Spirited Away: Tithe, Valiant and Ironside
Spirited Away is a personal project of mine where I read through a bunch of faerie books (stand-alone and in series) and then talk briefly about them.
First all, I am so glad they have gone back to using Sammy Yuen’s artwork for the covers. His stuff is absolutely gorgeous and I was really disappointed to see that, for a time, they had ditched his beautiful stuff for people on the covers.
I had read both Tithe and Valiant before, but despite having all three books on my bookshelf for some time I never finished the series - despite promising myself that I would several times over 2011. It was the decision to re-read the first two books before reading the third that sparked this project.
Of the two I had read, Valiant was my favourite - while I liked the world that Tithe set up and some of the writing, I found I had difficulty connecting to any of the characters. Reading Tithe for the second time around I still had that personal sense of disconnect (I can see how others might like them, but I personally didn’t connect) but this time around I did enjoy the world and the writing even more. When I read Ironside later in the week I liked the characters a lot more; Roiben especially was far more compelling and interesting. Whether it was just the different storyline or growth on behalf of the author I don’t know.
Now that I have read all three novels (and the short stories in The Poison Eaters & Other Stories), Valiant is still my favourite because both the story and the protagonist Val simply appeal to me more. While I now appreciate the characters and storyline of Tithe more after a second go, it and Ironside still don’t have quite enough to displace Valiant from its position as the favourite of the series.
Next Up: The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa (I am currently nearing the end of my re-read of The Iron King before reading the rest of the series for the first time), and then a non-faerie reading break.
Mirrored from On The Nightstand.