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juushikaTitle: The Last Graduate (The Scholomance Book 2)
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: Del Rey Books, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 390
Total Page Count: 452,845
Text Number: 1582
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Beginning her final year at the Scholomance, El finds herself ... babysitting a crowd of freshmen. This reverses my reading experience with A Deadly Education: it moves ever upward, more worldbuilding, wildly increasing stakes; an escalating momentum that avoids the sophomore slump. I like the intent of the moral arc, but it comes too easy. (This is also a complaint I had the first time I read A Deadly Education, so the trend is: that El is able to pinpoint and then solve fundamental problems with her world is cathartic but invites nitpicking, not because of inherent flaws in the writing but because it compares unfavorably to how unsolvable are the problems of our world). I also wish I had a better grip on the supporting characters; struggling to tell some of El's friends apart undermines my emotional investment. But while I can quibble, I really enjoyed this. Big crazy world, fun sarcastic tone, and while I nitpick how it tackles living-in-a-society, I still really appreciate that as a central theme.
Title: The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance Book 3)
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: Del Rey Books, 2022
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 410
Total Page Count: 453,255
Text Number: 1583
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Fresh out of school, El grapples with her loss--and with a never-ending string of obligations, as Enclaves around the world come under attack and only she can save them. It requires lot of globe-trotting, and the travel is exhausting just to read about, and maybe too convenient: since travel is rarely magic-aided, El et al start to feel superhuman in non-magical ways, impinging on my suspension of disbelief.
But my one complaint is well-balanced. I love how Orion's backstory unfolds. This series has a lot of great knowledge drops, scenes where El has that key, inevitable, earthshattering realization--but the role of maw-mouths is especially effective, a note that echoes back through the entire series. And moreso I love the themes. I've quibbled with how these books handle the responsibilities of Living in a Society: compelling and relatable as a concern, but sometimes too simplistic in resolution. But nothing here is simplistic. "It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it" hits differently at different levels of power. El's power is immense, putting her in the unenviable position of being able to fix an unfixable society. She's forced to accept that the rest of the world must exist in that society, perpetuating it, hating it; that they are often unable. This is how to do wish-fulfillment: sufficiently logical and miserable that the fantasy of a better world feels earned. It's a great ending.
Nothing in the series offers the intensity and glee of the first book's early chapters, but ultimately? I don't mind.
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: Del Rey Books, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 390
Total Page Count: 452,845
Text Number: 1582
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Beginning her final year at the Scholomance, El finds herself ... babysitting a crowd of freshmen. This reverses my reading experience with A Deadly Education: it moves ever upward, more worldbuilding, wildly increasing stakes; an escalating momentum that avoids the sophomore slump. I like the intent of the moral arc, but it comes too easy. (This is also a complaint I had the first time I read A Deadly Education, so the trend is: that El is able to pinpoint and then solve fundamental problems with her world is cathartic but invites nitpicking, not because of inherent flaws in the writing but because it compares unfavorably to how unsolvable are the problems of our world). I also wish I had a better grip on the supporting characters; struggling to tell some of El's friends apart undermines my emotional investment. But while I can quibble, I really enjoyed this. Big crazy world, fun sarcastic tone, and while I nitpick how it tackles living-in-a-society, I still really appreciate that as a central theme.
Title: The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance Book 3)
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: Del Rey Books, 2022
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 410
Total Page Count: 453,255
Text Number: 1583
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Fresh out of school, El grapples with her loss--and with a never-ending string of obligations, as Enclaves around the world come under attack and only she can save them. It requires lot of globe-trotting, and the travel is exhausting just to read about, and maybe too convenient: since travel is rarely magic-aided, El et al start to feel superhuman in non-magical ways, impinging on my suspension of disbelief.
But my one complaint is well-balanced. I love how Orion's backstory unfolds. This series has a lot of great knowledge drops, scenes where El has that key, inevitable, earthshattering realization--but the role of maw-mouths is especially effective, a note that echoes back through the entire series. And moreso I love the themes. I've quibbled with how these books handle the responsibilities of Living in a Society: compelling and relatable as a concern, but sometimes too simplistic in resolution. But nothing here is simplistic. "It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it" hits differently at different levels of power. El's power is immense, putting her in the unenviable position of being able to fix an unfixable society. She's forced to accept that the rest of the world must exist in that society, perpetuating it, hating it; that they are often unable. This is how to do wish-fulfillment: sufficiently logical and miserable that the fantasy of a better world feels earned. It's a great ending.
Nothing in the series offers the intensity and glee of the first book's early chapters, but ultimately? I don't mind.
