for every scene that Todd and Viola are both present but actively arguing/being passive aggressive in I will be going back to Chaos Walking and reading a scene of them actively loving each other, for my own mental health
Piper at the Gates of Dusk thoughts/ramblings/reflection/etc
OKAY so after having time to digest the book and do quick skimming reread. I have gathered Thoughts and Opinions!!! SPOILERS under the cut! Beware!
(Also, yes I did genuinely like this book a lot! It's great to be back in New World, and I kept my expectations low, and was pretty satisfied with it, all in all!)
I felt like it tried a bit too hard to emulate the pacing of Knife. a LOT of stuff happens in the book but it feels like it's a bit too fast paced maybe? There's not much breathing room or filler, which usually is fine in a book but I think it would have benefited from having more of those slow moments where you get to learn about the characters themselves, like in Knife
I really really really liked all the WORLDBUILDING!! Learning about the changes that happened between the OG trilogy and the new book, about the changes that happened when the new settlers arrived, the changes to the politics, etc. You also get to see more of New World and learn more about different parts of New World!! I love I love I love
The treatment of the Land is a bit more on the nose this time around when compared to what they parallel in real life, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, especially with what's happening right now. But it's a little bit too specific, maybe.
Of course, in true Chaos Walking fashion, it was overall very political, and I liked how those politics adapted in this book to reflect what we're seeing right now, it's done well in my opinion and I think it was a great time for something like this to be written, though I don't know how it'll age
There are lots of characters to keep track of, which is a big difference to the CW trilogy because there's really only a handful of recurring, named characters with speaking roles. It didn't bother me, I love a big cast of glorbos, it was just a bit different!
I did feel like, at least for now, the two antagonists were somewhat rehashes of Prentiss and Coyle but this is done intentionally, because from the beginning it seems a theme of this series is that people will repeat history if they don't learn from the past. But also, they're just not as charismatic or as intimidating at all as Prentiss and Coyle, which I feel might also be intentional, we'll see as the terilogy progresses
I ADORE Ben and Max. They're such perfect blends of Todd and Viola's personalities and they clash in similar ways to their parents, but they also get along and fight for each other when they have to. I love these stupid babies so much.
TRANS AND DISABLED REP :bangbang:
I feel like it won't end up being as dark and grim as the OG trilogy. This is simply, I think, because of the circumstance of the world when the trilogy starts. In Knife, we come into this town from the point of view of a boy who thinks they're the last people on the planet and it's all doom from there. In Piper, humans have established a civilization, they've been thriving to an extent, the Noise isn't an issue, it's generally hopeful aside of the obvious issue of the gods.
Again on the grim/darkness of it all, there's plenty of death and destruction, but it just doesn't feel as gripping as anything in the original trilogy.
I did really like the twist with the gods. The twist was really interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing what else we can learn
Maybe this is my obsession with the OG trilogy, but I felt like Todd and Viola were a bit out of character this time around. I know that they're in their late 30's now, but sometimes they're so toned down that it's almost easy to forget they're our Todd and Viola from the first trilogy.
The original trilogy is obviously very character driven, and this book is very plot driven, which is Fine, but I'd like to see more conflict between major characters/not just the antagonists vs protagonists, more drama, more complex emotions and relationships. I know it's only the first book, but the complexity of relationships is something that CW does extremely well!
I know Todd's grown up now but. He just didn't feel like Todd sometimes?
Also can Todd still use his Noise to attack? Why doesn't he? I know we don't get a Todd POV and that this story's not about him, but I think that it would make sense to figure out someway to explain that?
idk. todd and viola don't seem as traumatized as they should be. you'd think after the original trilogy they'd have more of a visceral, PTSD-esque reaction to their home being literally burned up, after all of the events surrounding fire/explosions/etc they went through as kids? And then hear the end when Todd's stabbed and Viola's just kinda like "oi don't die man i don't wanna go through that again ://" girl that's your Todd hello? what happened to y'all literally starting wars and committing war crimes for each other??
Im overly critical sometimes of the trope of a sequel being about the MC's kids, but I love spending time in this universe and I love seeing the old characters and I love seeing the kiddos, so I'm giving it a pass in that way <3 I would love to see more Todd and Viola though, but maybe that's just wishful thinking
Tara and Ben give Knife Tiola energy lowkey and love them already, they're so sassy and rude and they're the best
Max is my son
That's all I can think of for now. I do hope we also get novellas with this trilogy, because I continue to hold out hope for a prequel Prentiss family novella. <3
