(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
The first part of this book didn’t exactly start off with a very sympathetic character. I felt a bit sorry for Jove at first… and then that was quickly derailed when I realised what he was like even before he became possessed; or whatever it was.
I liked the opportunity to see the beginnings of the characters that I’d seen in The Soulless Grave. It was good to be able to see more of Kairah in this book, since I only saw her at the end of the second. I have to say, though, I really didn’t like Maely at all in this. I did like Mull and I felt a lot of empathy for him… but his sister didn’t really seem that nice; especially with her keeping on hurting Jekaran. That kind of reads more like anime heroines who hit the guys they’re romantically interested in…
Although I didn’t really like Jenoc in this book, it was good to have the opportunity to see a bit more detail about why he was acting in the way he was. He was one of the more interesting villains; one who actually sees himself as doing the right thing.
Speaking of villains… Gymal (I think that’s the right spelling of his name) is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Given what’s revealed about him in book two, I thought I might be able to see something redeeming in him in this book… but no. I find it very difficult to reconcile the two books; they just seem completely different characters.
I did think that Ezra’s reasoning for not allowing Jekaran to leave was… shoddy at best. And the prophecy about him that caused Karak to appear was… well, if the only aspect about someone is ‘green eyes’, and that colour exists on more than one person, there needs to be more than that for why Karak would automatically assume Jerakan is the one.
I did find this book really easy to read. It was nice to have the opportunity to see more of this world and the different races that populate it. I have read book two… and I’m hoping to read book three in the near future.
Ink of Blood 