The Immortal Crown

The Immortal Crown starts up several months after Gameboard of the Gods ends. Mae and Justin are working together to discover various reports of supernatural activity, while Tessa, Justin’s ward, is learning to adapt to life outside of Panama and the inundation of information available to citizens of RUNA. Readers get the chance to meet new gods and powers, see how other countries have incorporated religion or not, and get a clearer picture of the stakes involved with the gods’ increasing involvement.

Whereas the first book set the stage for the series, introducing all of the characters and establishing the plot of the entire series, this second novel feels very much like a carefully plotted but incomplete chess game in which the show more opponent has yet to make the move that will decide the fate of the game. Ms. Mead is moving towards something, something big, but what that is and how the players will get there is still unknown. This second novel is all about jockeying for position, answering some questions while raising others, and in general making it impossible for readers to know exactly how the series will unfold. In many ways, a reader feels much like Mae and Justin – at the mercy and whims of the gods and essentially powerless to stop the momentum. However, fans will not complain.

What makes the Age of X series so interesting is the debates about the place religion should have in society. The RUNA believes that religion has no place in society and yet allows hundreds of thousands of small sects to grow and thrive as long as their underlying message does not interfere with governmental policies. Other areas, like Arcadia, allow religion to become their government. Yet, nowhere in this new world is religion completely absent. The differences between the RUNA and other countries and provinces may be major in economic-political areas, but religion plays a role in every single one of them. It’s a fascinating study on how ingrained religion or at least some form of faith is in humankind.

While The Immortal Crown does not quite fall prey to the second book syndrome, it is not as thrilling as the first book. This is due to the fact that the story is now somewhat familiar and that Ms. Mead uses much of the novel to set the stage for the rest of the series. Mae continues to kick major ass though, something that is always a highlight, even while Justin still waffles about his future. The scenes occurring within Arcadia are interesting but questionable as to how the American South can morph into something akin to Sharia law. The truly fascinating sections of the novel are those in which the gods and goddesses directly or indirectly act with various humans. One gets the distinct impression that there will be more of this cross-cultural interchanges as the story progresses. To see gods and goddesses from all the various cultures interacting in some fashion is a fantasy dream come true. show less

The Good: The Immortal Crown was a fantastic followup to Gameboard of the Gods. Taking Mae and Justin into Arcadia was awesome. It really showed another side of the world Mead created and highlight how both of those worlds are extreme versions of our own. I loved them there and in contrast, Tessa back in the RUNA. So many things happened in this book that could open up a world of possibilities in future novels. The tension between Mae and Justin was just delicious. I don't think I've ever described romantic attraction in a book like that before, but it's the only word that would accurately describe the feeling going on here.

The Bad: I didn't love how the book ended. I get it, but I didn't find it satisfying in the least. More of a show more problem is how the Gods aspect of the book makes things easier than it should a lot of the time. If Mae or Justin ever get written into a corner - no worries. The Gods will help them. It's an easy out that I'm not loving a lot of the time. show less

Justin and Mae are back, in a second, fantastic adventure. All the plots keep thickening, even as more answers about the gods' jockeying for power are revealed. Several heartbreaking "oh noo!!!!" moments, several sighs of relief, and they just get swept further and further into confrontations and terrifying choices, with the crowned goddess making an appearance (at last!) and some serious plot twists keeping the whole story rolling. Riveting! And yes, the cliffhanger is killing me.

Advanced reader copy provided by edelweiss.

The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead is the second book in the Age of X series. The first was Gameboard of the Gods, which I reviewed last year. (You should go read that review for the worldbuilding background, if you haven't already, since I won't be recapping.) I am continuing to enjoy this series a lot and am looking forward to the next instalment.

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods show more vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

We continue to follow the same three characters we met in the first book: Justin, Mae and Tessa. Tessa's story line is the most minor but still gives us a view of life in RUNA and some additional information about the overarching plot that the others can't access. Having started at a new school, Tessa end up working with a somewhat dodgy journalist as part of a school project about the RUNA media. I quite like Tessa, but I'm looking forward to a future book in which she plays a larger role. Although her story in this is a complete arc (with a few loose ends at the end, of course) it's a much smaller arc than the other two.

Justin plays the biggest role in the first part of the book in a point of view sense; when he and Mae are both in a scene, he is most likely to be the point of view character. I suppose that's mostly because of the ravens talking to him in his head. And because, when the two of them go on a mission to a country comprised of former bible-belt states (as far as I could tell — the city they stay near is in what was once Alabama), the women are separated from the men and not really allowed to contribute anything useful except covertly. More on that shortly. In terms of character development, Justin has changed markedly from the start of the first book (the reveal at the end of Gameboard of the Gods being a large part of that) and in this instalment he continues to accept the power of the gods, albeit with degrees of reluctance. There's a certain cognitive dissonance in his acceptance, or lack there of, of godly interference in his life. It all turns out a bit ironically for him, from the reader's point of view. Hehe.

The central arc of the story concerns Justin's and Mae's trip. While Justin finds himself tied up with miscellaneous diplomatic and religious events, Mae is stuck with the misogyny-mandated pot scrubbing and some of her own side-adventures (which are kind of spoilers). The gender politics in Arcadia (bible-belt land) are nauseating and I wouldn't wish upon anyone, but what Mead did with them was interesting, although some might argue thinly veiled (I'm not sure that I would). That said, I strongly feel that a healthy cynicism regarding religion (or at least open-mindedness and/or appreciation for ancient pantheons) is required to enjoy this book. I think if you take it (the book or religion) too seriously, this book has the potential to offend. I also don't think it's intended that way, per se. If I had to guess, I'd say the intention was to explore different societal attitudes towards religion (and to tell a good story). (She definitely tells a good story.)

One of the most interesting things about this series, is that no one knows how many volumes there will be. It means (obviously) that it's not following a trilogy arc — no middle book syndrome here — and that, for now, it will be going on indefinitely. I don't have to get sad about it all being over next year. That's not something that I've encountered too often lately (OK, possibly because I haven't read Wheel of Time, but shh).

One last thing I want to say. The epilogue. !!! Fans of certain Norse gods will no doubt be pleased. I may have been comparing certain characters to The Almighty Johnsons...

If you enjoyed Gameboard of the Gods, you should definitely pick up The Immortal Crown. The events, and especially characters, of this second book definitely build on what came before. I wouldn't recommend reading book 2 without having read book 1, but it wouldn't be as bad as with some series. I suspect the worldbuilding would be the most confusing to pick up on. There's still a month before The Immortal Crown comes out, so plenty of time to read Gameboard of the Gods if you haven't. This is a great series and I highly recommend it to a variety of SF and fantasy (and science fantasy) fans.

5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. show less

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Justin and Mae travel to Arcadia, where they will come face to face with another powerful elect. Will they be able to return safely to the RUNA?

Opening Sentence: Mae Koskinen was one of her country’s most elite soldiers.

The Review:

Dang, Richelle Mead knows how to end a book! I can tell you right now, you’re going to wish book 3 was available when you finish this one. I was looking forward to reading this book even though I thought the first one was a bit confusing at times. I’m so glad that I didn’t let my issues with the first book stop me from reading this one!

Justin and Mae are continuing their work investigating potential religious cults in the provinces. Upon returning to show more the RUNA after one such trip, Justin meets with Lucian Darling, who tells him he’s putting together a delegation for a diplomatic visit to Arcadia, one of the RUNA’s biggest rivals. Seeing as Arcadia’s government is centered around one religion, Lucian would like Justin to join the delegation. Justin initially refuses, but Mae convinces him they should go.

Mae has her own motives for wanting to go to Arcadia. She has long been searching for her niece, who she knows is in Arcadia. An unknown god has been sending Mae visions of where her niece is located, and while this worries Mae, she hopes that the visions are accurate and that this trip will give her the opportunity to find her niece.

Thus begins what is going to be a very long trip. Not only is Arcadia religiously restrictive, it also has very old fashioned ideas about women, giving them no rights whatsoever. Since the RUNA’s delegation would not be taken seriously if women were brought along as soldiers, Mae must pose as Justin’s concubine. This makes it very hard for Mae to search for her niece. Justin faces his own difficulties when dealing with the country’s religious leader, who he discovers is a very powerful elect. Justin must deal with him while trying to hide his own elect status. Between his interactions with the Arcadian religious leader and his continued attempts to keep from becoming tied to Odin, Justin has his hands full. This trip is certainly not going to be boring!

One problem I had with the first book in the series is that it seemed to thrust the reader into this world with very little explanation as to how the world operates. It took me forever to figure out what was going on. Thankfully, in this book, Richelle Mead does a better job of spelling things out, so I now feel I have a much better handle on how things work. This also resulted in me getting caught up in the action much quicker than I did when reading the first book.

My feelings towards the main characters has also improved. I thought Justin was much more likeable this time around. A big reason for this is that the trip to Arcadia doesn’t allow Justin the opportunity to continue his womanizing and drug taking, something which made it very hard for me to like him in the first book. It was really nice to see him clear headed in this book.

I also warmed up towards Mae. In her search for her niece, we get to see a much softer side to Mae, which was nice. She can still kick butt, which she proves on more than one occasion, but the added vulnerability gave much greater depth to her character, which I really appreciated.

By and large, I found this book much more enjoyable and accessible than the first book in the series. By the end of the book, I was completely hooked and didn’t want it to end. And by the way the book ended, I really wish book 3 was here already!

Notable Scene:

Relax, Magnus said. Expand your senses. Think of me. Think of becoming me.

You’re going to turn me into a bird? Justin asked him.

Not exactly. Just try to let go of your own body. Focus on mine, on wings, on flight, on my essence.

It wasn’t easy, and not just because of the metaphysical nature of the task. Justin had never seen Magnus physically-well, not since a brief glimpse on a smoky night. But Justin did his best to focus on that memory and what he knew of the raven now, of his personalty and nature. Magnus talked him through it, guiding Justin’s mind and breathing until time and his surroundings faded away. A strange euphoria began to fill Justin’s body, an indescribable power like nothing he’d ever felt, though it reminded him of the high brought about by some of the sketchier drugs he’d taken in his life.

Suddenly, Justin had a sense of emergence, like he was breaking through a barrier or bursting from water. The room snapped into focus, clearer and more vivid than before as he looked down on it…and himself.

There he was, still on the bed. His body sat in the same cross-legged position, but his blank, staring eyes were like those of someone stoned or comatose. The weirdness of it started to break Justin’s control, but Magnus talked him back.

That’s only your body, your common physical form, the raven said. You’re sharing mine now. The parts of you that matter, your soul and your essence, are in this form. You’re safe. You’ll return to your body…eventually.

Justin looked around the room again and became aware that he was circling it, gliding and hovering on large, black wings. By the door, Mae stared up at him with wide eyes, and while she didn’t look scared, per se, she certainly appeared a little disbelieving.

She can see us, he told Magnus.

Yes. We’re in my physical form. You don’t have the strength or power to go in my invisible form, unfortunately.

What is that…joy I feel? Justin asked. That bliss? Is it just that awesome being a raven?

Well, yes, said Horatio.

Are you in this body too? Justin asked, startled.

Magnus answered. No, but we are always joined. Thought and memory cannot be separated. As for that bliss, that is what it feel like to open yourself up to Odin. Now come. You won’t be able to stay in this state all night, and we need to go.

Justin flew toward the open window, leaving a gawking Mae behind, unsure whether he or Magnus was the one fully in control.

At times, as they flew through the darkening twilight toward the lights of downtown Divinia, Justin felt as though he were indeed the one powering those strong wings. Other times, it seemed as though he were merely a rider. Regardless of who was in control, that glorious feeling remained, burning within him.

You’ve spent your whole life seeking the next best high from drugs or the arms of a woman, Magnus told him. When all along, all you had to was surrender to the god who wants you. Easier, isn’t it?

That’s questionable, Justin responded. I can control when I take the drug. I can walk away from the woman. Something tells me that once I give in to Odin, there’s no going back.

You won’t want to, Magnus assured him.

FTC Advisory: Dutton/Penguin provided me with a copy of The Immortal Crown. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

The Immortal Crown is the 2nd installment in Richelle Mead's "The Age of X" series, with Gameboard of the Gods being book #1. There is way too much going on in this book for me to try to summarize it, so I'll just go straight to the review: I enjoyed this book as much as I did Gameboard. Yes, it's a departure for Richelle Mead since it's adult fiction and not young adult fiction, but it was just as good. There really was a lot going on, though, which got a bit confusing at times, trying to keep all the different people and all their different stories straight, but overall, it was a very good story. It goes without saying that it was well written, as all of Ms. Mead's books are, with great character development, but I think some show more streamlining would have helped with the pacing. All in all, though, I enjoyed this book very much.

Highly recommend - 4 out of 5 stars.

*** I would like to thank PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Richelle Mead for the opportunity to read and review this book. show less

This book is even more addicting than the first one! I must say, that I could not put this book down even when I knew I had to! It is filled with just the right amount of action and romance, and a little bit of mystery right at the end that leaves you hanging for the next book.

You follow Justin and Mae as they travel away from their home and into a foreign land. Will they or won't they finally have a romance going? It keeps you on your toes but doesn't make you scream "Hurry up already". A perfectly timed out novel!

Tessa also becomes more of a major character in the story. While I found her parts to be a little boring at times, I believe that the next book will make her into a more interesting character!

I cannot wait and I am bouncing show more on my seat to read the next book in the series! I'm to anxious! I can't wait another year!

Five out of five stars! Absolutely breath taking!

Also, the last page gives you a wonderful cliffhanger. A nice little wink at mythology there. show less