Rating: 4 out of 5
I breathed in the first volume in a matter of days. This one took me longer, as somehow reading more about Vaatzes makes me less likely to want to see what he ends up doing next.
I was generally a great fan of Valerius through the first book and though much of what he ends up doing here can be explained, it also feels like everyone – including him – is overlooking a few very specific things in the behaviour of others. But perhaps that’s my longing that Vaatzes is caught and ousted as soon as possible. The other characters don’t really play a significant role. Orsea was somewhat likeable in the previous volume – though his uselessness turned annoying by the end –, but he turned completely useless here.
In general, I still like the style and I still like the main plotline though it has become very convoluted. It also only seems to be turning more complex, with the list of characters expanding somewhat by the end of the title.
