Scan barcode
A review by umairah
The Demon World by Sally Green
4.0
The Demon World was the gripping sequel to The Smoke Thieves, bursting with political intrigue, love and divided loyalty. In some ways it was better then the first book, in some ways it was not, but overall I enjoyed it very much.
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Just like The Smoke Thieves, this book had five main point of view characters: Catherine, Ambrose, Tash, Edyon and March. Tszayn also got one point of view chapter and it was really interesting to get into his head for once. I think that the character perspectives were better allotted and spread out between the characters than the first book but that is probably because we didn't need to be individually introduced to them all like before. I felt like each character got sufficient time in their perspective to tell their story. Nevertheless, it did feel like not as much happened in this book as in The Smoke Thieves and I got the sense that the characters were moving into position for whatever was going to happen in the next novel in the series.
I loved how Catherine's character grew and developed even more in this book as her power grew. She took charge and led with confidence despite all the people around her who doubted her capabilities. People labelled her as ambitious and greedy for wanting to rule and lead the army because apparently those were jobs only for a man but she didn't let that stop her from proving them wrong.
Ambrose was still struggling with all of the events from the previous book and all he wanted to do was to keep Catherine safe. To be honest he annoyed me because I thought he treated Catherine unfairly and didn't understand the motivations behind her actions but at the same time she could have been more sensitive to his feelings.
Tash's story was super interesting as she went from hunting demons to trying to understand them. She was as stubborn and headstrong (but also adorable) as usual but her persistence allowed her to discover an important secret. Through her we get to discover more about the demons and the demon world and I found it fascinating. However, the cliffhanger at the end was terrifying and I really hope Tash is alright!
Edyon didn't have such a great time in this book (I felt quite bad for him) and he carried on his journey with March to Calidor to find his father. He was his usual exaggerated and comic self and he spent most of the book complaining and complimenting March. Just when I thought he was going to have some happiness, it was promptly ruined.
Throughout the book I was inwardly screaming, 'Tell Edyon the truth, March! Tell him!'. Sadly, March didn't listen. I think he has come so far from the angry, vengeful person he was at the start of The Smoke Thieves and I wanted him to have some happiness as well but he ruined it for himself. He knew that Edyon was in love with him and he loved him back and even though he knew continuing the lie would hurt them more in the long term he still didn't come clean. I think if he'd told Edyon much, much earlier they might have managed to get over it. After the ending of The Demon World, I have no idea what he's going to do next!
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'm very excited to read the final instalment of the series. It's a novel perfect for fans of fantasies that have no magic and a lot of politics, war and treachery.
Thank you to Penguin for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Just like The Smoke Thieves, this book had five main point of view characters: Catherine, Ambrose, Tash, Edyon and March. Tszayn also got one point of view chapter and it was really interesting to get into his head for once. I think that the character perspectives were better allotted and spread out between the characters than the first book but that is probably because we didn't need to be individually introduced to them all like before. I felt like each character got sufficient time in their perspective to tell their story. Nevertheless, it did feel like not as much happened in this book as in The Smoke Thieves and I got the sense that the characters were moving into position for whatever was going to happen in the next novel in the series.
--- Catherine ---
I loved how Catherine's character grew and developed even more in this book as her power grew. She took charge and led with confidence despite all the people around her who doubted her capabilities. People labelled her as ambitious and greedy for wanting to rule and lead the army because apparently those were jobs only for a man but she didn't let that stop her from proving them wrong.
--- Ambrose ---
Ambrose was still struggling with all of the events from the previous book and all he wanted to do was to keep Catherine safe. To be honest he annoyed me because I thought he treated Catherine unfairly and didn't understand the motivations behind her actions but at the same time she could have been more sensitive to his feelings.
--- Tash ---
Tash's story was super interesting as she went from hunting demons to trying to understand them. She was as stubborn and headstrong (but also adorable) as usual but her persistence allowed her to discover an important secret. Through her we get to discover more about the demons and the demon world and I found it fascinating. However, the cliffhanger at the end was terrifying and I really hope Tash is alright!
--- Edyon ---
Edyon didn't have such a great time in this book (I felt quite bad for him) and he carried on his journey with March to Calidor to find his father. He was his usual exaggerated and comic self and he spent most of the book complaining and complimenting March. Just when I thought he was going to have some happiness, it was promptly ruined.
--- March ---
Throughout the book I was inwardly screaming, 'Tell Edyon the truth, March! Tell him!'. Sadly, March didn't listen. I think he has come so far from the angry, vengeful person he was at the start of The Smoke Thieves and I wanted him to have some happiness as well but he ruined it for himself. He knew that Edyon was in love with him and he loved him back and even though he knew continuing the lie would hurt them more in the long term he still didn't come clean. I think if he'd told Edyon much, much earlier they might have managed to get over it. After the ending of The Demon World, I have no idea what he's going to do next!
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'm very excited to read the final instalment of the series. It's a novel perfect for fans of fantasies that have no magic and a lot of politics, war and treachery.
Thank you to Penguin for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.