Hands of Flame

Hands of Flame (2008) C.E. Murphy

The third and (for now) final story in the Negotiator story arc finds Margrit dealing with a conflict between the Old Races that is turning into an out-and-out war.

A war that Margrit inadvertently started.

Although I was quickly sucked into the story, and tore through the book to find out what happened, my opinion about the book is conflicted.

On the positive side, the pace is fast and I was drawn right into the story, reading it in two days, despite the need to go to work. I also liked the resolution of the story arc. Sure there are more stories that could be written, but there is a nice sense of resolution here.

On the down side, I still don’t get what Margrit sees in Alban. I know she thinks he’s wonderful, but I found Janx far more interesting. And twice in the story I know precisely where things were going, which made getting there a lot less interesting. It’s hard to build up suspense if it’s pretty obvious what is going to happen, and that was probably the books biggest failing.

SPOILER
(rot13)
Vs lbh jnag zr gb oryvrir gung n punenpgre vf qrnq, svefg naq sberzbfg, qba’g gryy gur qrngu sebz svefg crefba cbvag bs ivrj. Gung’f n qrnq tvirnjnl (cneqba gur cha). Frpbaqyl, V’z abg tbvat gb oryvrir gur znva punenpgre va n fgbel vf qrnq vs V fgvyy unir n dhnegre bs gur obbx yrsg gb ernq.

Fb abg bayl qvq V xabj fur jnfa’g qrnq orpnhfr bs gur svefg crefba aneengvir, gurer jnfa’g nabgure punenpgre fgebat rabhtu gb pneel gur erznvaqre bs gur obbx. Fb V zbfgyl whfg jnagrq ure gb trg ba jvgu ure qenzngvp qrngu naq trg uheel hc naq pbzr onpx gb yvsr fb jr pbhyq TRG BA jvgu gur erfg bs gur fgbel.
END SPOILER

So I was pleased with the resolution of the story arc, and I enjoyed spending time with most of the characters, but some parts of the story drug on a little. And I still just don’t get what she sees in Alban. If you haven’t read the first book, don’t pick up this one. Start in the first book in the series and read through in order. Although in theory the books could stand alone, I don’t think they’d do so very well.
Rating: 7/10

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