J. V. Jones

Summary: The continuing story of the rise of the 'dark/end lords' and the preparations being made for the 'final battle'. The story continues not much has substantially changed by the end of the book. It's starting to get a bit boring.

Things I liked:

Some of the characters are still pretty interesting e.g. Riana, Vallo (dog lord).

The author seems remembers to add details about hunting and survival that I think adds to the atmosphere of the setting.

Kid characters have a distinct voice.

Things I thought could be improved:

The author could use less modern metaphors e.g. 'the seeds exploded like shots' (shots of what a modern firearm I guess). It also seemed to me that the battle strategies of the 'clan chiefs' seemed to resemble modern warfare in both language and style. I think it should be the job of a good editor to spot these gaffs and suggest fixing them. They totally break the 'suspension of disbelief' that allows me to enjoy the fantasy setting.

Some of the scenes felt a bit like a script for a movie. I'd suggest less focus on schlick, movie stunt scenes and more work on believable, fail-able characters which is what gets me reading these books in the first place.

Highlight: Probably the bit with Raif and the moon snakes. It was a cool build up with the heart-empathy and the final battle. Also it put enough work in for me to believe his transition the 'the watcher' … (more)