ammaarah
Written on Jun 27, 2014
"But I am in full possession of the amazing power of being sarcastic." (Nick Ryves)
The Demon's Convenant is narrated from Mae's POV. This POV does show an entirely different perspective, but there's something about Mae's narration that I don't like.
In The Demon's Lexicon, Mae is strong and independent and she's capable of doing what she has to in order to protect the people she loves, but her reasons behind doing things are partly due to the fact that she wants to defy authority. After experiencing a world of magic, danger and blood, Mae finds it extremely difficult to deal with normality. In The Demon's Covenant, I understood Mae as a character, but I missed her strength. I also found some elements of Mae's personality to be hypocritical and she also lets Nick push her around and take advantage of her good nature. However, I do appreciate the love and protectiveness that she has towards her brother, Jamie. Her interactions with him are so real and shows what she's all about.
The strength of The Demon Lexicon is definitely the complex relationship between the Ryves brothers. Alan and Nick are extremely interesting characters. Alan's a kind, sensitive and nerdy guy but he's also a liar and a manipulative schemer who will go to the ends of the earth to protect his brother. In The Demon's Covenant we see how much Alan loves Nick and how Nick struggles to return the love that Alan feels for him because he can't comprehend what love is. While Nick might have a sociopathic personality, he cares about Alan in his own way and will do anything to keep him safe. The glimpses of young Alan caring for baby Nick from Daniel Ryves journal cement their strong sibling bond. However, because Mae's the narrator, we only get brief glimpses of the Ryves brothers and her interactions with them to further the plot are contrived. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THE RYVES BROTHERS!
The romance in The Demon's Covenant is complicated and by that I mean, people liking people who like other people and those other people like other people. There are a few random things that I want to mention about the romance. I appreciate that Nick's emotionless personality doesn't change just because he's a love interest. Mae isn't a suitable love interest for either of the Ryves brothers. Also, the romantic relationships in The Demon's Covenant feel forced and contrived. Maybe Brennan is better at writing about sibling and family dynamics.
The Demon's Covenant has my type of humour: dry, sarcastic and silly at times. I especially love Jamie's quips especially when he's interacting with his new 'friend' Nick.
The world that Brennan has created in The Demon's Lexicon series is magical, dark and dangerous, but I expected to find out more about the magicians and their power source in The Demon's Covenant and I'm still confused about what that's all about.
I don't really click with Mae as a narrator, but I'm invested in The Demon's Lexicon series - especially the Ryves brothers. Sarah Rees Brennan has a talent for writing complex characters and believable, heartfelt family and sibling relationships.
""In two worlds," said Alan quietly, "there is nothing I love half as much as you.""
