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The Eighth Court (2013)

by Mike Shevdon(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Angry Robot

series

Courts of the Feyre

review 1: In the first book, Blackbird mentioned to Niall that the Warders are so dangerous, it makes Raffmir and his sister seem easy (paraphrased).After Niall becomes a Warder, you'll see that the Warders seem like normal guards with some powers. Nothing special other than that they are Fey. It looks that the treatment of the Warders in the subsequent books do not hold up to scrutiny at all. Too much hype and then it becomes too difficult to maintain or support the hype surrounding a group of so-called powerful characters?And in this book, the main character again seems to play a supporting role. He does nothing noteworthy until right at the end of the book, as was the case in book 3.In my opinion, there is way too much filler material, and instead of world and character building,... more we get pages and pages of inconsequential dialog and thoughts. The world in this series had so much potential in book 1, but it steadily went downhill from there. It doesn't look like the focus in the books are correct, and that there is much interesting material at all. Plots are too simple and it looks like the story went out of control.In all 4 books, we have never once seen how supposedly powerful the rulers of each court are. All they ever do is talk. We were also told that half-fey could never hope to win full feys in combat (book 1), but you can read in this book that this seems to have been forgotten, just like we don't see how Warders were also supposed to be own normal feys.There is a deep disconnect between Book 1 and the rest of the series.
review 2: If you’re still reading any series by the time it has reached book four, there has to be multiple reasons why. The thing that really makes this book for me are the characters. They are so well observed and it felt like I was catching up with the old friends. Niall Petersen has come along from the directionless slacker that we first met. He has found his place amongst the Warders and has adjusted to life with Blackbird. He has found some measure of stability, as well as a purpose and a family.In comparison, Blackbird still manages to retain an air of mystery. She continues to play things very close to her chest. I feel, in some respects, that I never really discovered everything about her character. I rather like that though, she remains just a little enigmatic. You get the feeling that she still has her secrets and that’s never going to change. Blackbird’s the sort of person that you could know for years but she’ll still manage to surprise you on a daily basis.If I have to pick a favourite character then I think it would have to be Niall’s daughter Alex. Her role in events has increased with each book and she has grown up over the course of the series. From a young girl, to a bolshie teen and then a young woman, Alex has transformed before the reader’s eyes. Her initial uncertainty when facing the fantastical world she is exposed to, through to her acceptance of her new life, is one of the best parts of the narrative. Her journey has been subtly done but fascinating nonetheless to watch.There is a very definite sense of events pulling to a close. The politics and various grand plans that have delighted in previous books remain, but are finally reaching their climax. I do love the way that Shevdon manages to effortlessly reincorporate themes from book one back into the plot without even seeming to break a sweat. The Lords and Ladies of Feyre society have always been natural born meddlers, it’s like they can’t help themselves. They are forever trying to shape events and amend the natural order of things. Hidden resentments that have been around for years finally come to light and it’s suddenly a fight for all or nothing.No spoilers, of course, but I am pleased to say the final chapters of The Eighth Court delivered exactly the sort of resolution to the series that I was hoping for. The perfect mix of magic and folklore, with a fantastic plot and loads of great characters has made this a story that I’ll remember for a long time. less

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