Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > For the Throne

In “For the Wolf”, I had complaints about the depth of the characters and the prose, which could lean towards weak. In its other half, “For the Throne”, my complaint is solely that the first half of the book seems to move almost glacially slow. Not slow enough for me to lose interest or for me to become disengaged (simply because that pace was consistent (meaning it wasn’t an uneven pace) and because I knew it wouldn’t last), but enough for me to become somewhat frustrated and to be slightly disappointed. For some reason I expected this book to move faster than the first. I expected the Shadowlands to be, well, a little more chaotic. A little darker. A little more sinister.

Thank goodness we had interludes from Red, Raffe, and the others every now and again to break up the bleakness. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them.

Thankfully, the issues with prose and characterizations between “For the Wolf” and this book seemed to have been resolved. It shows how Whitten has grown as a writer, because we get more depth and layers to each character and some great passages evoking fantastic imagery. Whitten had a talent at showing and not telling when it came to exposition that was evident from the start, and it continues into this book, which I’m immensely grateful for. Hearing someone drone on and on about exposition in this book would’ve been intolerable.

The immense talent at magic systems and world-building continues, also. Juxtaposition and eventual entropy? You’re speaking my love language. Philosophical questions about whether or not one can live without a soul, or even what a soul even is? Slay me. What does it mean to be human or god? Are gods even gods or are gods only gods in their own minds? I could think these thoughts the whole day through and be a happy camper.

I enjoyed both books immensely, and I highly recommend you don’t give up on “For the Throne”, even if you have a hard time holding on through the first half.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.