The Nonborn King by Julian May
429 pages
Published 1983
Read from May 20 to May 23
Rating: ★★½ out of 5
Here we have a prime example of A Feast for Crows syndrome. All the main characters from The Many-Colored Land are either dead, insane, or ridiculously overpowered, so the bulk of The Nonborn King is spent introducing a new cast (or trumping up third-tier characters who barely entered into the story in previous books) and maneuvering the plot into place for the final confrontation (and its fallout in the concluding volume). Characters are introduced and followed for whole chapters on futile errands, serving no ultimate purpose but to develop one plot-wrinkle or to prop up another fresh nobody's armament. Unlike in the waning volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire, however, I am not so invested in the surviving characters or overarching plot to feel much interest in the second half of The Saga of Pliocene Exile. It's a tolerable pulp adventure, but I don't see much reason to care anymore.
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