Phew! That was freakin’ intense and exhausting but in a good way. Glass Sword as a second book to Red Queen did a topnotch job in sustaining the intensity and power of the first book. The plot is just as riveting and exciting even though it took an entirely new direction. I loved that it was almost like reading a new story. The search for the newbloods is so much like searching for X-Men-slash-Divergent recruits and I was really eager to know what power each of the recruits possesses. There’s that little boy whose power matches that of Rogue, there’s Nanny whose power matches that of Mystique and so on.
But the subplot about the newbloods is only the icing on top of the cake because the bigger problems (and there are many of them) are almost suffocating, it’s almost impossible to imagine how Mare’s team could tackle each one. There’s Mare’s doubt in the Scarlet Guard. There’s King Maven who is always hovering around through his definitely not empty threats/promises in his notes to Mare. There’s Cal conflicted in his belongingness and his feelings for the lightning girl. There’s the problem with the young red soldiers who will surely face their deaths if Mare and the team didn’t do something. There’s that constant division between the Reds and the Silvers and so on. There’s just too many to mention.
I was almost sure the end wasn’t going to be pretty and I was not entirely wrong. There’s a particular death that devastated me and because of that, I’m taking off one star from the rating. Ha! But really, I think it also has something to do with the narrative voice. It was kind of tiring to be in Mare’s head for far too long. I was hoping to read from Cal’s POV. Even Maven’s will be a welcome alternative but it was consistently Mare telling the story. I understand that it’s her story to tell but I guess I just wanted to know other characters’ perspectives. But this is not to say that the writing isn’t great because it is. It’s just as beautifully gripping as the first book and when I find enough strength to read the third book, I definitely will and hopefully soon.
