Boo, hoo :'( my son and I have finished the trilogy. Each time we finish a series, I wonder if our reading adventures will continue or if this was the last time. Time passes and change comes to us all, even to my family.Finn (Katla's twin) is a right bastard. He was the kind of child that tortured cats. You know, that kind of guy. Then life catches up with him. Something happens to us as we grow older. Whether we solidify or become like waves seems arbitrary. Finn solidified and in the end that turned out to be unfortunate for him.As a reader, I appreciate it when I get a look at the propaganda system an author has grown up during without getting the feeling that the writer is trying to push her points of view down my throat. In fact, I love that because this has not been one of my strengths. Jude Fisher manages it.So, Death! Death is for many an unwanted companion. For those who encounter Tanto Vingo and Tycho Issian the opposite could be said. The evil twins might be one term that applies to them - except their motivation is different. Tycho is trying to eradicate all the "evil" from the world by burning people while Tanto gets his kicks from torture and mayhem. Just hearing their names brings terror to the hearts of the people of Istrian. A worse combination could probably never have been invented.Tanto's favorite victim is Saro. Saro was gifted/cursed with an overly active empathic ability toward the end of Fool's Gold. Since then, he feels and sees all that goes on in a person at the time that he touches them. I wonder what it must be like to have such an ability? Pretty freaking terrible I would imagine. After Tanto figured out what was going on, Saro was mentally tortured. Once Saro was brought back to Jetra, he was physically and mentally tortured in the prison/torture chambers of the Miseria (Jetra's infamous prison).Katla's physical, emotional and attitudinal journey is huge in "The Rose of the World". She continues to be my favorite. Her resilience and stubbornness help her survive what seems to break her sisters from Rockfall. Her mother is the same. Both have to overcome prejudices and fears that have not been encountered previously. Mam likes this gritty little chit of a girl who maintains such a strong will to live true to herself.The one I pitied the most was Aran (Katla's father/Bera's ex-husband). Being caught in a geas is a terrible thing. Once you are caught in its spell there is no escaping until you have done whatever this magically imposed command tells you to do. You will sacrifice anything to get to the end of it without realising how much you are giving up. It is as if something has possessed you and you become unable to impose your own will. Aran's story is a story of both being a victim of his possession and a victim of circumstances. Poor guy.The conclusion was magical indeed. Not much reality used to get us there. I haven't really made up my mind as to how I feel about it yet. But it fits with Ms. Fisher's intro to the novel.There were happy parts and sad parts to the novel. Gruesome parts and satisfying parts. A whole lot of obsessed people causing mayhem and destruction. All in all a trilogy I recommend.http://wp.me/p2lRqb-28r
(Thematic spoilers, not specific ones)The worst of the three books which I read purely because I thought the first book was kind of decent, and I happen to like the characters (maybe not what happens to them and how, but I think the concepts are good).I get the impression Fisher tries to go all existential Hobb-like in this book but she fails. There's too much time spent agonising over an individual character's thoughts and not enough time telling a really good story. The forethought I felt was in the original book isn't evident here - and the biggest loss is that I feel the ending is both confusing and unsatisfying.I find this really disappointing because there are a lot of good ideas in the book, and in the hands of another writer I think this could have been a stellar series. Magic, feminism, ancient lore, battles, opposing cultures and religions, love and lust, the children of demigods with twisted powers? What's most frustrating is that the ideas are ***IN*** the series, but they're just not developed well/at all past their initial appearance.All the elements of a great story are here, but alas have been squandered.
