flit

It’s been a bit! Timing conspired to prevent me from reviewing my last audiobook (Katherine Addison’s The Grief of Stones), but I’m here with the conclusion of the Magebike Courier duology by Hana Lee, Flight of the Fallen.

On the whole, I think if you liked the first book, you’ll like the second. It’s more of the same, which is no complaint from me. Lee digs only slightly more into the worldbuilding of the Wastes, but as with the first book, it’s clear that’s not where Lee’s strengths or interests lie, and so she doesn’t overreach herself there, which I think is best.

The main trio—Jin, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin—continue to be fun and engaging characters, although Jin’s self-pitying act that began at the end of book 1 grows a little tiresome, even if it is understandable. (Fortunately, she gets over it and her best traits--her courage, her determination to keep trying, her capacity to love--win resoundingly in the end.) Making a surprisingly delightful reappearance is Sou-zelle, who actually threatens to usurp our lovers as the most interesting protagonist for the first third of the book. Book 1 did a good job of making Sou-zelle a more dynamic character than merely Yi-Nereen’s jilted fiancé, and book 2 continues to give him more depth.

Yi-Nereen is a very fun character to read; I enjoyed both her power and her continual debate over her own morality. Despite being a princess and Jin a hardscrabble commoner, it's Yi-Nereen who often feels like the edgier character and I think that makes for a fun dynamic. Between her and Jin, it’s fortunate they have Kadrin around to be the heart of the trio and keep them both above water. And support is his main role. Not that he doesn’t do anything, but narratively he very much acts to back up the women in his life, and he also gets to play the dude in distress. Personally, I enjoyed this—fighting and power are simply not Kadrin’s strengths and the story never reneges on this to preserve his masculinity. His value is elsewhere, and it is cherished by those close to him.

I whined a little bit that the lack of resolution to the main trio’s relationship at the end of the last book felt a little contrived, and it feels similarly just slightly contrived here how they manage to go most of the book without discussing their relationship or acknowledging that they’re all very down to make this a menage a trois situation. I would have also liked a bit more down time between them, especially during the denouement, but slice of life this series is not and never has been.

There’s perhaps slightly less combat in this book, but there’s still plenty of dashing across the hazardous Mana Wastes and action and protagonists experiencing injuries and needing to be cared for. I was a little worried this book would feel it needed to up the scale of violence as a sequel, so the final confrontations were actually quite satisfying in that they remained personal to the protagonists and not so excessive as to wear me out.

There's more engagement with the politics of the Wastes, which I always enjoy in a fantasy story. Watching Yi-Nereen try to navigate life in her new home city was both exciting and had me watching from between my fingers at moments. This woman is either zero or a hundred MPH; no in-between.

Once again though, I find myself wanting more from the ending. Despite all the drama over the main trio’s relationship, Jin’s final scenes are not with Yi-Nereen and Kadrin, but with others. Which wouldn’t bother me if we’d gotten to see more of the trio being together. It would have just been rewarding to see more of what an active romance looks like between them, although I am grateful the book continues to value their platonic relationships as well.

Overall, the book continued to be fun. Is it the next great fantasy novel? Certainly not. Did I enjoy my time with it? I sure did. Will I read something else by this author? Possibly, depends on the book. I enjoyed my time with the Magebike Courier series and would definitely be open to more projects by this author.