A review by tigerlinus
The Ciphers of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

3.0

3.5. Would have rated higher but for some repetitive references, i.e., Collier and Maia not being able to kiss, always tucking her hair behind her ear, smoothing her dress.

Spoiler

Not a fan of Argus's death, which is fine if it helps advance the story and/or makes sense in the setting, but Maia was no longer in any danger when Argus came to her defense. The kishion had walked away, and Maia was safe on Muirwood grounds, so there wasn't any cause for Argus's death at the hands of the kishion. The killing was pretty much glossed over - it wasn't mentioned but a few times toward the conclusion. Just really odd how the whole thing played-out, and the timing of the killing. In addition, even though I enjoyed Lia and Colvin from the first Muirwood trilogy, I thought it a bit odd when they appeared centuries later in this book, and not as spirits.

Also, as with Wheeler's other worlds, the magic comes a bit too easily and is not always well explained, or is explained after the fact, and, while I don't dislike Maia, Maia is too perfect a character in this series. Perfect in the sense that she is able to forgive everyone, able to make sound decisions ALL the time, just one of those characters that always gets it right, even though we read of her conflicting emotions in most situations she finds herself. She is always able to look beyond the challenge, the evil actions and thoughts of another character, and is surprisingly able to do the impossible time and time again.

Having said that, I like this world - though not more than the Kingfountain series, and I am a fan of Wheeler's characters overall. On to the Void of Muirwood.