The Skull Throne

For this fourth installement of the Demon Cycle serie, I have begun with some stress because I didn't remember a lot of the third book. The first part gives me reason : i had some issues remembering names and titles of Krasian people... too many people and too many relations between them.

Hopefully, the next parts were better and easier to follow. I'm not giving any details because it could be spoilers but I'm just saying I like the multiple POVs, the battle, the court plotting and the characters.

AND THE END !!!??? So much plot twist, cliffhangers and so many deaths. Can't wait for the fifth and last book

Did Not Finish

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this one, but it spent very little time dealing the the Demon war.

Audiobook: I've been enjoying this series in audio, and this book was no different. So much so that I'm simply copy/pasting my comments from the last book:

Pete Bradbury once again does a great job. He's still a bit on the quiet side, but I think he's a great fit for this series. He does a few voices/accents and reads with good inflection.

Full Review
This book was a bit different from the last three. Those books mixed past and present and politics and war. This book had a few flashbacks, but easily the fewest of all the books so far.

This book is almost all politics. I enjoyed it nearly as much as the others, but I do feel like too much time was spent on subplots and not the main plot of the demon battles.

I enjoyed some of the new characters, including the new flashback character, but I'm awful with names and these names are especially difficult for me, so I couldn't tell you her name. There was also some really good character development of the returning characters as well.

There wasn't as much world building in this book as in the past. Most of it dealt with expanding on the politics of men set-up in the previous books. There is still a lot of magic, but very little new. I feel like there is still a lot we're not seeing, but with so little focus on the demons I guess it's not too surprising.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but I would have liked to see a little less subplot and a little more main plot. Still, all the events of this book will likely play a big role in final book, but I'd have liked to see it balanced more like the last three books were.

Note: This book review contains spoilers for book 3, The Daylight War.

Pros: lots of politics, lots of intrigue, complex characters, the last 100 pages will blow you away

Cons: have to wait for the next book

Both Arlen and Jardir disappear after their fall from the cliff, putting Inevera in a difficult position to keep her sons alive and off the Skull Throne, while maintaining the unity of the clans that she and Jardir fought so hard for. Leesha and her companions return to the Hollow where she agonizes over what to do about her coming child, her growing love for Count Thamos, and organizing the gatherers. The Hollow leaders are soon called to Angiers by the royal family. Leesha, to help cure the Duke's infertility; Gared, to find a wife; and Rojer, to introduce his Krasian wives to the court. Meanwhile, Arlen has a dangerous plan in mind.

Get ready for deep intrigues and a lot of politics. This book is fast paced and a quick read, despite its near 700 pages (which includes the ever helpful Krasian dictionary at the end).

The characters remain complex, with tough decisions to make and lots of compromises between how they want the world to become versus dealing with how it actually is. I loved the scenes from Ashia's point of view, getting to know her and the other sharum'ting (female warriors). Their training was interesting, as was the family politics she was thrown into with regards to her marriage. I felt both admiration for her and pity for her situation. Though I started to find Leesha irritating in book 3, here she's back to the woman I admired in books 1 and 2, only with more responsibilities and harder choices to make. I love Inevera as a character, even though she can be quite horrible at times. This book made me again appreciate her intelligence and drive while pitying her when things start to spiral out of control. Abban's manipulation of power made him less sympathetic in this book, but his storyline remains intriguing. The interplay between Rojer and his wives is so interesting, especially given their various abilities.

Unlike book 3, this one doesn't end with a cliffhanger, but it will have you cursing the fact that book 5 isn't out yet. The last hundred pages or so really ramps up the action as all of the political maneuvering comes to fruition in unexpected ways. This series continues to get better and I can't wait to read what's going to happen next.

I think the magic system is amazing in this whole series. I was, however, a bit perturbed that's still another book to be released. Ugh. Read the series, but maybe wait for the next book to come out first!

In one word. This was really disappointing. This was Game of thrones meets Sword of Shannara. Lots and lots of political mongering and heavy prose with no movement in the story line. Clearly, Brett is just dragging this out. The editing too is a let down and some jumps are too hasty. The only interesting part is when Briar pops up and entertains us for a while. The count is wasted, Leesha bores us with her ever escalating problems and the Krasian society and its Dama's are now grating. The next book needs to be the last and it needs to be short. Damn!

This really felt like a bridging book for the next and final Book. Brett focuses on the side characters in this book. So if your expecting a lot of plot with Arlen & Jardir you won't get it in this installment.