4 stars
I'll admit that when I started this novella, the final in the Flames Seas trilogy, I was bored. Out of my mind. I was not a fan of Udrin, the one-dimensional villain of the piece, and all of the babble about different kinds of love - yawn. I know, I know. It actually meant something in the bigger picture, but it just wasn't holding my attention. In my defense, it was a rainy, gloomy Sunday afternoon, and the weather was probably corrupting my mood. Thankfully, Ban appeared on the scene, and I got caught up in the story and the struggles of the characters as they fought to contain the powers of a boy gone bad. Very, very. Bad.


Events take place twenty years after the previous novella. Muan and Dakin's son, Udrin, is now a powerful nineteen year old. He experiments on insects, attempting to make a new species, and has little regard for life, other than his own. He thinks humans are far beneath him, just talking animals, and that the Fae and the Efrijt are not much better. No one is as clever, strong, or worthy as he is. Udrin hates Ban because he's immortal, and after discovering that he can pull the anima energy, not just from the land and the rocks, but from the Fae as well, he teeters over the edge of sanity and it's up to Ban to put a stop to his evil ways.

Once Udrin starts flexing his villainous muscles, the novella was hard to put down. Ban and the Fae, with the help of Efrijt, work together to put a stop to the boy's power play. I enjoyed how the relationships among the characters have deepened since the previous installment of the series. Once bitter rivals, the Fae and the Efrijt have, for the most part, set aside their animosity as they try to colonize the dimension both races find themselves in. Even Ban, who has so many valid reasons for hating the Efrijt, has mellowed over the years. His first impulse isn't always to draw his swords and destroy enemies to protect his adopted people. No, now he's willing to talk things out first and try to reach a peaceful settlement.

The action is fierce and furious after Udrin snaps, with lots of action and danger and awful tidings. I wasn't thrilled with the final resolution to the story, and I can't really discuss it further without major, major spoilers, but it made me sad. In retrospect, it was the perfect solution to deal with problem that was Udrin, but, gosh darn it, it left me feeling very empty inside.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable series, short as it may have been. I have the author to my wishlist, and I'll be checking out one of her novels as soon as I have more free time. I'm curious to see how her longer works stack up next to this collection of novellas.

3.25 stars

This installment felt sluggish. The plot was slow to develop, and the ending was not satisfying. I do enjoy the characters, though, and the world building, while at times painfully detailed, is fascinating. I'll read the next novella in the series, in hopes that the ending will feel more complete. Unlike the first book, I didn't feel that this was a standalone; the ending was too rushed and unfinished.

The Blockade - Jean Johnson This book takes of right after the cliffhanger ending of the second book in the trilogy, The V’Dan. It is a fairly good ending to the trilogy. As usual with prequels my enthusiasm for the book is somewhat dampened by the fact that you already know the future and what will ultimately happen to the Salik. Still, it is a enjoyable and read worthy book.

As with the previous installment in the series there is a lot of focus on the cultural differences between the humans and the V’Dan and the difficulties created by the V’Dan’s stubbornness in viewing the humans as children due to the lack of the “Jungen marks”. The spoiled and bigoted V’Dan princess managed to screw things up rather dramatically at the end of the previous book and at the beginning of this book she is none the wiser. I actually found this character the most despicable of the characters in the book, including the Salik. Luckily, although not very surprising, there are wiser V’Dan’s around and with their efforts the reign of the princess becomes a short one.

Although a lot of the book revolves around cultural issues there is quite a lot of action as well, both in space and on the ground. This is not exactly hard core science fiction so the technology part and tactics are somewhat on the simple side but still good enough. The action is spiced up by the psychic powers of Jackie and Li’eth as well.

There are some annoying moments. For instance when the humans and the V’Dans have to fight to make some of the other galactic species accept the fact that they are separate nations.

On the whole this book is, as I wrote before, a enjoyable and read worthy book although I have to say that the original Theirs Not to Reason Why series was definitely better as far as I am concerned.

Though committed to helping their V’Dan cousins, the Terrans resent how their allies treat them.

The V’Dan in turn feel the Terrans are too unseasoned to act independently.

And the other nations fear that ending the Salik War means starting a Human Civil War.
 
Even as Imperial Prince Li’eth and Ambassador Jackie MacKenzie struggle to get their peoples to cooperate, they still face an ethical dilemma:

 

How do you stop a ruthless, advanced nation from attacking again and again without slaughtering them in turn?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much Johnson for making it easy for a first time reader to slide right into the book without having to read the previous books first. Although I now plan on picking up the previous books because I enjoyed reading The Blockade so much.

This book picks up at quite a quick pace because the adventure and war are at its pique and its cast are having to scramble to save themselves and their people from devastation.

Johnson does a great job making the reader feel the building tension and apprehension chapter to chapter but she also brings heart to the table as well. There's a sort of human element that pulls you in and makes you feel for the struggle and the hope and the hurt the characters go through.

I really like emotional reads because it gives you as a reader something deeper to connect to on a personal level and Johnson does it well.

Yay for The Blockade - a really great read!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review via Berkley Publishing.

 

 

 

 

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Raised to understand and control advanced magics, the Fae Rii know they must be careful with the wild, abundant energies of their new desert homeland. They must also downplay the awe they inspire in the Bronze Age humans around them.

 

Still, they have managed to create some equilibrium between the two factions, primitive versus advanced—at least, until new outworlders arrive, tipping the scales out of balance.

Strict and power-hungry, the ruthless Efrijt take the phrase “deal with the devil” to a new level. A treaty may be possible; however, the solution proposed will in turn give birth to a new problem: A chaos that will dance its way through all three races trying to survive in the burning heat of the Flame Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second book of the Flame Sea series is phenomenal. I love the balance of energies and the differences in the factions. Johnson is a brilliant creator. I love the world of the Flame Seas. I don't know she does it but its absolutely beautiful and its amazing. I can't get enough of the life and the detail on every page.

There's like this whole complicated mess of who controls what and how everyone looks at everything a certain way and how they get used to the way things are done until it gets turned upside down and changes it all for everyone.

Its interesting to see how the magic change effects everyone from the supernatural to the humans and how it expands how people have interpreted their world thus far. You can really sense as a reader what it would be like to have everything you once new not being the same anymore and how that would make you feel as a person and as a community and how as individuals they have to see things in a new light.

Its really emotional and rather beautiful. I enjoyed Demons of the Flame Sea from beginning to end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from: Berkley Publishing

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from followers!

Thank you so much for stopping by!