Feyland: The Twilight Kingdom
I found these books on Wattpad and read the first two titles in the series (and also a sort of prequel). Then I discovered there was a good price for all three books in print, and I got them, because generally, I like to own all my favorite books in print.
Just like the first books in the series, this one was great. Well written and fascinating. The characters felt real and they were likeable (though I do find it just a little bit annoying that Jennet is so perfect). As I’ve mentioned before I really like Marny a lot better.
The relatively dystopian future setting works well. I’m not usually a fan of the new dystopian subgenre. Just like the ‘new’ urban fantasy isn’t to my taste either. In this book, the setting works. It’s not a ‘total’ dystopy, just the sort of society we’re already seeing the first traces of, in slum areas and rural areas all over the world. There’s advanced technology, but also vast areas where people live in poverty in crumbling buildings with threatening criminal gangs taking over.
In this book, we get to see a bit more of other characters, but again, not nearly enough of Marny. I think she should have been more included in the plot and it would have been great if a love interest could have been found for her.
If you’ve read my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you already know about my feelings about this series, so I don’t have much more to add, other than that I can really recommend them to anyone who loves fantasy, but also those who like modern YA books. There may not be vampires, werewolves and zombies, but it feels ‘modern’ in the writing style and the description of characters and in this context, it’s all positive.
Feyland: The Bright Court
First I’ll just mention the prequel, Feyland: The First Adventure. I hadn’t seen it before I read Feyland: The Dark Realm, which is really the first book in the trilogy, and only just discovered it when I was looking for the sequel. So I read the prequel first. I must say it didn’t really contribute much to the storyline. What happened in that short story, wasn’t really new, just a bit more fleshed out than in the sort of flashback, or intro, so in a way, I might as well just have skipped it entirely. Then again, since I wanted more from the Feyland Trilogy, it was fun to get just that. Maybe it would have been better to just add the intro to The Dark Realm, but I’m not complaining.
The Bright Court begins more or less right after The Dark Realm ended. It feels a lot like the second part of the same book. I don’t really have much to add to my first review of this trilogy, but just for the record: I loved this book as much as the first.
This time, you get to see more of Tam Lin’s old friend Marny, who in my opinion is a very cool, rather underused character. Maybe it would be unfair to say that she’s a more interesting character than Jennet, but there, I’ve said it. On the other hand, Jennet has matured a lot from the prequel to the second book.
The situation at the end of the first book is pretty much unchanged when The Bright Court begins. The same threats exist, except at the moment, Marny is the one in most danger. Why that is, you’ll have to read the book to find out. Even when she’s in danger, she’s a pretty resourceful person, so she’s not totally helpless, but at the moment, she needs a bit of help and her friends are ready to risk entering Feyland again to give her that help.
It’s a very good book. If you love fantasy, Faerie and computer games you should read it. I only wish Book 3 would be available for free. On the one hand, I’m prepared to buy the whole series in print, but on the other, I’d prefer to know what I’m buying. Someone told me there’s a second trilogy by the same author, set in the same ‘universe’. If it’s as good as this trilogy, I’d love to read it too.
