Book Review: Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff
Genre(s): Dark Fantasy
Book Synopsis:
The greatest games in Godsgrave’s history have ended with the most audacious murders in the history of the Itreyan Republic.
Mia Corvere, gladiatii, escaped slave and infamous assassin, is on the run. Pursued by Blades of the Red Church and soldiers of the Luminatii legion, she may never escape the City of Bridges and Bones alive. Her mentor Mercurio is now in the clutches of her enemies. Her own family wishes her dead. And her nemesis, Consul Julius Scaeva, stands but a breath from total dominance over the Republic.
But beneath the city, a dark secret awaits. Together with her lover Ashlinn, brother Jonnen and a mysterious benefactor returned from beyond the veil of death, she must undertake a perilous journey across the Republic, seeking the final answer to the riddle of her life. Truedark approaches. Night is falling on the Republic for perhaps the final time.
Can Mia survive in a world where even daylight must die?
Review:
With everything that happened during the first two books, I’m struggling a bit with how to review this one without spoiling anything. So much happens during the series, and you certainly can’t read Darkdawn without reading both Nevernight and Godsgrave first, unless you want to be completely and utterly lost with half the storyline.
Many of the same characters return for the last book, but Mia is still the focus of the tale. She is the girl with a story to tell, after all. And I think she finds her true purpose within the pages of Darkdawn, her real reason for continuing to fight. This story is more about Mia finding herself, finding her purpose, and taking control of her fate. The rage and revenge that drove her through so much of the first two books doesn’t disappear entirely, but it definitely takes a back seat to other emotions. Mia felt more human in this story than she did in the others. More relatable, even though she still spills her share of blood.
There weren’t as many combat scenes in this last book either, but the ones that were featured were pretty damned cool. The sea battle with the stormdrakes and leviathans stands out most to me (I have a soft spot for krakens and their kin.)
While the ending tied everything up nicely, it featured a trope that I’m not particularly fond of. If you’ve read the book, you probably know what I’m referring to, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I’m not going to say what it was. That it was included was a little disappointing. The Dictum Ultima (epilogue) made up for it a bit though. I do like when books/series come full circle and refer back to the very beginning. There’s a nice symmetry to that.
This was a good conclusion to the series, although it wasn’t my favorite of the three. I think it would have been almost impossible for the author to top Godsgrave, and for me, Darkdawn didn’t quite reach the same level of epic-ness. But it was still a great read.
Author website: jaykristoff.com
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