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Please note, I was given a copy to read on my Kindle for a Review
Book Six of Courtlight continues the drama and characters that we have grown to love.
So, I won’t bore you all with character details or bits and pieces on the major trinity. If you’ve been reading Courtlight, then you know the three major names and the secondary characters as well. So I won’t go through the introductions of everyone and assume you know them by now. If not…maybe you should check out a different review. I have reviewed them all so far, so feel free to check mine! 🙂
Anyway, this picks off almost immediatly after Sworn to Defiance. Ciardis Weathervane is struggling to balance out the bond she has formed with her two significant males – Imperial Heir Sebastian and Kith daemoni Thanar both of whom she is soulbonded to. One soulbond is rare enough but two of them is starting to strain Ciardis’ abilities. Given that Sebastian and Thanar both want her attentions and cannot manage to agree on much doesn’t really help matters. The struggle within the trinity is the major character conflict within the story and Edun does a fantastic job of using it to add stress to the characters and allow for growth as the three explore their limitations and understandings of each other.
Outside of the three is the mission to the fabled city of Kifar – a city lost to the empire in that no one goes there anymore. It doesn’t help matters that it is on the other side of a desert and that, within that desert are marauders that, you know, murder imperial citizens to keep them away from the city (or so it appears). Add in a rather irate dragon and the fact that the ‘Emperor’ wants Sebastian dead (or so it is speculated) and you have a setup for a good plot.
And Vana has a major appearance in the story. As I said in a previous review, I really like Vana and the growth she causes in Ciardis. Sworn to Ascension is no exception to that rule. Vana provides some excellent insight for Ciardis to consider AND moves forward several elements from previous books that were left unresolved. And, you know, she gets to be Vana and that’s just awesome.
It is clear that Edun has some very detailed ideas of where she wants her characters to be within the plot and the events. Furthermore, it is also clear that she is having a *lot* of fun playing with her characters and allowing them to bounce off each other in unique and interesting ways. The main trinity (Ciardis,Sebastian, and Thanar) are all given excellent opportunities to grow by the secondary character trinity of Terris, Christian, and Raisa. The interactions within the characters are more complex than in previous novels, but it doesn’t feel forced. Terah Edun seems to have a real talent for characterization and interaction and it is in full force for Sworn to Ascension. I often didn’t realize how far I had read in the book until after I turned off the app to go to bed – that’s how much fun I was having with the characters.
The only major flaw in the story is that it doesn’t feel like much is resolved. The conclusion is a bit weak in that it doesn’t feel like there was any major progress on the ‘outside’ conflict related to Kifar. We get several major details dropped (I won’t spoil them) and then a big ol’ smasher and the story ends. It practically screams ‘SEQUEL COMING’ – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it falls under the flaw category because it does feel more ‘hanging’ than any of the previous Courtlight novels.
Still, Sworn to Ascension is an excellent book with some amazing character writing. I was swept up in to it and lost track of time so well that I had to brew 3 cups of tea and only drank one of them hot – I’d forgotten the other two times. Grab this baby up.
Characters – 5.5/5
Plot: 5/5
Action: 3/5
Value: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Total Rating: 4.7/5
You're Certain About That - Writing Blog of Steven Erickson 