Arm of the Sphinx

Often I feel the sequels are higher in rating just because everyone who didn't like the first dropped out, but in this case I think this book definitely deserves a tiny bit better rating than the first, absolutely lovely one.

Our characters, Senlin, Edith, Adam, Iren and Voleta are pirates now. Their search for Marya is going on and at this point it is really starting to feel like a quest, with hem going to a person for information, which leads them somewhere else, where they learn some new information, etc.
We see new parts of the Tower, completely new groups of people and even the mysterious and powerful Sphinx, who has eyes almost everywhere.

I feel this is where the book is starting to pick up. Maybe I am not part of the higher part of the readership for saying this, but I love my books with a lot of action. Not saying it needs to be super fast, my preference just tends to go towards at least relatively fast things.
Here I got that. The different, previously disconnected little things seem to have some connections, forming a bigger picture, which made it feel like we were actually making considerable progress. We are far from a resolution (which, at this point I have no idea how we'll get, the last few pages turn everything upside down), sure, we will apparently have two more books, but some sort of an overarching structure is showing. LOVE IT.

Characters, ones I get attached to are really making a book shine in my opinion. Here it's finally happening, the magic is coming. The characters around are not all just to send a message and die or something, but they are around to get developed and interact. That is good, seeing them in relation to each other, it was enjoyable.
I have no idea what to expect, if they will be around to see the end of the story or not, but it's a great thing. Not going to speculate about the outcomes and end games. In this wild ride I can't really guess.

There is another thing worth mentioning. Things happening with people here are complex. They aren't black and white, which is a great thing. So many people seem to write in a way that keeps it safe, with all the Right and Wrong things decided by whatever conventional idea. When they touch a slavery situation, it's always in the framework of real world history, with a very rigid touch of it.
Here finally we are seeing something different and it's great.
People are misguided, prone to being tempted, full of flaws and that is good. That is refreshing and makes the reading experience a bit more unpredictable, which makes me want to read more.

Aaaand we arrived to something that normally I don't like and I think it is perfectly justified that it gets a lot of criticism from other people as well. A love triangle. But lets be honest, Mr. Bancroft nails even that, it's understandable, mature, not some arbitrary bullcrap that is meant to express that a certain character is just so special that everyone needs to fall for them in some teenage mania. For once I actually understand both pairs, Senlin and Marya, also Senlin and Edith. Both make sense, but at this point it's impossible to guess how "real" any of them will be. The former was this small town oddball combo that is so sweet, the latter more coming from people suffering together and understanding each other because of the same trials. I would be content with both happening at the end. Or neither. All three going their own way. At this point I am not sure how much of Senlin and Marya will be left and if it will be enough for them to pick up and relate to each other still. Then again, so many things can go wrong with Senlin and Edith as well.

I still recommend this series. Absolutely. It's just something different, while still not being too far out of what I feel comfortable for more adventurous fantasy readers.

Good night and don't let the rum run out!