Vision in Silver (The Others, #3)

by Anne Bishop

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4 ★ Audiobook⎮ A whole lot of nothing happened in this installment. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the crap out of it. But it was nowhere near as exciting as the first two installments. In fact, parts of it were a downright snoozefest. There was way too much talking and not enough action. Capt. Montgomery was a good secondary character in the previous installments, but he is super boring in the spotlight. This book actually make me not like him a little. Not because of anything he did (he's still a standup guy), but mainly because of the overexposure of the character. I'm not sure how the author intended me to feel about his daughter, but I absolutely hated her. The spoiled, bratty, petulant child trope is my absolute least favorite character trope of all time. Ick.

I will say that I'm enjoying the crawling pace at which the romantic angle of the plot is developing. It is taking a backseat to the larger plot points (and by "backseat", I mean that it's almost nonexistent). However, something that is sort of is bothering me (and has been for the last couple of books) is everyone's instant loyalty/protection to Meg. I sort of get it, but at the same time, not really. I guess it's one of those things you just have to go with (suspension of disbelief and all that). That's the only aspect of this story that I can say is maybe just a little bit underdeveloped/under-justified.

Despite all of that and despite this installment clearly being a "bridge book" between the second and fourth installments, I'm still crazy about Bishop's character/world/plot development style. And even though I could feel my enthusiasm for this series steadily waning during this installment, I never wanted to stop listening. It was more "hurry up and get through this to get to the fourth installment" than anything. I've heard that the fourth installment is way better, so I didn't completely mind having to wade through a slumpish third installment. Most great series go through a slump or have a "bridge book" out of necessity to the overall story (just ask George R. R. Martin). However, I am considering waiting a few days before beginning Marked in Flesh (#4) just to give myself some breathing room. I've basically been zipping through this series nonstop since discovering it. It's been like having a chocolate for breakfast every day of the week. No matter how much you love chocolate (which I do, a lot), you're bound to need a break sooner or later. It doesn't mean you stopped liking chocolate or that the chocolate is bad. Sometimes you just need a break to be able to fully enjoy it again (sorry I use so many food analogies).