Wintertide (The Riyria Revelations, #5) (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Where to begin with this book... Trying to keep this short and spoiler free - Amelia has to be one of the worst POV characters in the genre. This book starts out great, ends great, middle section - not so much. Amelia's story (that started in the last book) began with promise - simple maid, treated badly by Nobility, etc, etc. However, instead of keeping her as a strong female POV, what we ended up with was a LOT of chapters of her whining about inconsequential, obnoxious details while the other POV characters in the story are facing actual problems and challenges. She goes from complaining about being a maid, to complaining about being nervous around nobility, to complaining about her feelings for Sir Breckton. This is compounded by the audiobook, because on more than one occasion I'd spend an entire hour-plus commute to work listening to a chapter entirely comprised of Amelia complaining. At one point (spoiler-free), she's complaining/crying that she can't ride a horse correctly, doesn't understand hawking, and is sad because she thinks she looks foolish in front of Breckton. Meanwhile, almost the entire rest of the cast is tied up events that are actually interesting and/or dangerous - yet we have to slog through chapter after chapter of obnoxious Amelia diatribe. It gets old really, really fast - and on top of that, it's occasionally mixed in with Sir Hadrian mingling with nobles, so you have chapters of Amelia whining bookended by chapters of nobles being obnoxious to Hadrian. If the cast of this series wasn't so likable, and if the audiobook narrator wasn't (once again) so spectacular, I'd probably have just stopped listening and moved on to a different series altogether. The book does come together in the end, but there is a LOT of nonsense in the middle that a good editor should have taken care of. Five books into a series is not the time for serious character development on a minor POV, especially if the last book was chock full of the same type of development on the same character. I honestly cringe every time a new chapter starts out and it has anything to do with Amelia, because I know I'm in for a good hour of complaining. It really brings down what is otherwise a great series.All in all, 2.5 stars for the book, plus another half star for the narrator. I'm hoping that the last book picks up the pace again, but I said the same thing in my review of book 4. There is always a book in a franchise that feels like its overstuffed. Too much happens too fast because the end in in sight and the is still a lot to cover. Wintertide is a prime example. Michael ties up almost all the lose ends in this one to prepare the ground for the final book "The fellowship of the thieves":-). But for all the stuffing he is able to round it off pretty well. Merrick is a loose end that disappointed and I hope its not yet his final appearance. The end is in sight and hope its a blast!
What do You think about Wintertide (The Riyria Revelations, #5) (2010)?
Probably better than three stars but very much cleanup from the last book and setup for the finale.
—samantha
Best book of the series so far (haven't read book 6 yet). Absolutely brilliant.
—tforth
Now that's an exciting book! Definitely the best so far.
—joey
