A review by baknata
The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The first book was phenomenal, and I was anticipating this one a lot. The worst part is that I can't really put my finger on why this book fell flat for me. I think it was partly due to the density of the lore, which can slow a plot down a lot. I was also annoyed that so much of the lore we got in the first book was thrown to the wayside in this book. While I understand that the main character is learning new information and discovering the truth behind what she was told, it ended up feeling too dense for a sequel. There was also a very repetitive nature in the emotions and the action. This redundancy slowed the story down a lot since it felt like the wasn't much of a build. Not to mention, the book begins with pretty high stakes already, which makes it difficult to build a climax that feels adequately intense. I still love the characters and the development they had in this book was satisfying. I do find Deka a bit annoying, but her behavior makes sense so I don't hold it against her. Overall, it's hard to read a book where the entire mythos is changing over and over, but besides that, the book is well written and interesting enough.