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A review by verkisto
Messenger's Legacy by Peter V. Brett
3.0
Right as I was starting to read The Core, I discovered that Brett had another novella that fell between books three and four of his Demon Cycle. Since I was finishing out the series, I figured I needed to read it, too, but since I had already started The Core, I decided to wait to read this one. That was both a good idea and a bad idea.
It was a good idea, because I didn't remember Briar from the previous books, and The Core helped jog my memory and let me know who he was. It was a bad idea, though, because by the time I finished this book, I knew what had happened to him when he was younger, albeit just in the broad sense. Messenger's Legacy feels superfluous afterward, since all it does is flesh out the details. Had I read the book in its right place, it might have had a different effect on me, and it's certainly not fair to judge the novella on my own failure to stick to the timeline, but it definitely makes a difference.
I don't think the book is necessary to read if you've already finished the series, but if you're reading the series fresh, make sure you drop this volume into its right place. It will be new to you there, and will set the ground for the character when he enters the story as a key player. Not having read it didn't detract from my enjoyment of The Core, but it would have made a difference had I read it in its proper place in the chronology.
It was a good idea, because I didn't remember Briar from the previous books, and The Core helped jog my memory and let me know who he was. It was a bad idea, though, because by the time I finished this book, I knew what had happened to him when he was younger, albeit just in the broad sense. Messenger's Legacy feels superfluous afterward, since all it does is flesh out the details. Had I read the book in its right place, it might have had a different effect on me, and it's certainly not fair to judge the novella on my own failure to stick to the timeline, but it definitely makes a difference.
I don't think the book is necessary to read if you've already finished the series, but if you're reading the series fresh, make sure you drop this volume into its right place. It will be new to you there, and will set the ground for the character when he enters the story as a key player. Not having read it didn't detract from my enjoyment of The Core, but it would have made a difference had I read it in its proper place in the chronology.