Cinda Williams Chima

Oh my, that was just as wonderful as the first book. Possibly better as the fantasy world Ms. Chima has created is even more fully-fleshed, just like the characters, who get proper backstories of thier own in many cases.

The only thing that grates just a little is the choice of the term "girlie" to refer to young women; it reminds me of Beth in [b:Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe.|855118|Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe. (Beth Lambert, #1)|Bette show more Greene|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347876697s/855118.jpg|2984586] when the fat white man calls her that and she wonders how he'd like being called a manlie. This is clearly my issue though and doesn't really qualify as a flaw. show less

(Note: The Crimson Crown is the fourth book in the Seven Realms series. This review may contain SPOILERS for earlier books in the series.)

Raisa is now Queen of the Fells, and Han is her bodyguard and her appointee to the Wizard Council -- but neither of them are out of danger. The question of Raisa's marriage is fraught with tension, as both the Clans and the Wizards put forth candidates . . . and there are some who feel that they could do without Raisa at all. Meanwhile, Han's position show more gives him no protection from the other wizards, particularly the powerful Bayars, who would like nothing better than to have Han permanently removed from the picture. As war continues to rage in the kingdoms to the south, it appears that the Fells may fall to internal conflict rather than to invasion, though with the ambitious and ruthless Gerard Montaigne on the Ardenine throne, the southern kingdoms still pose a definite threat.

This book was a gripping conclusion to the series -- I read it quickly, finding it extremely difficult to put down. The characters and worldbuilding are strong, and the plot and pacing keep the reader engaged, to say the least. My only small complaint is that Chima occasionally used the particularly modern convention of breaking up an emphatically delivered sentence with periods. After. Every. Word. -- and, while I can accept that usage in a modern setting, I found it completely out of place in high fantasy. Other than that minor syntactical quibble, I really enjoyed this book, and will, I'm sure, reread the series in the future. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys high fantasy. Of course, if you are unfamiliar with the series, start with The Demon King -- this book definitely needs the context provided in earlier volumes. show less

I picked up this book last year sometime and I started to read it after an all night read-a-thon of The Demon King. I started this book and then put it away because I think I was on Seven Realms overload and the characters were making me angry. The other day I saw it at the library and gave it another shot and thoroughly loved it.

I love the intricacy of the entire word Ms. Chima built. I love the differences in the characters and the constant juxtaposition of Raisa and Han. I enjoyed the show more rivalry between the Bayars and Han, this isn't a children's rivalry, this whole book is live or death, crown and country. This book may be written for children but the situations are adult and intricate. This book isn't written so a child couldn't read it but it is written so an adult might enjoy it as well.

I think my favorite part of this book and the series so far is the relationships. I love how each character's relationship with each other is unique and different. Han and Raisa, Han and Crow, everyone has something unique to offer each and every relationship and I enjoy hashing it out in my head. This book is lovely and unpredictable. show less

Magic is real, and the people who use it are dicks.

Wizards have been engaged in a bloody battle for supremacy for generations, and they don't care who they destroy in the process. In [b:The Warrior Heir|213647|The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #1)|Cinda Williams Chima|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41c83bLdLWL._SL75_.jpg|1072532], young Jack finds out that he has magic and that the wizards plan to use him as a pawn in their latest scheme. With help from the few wizard rebels, he show more manages to badly damage the wizards' power over the other magic guilds. In the second book, [b:The Wizard Heir|500743|The Wizard Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #2)|Cinda Williams Chima|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CS2visUEL._SL75_.jpg|488848], the growing band of rebels continue their fight to create an egalitarian magic society while keeping the non-magic users safe. But in [b:The Dragon Heir|2866413|The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #3)|Cinda Williams Chima|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1206645200s/2866413.jpg|2529437] the wizards forge an uneasy alliance amongst themselves, and their combined power may be enough to destroy the haven of Trinity and all who have worked so hard to create it. The rebels' only chance to survive is to harness the power of the Dragon Stone. But the secrets of how to use the stone have been lost for centuries, and they're running out of time...

Sounds awesome, right? After all this build up, [b:The Dragon Heir|2866413|The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #3)|Cinda Williams Chima|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1206645200s/2866413.jpg|2529437] should be the apex of excitement and epic adventure! And yet--it's actually kinda boring. There are so many characters, and they all get more than their fair share of inner monologues about their personal problems. Even though this is the final battle, Chima introduces all manner of extraneous characters and extra plot points, then forgets about half of them. It's an unfocused mess of a book, and the climax is an unsatisfying deus-ex-machina.

The world building is subpar (I'm still bothered by the fact that we never see any hint that there's a broader world out there--it's all either western Europe or America. If both sides are in such dire straits, how come they never thought of seeking out help elsewhere?) and the plot is inconsistent. Chima isn't great at creating novel, memorable characters, either--I literally could not remember which male teen was which. That said, when Chima focuses on Seph, Jack or Madison, the story comes alive. And Chima is one of the few ya novelists who doesn't do gender essentialism. I loved that the male and female warriors are described using the same language (none of that half-hearted bullshit about how the dude is so strong and brawny and the lady is "lithe" or "slender"--they both hack people to death with swords and have got the incredible fore-arms to prove it). The characters have a wide range of motivations, abilities, and goals, irrespective of gender. It's sad how excited I am to find a fantasy book without that set of stereotypes.

Overall, I'd recommend this series, but with the caveat that the last book doesn't live up to what came before it. show less