Review
of Wolf's-own, Book Four, Incendiary
by Cole Riann @ The Armchair Reader
Original URL
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Rating:
LOVED IT!!!!
**This review contains spoilers for the first three books —
Ghost,
Weregild
and
Koan**
BLURB
Fen Jacin-rei finds
himself again on the run after discovering the reality of what
he is and why the gods won’t let him go. His one source of
support, Kamen Malick, is suddenly unavailable, and now hounded
and chased by ghosts who want to drive him into insanity and
keep him there, Fen will have to face life all alone.
…Or
maybe not. Old enemies and new allies seek to control Fen, now
known as “Kamen’s Untouchable.” It’s going to take everything
Fen’s got to figure out who he can trust—and who he should fear.
It might take more than what Fen’s got to discern who is even
real.
REVIEW
Well… wow.
This book and the
ending to this epic story was very satisfying! The grunt work we
had to pull in Koan finally came through in this book,
as well as the turmoil the characters had to go through. Not
only did I feel like this second chapter (Koan and
Incendiary) was necessary to the story after what feels
like an end after Weregild, but this series ended with
a perfect amount of closure and possibility, of one very
specific character’s future that almost has to be a whole new
series (though, no pressure, Carole!). I couldn’t have been
happier with the state the characters ended on their own
personal journeys, though many still have much further to go, of
course. In the end of this book I felt like I could relax and
take a deep breath and that even though Fen’s life is completely
FUBAR (never was there a more appropriate term), that it’s
possible things might just go okay. Well, that’s how I picture
it anyway — that way I’ll sleep tonight!
There’s so much I
want to talk about, but I can’t because it wouldn’t be fair to
spoiler those of you who love this series like I do and are
reading along. But I think that, in my most cryptic manner
possible, what makes this last book such a success is that while
we’re given completely new revelatory information, it doesn’t
feel cheap because it plays by the rules we’ve grown to know of
throughout this series and in Fen’s world — manipulation, first
and foremost… but by whom? Also, it’s so fun to get to see all
the dedication pay off for someone who rivals Frodo in
endurance, even while batshit (as Morin likes to say). It isn’t
really about winning or losing, but the ability to make your own
choices, and the way that Carole maneuvered the players so that
something so impossible might happen was done quite well. Plus,
I mean for godsakes, the man never has a cigarette when he needs
one! I want to give one to him. If anyone, ANYONE deserves a
cigarette, it’s Fen.
Most of my biggest
burning questions throughout the series have all in some way
revolved around the existence and motivations of the gods. The
information we receive about them is crucial in a
straightforward way, it is information Fen must understand to
complete his goal. But I also had a bit of a hard time while
reading Koan, understanding just what being an
Incendiary means in the vaguest sense, and in relation to a
Catalyst. The motivations, though not surprising, and actions of
the gods themselves were what helped me understand that.
I think that there
isn’t as much for me to talk about with these later
installments, at least without giving anything away. I could
happily chat along about how I loved it, but I think that the
really crucial information about the characters and
understanding who they really are comes in the first two books.
And that never really changes. I’ve loved this series, and if
Carole ever decides to extend it in the direction it is pointed,
I’ll definitely be there to read, just as I will everything she
writes. And now that all the books are out, I’m hoping that some
new readers will pick up this series! I’ll definitely be reading
it again, and I have a feeling that when I do I’ll see a whole
new meaning in every direction. I can’t wait to find out what
that is :)
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