★★★☆☆ WHEE! Zzzz... BOOM!

Siege and Storm

Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone ended in this way: The Darkling, having taken control of Alina's magic through the staghorn collar, used it to extend the Fold over Novokribirsk, killing its hundreds of inhabitants. This was just a demonstration of his power to compel everyone to submit to him. He then kicked Mal out of the skiff and tried to compel Alina to remove her protection, thus leaving him to be killed by the volcra. With that motivation Alina realized that her merciful treatment of the stag had established a rapport superior to the Darkling's, so she wrested control of the collar away from him, leapt out of the skiff, and abandoned the skiff to the darkness, resulting in the death of almost everyone aboard, but not, we much fear, the Darkling himself. An epilog shows Alina and Mal aboard a ship on the True Sea, fleeing to Novyi Zem.

As Siege and Storm begins we pick up Alina and Mal where we left them, on the passage to Novyi Zem. A series of adventures follows. (These are what I summarized as "WHEE!" in my title.) They're good, exciting, and unexpected. I was surprised several times by this initial series of adventures. "Whoa! Didn't see that coming!" Several new and compelling characters are introduced. The end of Siege and Storm (the "BOOM!" part) is even better. It's a huge climactic battle that really works. So, good beginning, great ending.

Then there's the middle (the "Zzzz..." part). Alina and Mal end up in Os Alta once again. (It would spoil too much to explain how.) And for something like a third of the novel, nothing appears to happen. I say "appears to" because we eventually learn that during this seemingly inactive period a flurry of political machinations and palace intrigue was happening, all extremely consequential, leading up to the final grand battle. Now, in principle this middle could have been as good as the beginning and end. Palace Intrigue can make for compelling plots, see for example The Goblin Emperor and Silence Fallen. The problem is Alina. Like Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm is told entirely from Alina's point of view. And for reasons I can't go into without spoilers, Alina's sojourn in Os Alta is too consumed with misery for her to be more than peripherally aware of the politicking taking place around her. So, we have a third of the book in which we participate in Alina's misery and barely advance the plot.

In summary, good beginning, great ending, but the middle is a big yawn. It could have been so much better!

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