Though this novel contains some parts I really enjoyed reading, most of the story couldn´t convince me. So, no, this one isn´t a book I can recommend. When I read it, it was supposed to be the last book of this series. Well, as we all know, the author changed her mind at some point. Not sure if that was because we reader´s couldn´t accept the end and just wanted more or not.
Shadowfever
by Karen Marie MoningFever Series #5
Publisher Ullstein TB on December 9, 2011
Genre Fantasy-Mystery
Pages 656
Format Paperback
Goodreads
✶✶✶½
MacKayla Lane, the hunter of shadows, becomes the hunted. Whom can she still trust? Who is the enemy, who is the friend? In the fight against the dark fairies and on the search for the Sinsar Dubh, Mac finds herself in danger. In the end, she has to make a decision - and in doing so determines not only her own fate but that of all mankind. Will she destroy the world...or save it?
Story
MacKayla relives what it means to lose a loved one - in this case a being. The grief is so intense that she decides to use the Sinsar Dubh to change the world. There should be no more pain, no grief, nothing that could even begin to hurt. A pact with the enemy should help her. But also, the Sinsar Dubh has changed and started a direct fight with Mac. And so, Mac experiences his very brutal cruelty firsthand. But what is an illusion and what is truth? Once again, Mac is faced with an existential decision: follow her longing or her instinct for justice.
Style
The plot continues seamlessly from where the author ended the fourth volume with the shocking cliffhanger. The state of shock that spread through me when I closed part four grabbed me again right at the beginning. Mac's first-person perspective made her feelings for me extremely intense. The emotional rollercoaster of the protagonist also throws the reader into a rollercoaster of emotions. While reading at a fast pace, the main character receives many answers to her thousand questions, but just as many new questions arise for her. Nothing fits, it's very confusing and the feeling of artificial stretching grew stronger and stronger in me. Too much was packed into the pages for me, too much detail went into it – often into superfluous details. The strangely dull tone of voice also irritated me. Although the author lets a complex rain of action pour down on the reader - a lot happens and the plot is broken down into five parts in a very varied way - but I completely missed the magic, the subliminal eroticism of the first four volumes. When Karen Marie Moning then reaches deep into the cliché box at the end and leaves practically nothing out, I'm ambivalent.
Characters
Karen Marie Moning expects a lot from her characters. Pain, anger, hate, desperation, longing, and the greed for absolute power characterize their characters again this time. But there are also many changes in the characters. At almost fourteen, Dani becomes an absolute lone fighter who fights against everything and everyone and has a cruel truth in store for Mac. Unfortunately, at some point, she completely disappears from the scene, and I ended up wondering what became of her. However, the author does not give an answer. On the other hand, Karen Marie Moning's protagonist turns grief into an ice-cold and calculating avenging angel. She hunts down the Sinsar Dubh and her sister's murderer without mercy. Her heart is like a black hole, her thoughts and actions only revolve around the illusory game that Sinsar Dubh is playing with her. For the reader, this is an absolute treat. Rarely have the characters in this series been more convincing and profound than in this part.
Conclusion
What exactly Karen Marie Moning had as a basic idea with this final volume was not really clear to me. Sure, the novel is heavy stuff, and death is omnipresent - but I was missing that certain something that made the predecessors. And to be honest I'm not quite sure what to think of this volume. Admittedly, it was a varied and often exciting book - but personally, it didn't really knock me out of my seat. Maybe my expectations of the novel were just too high. But one thing I can say for sure: the title is full of incredible imagination. At least on this point, Karen Marie Moning has inspired me again.
Happy reading
Karen Marie Moning
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fever series, featuring MacKayla Lane, and the award-winning Highlander series. She has a bachelor´s degree in society and law from Purdue University.
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Too bad you didn't enjoy it a little bit more. I really loved it when I read it, but of course that was years ago so who knows how I'd feel about it if I should do a reread.
ReplyDeleteI read it many years ago for the first and only time. It is sad, I agree. But back then, when it was supposed to be the final novel in this series, it lacked the style the author usually showed in her Fever series.
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