Rate: 4/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers):
I have been looking forward to finding out where Russell will take this second installment of Divinity’s Twilight ever since finishing Rebirth. Remnant was well worth the wait as Russell squeezes every ounce of action and detail into this weighty tome. As I was reviewing my notes for this post I was surprised at the quantity of twists, turns, and characters Russell ambitiously details and develops. Rebirth leaves the nation of Darmatian reeling in the aftermath of their defeat, with Remnant forcing our young cadets and the rest of the resistance to evolve or perish in the next assault.
Much of the first half of this novel is spent with our cadets licking their wounds, their determination either buckling or tempering under the dangers they’ve endured. We are granted more face time with Major Reev, the Ice Queen of Damartia, but the pacing through this early section is a slow burn, suffering from indecision. That said, Russell makes the most out of this break in action to tease out more of the team’s backstories. The depth for Velle, Unter, and especially Renar grew exponentially as they emerge from Vallen and Matteo’s shadows.
Russell also introduces new characters, such as Colonel Rodale Holcomb who quickly becomes a favorite. His banter, storytelling and amusing curses involving the gods make him endearing, though his tragic backstory adds much needed humanity to Major Reev.
Early in Remnant, much of the action is spent with the invading force, fleshing out their inner workings and revealing the next stages of their battle plan. Again, Russell adds much needed depth, humanity, and detail to key characters, such the seemingly impenetrable Valescar. As a whole, we spent significantly more time with Emperor Sychon Artorios and his inner circle, where each person is flush with hidden agendas and secrets. The only character that seems straightforward is Mikus Garax, the Hound of the Ritter, whose team is endlessly lucky in their narrow escapes. Mikus is unfortunately directly under Silesia, who isn’t quite who she seems to be, though Mikus can’t quite figure her out. Their chapters quickly become some of my favorites as the unexpected is always waiting just around the corner.
Russell is a master at choreographing prolonged battle sequences by volleying from one character to the next, leaving each one in a more precarious situation than the last. Not only does Russell weave together the various characters but stages his battles in vastly different environments, from air to land, adding complexity and danger with each new scenario. Russell elegantly navigates the reader through each of these conflicts with deliberately paced suspense, amplified by unexpected twists and turns.
Overall, the pacing of Remnant is drawn out in the first half, with Russell exponentially developing characters, while packing in a delightful amount of detail throughout.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- Leon is continuing to fight his mental imprisonment. Will he be able to be saved like Vallen? What horrible torture!
- Russell opens up with an intense air battle with the Rabbanites and Valescar. Not to mention an unexpected sacrifice and brutal from Vice Admiral Renfrow.
- Is Angelie really dead? I loved finding out about Renar’s backstory, especially when he turned out to have magic. What other powers do people with inert men’ar (Fle’bilis) have smothered or hidden? Could Jay’s invention he showed Matteo when we first met him help Renar access his powers all the time? Seriously though, what an amazing and appropriate talent for Renar’s passions.
- Sylette grew to be so very dislikable from her constant manipulations to her straight bullying of Renar. How she talked Renar down in the end showed promise but will her drive for revenge lead her to ruin?
- Who was the voice in Vallen’s head? How did he find him? Is it similar to Leon’s voice? Or what about Prince Vasuron Artorios? A different voice has to be speaking to him.
- What secrets is Silesia holding? Who else knows of her magic wiping memories or controlling people? Will Mikus figure it out? How many times has she wiped his memory? How is she related to the Martavis family line? Is she Lanara?
- So Vier can look like someone else three times a day if he touches them due to being a mimeo. How do the fragments end up in his mind? What secrets did he find in the vault? Why did he not take the contract on Lanara?
- Who was the ‘little brother’ that Vasuron was referring to? Vallon?
- We finally learned about Unter’s backstory, well at least hints of it. It was interesting meeting Taala who is a powerful Adjudicator and Unter’s sister. What are the implications of her magtech implants that are associated with Alters. What are the details of Unter being a Bekshak and running from justice before being executed. Who was Jesrah?
- What do the marks on Velle’s cheek mean especially with the visceral reaction by the other Sylph when the mark is described?
- Will Matteo continue growing into his powers as a sensory mage and a telepath?
- Will Hans regret seeking out and making a deal with Vier and the Orabairos?
- Talk about heartbreak. I cried so much when Rodale sacrificed himself for Reev and the Gods accepted it. What is stopping Descar from building another tower?
- I positively loved when we found ourselves in the haunted forest and it did indeed turn out to be alive and trying to kill all intruders. How horrifyingly hopeless, but brilliant sequence. Best yet, Matteo’s family and town turned out to be alive, hiding away in the forest!
Vocabulary Builder:
Lathes: to cut or shape with a lathe
Eglantine: an Old World rose (especially Rosa eleganteria) with stout recurved prickles and white to deep rosy-pink single flowers
Loam: a mixture (as for plastering) composed chiefly of moistened clay
Deific: godlike
The Critiquing Chemist 