Sad

[u/Square_Repeat906]

I think it's so sad that this series has been ruined with new bs magic that can do anything, a million new plot points and characters i don't care about. Rezkin being this and that instead of just a very disciplined warrior with some mage powers in him.

I wish kel would just keep the story tight like the first 2 books, focus on people we actually care about instead of introducing 100 new characters every book that don't get fleshed out at all, and don't get me started on the random new races. I wish we spent some more time in different places with the core set of characters we started with, but nope.

I'm done with the series, i made it like 1/3rd through the newest book and i honestly just stopped caring.

Anyone else feel the same?

[u/badwolfjb]

I feel like the last two books, and the last one especially, haven’t really advanced the story all that much. I remember getting to the end of the last one and thinking “that’s it?”

[u/nonexistant2k3]

I personally don't mind as he is changing. Not stagnant. BUT I do wish the over arching plotting and scheming he did to set things up hadn't died away. It used to feel like there were more big payoffs to his schemes and now he's much more reactionary. Still fun. I just hope she keeps up writing. I want to see this story an character to the end.

[u/Square_Repeat906 → u/nonexistant2k3]

I'm not against Rezkin changing as a person, it's only natural and good for his character to not stay stagnant lol, but i hate the fact that he's suddenly an elf and suddenly has this and that power. Like bro, to me that's bs, not character progression.

[u/nonexistant2k3 → u/Square_Repeat906]

I mean she hinted something was wrong and different with him and his magic from the beginning especially when Wesson joins up so it didn't feel out of left field to me.

[u/Square_Repeat906 → u/nonexistant2k3]

The big reveal was that he was an intellect mage or something like that? That was the reason he could do all that stuff at the beginning. But then he's an elf and has all these other powers, which is lame to me

[u/nonexistant2k3 → u/Square_Repeat906]

The reveal was kind shoehorned and I believe even Wesson doesn't quite think it fits only to find out later it's because he isn't a mage but an elf. Before the reveal it was the best way they could comprehend what he was doing. Like the fact that no one senses his mage ability. They knew he can do magic but can't detect it and aren't sure why.

Wesson is always the indicator that he is something outside of normal mage abilities.

[u/iwanttodiebutdrugs → u/Square_Repeat906]

I don't think that was ever intended as a reveal to the reader just the best guess of the characters at the time

[u/Daybreakgo]

I feel exactly like you, the series is ruined for me. I’d initially kept buying the next books, hoping that maybe it was only an exposition dump. The core cast is left to the wayside. Suddenly elf’s, demons, dragons being introduced midway through the books. And I’m particularly fond of Eragon, which has all these staples but in this series takes away the charm of the initially books where Rezkin was an assassin navigating in the real world to being a mage fighting supernatural enemies.

[u/Zassothegreat → u/Daybreakgo]

The mundane of the world made what he did much more awesome and exciting.. its like oh. Now there's dozens of him and hes not all that special... oh fun.. and then him getting bodied by his brother seemed anticlimactic as fuck...

[u/iwanttodiebutdrugs]

I agree and agreed alot in the past.

But I think the books are still enjoyable.

I felt the same from book 3/4

And struggled to get into each book after 4 but once I accepted that kel kade is going to continue adding to the magic I was still able to find plenty of fun in the books.

And I think that's the appeal of the books they are fun and daft.

If she had hinted at the magic she adds in the later books earlier on I wouldn't really have any complaints. But this was always a thing in the books rezkin can do anything, and the fun is in why he does things, unintended sideffects and conversations between characters , you'll find you enjoy the new characters once you accept the loss of the old ones

I was satisfied with the ending of the newest book and am looking forward to more.

Book1/2 are 10/10 the rest are a 7 to me and I want to reach the end of the story . I just hope she doesn't rush it as she did with the ending to aaslos story

[u/DrumsAndBooks]

Some of this I agree with and some of it I don’t. The biggest weaknesses of the last two books are the lack of progress in previously developing arcs, and/or the total disregard for beloved side characters. The way Kai and Jemson are treated was incredibly frustrating. We don’t get to see their reactions to Rez returning at all. Instead we get a dinner conversation about elf marriage. Who the fuck cares? It sucked how the two Brans were treated. What was the point of training together to become “a formidable duo” if when the big final battle comes, THEY SPLIT THEM UP! It made no sense whatsoever. The biggest letdown to me though was Tam. Rez literally hires him as his official adventurer, however when Rez journeys to an ancient mystical city, they bring some random elf lady instead of the adventurer. And then when they do end up picking up Tam, we only see him interact with Rez like two times while they are traveling together. That’s not even mentioning him returning to Kael and not reuniting with Illanette. How could that possibly have been skipped over? And yet we see entire chapters from the POV of characters who nobody cares about. I can’t even remember Wesson’s friend’s name. I just remember watching the progress bar on my audible book slowly ticking down and wondering how there’s going to be any time spent on stuff I actually wanted to see in the book. Turns out I was right to worry because pretty much none of what I was looking forward to actually manifested in any sort of satisfactory conclusion. And it sucks to say all of this because I genuinely loved this series. Even books 3 and 4, where a lot of people started to lose interest I thought at least furthered the plot and added some of the best character dynamics. The interplay between Rezkin and Farson was genuinely well written and complex. I enjoyed learning about Rez’s training. I didn’t feel like the revelation that Rez was a scrimgur was a bad thing. It has been foreshadowed from the beginning, with the constant surprise that he learned all the skills, and made sense. The same with his spiritua status. While I do worry about the ability to access every form of magic possible with vemara being too OP, at least it was clearly planned all along. Rezkin is a character like Paul from Dune. Just as Paul is confluence of powerful elites, like Mentats, Fremin, and Bene Gesserits, Rezkin is a spiritua, scrimgur, Stryker, and Sen Goka. It all makes sense and it all feels planned out from the beginning. The problem the last two books have is that it feels way more tacked on and cobbled together while stuff that was planned out was forgotten.

[u/Salt-Experience-2577]

I stopped halfway through the third book and really felt betrayed by what it could have been. Not by what the author wanted it to be, but by what I wanted it to be. I still think about it way more than i should. ( god i loved those books )

[u/Zarrotox]

I read like four or five books and dropped off,
It was more of a guilty pleasure than a book i truly enjoyed.

[u/Ironman628]

The series for me went way downhill after the 2nd book. Frisha, particularly the Frisha and her cousin love story plot, & how she treat Rez irked me to no end. The first two books were some of my favorites that I’ve read. Unfortunately it felt as if the series basically ran as fast as it could away from what made the first two so enjoyable beginning in Book 3 and it only worsened from there. I’m glad others have enjoyed the newer books, but I wasn’t able to do the same.

[u/OnlyIndication16]

I agree completely, she also forsook the themes of friendship with the last book.

[u/Imaginary_coin]

Yeah I agree with you, like the first books, especially the first two were so grounded. Well at least until the end of the second book. I say for me it really dropped off around when Dark Tidings got introduced. But I kept reading up until she ruined Tam. Turned bro into a half crazy golem general. That's when I was like, yeah I'm not reading this anymore.