inlibrisveritas
Written on Jun 23, 2016
This one actually surprised me with how much is explained and how much depth is added, and it really surprised me to see it bravely tackle time travel to the extent that it did. Instead of bouncing back and forth between worlds like we did in the previous books, we stay on Ealder and simply move backward and forwards in time. We get to see the aftermath of Rho, as well as a time before everything really gets started...we get to learn how the religion starts and why, how the races of Ealder come to be, and just what roles everyone truly plays in the narrative. The time travel is very well done and easy to follow, but I will say that these are audio-books you have to actively listen to. I've found that I can't multitask as much with this series, because if my mind even thinks about wandering I end up missing something important and have to go back 30 seconds.
Kaden and Aren have come a long way since book one. They are braver, more independent, and tackle some pretty complicated tasks without too much complaint. They really step up to the mantle of leadership, even though they still remain teenagers at heart. The twin gods, Gathin and Erastin get a lot more screen time here as well and it was really cool getting to learn more about them an to see them interact directly with the group.
Keith's reading continues to be perfect for the story, and I'm always impressed with the level of consistency with all the different voices he provides. Every character is clear and easy to understand and identify, and there is little in the way of variation in a single voice when it comes to him jumping back and forth between so many.
This has been such a great series! It has a ton of things going for it and it's not a read that one can just sit back and turn on autopilot for, which I for one really appreciate. I like book that make me actively think about what's going on and how it ties into the over-arcing story.