The Gathering Storm (Crown of Stars Series #5) Book

"This war seems like a desert to me, a barren wasteland. But still, it must be crossed."

Either the series fatigue has finally got me or this novel was too long by at least 900 pages.

Gathering Story is a brick of a book that could be much shorter. Again, whole passages or even POVs (sorry Stronghand, you lost your charm when you decided to mimic humans) could be cut out without doing any harm to the whole story.

Roughly 7/8 of the novel is storm-mongering. We are repeatedly told that the great cataclysm is coming inexorably, as the Aoi, banished centuries ago, are about to return. A huge catastrophe is looming, and in the meantime, people (and other sentient beings) are only concerned with petty issues.

By this point in the series, there are many sub-plots of which some have their distinct narrations and POVs whereas others are just recounted or mentioned in the passing (dreams carry the narrative very often and then visions through fire). I am still unsure whether Elliot had it all planned or whether she is playing by ear. But one thing is certain, some of the marginal characters have grown into major protagonists, at times even more interesting than the leading pair. I have mentioned Liath's waning charm (she is a pure snow fire-flake at the moment). Presently, I also suspect that Ms Elliott either hates Alain or is unsure what to do with him and is trying to kill him (in vain). Of the secondary protagonists, Hanna and Rosvita deserve your special attention. While I wasn't particularly fond of Hanna, she really blossomed somewhere around the third volume. To the contrary, Eika and their shenanigans are not only detached from the rest of the tale, but also lost their unique flavour. I'd be happier without Stronghand's POV (and it takes so many boring pages!).

The main problem is: while we hear that the storm is upon us for hundreds of pages in the book nothing happens! I understand that the time span is long (we are used to books happing within days, here it is years in a single volume), and that each of the characters needs their space, but there were whole sections that reminded me more of a chronicle that recorded even the tiniest detail (down to defecation) than a story which captures the essentials.

There are many moments that, despite everything, save the novel, but, it's really hard to get through some fragments. I will continue in a hope that the next instalment will compensate for this long meaningless interlude.

I would not have made it without the wonderful reading cabal: princess Veronica, Jess of the Eagles, Sister Choko, and Shaitarn the Bookwyrm who make reading the series worthwhile and enjoyable despite the rating.

Also in the series:

1. King's Dragon ★★★★★
2. Prince of Dogs ★★★★☆
3. The Burning Stone ★★★★☆
4. Child of Flame ★★★☆☆
6. In the Ruins ★☆☆☆☆
7. Crown of Stars ★☆☆☆☆