Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Juliet Marillier - Child of the Prophecy

Magic is fading... and the ways of Man are driving the Old Ones to the West, beyond the ken of humankind. The ancient groves are being destroyed, and if nothing is done, Ireland will lose its essential mystic core.
The prophecies of long ago have foretold a way to prevent this horror, and it is the Sevenwaters clan that the Spirits of Eire look to for salvation. They are a family bound into the lifeblood of the land, and heir promise to preserve the magic has been the cause of great joy to them... as well as great sorrow.
It is up to Fainne, daughter of Niamh, the lost sister of Sevenwaters, to solve the riddles of power. She is the shy child of a reclusive sorcerer, and her way is hard, for her father is the son of the wicked sorceress Oonagh, who has emerged from the shadows and seeks to destroy all that Sevenwaters has striven for. Oonagh will use her granddaughter Fainne most cruelly to accomplish her ends, and stops at nothing to see her will done.
Will Fainne be strong enough to battle this evil and save those she has come to love?


Comment: This is the 3rd book of the Sevenwaters series. I guess many people still talk about them as a trilogy, but the truth is there's more than 3 books so far, so...
As I've got the books and decided to read the first three this summer, september was the month for the third story.

This book tells the story of Fainne, she's the granddaughter of the heroine from the first book. Fainne was raised by her father and the evil grandmother. She was set to believe a certain pattern of acting and was led to believe there was only one way to help her father, who she thinks might die if she doesn't do what her evil grandmother tells her to. So, she embarks on a journey to do her task and by doing so she can put in danger the new family she meets in Sevenwaters. 

Well, I didn't like this story as much. The heroine is a good girl but she makes some not so good decisions while coerced by her evil grandmother. However, some are accidents and one thing here and there aren't as much and I couldn't put aside the fact she didn't measure the stakes of her her actions. She grew up through the story, but in the end, when she finally accepts another way of thinking, I thought it wasn't as believable or enough to surpass what she did before.

Fainne tries do help and protect her father and that is something to admire but I thought she could've trusted some people, she could have tried to talk to her father before she left home. It would have made sense even if she were to travel anyway. While she went on her travel she did try to be good but sometimes things got out of her control.
I didn't think this book as emotional as the previous ones. The characters are known from before and the writing and plot are superb as always, but the main storyline isn't as appealing as the others.
Then there's the end, it was all about the prophecy alright, but I wasn't very pleased with the way things ended for Fainne. She ended up with an HEA and good beat evil in the end, but it wasn't as thrilling as I imagined considering the whole thing came developing since book #1. Besides, Fainne has to live a certain way, apparently until she dies, and I thought it was all so lonely and definitive. I didn't picture things like that, although I understand the reasoning and it did made justice to the prophecy.

All in all, it wasn't a bad book. But I was really hoping for more. Of these three first books, the first one was my favorite. I know there are three more and I do intend to read them. Next year only...I'll try to get them and read them somewhere next spring. Hopefully.
I recommend the series anyway. It's wonderfully well written fantasy and no one should miss it.

1 comment:

  1. Marillier is one of those authors whose works I have NOT tried yet. I absolutely need to read something by her. I know I have something somewhere in my bookshelves! This doesn't sound bad at all...

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