A review by acrdoodles
Mines of the Minotaur by Julia Golding
3.0
2022:
Okay so I don't know what I was going on about 6 years ago but re-reading Mines of the Minotaur, this, to me, is the weakest of all four books.
I still like the points I wrote about in 2016, but I felt like the pacing was really off in this one - everything was either going way too slow or way too quick and the fact that this book is 100 pages shorter than the first one is felt deeply and I really feel like it could have benefited from them.
Also, despite the fact that I adore some of the characters introduced in this book and like some of the character development and the focus on the emotional growth and journey, it feels to me as though the cast has become too big for the story.
While some characters get some great insight and time in the spotlight, others are sort of pushed to the side - which is a shame as the characters and the wide variety in the cast is one of my favourite things about the Companions Quartet.
All in all I wished there had been more time to dwell on an properly dive into the themes, plot points and cast in this book. It had so much potential that, compared to the first 2 books, I don't think it quite lives up to.
2016:
Mines of the Minotaur was always my least favourite of all the four books. But now that I've read it again, I feel like I appreciate this one more that I did before.
Yes, this is definitely the most angsty of all four books, but I really like how it brings forward all the different qualities of the characters.
The plot evolved differently in this book than the others, the conflict is more emotional and doesn't really require quite as much fighting and diplomacy as the others.
One of the things I really like about this book, is how we see a totally different side of the Society. We see much more how scared they are of the Universal and how much they depend on good leaders. Suddenly, the Society isn't just 'the good guys', they are actual human beings and creatures that act out on their feelings, and it's a really big part of this book.
It's about inner struggles, that everyone can be scared act out on it and seeing that not everything is as black and white as you believe.
It's an amazing book, and I cannot believe how I thought it to be the weakest of all four.
Okay so I don't know what I was going on about 6 years ago but re-reading Mines of the Minotaur, this, to me, is the weakest of all four books.
I still like the points I wrote about in 2016, but I felt like the pacing was really off in this one - everything was either going way too slow or way too quick and the fact that this book is 100 pages shorter than the first one is felt deeply and I really feel like it could have benefited from them.
Also, despite the fact that I adore some of the characters introduced in this book and like some of the character development and the focus on the emotional growth and journey, it feels to me as though the cast has become too big for the story.
While some characters get some great insight and time in the spotlight, others are sort of pushed to the side - which is a shame as the characters and the wide variety in the cast is one of my favourite things about the Companions Quartet.
All in all I wished there had been more time to dwell on an properly dive into the themes, plot points and cast in this book. It had so much potential that, compared to the first 2 books, I don't think it quite lives up to.
2016:
Mines of the Minotaur was always my least favourite of all the four books. But now that I've read it again, I feel like I appreciate this one more that I did before.
Yes, this is definitely the most angsty of all four books, but I really like how it brings forward all the different qualities of the characters.
The plot evolved differently in this book than the others, the conflict is more emotional and doesn't really require quite as much fighting and diplomacy as the others.
One of the things I really like about this book, is how we see a totally different side of the Society. We see much more how scared they are of the Universal and how much they depend on good leaders. Suddenly, the Society isn't just 'the good guys', they are actual human beings and creatures that act out on their feelings, and it's a really big part of this book.
It's about inner struggles, that everyone can be scared act out on it and seeing that not everything is as black and white as you believe.
It's an amazing book, and I cannot believe how I thought it to be the weakest of all four.