Started: 21/05/21
Finished: 29/05/21
Spoilers: No
I would give this series six stars if I could. Damn, I wish I could.
I've been feeling quite uninspired with the books I've been reading lately. Some good, some bad, some great, even. But nothing that blew my mind. That all changed. This trilogy was the wake-up slap I needed to remind me what an unexpected adventure reading can be.
Characters
I love how chapter one is basically just Thalia ranting about how unapologetically she loves Marith, despite him being a monstrous person. It's all about perspective. He's never been monstrous to her, never done anything to her except love and worship her, so why should she be expected to leave him. To 'do better' than him, just because other people want her to. She’s her own woman, and I love how she doesn’t base her every decision on what is ‘moral’ and ‘good’, but instead bases them on what is ‘good’ for her, what benefits her. And what truly benefits her, is being Marith’s wife, and queen of the entire fucking world. Even if the world burns under Marith’s rule.
Finally, a fantastically written and flawed female character. Fantasy genre definitely needs more of these. It's actually a fantastic way of highlighting how we automatically believe women need to have higher morals. The men (in this story particularly) are allowed to do terrible things. It's expected, even. But women? They somehow need to better than that. Why?
Thalia explores this so eloquently and thoughtfully in chapter one that it had me analyse other female characters in other stories. Thalia, fresh out of shits to give, is quickly becoming one of my favourite characters.
Marith. I've never read a book in which the protagonist is also the antagonist. Ingenious!! I both love Marith and hate him in equal measures. He's so fascinating. He'd make a great character study. From his development, his rise to power, his god-complex, his struggle with addiction, his love for Thalia who brings out his softer side. He is just such an interesting, flawed character. I would pay to listen in on this guy's psychotherapy sessions, cause god only knows, he needs them.
I don’t know how Anna Smith Spark does it. I mean, I always found Marith a fascinating character, despite him being dangerous and a mass murderer and completely mad, but that final chapter really made me empathise with him. He’s such a tragic character too. I think I could write an entire page psychoanalysing him, but I’ll spare you the boredom. Just really well done on the author’s part. That final chapter completely flipped my beliefs regarding Marith, and it made me feel a little sorry for him. Almost, almost makes me think he was the victim all along. So incredible.
Plot
Since starting this series, I've had no clue what would happen next or how each book would end. And I've loved every second of it.
There's so much war and so many battles in this book. The plot is basically just Marith invading the whole world, one city at a time, while he slowly goes mad. And it just works so well. It sounds like it shouldn't, but it really does.
Marith Altrersyr, bringer of death, destroyer of worlds. This book encapsulates his rise and fall, and rise again.
Marith's reputation is so fiercely feared, that even if he has nothing, not a single solider or penny to his name, people still bow and scrape to him, beg him not to kill them.
What makes him so terrifying is the fact that he doesn't come to conquer, he comes to destroy. He's not even trying to take over and build an empire, he just wants to wipe out the entire world.
Throughout the entire series I've been swinging violently between Marith must die to protect Marith at all costs! and I don't even know why. He's not likeable. He just has that effect on people, I guess.
Setting
I don't want to leave this world. Even though it's a pretty bleak world, I've been living in it for seven weeks now while I binge the entire trilogy back to back to back. I don't want to leave. I'm comfortable now. Familiar with these characters. Can't I stay just a while longer?
Writing Style
Perfect. Just perfect.
The way these books are written is an art form. Everything feels so immediate, so personal. The pages are dripping with narrative voice that suits the story and style so perfectly. Even though it's written in third-person (mostly) it has the closeness of a first-person narrative. At every moment, we're privy to every innermost thought of whichever pov character we're currently with. Their thoughts flow seamlessly into the narrative which gives it a very intimate experience as we truly view the world through a character's perspective.
These books are also absolutely brutal. The in-battle violence is so graphic, so merciless, so infinite. It really doesn't pull any punches or try to shy away from the gruesome horrors of war. Simply superb.
Final Impression
Without a shadow of a doubt, the best grimdark series I’ve ever read, and I’ve read some pretty amazing ones.
An incredible, unique, and absolutely savage series with a satisfying ending and some characters that are going to haunt my mind and stay with me for a very long time.
I’d love to reread this series again at some point. It’s a masterclass in writing and characterisation.
I binged the entire series. It’s definitely a new favourite of mine.
Brava, Anna Smith Spark. Brava.
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