War Storm (Red Queen)

"Break his crown, break his throne, rip his monarchy apart.” I don't know what it is about this series that intrigues me, but I finished every book within a few days. I immensely enjoyed the different POV's. In this book we get Mare (duh), Evangeline, Iris, Cal, and Maven. I've seen many reviews for the previous books stating that they didn't like Mare and that she was annoying. I didn't notice it in the first three books, but damn I was so annoyed with her in this one! She was so petty! Honey, it isn't that deep. Her POV was my least favorite. Evangelines POV was a highlight for me in King's Cage. It was interesting to see the relationships between her family, her lover, Mare, and Cal. I would've loved more background info about Elaine, since we don't know much about their history. Iris was facinating to me! A Silver princess from the Lakelands which makes her a double threat against the Scarlet Gaurd and Norta. She was cunning, wicked, clever, but also a little remorseful. I completely lost interest in Cal. Mavens POV's on the other hand... it was depressing! He's so messed up. He's also a good actor, hiding his emotions and drawing raw emotions out of others with ease. I didn't know if I should be impressed or sad. War Storm delivers its promise – war – affecting the pace, setting a tedious rhythm to events, especially combined with back-and-forth games of politics. This book depicts messy and bloody war accurately: battles upon battles, chains of changes of situation, constantly shifting alliances, smaller and bigger enemies, betrayals and elaborate politics. Adding duty, honour and sacrifice makes every decision weigh a ton. It was amazing to see how suddenly the dynamics of war can change and also get a taste of the cunningness of the process. The ending was predictable, but I liked that it was an open ending. I think like that's the best way for dystopian books to end, especially ones where a government is overthrown. Rebuilding takes years.

Es war beinahe ein Gefühl von Erleichterung, als das Buch vorbei war und das ist nie ein gutes Zeichen. Zunächst, ich liebe die Grundidee, die politischen Sichten, die verschiedenen Parteien und Häuser. Das macht die Welt ziemlich gut. Und dann die Charaktere. Damit struggle ich nach wie vor. Helden dürfen Probleme haben, dürfen Fehler machen und sich irren. Sonst wäre eine Entwicklung nicht möglich. Aber hier... puh. Über weite Strecken fühlte sich die Geschichte runtergeschrieben an und hat mich nicht wirklich auf einer emotionalen Ebene mitgenommen. Und dann kämpfe ich mich durch vier Bücher und bekomme dieses Ende? Das ungefähr so unspektakulär ist, wie es nur sein kann? Das macht für mich die Reihe einfach so... unnötig.