We return to the world of ancient Greece. Spoilers ahead.
Hylas travels to Keftiu in order to free Pirra and Havoc from the clutches of the high-priestess. However, when he arrives there, the island is in awful condition, with signs of the black plague and disaster everywhere. Meanwhile, Pirra befriends a young falcon, and the Crows, including Telamon, are still hunting the dagger.
Yet another strong installment of the series. I genuinely can call myself a fan of Gods and Warriors by now, something I didn't really expect initially going in because the setting of ancient Greece didn't exactly speak to me. But here we are, another really strong book.
I once again just loved the characters and they do truly feel rounded and flawed. None of them are perfect and while they're usually trying to do the right thing they mess up sometimes, making them feel realistic. Also, Telamon seems to have completed his corruption arc by now and is now really a downright villain, with him before being more of an antagonist who had some leftover loyalty to Hylas.
In this book, he's much more of a villain with not a lot to him other than a desire for revenge, but I don't mind this because he was properly developed into a villain, rather than just a one-note villain from day one. Book one saw Telamon thoroughly torn between his kin and his loyalty to Hylas, book two showed him slowly going through his corruption arc while he still had some leftover feelings of friendship for Hylas, and now by book three he's a proper villain and fully-fledged Crow. So while he wasn't written as three-dimension-ally here (he's now just a downright villain and has no loyalty to Hylas left), the fact that he got a proper buildup makes him still a very effective antagonist.
I was also glad to see my favorite character, Astarkos, briefly return. He's one of the best because he walks the fine line of being truly morally gray very well. He has some love and loyalty for Hylas and at least somewhat considered adopting him at one point, but he also tends to avoid him and can be mean to him. So a good morally gray character, I hope he keeps re-appearing throughout the rest of the books.
Is there no flaw here then? I wouldn't say that. With Telamon now fully at their side, the Crows do become pretty one-note villains who just want the knife. Telamon was always the one who gave them a bit of nuance, but now that he's fully converted to their side they do lose a bit of the interest factor if you ask me.
Also, I think both Havoc and Pirra were a bit too quick to forgive Hylas for sending them to Keftiu in the last book. Yes, it was to save them, but they just ended up forgiving him a bit too easily especially when in the earlier chapters both characters' internal monologue was like "I'll never forgive him". Just makes it lose a little bit of the tension when they come around pretty quick after he finds them again. Especially considering the fact that both Pirra and Havoc are very spirited and strong-willed characters who usually don't change their mind quickly, so to see them forgive Hylas really soon was just a tad disappointing. Of course, I'm not asking for them to never forgive him; I want to see our main team re-united. But it'd have had a lot more impact if it took them more time to trust one another again.
But overall this is still another fantastic installment, despite my gripes. I can't wait to read book four!
Rating: 4/5
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