Krazykiwi @ Kiwitopia

Overall: I really did enjoy this series, despite the whining. And despite Wynn. Who I hear a lot of people really love. It's got a lovely mishmash of urban fantasy and high fantasy, albeit more high than urban as it goes on. The main characters are well imperfect but overall likeable, except Wynn, the world is really well developed, and internally consistent, and the books are easy enough reads, despite the fairly complex worlds. Notably they do a fairly good job of the reminding you what happened before without taking the Dresden route of giving a precis of each preceding appearance every time a character shows up from an earlier book.

Best bits: Chap. Hyperintelligent fay dogwolf, with a sense of humour and a ton of snark. And stuck up elves, always the best kind. And the one funny thing about Wynn, how she keeps walking in on Magiere and Leesil having a bit of alone time.

But: Irrelevant title much? And worse, way to wrap up the series guys, by starting a new one. 

So, they have this down to a template now: Leesil and Magiere wander off on an impossible mission, and when they are near to achieving it, Wynn goes and gets herself lost, and/or taken prisoner, and they have to save her, and that accidentally solves the whole problem. 

Makes me wonder, what on earth would Leesil and Magiere do if Wynn wasn't such a twit? I mean they'd never get anywhere. Oh hang on, they managed just fine in the first couple of books didn't they. And where is my sarcasm font when I need it.

I did enjoy most of this book, because I love the elves. Still glorious a-holes, even the nice ones (heck, even the half-ones; Leesil needs a good shaking a couple of times in this book, although not as many as usual.) And I love the fay dog, Chap. If the Hendees wrote an entire series set amongst the Majay-hi and the elves, I would be a happy reader, as long as Wynn wasn't in it. Maybe some more of the living wooden ships too, I'd like that.

So why am I whining? Because I expect a major six book story arc/series to have an ending, and this one just doesn't.

Does everyone get to go home? Nope, they either got there and are leaving again, or aren't there yet.

Does everyone find twue wove? Well, sorta, Leesil and Magiere finally get their HFN, for like, a week, because they're off on another adventure instead of having a honeymoon.

Did any of the bad guys get their comeuppance? Well, one of them did. If you count the puppetmasters of the Aged Father and the thing that whispers in the dreams, that's one for three. 

Half the characters I do like are now ex-characters, but a whole bunch of new mysteries were introduced  - who really is Li-kän? Who put her to work? What happened to her two companions? Why did Leesil, Magiere and Chap all see basically manifestations of their own ancestry in the castle? Although considering Magiere's origin, there's a semi-obvious answer to that one. So why leave it hanging in the last book of the series?

I guess many readers are just glad the series continues, but I'm not a happy camper. I like some actual wrap-up in my wrap-up. It could have easily been done without leaving quite so many hanging threads, not least because most of these were only introduced in this last book.

I can handle a ten book series. Or a 20 book series. So why set me up like this? Why use the conceit of multiple series, if the same characters will be continuing the same missions, or dealing with the consequences of the same missions, in the next one?