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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The demon’s surrender could destroy them all.
The Goblin Market has always been the center of Sin’s world. Now the war between magicians and the Market is escalating, and her position as future leader is threatened. As the market gains strange new allies, Sin’s only chance to lead is to accomplish an impossible task. Among the most dangerous of the Market’s allies are the enigmatic Ryves brothers, Alan and Nick. When Sin is forced to seek their help, new feelings arise among them, and Sin realizes the brothers pose a greater danger than she dreamed. Alan is marked – and being tortured – by the magicians, and Nick seems to be working for them. A terrible sacrifice has to be made if anyone is going to survive the final battle.
Cynthia (aka Sin) dances in the Goblin Market, summoning demons to answer questions for tourists to support her younger half brother and sister. Having believed that Merris (the Market’s leader) would appoint her heir, she now has a rival – Mae, a tourist with a magician brother who’s helped by Alan Ryves and his demonically possessed brother Nick. Sin’s never liked Alan, but when the magicians took her younger brother several months earlier, he offered himself up instead, taking a magician’s mark that’s now being used to torture him.
When Merris sets an impossible task to determine the next leader, Mae and Sin form an uneasy alliance that also brings Sin and Alan closer. However the magicians are determined to take over the Market and it soon becomes apparent that Nick is working for them ...
The conclusion to Sarah Rees Brennan’s trilogy is a satisfying read that’s packed with action and heartache.
Sin’s point of view gives further perspective to THE DEMON’S LEXICON and THE DEMON’S COVENANT, particularly the main relationships between Alan, Nick, Mae and Jamie. However as an outsider Sin frequently has to eavesdrop to learn critical information, which becomes repetitive and information is sometimes recapped that the reader (but not Sin) is already aware of. Sin’s strongly drawn, her acceptance and use of her sexuality, her devotion to her siblings and her commitment to the history and traditions of the Market give her a strong core, but she’s also aware of her limitations and the things that Mae can bring to the Market.
I liked that the competition between Sin and Mae didn’t descend into catty rivalry but the tension wasn’t sufficient to make it credible. Mae is a stronger character here, more than the ditherer in THE DEMON’S COVENANT. I also never quite believed in the relationship between Alan and Sin. Their rapprochement is well depicted but while I understood Sin’s emotional interest in Alan, I never bought into his attraction to her (beyond the obvious) and their couple routine repeats what Jamie and Mae do in THE DEMON’S COVENANT.
The story’s central twist is easy to guess and the story’s slow to get going. However the core theme of sibling love and sacrifice as personified by the Ryves brothers carries the story on and gives it depth.
Fans will be delighted with the final conclusion and I look forward to seeing what Brennan does next.
The Verdict:
Sarah Rees Brennan’s conclusion to The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy is a satisfying read that’s packed with action and heartache. It’s not a perfect book – there were moments that didn’t structurally work for me and I never quite bought into the key relationship in the book. However I did love the relationship between Nick and Alan and its depiction gives the story both momentum and a strong emotional core. I really look forward to seeing what Brennan does with her next book.
THE DEMON’S SURRENDER is released in the UK on 14th June 2011. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book.
The Goblin Market has always been the center of Sin’s world. Now the war between magicians and the Market is escalating, and her position as future leader is threatened. As the market gains strange new allies, Sin’s only chance to lead is to accomplish an impossible task. Among the most dangerous of the Market’s allies are the enigmatic Ryves brothers, Alan and Nick. When Sin is forced to seek their help, new feelings arise among them, and Sin realizes the brothers pose a greater danger than she dreamed. Alan is marked – and being tortured – by the magicians, and Nick seems to be working for them. A terrible sacrifice has to be made if anyone is going to survive the final battle.
Cynthia (aka Sin) dances in the Goblin Market, summoning demons to answer questions for tourists to support her younger half brother and sister. Having believed that Merris (the Market’s leader) would appoint her heir, she now has a rival – Mae, a tourist with a magician brother who’s helped by Alan Ryves and his demonically possessed brother Nick. Sin’s never liked Alan, but when the magicians took her younger brother several months earlier, he offered himself up instead, taking a magician’s mark that’s now being used to torture him.
When Merris sets an impossible task to determine the next leader, Mae and Sin form an uneasy alliance that also brings Sin and Alan closer. However the magicians are determined to take over the Market and it soon becomes apparent that Nick is working for them ...
The conclusion to Sarah Rees Brennan’s trilogy is a satisfying read that’s packed with action and heartache.
Sin’s point of view gives further perspective to THE DEMON’S LEXICON and THE DEMON’S COVENANT, particularly the main relationships between Alan, Nick, Mae and Jamie. However as an outsider Sin frequently has to eavesdrop to learn critical information, which becomes repetitive and information is sometimes recapped that the reader (but not Sin) is already aware of. Sin’s strongly drawn, her acceptance and use of her sexuality, her devotion to her siblings and her commitment to the history and traditions of the Market give her a strong core, but she’s also aware of her limitations and the things that Mae can bring to the Market.
I liked that the competition between Sin and Mae didn’t descend into catty rivalry but the tension wasn’t sufficient to make it credible. Mae is a stronger character here, more than the ditherer in THE DEMON’S COVENANT. I also never quite believed in the relationship between Alan and Sin. Their rapprochement is well depicted but while I understood Sin’s emotional interest in Alan, I never bought into his attraction to her (beyond the obvious) and their couple routine repeats what Jamie and Mae do in THE DEMON’S COVENANT.
The story’s central twist is easy to guess and the story’s slow to get going. However the core theme of sibling love and sacrifice as personified by the Ryves brothers carries the story on and gives it depth.
Fans will be delighted with the final conclusion and I look forward to seeing what Brennan does next.
The Verdict:
Sarah Rees Brennan’s conclusion to The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy is a satisfying read that’s packed with action and heartache. It’s not a perfect book – there were moments that didn’t structurally work for me and I never quite bought into the key relationship in the book. However I did love the relationship between Nick and Alan and its depiction gives the story both momentum and a strong emotional core. I really look forward to seeing what Brennan does with her next book.
THE DEMON’S SURRENDER is released in the UK on 14th June 2011. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book.
