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A review by malloryfitz
Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
5.0
Premise- (5/5) I was so so so eager to return to this world! I've loved this series from the start and it's really held up well, so I was thrilled to get my hands on the next book. Ash and Quill really left off on a cliffhanger, and I was more than ready to finally find out what happens next.
Characters- (4.5/5) We got to see quite a bit more of the inner thoughts and workings of some of the characters in Smoke and Iron, which was a lot of fun, though it made me wish we got the perspective of everybody else too. Maybe next book...Anyway, it's been great to watch the characters develop, most obviously Jess, but his friends and mentors too. I confess I thought we would see the difference between the characters of Jess and Brendan more than we actually did in this book, but it worked well enough. I do feel like we missed out on some character relationships this book because everyone was so split up for ~plot reasons~, which was a little disappointing. Hopefully that will come back in the conclusion.
Plot- (4/5) Caine's plots have always been complex, but it felt like there were a LOT of moving parts for Smoke and Iron in particular. They fit together pretty well, but it was a lot to keep up with, and sometimes that was a little challenging. It also felt a little harder to track the large-scale movement of the plot across this book--I don't know if it was just because everything was so segmented or what, but I wish that had run a little smoother. Still, there were lots of great twists and turns, and it was really interesting to have a more comprehensive look at what was going on with all of our characters as they operated in very different contexts to work towards the same goals.
World- (5/5) Maybe it's just because I've gotten to spend so much more time in this world and seen so much more of it, but I think it's really improved over the course of the series. And it's absolutely fascinating to watch this world that I've come to understand begin to collapse. The myriad of physical settings give the world a lot of depth, and that makes the fast-crumbling structure and control of the Great Library so interesting to watch.
Writing- (4/5) Smoke and Iron wasn't my favorite writing of the series, though I still enjoyed it. All the movement between character POVs could be a little jarring, and jumping between so many different pieces of the story meant that sometimes things felt a little glossed over. However, the balance of action, humor, and emotion still worked.
Overall- (4.5/5) Though Smoke and Iron may not have been my favorite book of the series so far, it has me suuuuper hyped for Sword and Pen. We got to see our favorite characters thrust into a wide variety of new situations, and though the individual plot pieces were a little jerky, they all came together to make some really big steps going into the conclusion. Another great read for me, and I can't wait for the last book--except I'll be really sad when it's over!
Content Warnings: death, torture, blood, gore, violence, imprisonment, PTSD, characters being drugged
Characters- (4.5/5) We got to see quite a bit more of the inner thoughts and workings of some of the characters in Smoke and Iron, which was a lot of fun, though it made me wish we got the perspective of everybody else too. Maybe next book...Anyway, it's been great to watch the characters develop, most obviously Jess, but his friends and mentors too. I confess I thought we would see the difference between the characters of Jess and Brendan more than we actually did in this book, but it worked well enough. I do feel like we missed out on some character relationships this book because everyone was so split up for ~plot reasons~, which was a little disappointing. Hopefully that will come back in the conclusion.
Plot- (4/5) Caine's plots have always been complex, but it felt like there were a LOT of moving parts for Smoke and Iron in particular. They fit together pretty well, but it was a lot to keep up with, and sometimes that was a little challenging. It also felt a little harder to track the large-scale movement of the plot across this book--I don't know if it was just because everything was so segmented or what, but I wish that had run a little smoother. Still, there were lots of great twists and turns, and it was really interesting to have a more comprehensive look at what was going on with all of our characters as they operated in very different contexts to work towards the same goals.
World- (5/5) Maybe it's just because I've gotten to spend so much more time in this world and seen so much more of it, but I think it's really improved over the course of the series. And it's absolutely fascinating to watch this world that I've come to understand begin to collapse. The myriad of physical settings give the world a lot of depth, and that makes the fast-crumbling structure and control of the Great Library so interesting to watch.
Writing- (4/5) Smoke and Iron wasn't my favorite writing of the series, though I still enjoyed it. All the movement between character POVs could be a little jarring, and jumping between so many different pieces of the story meant that sometimes things felt a little glossed over. However, the balance of action, humor, and emotion still worked.
Overall- (4.5/5) Though Smoke and Iron may not have been my favorite book of the series so far, it has me suuuuper hyped for Sword and Pen. We got to see our favorite characters thrust into a wide variety of new situations, and though the individual plot pieces were a little jerky, they all came together to make some really big steps going into the conclusion. Another great read for me, and I can't wait for the last book--except I'll be really sad when it's over!
Content Warnings: death, torture, blood, gore, violence, imprisonment, PTSD, characters being drugged