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Echo in Onyx
Apr. 16th, 2019 01:19 pmAfter a break of three years, Sharon Shinn has released a complete (and lengthy) trilogy of new novels, currently available only in audiobook format. Which is great for me, since I tend to listen to her books rather than reading them anyway.
Echo in Onyx takes us to a newly created world from Shinn, where the nobility have doppelgangers, called echoes, who follow them around, matching their every move. They are said to be gifts from the triple goddess, historically used as decoys in times of war, but now just status symbols.
The narrator of the story is Brianna, a small-town girl who gets a job as maid to a noblewoman with three echoes and travels with her to the capital, where Lady Marguerite is being courted by the heir to the throne.
Brianna is an appealing protagonist - full of wonder at the marvels of her new existence but also very practical and kind-hearted. Margeurite is also well-rounded, and stands out from the other nobles in the way she treats and interacts with her echoes. When tragedy befalls them (in a very abrupt tonal shift partway through the story), they work together to try to solve their problems, creating a tense and emotive narrative as the novel goes on.
But I have so many questions that aren't answered. Enough practicalities of the echoes are explained to make a lot of other logistical and logical issues more glaring. The middle section goes on way too long, with very repetitive events and encounters that dilute the tension. The romance aspect of the story feels under-served, with the love interest declaring he would do anything for Brianna without much of a build-up of the relationship. And the ending is pretty weak, with a deus ex machina solution to a climax where Brianna isn't even present. So, after all their impressive efforts to save themselves, it doesn't feel as if the heroines have much agency in their fate at the end.
However, as is always the case with Sharon Shinn, the world itself is intricate and beautiful, the characters are easy to invest in, and I'm very interested to see what other stories she can tell. So, I have added the other two books to my audible library and will listen to them at some point.
Echo in Onyx takes us to a newly created world from Shinn, where the nobility have doppelgangers, called echoes, who follow them around, matching their every move. They are said to be gifts from the triple goddess, historically used as decoys in times of war, but now just status symbols.
The narrator of the story is Brianna, a small-town girl who gets a job as maid to a noblewoman with three echoes and travels with her to the capital, where Lady Marguerite is being courted by the heir to the throne.
Brianna is an appealing protagonist - full of wonder at the marvels of her new existence but also very practical and kind-hearted. Margeurite is also well-rounded, and stands out from the other nobles in the way she treats and interacts with her echoes. When tragedy befalls them (in a very abrupt tonal shift partway through the story), they work together to try to solve their problems, creating a tense and emotive narrative as the novel goes on.
But I have so many questions that aren't answered. Enough practicalities of the echoes are explained to make a lot of other logistical and logical issues more glaring. The middle section goes on way too long, with very repetitive events and encounters that dilute the tension. The romance aspect of the story feels under-served, with the love interest declaring he would do anything for Brianna without much of a build-up of the relationship. And the ending is pretty weak, with a deus ex machina solution to a climax where Brianna isn't even present. So, after all their impressive efforts to save themselves, it doesn't feel as if the heroines have much agency in their fate at the end.
However, as is always the case with Sharon Shinn, the world itself is intricate and beautiful, the characters are easy to invest in, and I'm very interested to see what other stories she can tell. So, I have added the other two books to my audible library and will listen to them at some point.
