It's been about 6 weeks since I finished this, and the details, characters and plot have already begun fading from memory.I read the first instalment some years ago and absolutely loved it. The sweeping adventures on the high seas, the world building, Pazel's gift and curse, the shady dealings and multiple agendas — all bound within the ancient timbers of the Chathrand — were a thrill to read. Novel, exciting, swashbuckling fantasy with characters you felt you already knew, nuanced in ways that surprised.And then the second book came along and everything else happened: too many characters, constant cheesy, humourless fantasy tropes, endless dialogue from characters that seem to have photographic memories for conversations they had years ago, gaudy moments of confusing or limp wristed action, monolithic themes of global destruction witnessed by men who would be ignorant cliches one moment, then quailing and curled up with their thumbs in their mouths, before breaking out in chest beating dismay as meaningless numbers of people were killed ... We're constantly told why someone is important, or what exactly someone said to another decades ago, or that this scene is calamitous, without being given the space or guidance to feel it, suspect it or discover it ourselves.This could have been a monumental series (so many great ideas and supporting characters; the Infernal Forest and it's endless night, the toxic, mind melting eguar, the demon Avarice locked in one of Chathrand's hidden holds) but everything from the overly isn't-this-how-everyone-should-live-aren't-they-graceful? Selk to the blatantly evil Nilstone (Nothing Stone? Really?) overpowers the more original elements, revealing the makings to be two dimensional the minute you step to the side for a better look ...In this day and age of the visceral, coherent action of Abercrombie and the impassioned, nuanced stereotypes of Rothfuss, Chathrand's cliche ridden storytelling ends sadly devoid of compelling characters and memorable show downs. Pity, because Robert V.S. Redick clearly has a love for the genre and a desire for greatness.May his next journey take us somewhere that resides. The conclusion of the series is much better than the third installment--I'm torn as to whether it meets the high bar set by the first, but it does give it a good shot. The editor's notes in this book are more endearing than annoying (a definite improvement over the last two books in terms of style). I simultaneously love and hate the end, mostly because it means there is no more of the Chathrand. I give Redick points for pulling off more surprise deaths and not caving in to the happy ending I wanted for all the characters.Finishing this Voyage leaves a hole that I won't quite know how to fill until I find the next 4-star series.
Do You like book Night Of The Swarm (2012)?
A great book, and series, unfortunately saddled with a deeply unsatisfying ending.
—NebulaHD
