A review by maira_h
The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Spoiler
I'm honestly disappointed how this series kept going downhill for me. 

The setting changed completely– instead of the Pole, it's Babel, another ark in this world. The set of side characters changed too. I'm not really a fan of that change but I understand that this fantasy world is getting bigger.

My problem starts with how Ophelia was potrayed. Her motivation since the start was to find Thorn and follow his footsteps. But let's be real, she had no idea what she was doing. Any adversity she encountered, she somehow managed to conveniently overcame it. Even the clues she found, it all felt like chance. She's brave, I'll give her that. Because no matter what, she stuck to the end. But her motivation to endure was probably also because of Thorn. It didn't bode well with me that once she found Thorn, all she wanted to do was to seek his approval. She didn't even seem to care that there is an entity that is out there trying to do something to her world. 

And Thorn– Before, I thought that he was an enigmatic man and I found him interesting. But now, I'm just annoyed. First of all, I feel like we skipped a whole book on how Thorn himself managed to be in a position of power in Babel (I know there was a time skip of 3 years and Thorn explained it, but still, it did not feel believable. The Geneologists seemed like characters who were conveniently created to make it believable). Secondly, his complete lack of communication with Ophelia annoyed me. It's not until the end that they finally opened up to each other. But even then, I still felt like there was a barrier between them. Their strained tension got on my nerves. Three books in and I barely feel any chemistry between them. 

There was a map at the beginning of the book– a map of all the different arks in this fantasy world. I was disappointed that the map barely had any relevance in this third book. I thought Ophelia was going to travel to the different arks. But alas, we were stuck on Babel, trying to be an aspiring virtuoso because of reasons.

I was only properly invested during Victoria's chapters. Because let's be honest, her powers are so intriguing. If only we got more of that. If only we got more of Archibald traveling to find LandmArk. If only!

The mystery part made me both confused and curious. But, I don't know if I want to continue with the 4th book just to satisfy that curiosity.

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