Reviewed by sa090 on
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There is a certain logic to how fast paced this series is, it’s not because Michael Scott lacks the skills to world build, but it’s more so that he’s locking his characters in a huge time limit with a very impending doom that they have to be extremely quick about it. That being said, sometimes the passage of time isn’t so clear so it feels like we’re getting a lot of things done in less time than expected, while also having time to go on and do even more things before another day starts. If I had to think a little bit more about this aspect though, then I wouldn’t really throw it to the pacing or the way this feels manipulated, oh no, the main reason I think this can be a thing and maintain Michael Scott’s set pace is because of his clever usage of his characters. There are many POVs in this book and because they’re simultaneous, they make the passage of time seem much longer than it really is.
It’s more noticeable in this book because we get more world building in this one, more introduced characters, more plot lines starting and some getting resolved and all of that happened in the expense of two days like the other two books (the second book did go on for a third day briefly) before this one. I enjoyed this approach because to me personally the side character are actually way more interesting than the main characters, main reason is their connection to history and mythology which I absolutely love about this series. The plot in itself is more of smaller arcs until we reach the final confrontation, it’s not one adventure that starts and ends in the same book like Harry Potter for example but one long journey until the end.
The Sorceress does focus on the character in the title a lot more compared to the other two books which I loved again considering that she remains my favourite character and this book shows why, she’s totally and utterly badass. I said in book two’s thoughts that because of the multiple characters that are bound to show up in this series, a background in mythology or light readings will surely help and I stand by that. In this book at least 6 new characters joined the series and that’s excluding all the magical creatures and such that accompanied them, I’m glad that I know enough to recognize the names because it wouldn’t have been half as fun if I had to pause every few minutes to go and check who’s who.
Continuing on with the characters though, this one is the only book so far where Josh is more likable than the prequels, he’s like Sophie now so no more envy going on and more importantly he’s got something to occupy himself with; although there are still some aspects that I don’t enjoy about him or his sister. To be very honest I’m not even sure how many characters Michael Scott will bring in this series or how exactly he’s going to set up this world when we reach the end, I say it like this because this series is only going to get bigger and then it might turn into a rushed mess given that not all of the characters, especially with how he set up this world, will get a valid reason to exist in it.
That’s a talk for a next time though since this book is still very enjoyable to read, answered some of the questions I had about auras, had more of my favourite character, started a few of plot lines that I can’t wait to see how they’ll end and more importantly started dropping some serious hints about the prophecy’s meaning that I’m really looking forward to see.
Final rating: 4/5
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 April, 2018: Finished reading
- 1 April, 2018: Reviewed