Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Mar. 25th, 2015 05:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Eight years have passed since Princess Bitterblue and her country were saved from vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.
But the influence of her father, and his mind altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget very dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has been shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
Whatever that past holds.
It’s 8 years after Graceling. Monsea is free of Leck’s monstrous rule and is trying to move forward. Bitterblue now sits on the throne and her advisers are instigating policies aimed at pretending that Leck’s reign never happened but Bitterblue isn’t convinced that the policies are working. Concerned by what’s happening to her kingdom, as much as by the gaps in her own memory, she decides to disguise herself to see the city for herself. While attending the story-telling sessions in a bar, she meets Saf and Teddy – two young men who can tell her more about Monsea than any of her advisers. Bitterblue wants her kingdom to heal, but how can that happen when no one is quite sure what happened during Leck’s rule?
The conclusion to Kirstin Cashore’s GRACELING TRILOGY is intended to be a story about reconciliation with the past and healing a nation but the plot is muddled and filled with dead ends while Bitterblue as a protagonist lacks agency and spends much of her time waiting for people to tell her answers. While I had been looking forward to the return of Katsa and Po, their arrival simply created more unresolved storylines as their Council continues its work in deposing cruel tyrants and reforming their kingdoms. There’s a lot of repetition within the story with Bitterblue constantly asking her advisers what happened during Leck’s rule and them constantly avoiding providing answers, which would be fine if Saf and Teddy provided answers instead but unfortunately they get caught up in the obligatory love plot with Saf in particular behaving like an absolute jerk. I did like nod to FIRE and the sense of continuity and the use of cyphers in the story is interesting and well handled but ultimately this tiptoes around its subject matter in a way that really doesn’t do it justice. As a result, this wasn’t the conclusion I’d hoped for to this trilogy, although I would check out Cashore’s next book.
The biggest problem for me is actually Bitterblue. She knows something is wrong but never really confronts anyone (and when she does she backs off easily) and the love story with Saf plays out like every YA love story ever and Saf’s petty and sulky behaviour made me wonder what she sees in him. I just wanted some agency and determination on her part to drive the plot forward.
The Verdict:
The conclusion to Kirstin Cashore’s GRACELING TRILOGY is intended to be a story about reconciliation with the past and healing a nation but the plot is muddled and filled with dead ends while Bitterblue as a protagonist lacks agency and spends much of her time waiting for people to tell her answers. While I had been looking forward to the return of Katsa and Po, their arrival simply created more unresolved storylines as their Council continues its work in deposing cruel tyrants and reforming their kingdoms. There’s a lot of repetition within the story with Bitterblue constantly asking her advisers what happened during Leck’s rule and them constantly avoiding providing answers, which would be fine if Saf and Teddy provided answers instead but unfortunately they get caught up in the obligatory love plot with Saf in particular behaving like an absolute jerk. I did like nod to FIRE and the sense of continuity and the use of cyphers in the story is interesting and well handled but ultimately this tiptoes around its subject matter in a way that really doesn’t do it justice. As a result, this wasn’t the conclusion I’d hoped for to this trilogy, although I would check out Cashore’s next book.
But the influence of her father, and his mind altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget very dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has been shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
It’s 8 years after Graceling. Monsea is free of Leck’s monstrous rule and is trying to move forward. Bitterblue now sits on the throne and her advisers are instigating policies aimed at pretending that Leck’s reign never happened but Bitterblue isn’t convinced that the policies are working. Concerned by what’s happening to her kingdom, as much as by the gaps in her own memory, she decides to disguise herself to see the city for herself. While attending the story-telling sessions in a bar, she meets Saf and Teddy – two young men who can tell her more about Monsea than any of her advisers. Bitterblue wants her kingdom to heal, but how can that happen when no one is quite sure what happened during Leck’s rule?
The conclusion to Kirstin Cashore’s GRACELING TRILOGY is intended to be a story about reconciliation with the past and healing a nation but the plot is muddled and filled with dead ends while Bitterblue as a protagonist lacks agency and spends much of her time waiting for people to tell her answers. While I had been looking forward to the return of Katsa and Po, their arrival simply created more unresolved storylines as their Council continues its work in deposing cruel tyrants and reforming their kingdoms. There’s a lot of repetition within the story with Bitterblue constantly asking her advisers what happened during Leck’s rule and them constantly avoiding providing answers, which would be fine if Saf and Teddy provided answers instead but unfortunately they get caught up in the obligatory love plot with Saf in particular behaving like an absolute jerk. I did like nod to FIRE and the sense of continuity and the use of cyphers in the story is interesting and well handled but ultimately this tiptoes around its subject matter in a way that really doesn’t do it justice. As a result, this wasn’t the conclusion I’d hoped for to this trilogy, although I would check out Cashore’s next book.
The biggest problem for me is actually Bitterblue. She knows something is wrong but never really confronts anyone (and when she does she backs off easily) and the love story with Saf plays out like every YA love story ever and Saf’s petty and sulky behaviour made me wonder what she sees in him. I just wanted some agency and determination on her part to drive the plot forward.
The Verdict:
The conclusion to Kirstin Cashore’s GRACELING TRILOGY is intended to be a story about reconciliation with the past and healing a nation but the plot is muddled and filled with dead ends while Bitterblue as a protagonist lacks agency and spends much of her time waiting for people to tell her answers. While I had been looking forward to the return of Katsa and Po, their arrival simply created more unresolved storylines as their Council continues its work in deposing cruel tyrants and reforming their kingdoms. There’s a lot of repetition within the story with Bitterblue constantly asking her advisers what happened during Leck’s rule and them constantly avoiding providing answers, which would be fine if Saf and Teddy provided answers instead but unfortunately they get caught up in the obligatory love plot with Saf in particular behaving like an absolute jerk. I did like nod to FIRE and the sense of continuity and the use of cyphers in the story is interesting and well handled but ultimately this tiptoes around its subject matter in a way that really doesn’t do it justice. As a result, this wasn’t the conclusion I’d hoped for to this trilogy, although I would check out Cashore’s next book.
