Glass Sword Book Review: Dragging, Lacking Suspense, Overall Disappointing
By: Rozlyn Williams
Victoria Aveyard’s second book of the Red Queen series titled Glass Sword is most definitely the lowest ranking one of the otherwise stellar series. While valuable plots and character developments are revealed to the reader, it feels to drag on and lacks the constant action and plot twists the series is otherwise known for.
Picking up exactly where Red Queen left off, Mare finds herself traveling with her potential lover the ruined king Cal, her best friend Kilorn, her once through to be dead brother Shade, and other valuable Scarlet Guard members (a terrorist group with the intent to gain rights for red blood individuals) on an underground train to the ruins of Naercey, where the Guard currently holds shelter. With her red blooded ability to create and manipulate lightning, Mare finds herself on a different path than her red blooded peers. While looked at as the red blooded “Lightning Girl” of the red slums or the complete impossibility of the silver bloods, Mare is used as a weapon that many have the intentions to use to their power.
Little do all of the individuals of Norta know, Mare is not the only one of her kind. Maven, the boy who she once considered her closest friend, lover, and everything in between, is out to get Mare all to himself, used as bait to all of the other newbloods running loose throughout his kingdom. On this escape, Mare comes to conclusions that she can’t fight this alone. Through her companions by her side, she fights through each kingdom to find her fellow new blooded individuals. Blinded by the intent to get exactly what she wants, Mare finds herself shifting into the sort of monster she was trying ever so hard to avoid. Fighting the inner battle of love, emotion, and deciding what is truly best for her, Mare finds herself as fragile as glass, all while trying to be as sharp as a sword, in fear that she will eventually shatter under the pressure.
Compared to the previous book, I feel that this book strongly lacked character development. This is extremely disappointing, as we are introduced to many new faces through the discovery of newbloods. While it is clear that Mare goes through a breakdown of emotions, all of the other characters seem to be bland. As a supporter of the romance between Mare and Cal, this book leaves the readers asking questions as to where they truly stand with one another. While it is understandable that it needs to be extended out to keep the readers intrigued, it was so extended to the point that I began to lose interest. All of the characters seemed to be on the same cycle of emotions and made the book lack the spark of romance and action that the first one had done so well.
Along with that, while the book still had the extraordinary imagery and diction, the plot was very dull and predictable. Most of the book felt as if it took place in the bunker, training all of the new characters, while revealing bits and pieces of the plot. The only true part I seemed to enjoy of the book was the final battle scene where Victoria made some questionable and heartbreaking decisions for the future of the characters. These battles did set up for the next book perfectly and leaves readers pondering what will possibly happen next for the safety of Mare and her companions. While the book does appear to be a drag to finish, I would give the advice to not let this book drag down the opinions of readers for the series as a whole. While I would not recommend this series for those who get bored easily, it is a great series to take a chance on for those with a vivid imagination.