Meine Güte, can you believe I am almost done with the first arc of this series after putting reading even book one off for so long? Let's see how this installment fares. Spoilers ahead.
Now back in Nilo, the team is trying to gather the talisman of Cabaro: the Golden Lion. But this proves difficult. Abeke and Meilin are still kidnapped by the Conquerors and trying to find a way to free themselves, and the boys and Tarik are facing their own troubles with the giant lion guarding his talisman. Overall I almost was about to consider this one of the weaker Spirit Animals books that I've read...up until the last third. Which got really intense. Cabaro the lion is trying to guard his oasis, talisman and animals against both the Greencloaks and the Conquerors alike. Meilin decides to give Abeke the chance to escape and to stay behind for the safety of the group as a whole (Gerathon still can still possess her). The Conquerors attack the oasis and the Golden Lion is almost lost to them. A giant battle ensues. Shane's sister dies. The true Devourer is proven to be Shane, who has been deceiving Abeke and others all this time, and not his uncle Gar. Tarik dies, and finally Rollan accepts the Greencloak title.
There was just, so much happening here, and it was all done very well. Just a super exciting and intense last third which absolutely elevated the book for the. The (quite boring) first and second thirds were absolutely worth sitting through just to get to that damn intense last one.
I still don't think the first two thirds were that good (though not really bad, either), but they did have good elements. The conflict between Abeke and her family (who pretty much abandoned her), both her and Meilin trying to find a way to flee the Conquerors while also being close to Shane, the scene where Gerathon manages to convince Drina's animal companion to brutally murder her in front of a crowd. And some of the stuff with the boys and Tarik was good as well. I like this new character they came across, Irtike, she's very enjoyable. And Cabaro's conflict was enjoyable as well. He's one of the Great Beasts who decided that animals are above being the comanions of humans, thinking them to be better and that they should stay separate, hence why he created his oasis as a refuge for various animal species. He's an asshole and an antagonist throughout quite a bit of the book, but honestly you can at least see the point he's trying to make when you see how some people treat animals and animal companions. But the third act just really elevated the book.
Now, for some things I didn't like as much. One: Rollan. I do like the fact that he decides to be a Greencloak here at last, it feels like a fitting (almost) conclusion of his character arc so far. But I do not like how he doesn't feel as snide and sarcastic as he used to be. Even when he was in a good mood he was always in for a snarky remark even if just in jest and it was one of my favorite elements of his character. This frankly quite rude character who is still a hero in his own way. But he seems to have...mellowed out a bit by this book and I'm not sure if I like that. He can definitely be less snide, but I really don't want them to take away his overall sarcastic and kind of rude attitude, it's what made him such an enjoyable character. I understand them wanting to develop his character but I just don't want him to feel bland, with him being my favorite character because of his sarcasm and sometimes blatant rudeness.
Also: Tarik's death. This is supposed to be a huge blow for our heroes since he has been their friend/mentor since book one, but I just...didn't feel it. He never was that interesting a character to me and just seemed to exist to fill the older friend/mentor/guide role for our heroes, but I never really got a glimpse of a deeper connection they had with him or anything. Sure, it's sad that he's dead, but I don't feel the impact much as a reader because Tarik just kind of felt like a rather bland character. A character who was there since day one, maybe, but still not all that interesting or developed. He's not badly written or anything, but I just don't have enough to work with to truly care here. So like, him dying is not the problem, but I wish that the previous books (or heck, even the first two thirds of this book) gave him a little more than just the "older friend/mentor/guide" role. His death was well-written, I just wish it left a bit more impact on me, the reader. The impact it's supposed to have because clearly this is a huge blow to our heroes.
Despite this, this is not a bad book at all! Maybe not as great at first, but once it gets going things go down. Now, there's only one book left in this arc, I believe! Let's see if I can finish it soon!
Rating: 4/5
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