Enjoyable, albeit with muted intensity.
Shorefall is a good book. There’s plenty of action, plenty of awesome reveals, and plenty of shows of power- it’s flamboyant and luxurious.
I opine that the author probably outdid himself this time. His much-lauded magic system is on show here once again, as it was in Foundryside and Divine Cities. Only now, I found it rather overwhelming. Characters spend too much time discussing the abstract concepts of scriving, lexicons, and rigs.
While I understand the cruciality of the magic to the plot, for large parts, reading felt like I had to learn code. Don’t get me wrong; I do a little coding myself, so ironically, I can appreciate the uniqueness of the magic. I just thought it was too drawn out.
The ending of Shorefall was rather anticlimactic, I thought. But this is not to detract you from reading this book. The author’s still one of the very best in the business. I will certainly read the sequel when it’s out.
