The Merciless Ones

Product Information

It's been six months since Deka freed the goddesses in the ancient kingdom of Otera and discovered who she really is... but war is waging across the kingdom, and the real battle has only just begun. For there is a dark force growing in Otera—a merciless power that Deka and her army must stop. Well, the dream had to die at some point right? Secrets abound, sinister plots have been in the making for thousands of years, and what Deka and her friends find out is that they’re far from winning the war because of course, their and everyone else’s existence is in danger of extinction.

Because characters make a book for me. I want to invest in them, and once I do, then I'm invested in the story. Deka here has become so overpowered, it's ridiculous. She's no longer relatable, no longer interesting. Her friendships and relationship with Keita are just transferred over from book one with no further development, but I absolutely, positively did not care about any of them.From the start, it is clear that Deka struggles with the adverse impact of her previous actions and the final revelations in the preceding book. Her complex emotions are regularly detailed, allowing readers to understand her decisions throughout the story. As her powers grow, Deka also experiences some personal growth that makes her character easy to connect with and realistic. It felt great to see her gain even more confidence and seek the truth for herself rather than completely trust what she is told. I also find it strange that agency is essentially removed from humanity, when agency is expressly discussed with Keita and the aleki in terms of accepting Deka’s strength to make them immortal and their actions in battle. The notion that Deka didn’t make Keita a monster with him stating he is what he is because of his own choice, he chose to do battle and kill, he chose to accept Deka’s gift and come into his fire. So wouldn’t it stand to reason that humanity must do the same? SUMMARY: The Merciless Ones is the second thrilling instalment of the epic fantasy series in which a young heroine fights against a world that would dare tame her. You have to start believing in yourself, Deka, in your own mind. Your own soundness. If not, others will take advantage of you, turn your uncertainty into a weapon. Learn to trust in yourself. That is one of the primary marks of a great leader. A general.”

Overall, I did like the book. But I would have enjoyed it more if some parts were more detailed and others left out completely. I also would have preferred it if Deka had more of the struggle and humanity I felt from her in the first book. I'll probably read the last book, but my eagerness has wilted a bit. I do think this was a connector novel as Deka discovers more truths within her own world about the gods and magic, it does become a very interesting mystery. There’s a lot of action in this book, but there’s also a lot of Deka’s internal growth. There’s no question she’s having a rough time with her position, whether that’s within her friend group or with the alaki or the Gilded Ones. This is a story of betrayal and trust, connections to friends and kin, and resilience. The amount of growth that Deka goes through in a relatively short period of time is rough on her (and me, the reader, as well!). There’s something about this author’s writing that just draws me in and fully immerses me in a character’s head, and it makes the joys and the heartbreaks especially poignant. The plot veered into strange directions, it was moved along by a series of conveniences and with each chapter I liked less and less where it was going. It's like the series forgot what it wanted to be.

By Author / Illustrator

In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Gilded Ones so was excited to receive a copy of the sequel, The Merciless Ones. Yet hidden secrets threaten to destroy everything Deka has known. And with her own gifts changing, Deka must discover if she holds the key to saving Otera... or if she might be its greatest threat. The Merciless Ones is the second in Namina Forna’s “Deathless” series. For a follow-up novel, I thought The Merciless Ones did a decent job in furthering worldbuilding and character development. It took me a bit to get into, but once it got going, the book had me hooked! (Of course, spoiler warnings for the content ahead if you haven’t read the first book, The Gilded Ones.)

With an opening that couldn’t be more arresting – “Corpses. Each one female and young…They’re mounted on stakes at the mouth of the jungle”– Namina Forna's The Merciless Ones, sequel to her powerful patriarchy-confronting debut, The Gilded Ones, presents a thrilling return to the richly-evoked kingdom of Otera. Of course, plenty of characters from the first book are included. I was absolutely delighted to see Ixa again, and to see how he grows with Deka (sometimes literally!). Britta and Deka’s friendship remains another of my favorite parts of the book, and White Hands is slowly growing on me as a character. And then there’s Keita and Deka. I think the biggest missteps in this book are in the romantic subplots. They’re very minimal and underdeveloped, even Deka’s relationship with Keita. There’s so many other things going on that the characters barely get a chance to breathe, so while there were a few sweet moments, they were few and far between. There was also a tendency to pair off everyone with what seemed like insufficient development to me. Related to all that action, the pacing felt off. I can’t decide if it was too fast or too slow, which I’m guessing is a problem in and of itself. Some plot points are a bit predictable, but as I enjoyed them anyway, I don’t feel like I can complain too much about them. This book gave me absolute whiplash, to the point it doesn't even feel like it belonged to book 1. It felt like it went hard compensating for "mistakes" in the first book to the point I felt like I'm reading a new series. Could not stay engaged or interested as all the secondary characters felt like cardboard cut outs, only there to serve and revere Deka. Deka felt like part of a computer game where if she completed a chapter she got to Level Up With A New Super Power. Every....second...minute....

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The Mothers in the book start off as seeming all-wise and all-powerful, but as the novel progresses that image starts to change. They are still admirable in their power and wisdom but it is the system that corrupts them. Structural inequality This book shimmers like gold. Add it to your library shelves to dazzle voracious readers.”— School Library Journal, starred review Next, the writing. AAAAHHHH I ADORE THE WRITING 😍😍💕💕 It’s so beautiful & descriptive, and has this lovely magical quality to it. I LOVED all the gorgeous descriptives and the way it plunged you right into the story. The worldbuilding was elegantly woven into the narrative and introduced in such a great way. I thought we’d learned so much about Otera in The Gilded Ones, but there was actually so much more!! The action scenes were really well-written and so were the emotional ones. I now really want to read more of Namina Forna’s work, because her writing is just TOP NOTCH 🤌🤌

My actual rating is somewhere between 3.5 and four stars (where are those half stars when you need them!), and I round it up because overall, I really enjoyed the story.

Format

As for the romance part, I can't tell if there's less of it or around the same amount as before? Everyone is so busy fighting that there's hardly time for anything else, which is accurate, and it makes those few stolen moments much sweeter.