Nick's Reviews > Goldenhand

A mixed bag. The story felt a bit too neat and tidy, and I felt that some of the characters felt a bit... I don't know diminished? Simplified? than they are in the earlier books. Some of the cameos felt a bit forced too, with the exception of one in particular which was phenomenally powerful and central to the story. The world building was a wonderful and vivid extension to the Old Kingdom, and despite my misgiving about the story it does give the sense that the events are happenings in a world that will keep on turning after the pages are closed.
Perhaps my problem is that too much was explained, and there was a lack of the subtly that I love so dearly about Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen/ and to a lesser extent Clariel, and less (though obviously not none) in the way of the aching sadness that counterweights these four books so well.