Evil for Evil

[alobear]

Evil for Evil by K J Parker is the second in the Engineer Trilogy and somewhat of a disappointment.  I started off thinking it was great - instantly engaging and the impressive depth of character I remembered from the first book.  I wrote down in my book journal that my favourite thing about this series was the characterisation - you really get to see inside people's heads and learn all their doubts and insecurities, but there's a great distinction between that and the way in which they present themselves to the outside world.  Those who have this distinction are likeable and admirable because they fight against their weaknesses, whereas the guy who wanders around telling everyone how useless he is at everything is just annoying and needs a good slap.

Unfortunately, by the end of the book, the most interesting characters have turned out to be evil, and the most likeable characters have turned into limp dish rags, and are annoying as an annoying thing.

The intrigue is still pretty good, and there are a couple of new characters that throw some more interest into the mix, and the last few pages are engaging enough to make me want to know what happens (so I will be reading book three), but I'm disappointed that the series has such a saggy middle.

Comments

[prunesquallormd]

Ah, the disappointing second book in the trilogy. I've rejected so many book 3s because of them :/