Where I Worked Hard to Like It as Much as I Did

Kingmaker by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(This was a gift--I didn't read the books that came before. Pretty sure I didn't need to.)

There is some fun to be had in this book. Those who care about the characters from previous stories probably care a lot more, and they likely enjoy it more. But even coming at it in the middle, I could see things to like. The setting is very cool. The ships and dragons and magic are lots of fun.

And, to be honest, there were about 80-100 pages that were exciting and fully entertaining. Five here, ten there. Genuinely good scenes. But most of it was not like that. SO MUCH TALKING. Everything rehashed. Plans gone over time and again. Discussions about how somebody else would feel about the thing they were going to do. You could cut probably half the book and not miss it.

Every great scene was followed by long stretches of cozy chatting. And we flipped from character to character so much I literally don't know who was meant to be the MC. And the main conflict was a moving target. The king is being blackmailed; the dragons are being hunted; there's a treasure that must be found; a ship is being sent into a trap; the capital is being invaded; a dangerous weapon is in the hands of the enemy. These were dealt with one at a time, making half the book feel anticlimactic.

So I didn't love it.

The cover is great, though. And the hardcover is just the size and weight and sturdiness I like when I handle books. Those things together earned it the third star.

It just should have been more fun.

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