The Book That Wouldn't Burn

The more I think about it after having finished this a couple of days ago, the more this is 2-stars instead of 3 for me.

Basic thoughts:

The final “act” (ie, last... I dont know... 15 chapters (?!?) I was completely checked-out... all the this chamber, that chamber, this other one, all random numbers, seemed completely arbitrary. What our objective was, who we were trying to save from what, etc, etc, just got completely incoherent for me. (sidebar: I devoured and loved all of the main Malazan novels, so I don't think my cognitive capacity was the problem here).

There is one huge plot twist. If you're looking for more than one, this isn't your book. There are a couple of other mild ones the author maybe intended to be surprising, but honestly they were visible from a long way away. Some might just call this “competent plotting”. Point is, this isn't a “twists and turns” fantasy novel.

A big turnoff for me was the new “rules” that were liberally dispensed in the last act. Nothing matters. This happens because X. This cannot happen because Y. There are far better ways to reveal the universe's rules than this, and for heaven's sake, don't do it in the last 20% of the book.

A certain class of characters in this book were very cool and had the potential to really make the story special, but alas, that didn't happen. Maybe there's some payoff for them in the sequels, but I won't be around to find out.

The basis for an intricate and interesting library fantasy world exists in this book, but as many have said, the repetitiveness and tedium of endless chamber traversing, flat characters, and a nonsensical romance at the centre (don't get me started) make it a miss for me.