Stan
16 sep 2023
The story doesn't come across as particularly well thought-out. None of the characters ever plans more than 1 step ahead. They always just think: "eliminate this one obstacle and all our problems will be solved". And then they spend several chapters crying when their 'plan' blows up in their face. The Iyika for example claim to stage a revolution, yet don't have any plan for after they defeat the monarchy.Then there's the allegorical reference to the racial tensions in American society that the author herself pointed to at the end of the first book. Yes she definitely captured the pain associated with them, but that is also where the allegory stops. Take it any further and the underlying message of the books quickly becomes very strange. There's no message of forgiveness, no message of working together for a better future. Each side just tries to exterminate the other.