resumes her regular work as a Hawk. Albeit, this time caring for an egg (an unfortunate birthing result because of the unstable magic in the previous volume) and the additional etiquette lessons courtesy of the most onerous dragon Kaylin has met so far,
. Fieflord
, who immediately aid in the fight against the shadows that threaten the fief's borders with much fervor. Leading them is
chosen by their world's dragon queen. But Maggaron is under the thrall of the shadow, his name held and controlled by
. While Kaylin somehow finds herself involved in the new shadow-related troubles of the fief, she is actually called there to investigate the deaths of seven women... seven women who appear to be the same woman.
I will confess that aside from the questionable decision on my part to read two books at once, my slow progress in reading
Cast in Ruin is partly attributed to its rather slow beginning, and not much faster middle part. It didn't really pick up in pace for me as a reader until the last part, when truths about the woman -- her connection to Maggaron and the Norranir, and why Makuron is attempting to capture her alive -- are finally revealed. I didn't realize how long it's been languishing in my current
reading list until I saw the picture posted above, with my old tablet that had long been decommissioned because the jellybean thought it would be interesting to drop it on the floor (I usually take a picture when I start reading a book).
Author
Michelle Sagara can weave words like a dream, but it sometimes make it hard to understand, which require back-reading sentences, and sometimes actual paragraphs, to gain clarity. There are books in the series where this practice is a more common occurrence than I would like. Partner this with the slow pace of the book, and it felt like it was taking forever to get to the big reveals, even if I had previously enjoyed the procedural aspect of the storytelling of the
Chronicles of Elantra series.
But there are great things about
Cast in Ruin that still made it a good read. In previous volumes, immortals tend to dismiss Kaylin's right to information, which they only begrudgingly offer when there is no other alternative. Explanations about topics that they deem unnecessary for a mortal to know are usually short, if not absent, regardless if Kaylin is
Chosen and have saved their necks many times over.
Cast in Ruin was different, since the
Arkon was as honest with Kaylin as he could be, given the reveal of who the dead woman or women might be. His sharing of information wasn't begrudging, albeit still cautious, and it was as close to sharing with an equal that Kaylin was going to get. I was surprised to realize that I favored the Arkon as a dragon ally for Kaylin more than I did Tiamaris or Sanabalis, even if the Arkon was still the most likely to eat her out of annoyance.
True names are yet again central in
Cast in Ruin, with Kaylin finally understanding what it takes should she choose to exert her influence over those whose names she is in possession of. It's all the more complicated when the true name she holds is also shared by another who uses it for darker purposes. And then, there's also the topic of true names given to the immortal dragons, which can differ for men and women of the race. In this, Kaylin learns why there are so few dragons and why there aren't any young dragons running around. It doesn't take much to guess that the dead women who might or might not be the same person is directly tied to this part of the dragon culture.
There is once again talk of feelings, with Severn finally confronting Kaylin about her questions about how he loves her when she was essentially inside the Devourer in
Cast in Chaos. And her reply regarding how she feels her experience with Barren had changed her regard for possible romantic relationships was very telling of how much more we have to unravel to fully understand Kaylin, despite the rather simple, stubborn, now sometimes late and definitely perpetually broke outward appearance that people usually see her as.
It took a while to get to the really good bits, but when it did,
Cast in Ruin turned out to be a good read despite the rather tedious beginning and middle parts. I'm largely forgiving of this because
Chronicles of Elantra has good parts that far outweigh the very few bad ones, and with a
book series of this length, Michelle Sagara was bound to have a less than stellar volume at some point. Also, I can at least promise you that
Cast in Peril, which I'm currently reading, more than makes up for its predecessor when it comes to the excitement.
Happy reading!!
P.S. This officially brings me up to speed with my reading/blogging ratio of
Chronicles of Elantra. So, the rest of my Elantra-related posts will now be written once I'm done with reading any succeeding volumes. Yay!
