Book Title: Days of Blood and Starlight
Author: Laini Tayor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2
Date Started: May 25th 2013
Date Completed: May 27th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Thriller, Romance, Adventure, Action
Rating: Five stars
Review:
I think this is the first review in which I've actually been at a complete loss for words. The prequel to this novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, is officially my favourite book. Days of Blood and Starlight wasn't quite as good - but to be honest, what could beat the first book? - but it was still epic. I just don't know how to do it justice in words.
This book takes place a short while after the end of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. This time we follow both Karou and Akiva's stories as they fight on separate sides of the same war against the angels and the chimaera. Kaour is once again in the evil clutches of The White Wolf, whereas Akiva is struggling to find mercy for those he has been ordered to kill by the Emperor. Both face their own problems, but fate might decide to bring them together. Or it might not.
The writing was once again beautiful. What I love about Taylor's writing is that it isn't hard reading - I can get through each page reasonably quickly - yet it still has the magical quality of bringing the story to life in your mind. There are similar authors like Cornelia Funke and Philip Pullman that I feel do the same, but Laini Taylor manages it in such an effortless way that everything flows a lot more naturally and easily so that I don't have to concentrate on what's being said to get the vivid images in my mind.
The best way to describe her style is the maturity of an adult writer, with the imagination of a child - combined with the knowledge and curiosity of a teenager. (I'm sure someone can think of a much better description, but there you go.)
Never before have I read a plot that has so much going on all the time, yet only revolving around a few characters in a restricted variety of locations. The story was changing every other chapter, and not in a way that overwhelmed me with information - which is quite an achievement.
Furthermore, I've never read a description of a war that seems to accurate and yet engaging. The different sides were definitely a very clever idea and portrayed the war in a fabulous way.
It was also very symbolic, since every time someone on the angels side did something stupid, the same happened on the revenants'. It very cleared showed how war can become meaningless from its initial origins.
I have to say, it was a shame that the main protagonists have very little time together, but that fitted in with the story. And once again, I would like to award the realism of the actions of Akiva and Karou. Usually in a book like this, when one half of a couple does something terrible, the other half gets annoyed and then comes crawling back within the space of a few hours. Not with Karou. No. She's far too stubborn. And realistic.
The characters were better than ever. Karou is wonderful: she's one of those characters who you know has done wrong, but that's what makes her so appealing - you can relate to her. And she's a brilliant hero, even though she may not be out in the battlefield, she's changing the world from the confines the Wolf keeps her in.
And Akiva; just as amazing and equally heartbreaking in everything he does. It's all very well having twilight-esque male interests that declare their mad love and have a stalking nature, but it's even better when you get a hero that might be caught up in a girl, but respects her choices and then focuses on helping humanity whilst pining over her. Again, someone can think of a much better description, I'm sure.
The White Wolf is a fantastic villain; there wasn't really an evil figure in the first book, but the introduction of Thiago in this sequel was perfect. He was threatening enough at his mentions in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but he's even more intimidating in the flesh - or fur.
I'm glad we got to see more of Akiva's siblings, Liraz and Hazael - I liked their characters in the first book, but they didn't get a lot of time in the plot. They featured quite a bit in Days of Blood and Starlight, which I was happy about.
Ziri was a brilliant addition to the cast. I'm not usually a fan of love-triangles, but actually it kind of worked well here - and Taylor didn't allow it to dominate the plot.
Zuzana is even more of a legend than before, and her and Mik are a great distraction from the magical world and add the much needed humour to release the book from being very dark and serious.
That's a lot of characters actually. Wow. Well handled.
The thing I love the most is that the book is centered around the fantasy and it's worldly matters - not the romance. Yet there is still a good amount in there to keep it interesting. And, instead of becoming a very dark and serious book, the humour woven in to the whole story makes it a lot brighter, but still allows everything to be taken seriously. (I always think that's a hard thing to do; the balance of comedy and drama are really hard to keep equal. But if it's managed it's amazingly effective.)
That cliff hanger, though. Wow. Pure genius. You can already tell the last book is going to be just pure awesomeness with a large dose of epic on the side. But now I have to wait until 2014. Why would you do that?
I would recommend it to everyone. Like I said, I preferred the first book, but Days of Blood and Starlight is still at the very top of my favourites list. It has fantasy, drama, action, thrills, humour, romance and everything in between. The writing isn't too hard but the mastery of the presentation is perfect. Just read it - read Daughter of Smoke and Bone first, though. It might not make much sense otherwise.
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sx_1qGyJHVQ/URvsxSPplGI/AAAAAAAAJmg/
IprUmKY_trs/s1600/Days+of+Blood+&+Starlight+UK.jpg
I think this is the first review in which I've actually been at a complete loss for words. The prequel to this novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, is officially my favourite book. Days of Blood and Starlight wasn't quite as good - but to be honest, what could beat the first book? - but it was still epic. I just don't know how to do it justice in words.
This book takes place a short while after the end of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. This time we follow both Karou and Akiva's stories as they fight on separate sides of the same war against the angels and the chimaera. Kaour is once again in the evil clutches of The White Wolf, whereas Akiva is struggling to find mercy for those he has been ordered to kill by the Emperor. Both face their own problems, but fate might decide to bring them together. Or it might not.
The writing was once again beautiful. What I love about Taylor's writing is that it isn't hard reading - I can get through each page reasonably quickly - yet it still has the magical quality of bringing the story to life in your mind. There are similar authors like Cornelia Funke and Philip Pullman that I feel do the same, but Laini Taylor manages it in such an effortless way that everything flows a lot more naturally and easily so that I don't have to concentrate on what's being said to get the vivid images in my mind.
The best way to describe her style is the maturity of an adult writer, with the imagination of a child - combined with the knowledge and curiosity of a teenager. (I'm sure someone can think of a much better description, but there you go.)
Never before have I read a plot that has so much going on all the time, yet only revolving around a few characters in a restricted variety of locations. The story was changing every other chapter, and not in a way that overwhelmed me with information - which is quite an achievement.
Furthermore, I've never read a description of a war that seems to accurate and yet engaging. The different sides were definitely a very clever idea and portrayed the war in a fabulous way.
It was also very symbolic, since every time someone on the angels side did something stupid, the same happened on the revenants'. It very cleared showed how war can become meaningless from its initial origins.
I have to say, it was a shame that the main protagonists have very little time together, but that fitted in with the story. And once again, I would like to award the realism of the actions of Akiva and Karou. Usually in a book like this, when one half of a couple does something terrible, the other half gets annoyed and then comes crawling back within the space of a few hours. Not with Karou. No. She's far too stubborn. And realistic.
The characters were better than ever. Karou is wonderful: she's one of those characters who you know has done wrong, but that's what makes her so appealing - you can relate to her. And she's a brilliant hero, even though she may not be out in the battlefield, she's changing the world from the confines the Wolf keeps her in.
And Akiva; just as amazing and equally heartbreaking in everything he does. It's all very well having twilight-esque male interests that declare their mad love and have a stalking nature, but it's even better when you get a hero that might be caught up in a girl, but respects her choices and then focuses on helping humanity whilst pining over her. Again, someone can think of a much better description, I'm sure.
The White Wolf is a fantastic villain; there wasn't really an evil figure in the first book, but the introduction of Thiago in this sequel was perfect. He was threatening enough at his mentions in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but he's even more intimidating in the flesh - or fur.
I'm glad we got to see more of Akiva's siblings, Liraz and Hazael - I liked their characters in the first book, but they didn't get a lot of time in the plot. They featured quite a bit in Days of Blood and Starlight, which I was happy about.
Ziri was a brilliant addition to the cast. I'm not usually a fan of love-triangles, but actually it kind of worked well here - and Taylor didn't allow it to dominate the plot.
Zuzana is even more of a legend than before, and her and Mik are a great distraction from the magical world and add the much needed humour to release the book from being very dark and serious.
That's a lot of characters actually. Wow. Well handled.
The thing I love the most is that the book is centered around the fantasy and it's worldly matters - not the romance. Yet there is still a good amount in there to keep it interesting. And, instead of becoming a very dark and serious book, the humour woven in to the whole story makes it a lot brighter, but still allows everything to be taken seriously. (I always think that's a hard thing to do; the balance of comedy and drama are really hard to keep equal. But if it's managed it's amazingly effective.)
That cliff hanger, though. Wow. Pure genius. You can already tell the last book is going to be just pure awesomeness with a large dose of epic on the side. But now I have to wait until 2014. Why would you do that?
I would recommend it to everyone. Like I said, I preferred the first book, but Days of Blood and Starlight is still at the very top of my favourites list. It has fantasy, drama, action, thrills, humour, romance and everything in between. The writing isn't too hard but the mastery of the presentation is perfect. Just read it - read Daughter of Smoke and Bone first, though. It might not make much sense otherwise.
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sx_1qGyJHVQ/URvsxSPplGI/AAAAAAAAJmg/
IprUmKY_trs/s1600/Days+of+Blood+&+Starlight+UK.jpg
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