfactorily complex ending.

There are a couple of reading challenges for me in this series - I'm going to be oblique (because spoilers)...

1) the major character is a challenge to like throughout. I think this was exacerbated by the narrator who lacked nuance - she had only two modes when it came to the heroine's dialogue - Snippy and saccharine. As a result, I felt like I'd spent 40 hours being shouted at by an annoying teen. I wonder if I'd read the book instead of listening to it if I might have been able to immerse in some of that nuance which might have helped me to appreciate the character a bit more.

2) Book 2 introduces what feels like an afterthought subplot and characters designed to increase the stakes but I would have gladly dispensed with some of the minutiae in the start of Book 1 to make space to deal with this major event in the story rather than relegating it to 'months later' backstory whomp. I honestly don't think it needed it. Ilana's relationships with her fellow-thieves did a good job of showing her personal growth without needing to see it reflected in some new characters who then felt like little more than plot devices.

3) A terrible thing happens in Book 1 which de-rails the protagonist just as she's finding her way. I didn't enjoy reading it but I can see why it was necessary for the story. Unfortunately, Ilana's reaction to that event is *such* a cliche. Again no nuance. Having said that, it was more than plenty to fuel her actions from then on rendering the plot-device characters mentioned above (book 2) even more unnecessary.

Seriously, I just wanted to take to this story with a red pen and address the sub-plot and pace issues so that I could just enjoy the author's great story and worldbuilding. Must have been quite a feat to write with all those layers. I will read another of Peloquin's works to see if maybe the passage of time has smoothed out his later books.

(But I will 100% not listen to another book by this narrator, I'm afraid.)

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1 person found this helpful

Great book

Absolutely loved this story was drawn in for all three books. Thoroughly enjoyed the reading and was happy with the way the story concluded.

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Exceptionally poor narrator.

The books are good but the narrator... so poor. So disrespectful to the main character.

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Absolute Shite

How did this even get published. I have always finished a book even if it was bad but I won't be finishing this. Waste of money and I actually resent the fact I paid for it.

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