Skirmish

As you can see, in the end I elected to jump to the fourth volume to read about the aftermath of the Sun Sword series instead of beginning with The Hidden City. Given the fact that I gave The Sun Sword another 10/10, there was no way I could go back in time and go through more than 2000 pages of Jewel's backstory before returning to what truly interested me.

Since about half of Michelle West's fans agree that you can skip the first three House War books and enjoy the rest, my excitement made me cave in and I decided to go down that road. If at any point I feel as though I'm missing out on something important, I'll go back to the beginning. Otherwise, I'll read the first three volumes when I'm done with the House War. With Skirmish under my belt and halfway through Battle, I can say that, so far at least, I haven't encountered any problems. As was the case with the Sun Sword, the author refers to a lot of past events/relationships regarding Jewel and her den, but she always provides enough context for readers to understand what's going on. You get that there's more to this or that story, and I'm persuaded that there are some nuances that I failed to grasp to their full extent, but other than that it's all good. In any case, at least for the fourth and fifth installments, the plotlines have more to do with that took place in the previous series and not necessarily with what occurred during Jewel's childhood and teenage years, or during that fateful Henden sixteen years before.

So are the House War novels as good as the Sun Sword books? Unfortunately, they aren't. At least not up to the point I've reached so far. They're not bad, mind you. Trouble is, personally I don't feel that Jewel alone can carry such a complex tale on her shoulders. It will never help that Jewel is now the sole star taking center stage, no matter how fascinating some of the plot twists involving her turned out to be. She remains an insufferable and annoying young woman for the most part, which makes her a somewhat difficult female lead to root for. The Sun Sword really benefited from its diverse cast, all of whom having important roles to play in the outcome of the series. The downsizing, so to speak, is definitely detrimental to the House War. Still, even though it doesn't recapture the epicness and the awesomeness of the previous series, in scope and vision these new books remain as impressive as their predecessors. It's just that instead of being great, they are merely good.

Here's the blurb:

In this epic fantasy series for fans of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb, Jewel Markess must contend with deadly court politics, and visions of looming magical threats.

When Jewel ATerafin returns home from the war in the South, she arrives moments too late to prevent the demonic assassination of Amarais ATerafin—The Terafin, head of House Terafin. Now the battle to become The Terafin and claim the House Seat will begin. Four candidates have declared themselves, but Jewel, The Terafin’s own secretly designated choice to become the next head of the House, has yet to announce her intentions.

Jewel does not want to make any decisions before The Terafin is laid to rest. But as enemies of the House and Empire mobilize, it becomes terrifyingly clear that everyone—including Jewel and her otherworldly allies—must survive the three days of the funeral rites before they can even be certain there will be a House Terafin left to fight over…

Skirmish and the rest of the House War books don't have the structural problems that plagued the Sun Sword series. Indeed, West no longer needs to backtrack and focus on events occurring in Essalieyan Empire and then return to what is taking place in the Dominion. The novel begins at the exact point where Jewel's storyline ended in The Sun Sword and only covers a period of three days afterward. This short span of time and the small number of perspectives from which we watch events unfold make Skirmish a decidedly more self-contained work. And yet, compared to the sprawling and convoluted Sun Sword yarns, it also makes Skirmish West's weakest Essalieyan novel I've read thus far. Having said that, I must point out that it's still better than most fantasy books out there. Just not up to par with what the author has accustomed us to in the past.

The worldbuilding continues to be what is probably my favorite aspect of the Essalieyan saga. In my past reviews, I claimed that there was a depth to Michelle West's universe that rivals, and might even surpass, that of Tolkien, Erikson, and Bakker. Each Sun Sword book built on the storylines of its predecessors, adding layers upon layers to an already elaborate plot that often blew my mind. Even though Skirmish is limited to the story arcs of Jewel and her entourage, there is more than enough for West to continue to push the envelope in that regard. Though she remains unaware of the full extent of her seer-born powers, Jewel's strength grows in unexpected ways that will leave their mark on the capital city of Averalaan Aramarelas. Revelations about Avandar, Lord Celleriant, and the Winter King will also add new layers to what is undoubtedly one of the most multilayered fantasy series ever written. Hence, as far as the worldbuilding facet is concerned, Skirmish is a worthy sequel to the Sun Sword.

The characterization leaves something to be desired, however. And in this, your mileage will vary. Readers who love Jewel will likely enjoy this novel as much as the others. Perhaps more. For those for whom, like me, Jewel was just one of the protagonists and not their favorite by any strech of the imagination, this is where it gets tricky. As mentioned, I don't feel that on her own Jewel can carry this series. I'm missing the thoughtful perspectives of such flawed protagonists as Diora, Teresa, Kallandras, Margret, Valedan, Alina, Ser Anton, etc. So far, no other characters have really stepped up to the plate, which means that the characterization is decidedly weaker in this series. Everything that has to do with House politics/business is rather boring, and Finch and Teller's POVs are dull for the most part. The cats were a nice touch, but I'm not sure how long the author can keep them entertaining. The amount of disparate perspectives is what made the Sun Sword such a memorable read. This more limited approach for the House War isn't working well for me at the moment. It gets a bit better in Battle, yet it's obvious that this series needs more POVs from both sides of the conflict. Time will tell if we'll get them or not.

In terms of pace, throughout Skirmish the rhythm can be quite uneven. One would have thought that a novel covering a span of only three days couldn't possibly have any pacing issues. And yet, at times this one is as slow-moving as The Broken Crown. The main problem with the first half is that it mostly deals with Jewel being brought up to speed and being told what to do/what not to do now that she's back. It's mostly about House politics and relies on big info-dumps disguised as conversations.The second half is much better than the first, which was a relief. Everything that has to do with the greater scheme of things is interesting and the implications for the future quite engrossing. But dealing with the minutiae of House business makes for long and tedious chapters. True to form, West brings this book to its conclusion with a rousing finale that helps you forget some of the more monotonous moments that plagued it early on.

Hopefully Skirmish is just a transition book meant to bridge the Sun Sword and the House War, and what will follow will match the previous series in greatness and imagination.

The final verdict: 7.75/10

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