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A review by beaconatnight
The Sea Watch by Adrian Tchaikovsky
3.0
The Sea Watch was not what I expected. It had been more than a year since I've read The Scarab Path and initially I thought that this was the reason I couldn't fully connect with the story. There were other reasons, though.
The book focuses almost entirely on Stenwold Maker. Sure, in earlier entries too the narrative was more concerned with some characters than with others. For instance, Cheerwell and Thalric shared the spotlight in the previous novel. Here, however, the cast of genuinely important people is significantly smaller and the changes of scenery are within narrow confines.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me sketch where we are at the beginning of the story. As always, Collegium is under threat again. Pirates prey on Beetle ships and Stenwold discovers that they are financed by Spiders. In fact, the Spiders are planning an attack and Teornis – once vital in resisting the Imperial advance – is at the center of the betrayal. Moreover, it's clear that the Wasps themselves are planning to regain lost territory.
The story's main antagonist is revealed only later on. In the book's advertisement there is some secrecy about this. To be honest, if you've ever read a book (seen a movie) you will know that there is some sort of Atlantis-like kingdom to be involved (spoiler alert?). Surprisingly (?), this is exactly what it turns out to be.
I enjoyed the Lovecraftian vibes that come with the environmental change and Tchaikovsky goes a long way to describe their culture and customs in great detail. The Sea Kinden really come to life here. As many observed, though, the plot itself came too much to a halt.
It's a very long book, much longer than the earliest titles in the series, but the middle act is strikingly uneventful. There are too many new players at least I for myself didn't really care about. Frankly, initial intrigue gradually waned and it became a bit of a struggle. It was only the last 200 pages or so, when Stenwold finally gains the upper hand, that I thoroughly enjoyed the journey again. Tchaikovsky's thrilling prose is there all along, but it's only in this highly satisfying conclusion that it's finally channeled in great action and plot progression.
For me, two characters stood out. I already mentioned Teornis who was great mainly because it wasn't completely obvious that he would be the villain. In fact, I think his actions are somewhat ambivalent until the bloody confrontation at the end. The Fly-pirate Laszlo has all the potential to become a fan favorite. Don't be fooled by his outlaw background, he's very loyal to Stenwold and his happy-go-lucky attitude is great fun to read.
People say Heirs to the Blade is going to be the best in the series, so I'm very excited to continue with the series (and much sooner this time). Still, The Sea Watch wasn't quite the page-turner earlier entries had been.
Rating: 3/5
The book focuses almost entirely on Stenwold Maker. Sure, in earlier entries too the narrative was more concerned with some characters than with others. For instance, Cheerwell and Thalric shared the spotlight in the previous novel. Here, however, the cast of genuinely important people is significantly smaller and the changes of scenery are within narrow confines.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me sketch where we are at the beginning of the story. As always, Collegium is under threat again. Pirates prey on Beetle ships and Stenwold discovers that they are financed by Spiders. In fact, the Spiders are planning an attack and Teornis – once vital in resisting the Imperial advance – is at the center of the betrayal. Moreover, it's clear that the Wasps themselves are planning to regain lost territory.
The story's main antagonist is revealed only later on. In the book's advertisement there is some secrecy about this. To be honest, if you've ever read a book (seen a movie) you will know that there is some sort of Atlantis-like kingdom to be involved (spoiler alert?). Surprisingly (?), this is exactly what it turns out to be.
I enjoyed the Lovecraftian vibes that come with the environmental change and Tchaikovsky goes a long way to describe their culture and customs in great detail. The Sea Kinden really come to life here. As many observed, though, the plot itself came too much to a halt.
It's a very long book, much longer than the earliest titles in the series, but the middle act is strikingly uneventful. There are too many new players at least I for myself didn't really care about. Frankly, initial intrigue gradually waned and it became a bit of a struggle. It was only the last 200 pages or so, when Stenwold finally gains the upper hand, that I thoroughly enjoyed the journey again. Tchaikovsky's thrilling prose is there all along, but it's only in this highly satisfying conclusion that it's finally channeled in great action and plot progression.
For me, two characters stood out. I already mentioned Teornis who was great mainly because it wasn't completely obvious that he would be the villain. In fact, I think his actions are somewhat ambivalent until the bloody confrontation at the end. The Fly-pirate Laszlo has all the potential to become a fan favorite. Don't be fooled by his outlaw background, he's very loyal to Stenwold and his happy-go-lucky attitude is great fun to read.
People say Heirs to the Blade is going to be the best in the series, so I'm very excited to continue with the series (and much sooner this time). Still, The Sea Watch wasn't quite the page-turner earlier entries had been.
Rating: 3/5