I devoured (ba dum tsss) the first book of the Devoured Worlds trilogy, and the second book kept that going. This book, I am delighted to say, sticks the landing. Delighted with the book and the trilogy, but there’s also a lot of other emotions kicking around here too. This book put me through the wringer.
I don’t want to give spoilers, either for this book or for the first two. So, to keep this generic: a lot of things happened I did not at all expect. There were some directions I thought things were going to go, and some that took me completely by surprise. A number of things that were foreshadowed (either subtly or in a “hey, look, there’s a gun on the wall!” kind of way à la Chekov) happened, some good, some … not so good. There were several moments where things happened that left me terrified to turn to the next page. At one point (despite my desperate desire to know what happened next) I spent probably 36 hours stalling before I could make myself continue.
This was more strongly character-driven than the first two books. There’s still lots of things that the characters are struggling against - it’s not about internal stuff, and it’s not about Tarquin and Naira’s relationship, per se. But the conflicts they’re dealing with are framed in terms of their relationship, and their relationship is what shapes their decisions.
My only real criticism is the science of the book. Relkatite has always been something of an Unobtanium as a plot device. I’ve never really had a problem suspending disbelief on that score, but this book pushed that at points. I also wish the villain from the first book played more of a role here; they were kind of sidelined, and didn’t have a huge amount of agency in the role they did play.
But those are, overall, minor complaints. This series is excellent, and I am very much looking forward to whatever else Megan E. O’Keefe has coming.
Comes out on June 25.
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