Reviewed by Leigha on
The Wraith Kings series is currently comprised of two novels, Radiance and Eidolon. I enjoyed the first book. It focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between the two main characters, Brishen and Ildiko. These two are not just strangers, but a different species from one another. Starting with an adorable meet-cute scene, their relationship grows from strangers to friends to lovers. It’s very much a character-driven story with lots of world building; you’re not going to find an action-packed plot here. In a genre saturated with “end of the world” plot lines, it’s refreshing to find a book focused on characters and their cultural differences.
While the first book hit the four star mark for me, the second book brought it down to three stars. Elements making the first book unique bled into the background for a generic action-packed plot. It felt like plot points pushed characters into decisions rather than them naturally arriving to decisions. The world building changed so much it felt like reading a different novel. The inclusion of a third narrator cut any tension from the resolution of the plot. Brishen and Ildiko may not have known the ending of the book, but I certainly did.
tl;dr A promising start to a new series veers into a predictable, action-driven plot pushing promising character growth to the side.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 12 July, 2018: Reviewed