0/5. One of the worst restaurants I've ever eaten in. Cannot recommend.
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Ah, you thought that was real but it was actually me, Digel!
Today we are doing a bit of a close up on Shadow of Death. This will be a bit different to me as this is the first sequel review to another story I have reviewed. As such I will be referencing the previous story often. The previous story was reviewed in chapter 13 here, 'Fury is Born'. I cannot claim to be going into this without the thoughts coming forward from my previous review. And like any good sequel we will see how it matches up, or doesn't.
TLDR; What?! Han is evolving! (Pokemon noises!) Hanthalah has evolved into Man-child!!!!!!!!!
Main Character - Smashing! - Before, I mentioned how the character is good. That hasn't changed. You still beat to his heart and his motivations and thoughts. The story is from a first-point perspective and this is beautifully utilized to emphasis the Main Character as there are things we see done that he is entirely ignorant of, and from his perspective is portrayed as fact, when we, the readers, know better. This creates beautiful tension at times. But before I also spoke with him in private about a single problem I had with his MC in that the boy had no power, no ability to make decisions, and was tossed in the rivers of fate. Even as beautifully as a character is written, a main character with that is completely powerless becomes repetitive, tedious, and will eventually becoming boring.
This has sense been fixed to an incredible degree as the MC unleashes all of his power, his manipulation, his control, and all the pent up rage he had been building up for an entire book to set his fate to what he chooses. And this is made all the better by the fact that he is his own worst enemy as half the time his choices bite him in the butt with real consequences. You would think he would learn...
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Side characters: semi-Smashing! - Before, I mentioned how the cast of side characters were a confusing mess of people who all seemed the same, fit the same roles, and yet you were expected to keep up with dozens of names in a language that, even with a reference sheet, alien to most western readers. Since then the author has improved on his side characters by leaps and bounds! There is still a bit of confusion, but I will explain a bit better.
The side characters have clear differences and purpose in personality, character, history, origin, and ultimately role in the story. The names also start to branch out further so they sound different and are properly fitting their characters. This combiness to make them much easier to keep track of. Still not easy by ANY means, but at least now its what I would call "doable".
The main issue I have with the SCs would be that several of them are characters from Book 1, and are introduced as if you are expected to know already just who the hell we are talking about. This is a mistake that is often made in sequels. Writers assume readers remember every character from their previous book instead of starting with a semi-fresh slate, and they assume that everyone reading book 2 has actually read book 1. There are multiple times I saw a name being dropped, the MC acted like he (and therefore we too) had to know who that name person was, and I was left scratching my head thinking "who?" Esspecially considering book1 was messy with its cast of SCs. The author tries to aleviate this a little bit with hints and clues as to who the people are, but it isn't enough half the time and it takes several chapters before I realize who this random person tagging along is.
Besides this issue, they are still excellent in their own rights. Just could use a lot of clarity up front.
World Building: ITS OVER SMASHING!!! - Take all of the beautiful world building from before, and then build world building ontop of world building and you have some idea what you are in for. Because the MC has direct interest in the world building, it doesn't feel like its even difficult to keep up with. You take everything you have learned and witnessed before and take it into the next stage as one nation fights another nation, and thanks to the WB we know both well so that we can clearly see the stakes and reasons on both sides.
One thing I really like is that even though the story is neck-deep in Arab culture, it shows both the good and ugly side of Islam. You have people who are pious, and you have people who are butchers, and you have people who are zealous and you have people who don't believe it and just use it to their own ends, and you are left to figure out your own opinion because the MC doesn't really like any of them.
Plot: IUTFHDSAUIHFUIDSHFUI IM LOSING MY SHIT - The plot has thickened greatly. Between a MC who can now begin controlling his own actions and fate through strength and manipulation, and a captivitating world building that pits two worlds against one another clear as day, and well placed side characters, the plot is a rollercoaster of ups and downs and emotions. The MC's actions come back to bite him in the ass at times, and at other times the other characters agenda plays into the plot. All-in-all the plot was, a bit shaky in certain scenes and how they were portrayed, but overall was smooth, clear, natural, and left me on the edge of my seat.
And then the author decided smashing wasn't good enough, oh no he decided to take it to the next level. I won't say what it is, as it would spoil the plot, but along the way I caught there were certain actions, lines, and scenes that didn't make sense on their own and didn't play a role in what was immediately happening around them. Yet I know the author to be intelligent and talented enough that these things written were not mistakes. They were clues to something happening under the surface. Then when I got to the end they came together in what I can only describe as an orcheastratic song of multiple plot-lines, a life time of consequences rippling together, and beautiful, controlled chaos. A lot like when someone dies and their life flashes before their eyes. A single moment causes chapter after chapter of scenes to play before my eyes as puzzle pieces fall into place and I was left cursing at the screen. Hopefully my neighbors didn't hear haha!
As I am used to analyzing stories and my own stories have subplots and clues laid out, I was able to come close to figuring out the end before it came, but even I was not 100% prepared for it.
Overall I would rate this 6 smashing out of 5! Why? Because it took the 5/5 that was the first story, fixed or almost fixed all of the issues, and took everything to the next level.
And he thought I hated it...
Raise your smashing and smash the shit out of this!
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If you are interested in learning to write, mastering the craft, want some really good reads, or just to chat and hang out with a mature group of adults, feel free to hit me up for a smashing discord book club that has lasted years.
