I Read What?!

So, I chose this book because Mistwraith hit that magical combination of being actually fun to read and also completely ridiculous. I don't mock these books because I hate them. Quite the opposite, I mock them out of love. I enjoy every minute of it.

Ships of Merior is a very fitting sequel to Curse of the Mistwraith. It's just as insane, chock full of Mary Sues and purple prose as the first one. The Fellowship are still the absolute Worst.

But there are also definite improvements too.

Plot and Character:

The plot is the biggest improvement over Mistwraith. And that's understandable. Mistwraith was an origin story, and thus there was a lot to get through before we got to the big climax. We also had to get to know and like Lysaer so we truly got to appreciate the horror and tragedy of his fate. For the most part, Ms. Wurts did a good job with this, though there were parts where the pacing really dragged.

Merior doesn't have that problem. We've already got our pieces in place and we can hit the ground running.

So we have two parallel primary plots: Lysaer's and Arithon's. And they work pretty well in tandem. Lysaer isn't a static villain. He has his own goals and his own momentum. And the parallels that take place between his plot and Arithon's plot are always very interesting. Neither character is reactive, and it's fun to see the moves and countermoves.

The smaller plots are interesting too. We still have that thread of clan vs. town. Jieret and Caolle, Maenalle, Pesquil, et al. We got a satisfying resolution for some of it, but not for all. But then, I suppose it makes sense, as it's only half of a story.

The Fellowship plot, such as it is, is really the only downside. I probably should care more about it than I do. After all, it IS important to find the source of the Mistwraith and see if they can stop it once and for all. But they're just...so...awful, that I really don't care. Sorry.

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Characters:

I feel like my discussion of the plot(s) is shorter than it should be, but it's really not possible to discuss the plots without talking about the characters. And that's a great thing, really. The plot is just that character driven.

Dakar: Dakar gets promoted to main character status here and, in my opinion, it's well deserved. He's so much fun as a character, and a welcome antidote to the self-important drama of the others. His dynamic with Arithon in particular, both as Medlir and as Arithon himself, is amazing. They bounce off each other so well.

The only downside is that Dakar's constant determination to believe the worst in Arithon is starting to get a little tiring. As the audience, we KNOW Arithon in a way Dakar doesn't. And while I intellectually appreciate that the Fellowship has told him nothing and Arithon himself is so very good at playing the asshole, I still feel like Dakar should have gotten something of a clue by now.

That said, maybe he would have if he didn't kind of fade into the background of Arithon's plot once they reached Merior. This is a point where I have to remind myself that Merior is only half of a book. HOPEFULLY, Dakar will return to prominence in the second half, Warhost of Vastmark.

Arithon: This book was really Arithon's turn to shine. Mistwraith had to set up so much (and we had the Lysaer issue to deal with) that we didn't really have the chance to know Arithon as a person beyond the occasional assholish angst.

Merior makes up for that, and then some. Medlir was a delight: Arithon without baggage, getting to banter and play in a way that he never got to in Mistwraith. (Though, of course, furthering his own schemes.) But Arithon is equally as entertaining in his own form. Between the clash at the armory, to his bizarre habit of making friends through kidnapping, bribing people with the lost arts of piracy, the utter mess of his relationship with Elaira...

And then there are the schemes! It's hard to write a mastermind character without getting ridiculous, or writing their opponents as clueless idiots to compensate. Arithon IS ridiculous, but I also completely buy that the man has four different back up plans at any given time.

Of course, being Arithon, they're all going to backfire horribly or angstfully. But that's how it goes.

Lysaer: And of course, this is the book were we get to see Lysaer as he'll be for the rest of the series. The man we knew, and hopefully liked, in Mistwraith is gone. The man left behind is a monster. Oh, he's good at the showy gestures. He might even believe his own press. But there's a palpable coldness to everything that he does. And you can feel how he'd sacrifice pretty much anything and anyone for his goals. Though he might sigh or even brood about the difficult decision. (Someone tell Talith to run far, far away.)

And he's competent. More than competent, he's brilliant. If anything, I get frustrated by just how competent he is and how adept he is at twisting everything to his cause. But it's always believable too. The people he manipulates aren't idiots. But he's so good at telling them exactly what they want to hear and pointing them in the right direction. If anyone thinks Charisma or Diplomacy are dump stats/skills, they really should see him at work.

And so many other characters get great moments too: Jieret, Maenalle, Elaira, Diegan, Pesquil, Keldmar and the other s'Bransiens. Even fluttery little Jinesse. I love (or hate, in a few cases) them all.

There are other things I want to talk about too, but I think some of it should probably wait for Vastmark, because I do know some of these things will be followed up on there. (Like romance. I have lots of stuff to say about THAT, but it's not fair to do it now when I know/remember that Talith will have a much more prominent role in the second half of the story.)

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So now it's the Verdict:

I've mentioned a LOT that Ships of Merior is only half of a story. That said, since it is published as a separate book, so I should be evaluating it as a separate book. And I would say, for the most part, that it does pass.

There is a ending point that is reasonably satisfying, and some plotlines (specifically Jieret and Pesquil's, and Arithon and Elaira's) get some measure of a resolution. Arithon gets a victory and Lysaer a setback, albeit not for long. Things are progressing forward.

So it does pass. Conditionally.

Because there are a lot of things left hanging. As mentioned, Dakar pretty much vanishes during the last third of the book. Maenalle's been executed and we haven't seen much by way of aftermath. The s'Bransiens and the Koriani are still in play. And okay, FINE, we probably SHOULD find out more about what the Fellowship is ACTUALLY doing and what they'll have learned.

It's like reviewing Empire Strikes Back without seeing Return of the Jedi. We're basically just judging the set up without seeing how it all weaves together yet. It might be really good or really bad.

I guess I'll just have to read Warhost of Vastmark to find out.