This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous four books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Sophie Foster is back in the Lost Cities—but the Lost Cities have changed. The threat of war hangs heavy over her glittering world, and the Neverseen are wreaking havoc.
The lines between friend and enemy have blurred, and Sophie is unsure whom to trust. But when she’s warned that the people she loves most will be the next victims, she knows she has to act.
A mysterious symbol could be the key—if only she knew how to translate it. Every new clue seems to lead deeper into her world’s underbelly and the Black Swan aren’t the only ones who have plans. The Neverseen have their own Initiative, and if Sophie doesn’t stop it, they might finally have the ultimate means to control her.
With the last book leaving us on a rather precarious cliffhanger, I knew I'd be back at this series soon. I mean, who doesn't love Keefe? Judging from the fan comments on GoodReads, not many. So I just hoped for the best as I dove in, and...I think I came out okay?
Honestly, there's not much to say about this book that hasn't already been said about the series. This series runs very much chapter to chapter, even with book breaks in between. I think the total time for the series has been about a year and a half over the course of five books, so it's not as spread out as some other series take things. That can be both a blessing and a curse - on the one hand, there's not much down time to bore the reader, but at the same time, it means there's not as much opportunity to flesh out the world in general.
We know more about the Black Swan now, having spent the majority of the last book solely in their care, but much of the politics we're expected to understand and care about have been given little time to really sink in. We're told:
[...]the elves could be so brilliant and sophisticated and still have so many strange prejudices. They didn’t care about skin color or money or appearance. But they condemned anyone without a special ability, or anyone with unusual genetics." [14%]However, we're only told about it second-hand through Jolie & Brant's history, or maybe a reference here and there about Dex's parents. Yes, it's relevant, but it's not current. We can see the fallout, but we have to imagine (through Sophie's imagining) the feelings of heartbreak and betrayal that happen when the society that's cared for you suddenly turns its back on you, villainizes you. (I imagine that's similar to what some LGBT+ go through, though without any representation {so far} in these books, it could very well be allegory at this point.) I think there might be some seeds sown in this book that will come back later, so I'll let it rest for now...
That is something I've been very impressed with: the foreshadowing. I complained about the Exillium training feeling a bit overpowered in the last book, but it comes back (with a vengeance) here. With peace teetering precariously between the Ogres and other races, the Elves decide to start training everyone (and I do mean everyone) on their innate skills. I mean, if your race naturally had telekinetic abilities why the heck wouldn't you develop those more?!? So they do. And boy, does it come back in a HUGE role at the end of the book, too. Elves might really be too overpowered here, but I'll allow it since their conflicts are primarily strategy-based so far.
The other bit of foreshadowing is, of course, our boy Keefe. Playing a double-agent can't be easy, and though Sophie has mind-to-mind conversations with him fairly frequently, trust is still a big issue. Skimming comments (and the wiki) here and there, I think there's still some Keefe drama to come, so I'm still waiting for another shoe to drop... Still, I'm optimistic about Keefoster working in the long run, even if safer options are available. Dex is cute, but I think he's been relegated to second string ever since the age revelation from the last book. And Fitz...cannot compare in the personality department to either of the other boys.
The series has definitely gotten darker. I won't go too far into it, except that I knew I had to add the "character death" tag somewhere around the halfway point this time, and not because of an assumed-to-be-burned-to-nothing death either. No, there is a lot of blood this time around, though not too much detail that I think the age rating needs to go up too far. But with everything happening so fast I don't know if Sophie is gonna get any time for grief. With the last book I read (Legendborn) dealing with grief as a main aspect of the plot, I'm a little more sensitive to it now. I'm both looking forward to its exploration (again, experiencing it firsthand instead of secondarily) and dreading it hitting so close to my own impending grief.
Overall, I think this book is a sort of turning point towards the darker and more adult themes the series has hinted at thusfar. There's a definite loss of innocence, both with Keefe's role with the Neverseen, and with events in Sophie's own neck of the woods, that will no doubt continue to mature in future installments. As such, it's hard to really judge it solely on its own rather than as a part of the whole series. If you've followed Sophie and crew this far, you're no doubt as hooked as I am. If you're still on the fence about starting the series, I think there's enough foreshadowing and payoff thusfar to trust the continuation of the series to build up to something epic. But then again, only time will tell. Until next time...
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