I think I’m in love with this series. I loved ‘Gilded Cage’ which I read earlier this year, and when I found out its sequel was out in the past month or so, obviously I bought it to continue the story. Sometimes, a sequel can struggle to live up to the reputation of its predecessor – thankfully, this wasn’t the case with ‘Tarnished City’. What a novel! Vic James throws you right back into the action, and doesn’t stutter for a moment.
One thing I did find with the first novel, as much as I loved it, was it seemed to drag a little in the middle. This novel was boom, boom, boom! Every little plot point fit so neatly together that the minute you were getting over one plot twist, James blindsided you with another juicy little titbit that had you wondering how the characters could possibly escape the situation.
James’ characters are a joy to read about. She clearly has a good feel for who they are, and her writing really makes them come alive on the page. It wasn’t hard to fall in love with Abi and Luke’s stories in particular, because you can’t help but root for the underdogs. It was interesting to gain an insight into characters like Gavar and Silyen too, as these were characters which we would think to be really horrible. James doesn’t just stick to this 2D characterisation, and gives them really interesting points that make them act like normal people. For example, Gavar’s love for his daughter is absolutely adorable and is definitely a redeeming quality for his character! What I also loved about her characters was James didn’t shy away from more morally complicated characters like Bouda and Whittam Jardine. James constantly keeps you guessing – some of the characters who I thought were black and white bad guys, or good guys, have shocked me by proving themselves the opposite. You never know what’s going to happen next!
This plot was phenomenal. James’ career as a political journalist has definitely helped her out with the attention to detail – the sheer minute details that James has included are absolutely bullet proof! James’ novel carried on with the same theme from her first novel – un-skilled versus skilled (people with amazing powers). I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling the plot, but it was bloody brilliant. Everything just escalated further from the previous novels’ events, and you just know the last novel in the trilogy is going to be phenomenal. There’s just so much going on in this plot, that you’ve got no idea which way this is going to go. The suspense is built up so well – just as you think the characters are going to succeed with their goal, something else comes to smash it to pieces.
I would give this novel a 5/5. If you haven’t started this trilogy yet, pick up a copy as soon as you can! There is just so much stuff I love about this whole idea that I literally cannot put it all into words.
http://www.vicjames.co.uk/
@DrVictoriaJames
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