Greg Keyes

6/10
I won an Advanced Uncorrected Proof of this book in a First Reads giveaway.

Lord of Souls is the sequel to [b:The Infernal City|6488043|The Infernal City (The Elder Scrolls, #1)|Greg Keyes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320502596s/6488043.jpg|6679421] and exceeds it in every way, but still falls short. The story is filled with action, but there is just not enough backstory or context for all that action to matter very much. There continue to be references to characters, races, places, and events that seem to have importance but we never find out why. The motivations of several of the characters remain a mystery.

Yet the individual stories of Annaig, Glim, Colin, and Attrebus are engaging and not too predictable. Fitting their stories into the larger context of the Empire, the floating city of Umbriel, and the various demons/spirits is where things seem to fall apart for this reader.… (more)

5/10 stars
1. I know nothing of the Elder Scrolls game or the world in which it takes place. I don't know how much that would have helped me with this book. I would have liked a map of the world, or at least the parts that were important in the story.

2. I enjoyed the various races but often felt "in the dark" about their relationship to each other. There was no backstory for them, either as individuals (with a couple exceptions) or as a race.

3. The climax left most everything unresolved. Now, I know there is a sequel, which I plan to read to get some closure, if nothing else.

4. I liked the author's story-telling style, even though it left too much unexplained. I kept asking myself "why?", both concerning individual character's motives and actions and bigger plot developments.

5. There was a lot in the story that was very creative and, to me, fresh and new. But there wasn't enough depth to really understand and care about the characters and their lands.

6. Overall, it read like a script for a video game. Not much backstory, few explanations of anyone's motivations, no real connections--it kind of jumps from one scene to the next. If you were playing the video game, maybe you would spend more time in each, but maybe not. Even when we find out how Umbriel came into existence, it really didn't answer enough of my questions.… (more)

For the most part, I thought this was a satisfying conclusion to the series, although I'm still not exactly sure what happened, especially to Red Shoes.

I have not read a lot of alternate history-type books and I kept trying to fit the alternate history with actual history--which obviously, doesn't work very well. No fault of the author or the story, just my perspective.

I kept thinking this series would make a good movie--then I could see all the inventions (and the malakim) that I sometimes had trouble imagining.

I'll be interested to read some of the fantasy books Keyes has written and see how they compare to this series.… (more)