Review: The Eye of Darkness

The Eye of Darkness by George Mann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know why, but the High Republic era is just not doing it for me. I don't hate it or anything, but as I've written in nearly every review of a HRE book, I find it hard to connect. The characters feel a bit wooden, cut outs. Maybe it's just the different authors for all these books, it's hard to get a consistent voice. There isn't a lot of character development by the Jedi. Some of the side characters are often the most interesting. A lot happens, but so little actually advances.

I'm a little concerned that the conflict with the Nihil is becoming too big and too protracted. There is a tough balance in making the Nihil a threat without turning this into a major, all out war (which would seem to run against canon).

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Review: Troubled Blood

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This might be the best mystery of the series so far. I really had no clue until the reveal; there were many threads to follow, lots of red herrings covering the clues that in retrospect were right there! The narration is perfect; it really helps set the tone and mood, and helps with the characterization as well. Just like with Harry Potter, Rowling is so good at portraying fascinating characters.

Strike and Robin's relationship continues to deepen and grow. This is intriguing but I also worry how about Rowling is going to handle this as the series goes.

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