Review by David
Apr 13, 2021Order of Valxiron is the third book in the Chronicles of Pelenor quadrilogy, written by Meg Cowley. Harper is dealing with the fact that she suddenly has a heritage she didn’t expect, powers beyond what she could ever imagine, and that she is now bound to the most evil person in the lands. Dimitri is slowly trying to figure out how to deal with Saradin, but he is not really getting anywhere, as he has no idea what to do. We get a flurry of new side characters and sideplots, and the dwarven and elven kingdoms are starting to realize that an old evil has woken up.
While the writing itself is quite the same as in the previous two entries, the story is finally opening up somewhat, with an influx of new characters, places, and cultures, which suits it a lot. The third entry in the series also takes a much darker tone, which also something I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, every introduction of new place or concept is always very shallowly described, akin to my critique of the previous books, where I felt chapter introductions and setting shifts, were always lacking. This gives the reader the feeling of there being a much larger world, which is finally starting to diverge from the completely standard Tolkien world, but that we are merely left with tidbits of why these new things are being introduced and how interesting they are. They are introduced because they serve a function in the story, not because they are part of a larger fantasy world, and that is a real pity.
Coupled with a very slow plot in the first half of the book with a severe lack of tension, I was left with a story that wasn’t that interesting. Harper is a whiny main character, who doesn’t learn from experiences, and who seem to be completely oblivious to her role in the world, to the point where she actively seeks out things that you know will go bad. On top of that, you know that she won’t be hurt by the main bad guy, because he clearly states it so, and all tension is removed.
Coupled with even more bad guys, who are clearly just evil for the sake of being evil, it really lacked in the deep character department. One dimensional bad guys (Especially the main bad guy), coupled with a main character which is about as likeabel and interesting as an overripe tomato, it just didn’t cut it for me. And while we hear a lot about the main characters, who are not in danger, we are left with many questions on what is going on in the rest of the world? This is addressed much more specifically in the second part of the book, but here we have even more bad guys introduced, this time elves, who also seem evil just for the sake of being evil.
One of the main problems, which I first really realized in the second part of book three, is that the author is really not very good at writing action. The vast majority of action is written from a narrators point of view, so there’s again the distinct lack of tension from the main characters view points. And he even goes as far as writing a section with literal “swish, slash, stab” etc., which is horrible writing! I really hope he improves in this area.
The audiobook narration was good as previously, so nothing to complain about there.
Overall, did you enjoy the previous entries, you will definitely also like this one. The book turns more complex and dark, which is good, but it is also shallow and messy as a result. While the first two books (Unintentionally I assume) relied on readers knowing exactly what they were getting, just from the fact that the world is a complete phenocopy of Tolkien’s Middleearth, it severely lacks from more background descriptions, and tension with regards to the main characters. Had it been 25% longer with a better flow and deeper descriptions and world building, then I definitely think it would be the best in the series! At least it finishes with a very open ending, which will leave you asking for the final book.
I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).
Order of Valxiron is the third book in the Chronicles of Pelenor quadrilogy, written by Meg Cowley. Harper is dealing with the fact that she suddenly has a heritage she didn’t expect, powers beyond what she could ever imagine, and that she is now bound to the most evil person in the lands. Dimitri is slowly trying to figure out how to deal with Saradin, but he is not really getting anywhere, as he has no idea what to do. We get a flurry of new side characters and sideplots, and the dwarven and elven kingdoms are starting to realize that an old evil has woken up.
While the writing itself is quite the same as in the previous two entries, the story is finally opening up somewhat, with an influx of new characters, places, and cultures, which suits it a lot. The third entry in the series also takes a much darker tone, which also something I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, every introduction of new place or concept is always very shallowly described, akin to my critique of the previous books, where I felt chapter introductions and setting shifts, were always lacking. This gives the reader the feeling of there being a much larger world, which is finally starting to diverge from the completely standard Tolkien world, but that we are merely left with tidbits of why these new things are being introduced and how interesting they are. They are introduced because they serve a function in the story, not because they are part of a larger fantasy world, and that is a real pity.
Coupled with a very slow plot in the first half of the book with a severe lack of tension, I was left with a story that wasn’t that interesting. Harper is a whiny main character, who doesn’t learn from experiences, and who seem to be completely oblivious to her role in the world, to the point where she actively seeks out things that you know will go bad. On top of that, you know that she won’t be hurt by the main bad guy, because he clearly states it so, and all tension is removed.
Coupled with even more bad guys, who are clearly just evil for the sake of being evil, it really lacked in the deep character department. One dimensional bad guys (Especially the main bad guy), coupled with a main character which is about as likeabel and interesting as an overripe tomato, it just didn’t cut it for me. And while we hear a lot about the main characters, who are not in danger, we are left with many questions on what is going on in the rest of the world? This is addressed much more specifically in the second part of the book, but here we have even more bad guys introduced, this time elves, who also seem evil just for the sake of being evil.
One of the main problems, which I first really realized in the second part of book three, is that the author is really not very good at writing action. The vast majority of action is written from a narrators point of view, so there’s again the distinct lack of tension from the main characters view points. And he even goes as far as writing a section with literal “swish, slash, stab” etc., which is horrible writing! I really hope he improves in this area.
The audiobook narration was good as previously, so nothing to complain about there.
Overall, did you enjoy the previous entries, you will definitely also like this one. The book turns more complex and dark, which is good, but it is also shallow and messy as a result. While the first two books (Unintentionally I assume) relied on readers knowing exactly what they were getting, just from the fact that the world is a complete phenocopy of Tolkien’s Middleearth, it severely lacks from more background descriptions, and tension with regards to the main characters. Had it been 25% longer with a better flow and deeper descriptions and world building, then I definitely think it would be the best in the series! At least it finishes with a very open ending, which will leave you asking for the final book.
I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).
