Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Genre: Fantasy
By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter? -Goodreads
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter? -Goodreads
3.5 Stars
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Here's the thing: I was absolutely crazy for this book prior to its publication. It was one of those books that I knew with certainty that it would be the highlight of my 2014 reading list. I even saw Laini Taylor (twice! In one weekend!) and bought the book and stroked the cover and fantasized about more of Taylor-loveliness. I've been following this series for about three years and have been an unrelenting fan of it since reading the first page of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. To say I had high expectations for this conclusion is an understatement.
As I cracked open the book, everything was perfect, and I was a happy reader. Emphasis on was. The beginning was divine, as were the characters, the worldbuilding, and the prose throughout this book. If I could highlight pages at a time of sublime prose, believe me, I totally would. (But I would never hurt a book like that.) The middle, I think, is where the story began to go downhill, because as complications arose, my attention faltered. My aforementioned contentment? It began to dwindle. It took me 2 whole months to finish this book! 2 MONTHS. Why? Because of the info-dumps. Because of the angst. Because, all in all, I lost interest, even after the plot thickened and seemingly became more intriguing.
There is no doubt, though, that this book succeeds in factors other than plot. We get plenty of Zuzana and Mik, and although I admit Akiva and Karou as a couple began to irritate me after a while, they had their fair share of cute scenes. Character-wise and writing-wise, Dreams of Gods in Monsters delivers, in typical Taylor-style. But for this book to be considered entertaining or particularly emotional? I can't say I agree with that -- not entirely.
Speaking of emotional, the Epilogue was... eh. I'm not wowed by it, nor do I feel an emptiness or a sense of loss after finally completing my favorite series. To sum it up, it was lackluster in the truest sense of the word. And to add more fuel to the fire, I was a bit relieved after finishing that last page. I actually had to force myself to finish this and to stop putting it off, which to me is usually a sign that the book and I aren't getting along very well.
THAT LAST LINE, THOUGH. PROBABLY THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE ENTIRE NOVEL BECAUSE OF CUTENESS.
*regains composure* For me, Days of Blood and Starlight was the shining point in this series, and it only grew dimmer as I read on, I'm afraid.
Aw I'm sorry you were disappointed by this one, Summer. I read it in only a few days and I didn't have the problems you did, but I do agree that there were a lot of infodumps.
ReplyDeleteI still love Laini Taylor, but I guess my expectations were just too high. I'm super glad you loved it, though!
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