Reviews with content warning for Death - The Memory of Babel: The Mirror Visitor

Probably the slowest installment of this series so far, but excellent in terms of how subtly the plot comes to the forefront by the end. This series has me in a total chokehold with how effectively it feels both sinister and whimsical.

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jstilts's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very different to the previous books: Ophelia has gone from hiding in shadows to making her mark, and after the last cliffhanger (and a few years basically sulking) is now imbued with drive and purpose to solve eons-long mysteries that threaten her world, her missing husband, and herself.

Set almost entirely in Babel following a single quest, this book greater focus on the rich detailed world building of Babel society allows the overall plot to become fluffier and more mysterious, frankly treading water a little to spoon-feed us the fantasy set-up for the final volume. This isn't criticism as such, it's a very deft bit of furniture moving that's so pleasant an experience I can hardly complain.

It's not however quite as compelling as the second volume, as really you feel Ophelia could just shrug her shoulders and walk away from her troubles for the first three quarters of the book - driven mainly by her desire to reunite with Thorn, which is hard to fathom as while we saw Thorn fall in love with Ophelia in the last book - believable only because I'll accept any insight I to the inscrutable oaf - Ophelia has hardly had reason to do likewise, especially as we're privy to her thought and feelings that she STILL finds hard to quantify (after years!) that her love is a bit hard to believe. I can only put it down to the desperate need to connect during and after disaster, which they experienced together at the end of book two.

Looking forward to the final volume nevertheless - this one was strangely simultaneously better and worse than the previous books, so in a way an interesting diversion on the journey, a side quest and a breather before the finale.

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allisonmspiers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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hue's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The added Victoria POV was glorious! I enjoyed every bit!

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zimmerlemon's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

4.0

Next please!!!

A couple of the twists and turns have gotten a little confusing to me but I’m still hooked and just powering through to see what happens in the last book. I <3 that

Ophelia and Thorn have ended up reconciled, that was stressful!!

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klee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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emmerylynn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book had a very different tone than the first two, and I think that has more to do with Ophelia’s change in character and motivation. The world-building went even further with the main plot unfolding on Babel, rather than the Pole. I loved the twists and turns of this one, and the continued transformation of Ophelia’s and Thorn’s relationship. Though I wish I saw more of it.

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