The Forever Court
Dave Rudden
MG Fantasy
Knights of the Borrowed Dark Books #2
UK Publisher: Puffin Books
Other books in the Series:
Synopsis:
Life is retiring to normal for Denizen Hardwick. Well, the new normal, where he has to battle monsters in quiet Dublin bookshops and constantly struggle to contain the new powers he has been given by Mercy, the daughter of the endless King. But Denizen may need those powers sooner than he thinks - not only are the Tenebrous stirring again but the Order of the Borrowed Dark face a new threat from much closer to home…
Review:
I liked this book but felt it was a heavier read than the first. The characters have matured, new enemies were introduced but for all the subplots and intriguing undercurrents, sadly, I felt this story lacked the spark that made the first book so unforgettable.
Denizen is now an official knight in training. Struggling to contain the power given to him by Mercy, the daughter of The Order’s greatest enemy, the endless King - he lashes out at those closest to him, isolating himself away before he can hurt someone. But when a new threat rises, and the Knights are called to action once more, Denizen will need all his wits if he is to defeat the evil that is rising, and rising with a power that matches his own…
A lot of new characters were introduced to the story, and at times the switching POV’s were a little confusing. However I liked the new, fire-wielding bad guys, but missed the variety that the Tenebrous (and their mishmash bodies) brought to the previous story. Unlike book one which really excelled at creating a creepy atmosphere, I found these pages pretty lacklustre.
Having said that Dave Rudden’s beautiful writing remains intact, and I liked the sarcasm and humour threaded through the story. The Epitaphs on the gravestones really made me smile, as did the witty banter between fights.
Denizen though has done some significant growing and comes across older, and much more mature. He has begun to develop an interest in girls, but is closed up about his feelings. Whenever it came to building bridges with his mother, he turned into a typical petulant teenager, which although entertaining to read, took up a lot of his thoughts making this story less action based and more emotional.
I also felt that many of the original characters didn't get much page time. While everyone was present, most were given fleeting appearances meaning we got no more backstory, or character development from them. Mostly I just really missed the teamwork aspect that played such a significant part in the previous book - this novel read like a Denizen solo.
As for the plot, it really picked up toward the end, and it was engaging enough that I will read the next book. Despite the negativity of this review - I did ENJOY this book, I just didn't connect to this story the way I wanted to. I’m crossing my fingers the next book will feature more evil Tenebrous!
3 stars!
I've been meaning to pick the first book in this series for ages. Now that the second one is out I really need to get around to it!
ReplyDeleteThe first one is so well done - and while I didn't like this second book quite as much as the first, its definitely still a series worth checking out!
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