Araby has managed to escape the city with her friends,
giving her chance to absorb some terrible truths:
Her father is a murderer, her father created the plagues.
She can barely accept it, even reading his own journal and needs to hear it from his own mouth. Which means returning to the city – to hear from him and to find a cure for April as well, rapidly succumbing to the Weeping Sickness.
And while they’re there it may be their last chance to
save the city – a city ravaged by plagues, swamps and the duelling forces of
Prospero and Malcontent.
Elliot launches on a really excellent campaign this book.
It’s his chance to take back the city and save it from the dual abuses of
Malcontent and Prospero – his father and his uncle. He has his army, but will
it be enough against Prospero’s and Malcontent’s own forces? Or the city
itself? Ravaged by 2 horrendous plagues, the water unsafe to drink, the air
unsafe to breathe. Slowly sinking into the swamp, ravaged by divisive factions,
falling apart through anger and fear. Services have stopped, getting food into
the city is becoming harder and roads are blocked by the piles of bodies.
It’s an epic task he has – but he has a plan, reclaiming
a neighbourhood and expanding, creating a safe space, disposing of the bodies.
He is the man to save the city and he is perfectly placed to do so.
And he’s not the protagonist.
We’re following Araby. Awwww… do I have to? But but
Elliot is the hero!
In the face of these epic happenings Araby is… spending
pages on pages worrying if she really loves Elliot. Or wondering if she loves
Will after his betrayal – and his continuing activities for that matter. Or she
is worried/hurt about her father and the terrible revelations that show that he
is far from the hero she suspected. Or she is worried about April or the
children or some of her other companions.
And it’s not like any of these issues are wrong. She has been betrayed by Will, her whole relationship with Elliot is a complicated one. And April is her often unappreciated best friend who is now plague ridden – of course she is worried about her and the children in such dangerous places and circumstances. All of her emotions are legitimate. But they’re also repetitive, really really, repetitive and handled at great length. I could, possibly, get past that if we didn’t have Elliot running around actually doing something – and not just doing something, but doing something for the whole city that makes Araby look very… small in comparison.
