quippe | Entries tagged with edward cox

The Blurb On The Back:

Labrys Town, home to a million humans cut off from the rest of the universe, has been invaded. Those who protected it have been deposed.

The Relic Guild are scattered across the worlds of the Aelfir. Many of them are dead or dying. The Genii control everything. The war is almost over.

Clara, a young woman barely able to control her werewolf side, has seen her friends and mentors killed in front of her. She is the last hope for Labrys Town.

But someone is watching her …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The last book in Edward Cox’s fantasy trilogy ties up all the plot threads and time lines in a satisfying way and although it suffers from two-dimensional antagonists (with the exception of Fabian Moor who’s given more depth), the world building and pacing makes it a satisfying conclusion. I particularly admire the way Cox is able to run two separate time lines in this novel, which enables him to show the development of his Relic Guild characters (from Sam’s cynicism and disillusionment to Marney’s relationship with Van Bam and the impact of her adventures on her own personality). Cox is also excellent at keeping his different plot lines running, which lends pace and I enjoyed the slow reveal of secret plans and how they tie in with points from the previous books. The big problem is that the antagonists are two-dimensional at best, particularly Lord Spiral who is little more than a cartoon villain. Fabian Moor’s disillusionment does offset that to a degree, but while he’s fleshed out more here I’m not convinced that it was enough to give credence to his crisis of faith. Ultimately I think that this is a solid conclusion to the trilogy with the overall story working well over the 3 books and on that basis, I will definitely check out what Cox writes next.

The Blurb On The Back:

Divided, hunted and short on resources, the surviving members of the Relic Guild are in real trouble. Their old enemy the Genii and their resurrected master have infiltrated Labrys Town and taken over the city.

So the Relic Guild must flee their home on a dangerous journey across the worlds of the Aelfir. One that will lead them to a weapon which might destroy the Genii. Or the whole universe …

And forty years before all this, the war which led to the fall of the Genii continues. And what happened to the Relic Guild then will change the course of their desperate future flight.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Edward Cox’s fantasy trilogy shows off more of his imaginative, well-structured world with another action-filled plot divided between two time periods (the current fight against the Genii and the war against Lord Spiral held 40 years ago). There is more character development here for Van Bam, Hamir (who has fast become my favourite), Denton and Marney and Sam is given new layers, which continue to hold my interest. I also found Fabian Moor to have more depth in this story, particularly in a scene where his faith in his plan is severely shaken, but his fellow Genii remain stock characters at best, and two-dimensional evil doers at worse. The time shifts worked better for me as Cox starts to draw out how the events from 40 years ago have shaped those happening today – I particularly enjoyed the slow reveal of Denton and Marney’s mission and the effect this has on them although Van Bam’s earlier adventure has a telegraphed reveal (despite the welcome introduction of new players, the Nephilim) – and I enjoyed seeing the return of side characters from those old missions in the Relic Guild’s current flight. Once again, Cox opts to finish the novel with another cliff hanger (a personal bug bear of mine) but the complexity of the plot lines coupled with the development of a number of the characters guarantees that I will check out the last book.

Thanks to Amazon Vine for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir.

But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned prison. The surviving humans were trapped behind boundary walls a hundred feet high, and all magic was forbidden.

And now the war is returning. The Relic Guild are all that stand against the end of the city. But they are old, scattered and week, and the enemy is growing in strength …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Edward Cox’s debut fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is set in an imaginative, well structured world and has an action-filled plot divided between two time periods (the original Relic Guild’s struggle against Fabian Moor and Clara’s attempts to deal with her magic and join the remaining Guild members). I loved the fact that Labrys Town isn’t another cod medieval fantasy world – the technology included power stones for guns and trams that take people to the different areas. However, the split plots slowed the pace and it was difficult to work out when we were and what was happening. I didn’t see why Clara needed to be a prostitute and with the exception of Old Man Sam, the Relic Guild are comprised of rather stock characters. Also two dimensional are Fabian Moor and the Genii, who don’t have much depth and are standard evil fare. My biggest issue with the book though is the abruptness of the ending, which leaves a lot of things hanging without resolution (although presumably these will be picked up in the next book). Ultimately it’s an okay read and there’s enough for me to want to read the sequel but I’m hoping that the characters can transcend the stereotypes going forward.

Thanks to Amazon Vine for the review copy of this book.