The Bitter Twins

Das zweite Buch war noch besser als das erste. Einfach klasse. Große Leseempfehlung von mir. Ich hatte die englische Reihe schon im Schrank, aber die Reihe erscheint ja auch auf Deutsch. Der neunte Regen ist schon seit kurzem erhältlich.

“Our armies, with their shining armour and singing swords are rust and dusty bones. We are like... an echo of something that came before.” It is difficult for me to say if I enjoyed The Bitter Twins more than its predecessor. Some of the problems I had with The Ninth Rain (e.g. the enormous amount of exposition through epigraphs) were toned down to such an extend that I cannot say that they were an issue at all anymore. The one thing I felt somehow suffered though was the overall pacing and direction, especially during the first half of the book. I understand that the characters themselves were in a way lost and in search of a purpose but that just made the first half feel like there was big questionmark hovering over the main cast that could be easily resolved by them not being so, I don't know, reactionary? But for all the criticisms I have of the first half I would still like to praise it. The dark horror elements were better than ever and seeing the world expanding its science-fiction roots was a joy to behold. As always, the characters were the center piece of the story and with the new lets call them companions, to not spoil anything here, the cast felt more dynamic and brimming with life than ever before. That being said, Vintage and her story was, sadly, the weakest for me, to a point where even the big twists and turns fell flat. Similarly flat fell Tormalin's. But this could be due to to him having way less to say in this book ( other than being horny and or sassy of course ) and with the expanded cast that span at often great distances that might have been unvoidable. “This pain is not a weakness. It is strength. Our grief binds us. Do you feel it?” The second half was filled with action and reveals at every corner of Sarn. Every mystery was followed by a metaphorical gut punch that me and the characters just had to live with, since there was no time for grief or questions, just decisiveness and action. I loved the character development of every single pro- and antagonist. I loved the mysteries that when revealed made way for even more questions about the world and universe Jenn Williams created. I loved how personal this apocalypse was to each person fighting in it. Although I cannot say which book I enjoyed more, Jen Williams made me care so much that I want to do nothing more than read the last book in the trilogy and find out what is going to happen. And if this is not enough for you to start reading The Winnowing Flame Trilogy then I don't know how anyone could persuade you.