Halfway into the second and presumably last Seekers arc! Spoilers ahead.
The trio continue their journey, this time to the hopeful home of Toklo. They follow the river into the mountains, and another black bear named Chenoa ends up joining them on their journey. But the group doesn't seem at all united, especially with Yakone and Kallik not being used to the warmer climate. Will they continue their journey together?
I have...mixed thoughts. The Seekers series so far, both arcs, I wouldn't call bad. Heck, there's even some real gems of books and moments and characters in here. However, the entire series by now is just reeking of re-treading the same conflicts time and again.
And I know what you're going to say. "Alex, that also happens constantly with Warriors." To which I say, yes, you're absolutely correct. However, Warriors didn't start getting old for me until about three arcs in with enough new elements introduced to keep things fresh, meanwhile Seekers already started to feel repetitive since about halfway into arc one.
The conflicts in these books are pretty much constantly the same, and it's getting really old. Each book is a traveling book, there's not a single one where they consistently stay within the same territory or whatnot. And their conflicts are usually things like human pollution or destruction (e.g. the woodcutting in this book), rival bears or animals (e.g. Hakan here), conflicts of nature such as rivers or the cold or starvation, etc., and/or interpersonal conflict with one of the team's members being consistently grumpy and reluctant to go on the journey. In the first arc this was usually Toklo, and now in this book that torch has been passed onto Yakone.
Speaking of him, yeah, boy is he an asshole in this. He purposefully chose to go on this journey with Kallik and the others, yet he's constantly whining and complaining and he even wants Kallik to choose him over her found family? Dude, how in the hell are you being a good or likable friend/boyfriend to her here? He did not in any way or shape have to come along, he could've just waited on the ice for Kallik to return from her journey with Lusa and Toklo.
But no, Yakone makes a bad decision and instead of owning up to it, or deciding to go back on it and return to the ice, he constantly whines and is rude to Kallik's friends and even Kallik herself. Genuinely, what does she even see in this guy? If I were her I would've dumped his ass a quarter into this book. I think they're not technically together yet, but even as friends or would-be partners they just do not work at all here.
The book tries to make it a conflict for Kallik whether she wants to choose Yakone or her found family, and instead of going with the very obvious right answer (the bears who actually treat her and others with respect) she just, doesn't really choose and in the end. Yakone just kind of cools off and becomes more respectable. But like, he's just so unlikable in this book that I genuinely do not think he and Kallik should even be together.
It wasn't even interesting to read about, it also got constantly repetitive and annoying for the reader because Yakone was always complaining about the same things. "Oooh it's too hot. Oooh there's debris and trees on the ground everywhere. Oooh your hunting methods are weird." Shut your yap, asshole, you got yourself into this situation and instead of fixing it by going back you're lashing out at others including your maybe-girlfriend. What a completely unlikable character. Yakone wasn't so bad in the previous books but this book 100% soured him for me and the idea of him and Kallik getting together after this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There's a way to do relationship drama right, but this was just downright obnoxious and made me want to put down the book.
Also, somehow Kallik now also has to get used to walking on land again? I can understand this being a conflict for Yakone who has mostly been on ice and barren land, but Kallik? She has literally been to the Last Wilderness, a landscape full with lush fields and forests and mountains. And now suddenly somehow she's also complaining about not being used to walking on this type of ground? That's just...wildly inconsistent and feels like a retcon. Heck, it'd have made her conflict with Yakone also a bit more believable as she'd at least know how to semi-function off the ice due to her past experiences, meanwhile he'd be completely hopeless. But apparently she just has to re-learn this stuff? Weird, feels inconsistent.
The book itself wasn't horrible or anything for the rest, but just...I am starting to become fatigued with this series. The characters traveling endlessly and always encountering the same types of threats and conflict with little to no variation, it's getting tiring. That's not a criticism of this book alone, but the entire series. Even the books I really liked in the first arc suffered from this, though granted it wasn't getting old back then quite as much yet.
The only elements I really liked about this book were still the characters. Lusa is still my absolute favorite, with her well-written, rounded and spirited personality. Toklo, too, is really enjoyable now that he's pretty much the group's bodyguard. And Chenoa, while only a brief addition to the cast, was also nice and her bond with the other characters felt pretty genuine, especially Lusa. But like, that's really where the stuff I liked about this book ends. The rest is just retreading past conflicts again, and the relationship drama with Yakone and Kallik was so damn repetitive and just annoying to read as well.
Again, this book is not that bad, I don't think any of the series so far truly is (though there have been some I don't care for), but this one just feels like another dime in a dozen Seekers book. Aside from Yakone being an asshole now and the addition of Chenoa, what even sets this book apart from the rest? I sure as hell don't know. By now I just want these characters to settle and face some other forms of conflict. Please.
Rating: 3/5
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