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A review by chaptersofmads
The Words of Kings and Prophets by Shauna Lawless
3.5
This was both a solid sequel and a bit of a letdown.
Book 1 was one of my most pleasant surprises this year, in terms of going into a book with very little expectations and leaving shocked by how much I enjoyed it. With a strong focus on Irish mythology, weaving together the historical and the fantastical, female rage and tenderness as strength, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men was exactly what I love in a story.
The Words of Kings and Prophets carried on with a lot of what I enjoyed about its predecessor, but seemed to lose some of the steam built up in book 1. The best term I can think of for this book is "meandering". With slow-paced, political based books, it's incredibly easy to feel lost in all of the small decisions that create the larger picture. I'm usually not someone who minds that; but for some reason, I kept finding my attention drifting from this book.
It wasn't just slow-paced or detailed, it was boring me.
I also struggled with the characters a bit more this time around? Something I loved about the first book was how complex and real the characters felt, which was something that was missing for me in this book. Particularly Gormflaith and Fódla, our two main characters, seemed like a collection of decisions rather than actual characters.
That being said, there was still a lot I really liked about this book (such as the increased focus on the magic and the discussions of Christianity overtaking paganism). The second half was definitely much stronger than the first and I did ultimately have a good time with this, I just think I was hoping for more.
Overall, I'll continue recommending this series to people that love Irish mythology and political intrigue and definitely read the next book; I just wish I would have enjoyed this one a bit more.
Book 1 was one of my most pleasant surprises this year, in terms of going into a book with very little expectations and leaving shocked by how much I enjoyed it. With a strong focus on Irish mythology, weaving together the historical and the fantastical, female rage and tenderness as strength, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men was exactly what I love in a story.
The Words of Kings and Prophets carried on with a lot of what I enjoyed about its predecessor, but seemed to lose some of the steam built up in book 1. The best term I can think of for this book is "meandering". With slow-paced, political based books, it's incredibly easy to feel lost in all of the small decisions that create the larger picture. I'm usually not someone who minds that; but for some reason, I kept finding my attention drifting from this book.
It wasn't just slow-paced or detailed, it was boring me.
I also struggled with the characters a bit more this time around? Something I loved about the first book was how complex and real the characters felt, which was something that was missing for me in this book. Particularly Gormflaith and Fódla, our two main characters, seemed like a collection of decisions rather than actual characters.
That being said, there was still a lot I really liked about this book (such as the increased focus on the magic and the discussions of Christianity overtaking paganism). The second half was definitely much stronger than the first and I did ultimately have a good time with this, I just think I was hoping for more.
Overall, I'll continue recommending this series to people that love Irish mythology and political intrigue and definitely read the next book; I just wish I would have enjoyed this one a bit more.