Jay Kristoff: Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle #3) | Lara
A ruthless young assassin's journey for revenge comes to a stunning end in the conclusion of this acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.
The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.
Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Their quest will take them through the Godsgrave underdark, across the Sea of Swords, back to the library of the Quiet Mountain and the poisoned blades of Mia’s old mentors, and at last the fabled Crown of the Moon. There, Mia will at last discover the origins of the darkin, and learn the destiny that lies in store for her and her world. But with the three suns now in descent, and Truedark on the horizon, will she survive?
New York Times and internationally bestselling author Jay Kristoff’s writing has been praised by critics and readers alike and has won many awards, including five Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, and David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards.
O gentlefriends. I can't believe it's already over. I stumbled into this world of assassins and churches exactly one year ago, and haven’t had the slightest idea I’d come to love them so much. The Nevernight Chronicle is a slippy bastard, slowly sneaking up on you, spreading its roots into your naïve and vulnerable heart that has no idea what’s it going to cost him. I became pretty resistant towards book hangovers lately, but congrats Mr. Kristoff, you just gave me one and I think it might be permanent. Now let’s get this over with; I’ve got a review to write before I head back to crying.
“Pale and beautiful, she walked on.
She wore the night, gentlefriends.
And all the night came with her.”
First, I’d like to say how much the endings of series really mean to me, as I think they do for every reader, I think. There is a lot of pressure and expectations put on those endings, from fan theories to the importance of the fates of main characters and bittersweet endings. But for me it always comes down to two things – getting us a satisfying closure with explanations for all elements and foreshadowing, closing all storylines and bringing everyone together before the final imploding that leads to that infamous feeling of a good bittersweet ending. Kristoff put a lot of pressure on himself, with tons of foreshadowing and narrators notes on Mia’s story and ending, but he justified every single one of my expectations and brought these amazing series to an epic and heartbreaking ending. Hats off.
“I am a daughter of the dark between the stars. I am the thought that wakes the bastards of this world sweating in the nevernight. I am the vengeance of every orphaned daughter, every murdered mother, every bastard son. I am the war you cannot win.”
Mia might have won the Venatus Magnii and killed Duomo but her vengeance is far from over. As it turned out, Julius Scaeva (aka her father :0) is alive and better than ever before, using the state of chaos to pronounce himself an imperator. The assassins of the Red Church have kidnapped Meruciro and hold him, hostage to bait Mia, so she’s got no one but Tric, Ashlinn and annoying spoiled ten-year-old brat who also turns to be her brother. She wants to pursue her vengeance and finish what she started ten years ago, but Niah, the Black Mother, has something else planned for her. If she has to choose between saving Mercurio and killing Scaeva and pursuing gods’ wishes and restoring the balance, her choice would be obvious – but what if those two things lead to the same thing.
“Pretty warriors can’t fight for shit. You can’t know how sweet it is to breathe ’til you’ve had your ribs broken. You can’t appreciate being happy ’til someone has made you cry. And there’s no point blaming yourself for the kickings life gives you. Just think about how much it hurt, and how much you don’t want to feel that way again. And that’ll help you do what you need to do the next time to win.”
She was one girl that changed everything. Mia Corvere has always been an interesting character, but I started to understand the depths of her character during her time with Mercurio and her brother. No matter how much I loved her assassin badass strength (plus she’s the ultimate example of a woman swearing like a sailor and I STAN (with the addition of Leah from Leah on the Offbeat)), but now I finally saw and understood that human side of her – that part that wanted to live and love and protect, the part that only her family could see. She had to choose between fate and revenge, between her family and doing what is right, but in the end grief and anger led her to both, with the ultimate price to pay.
“She had every reason in the world to be nothing but rage and hatred and misery. But he knew, as much as she tried to hide it, she hadn’t let life turn her cold. She loved with a heart as fierce as lions. Gave in a way that left her bleeding, but never broken. Because even with all she’d lost, all she’d sacrificed, all the hurt heaped upon her shoulders, she’d still come back.”
Darkdawn really fired me up for the characters, especially the ones I didn’t care about much before – leaving me with feelings for an entire squad. Mia’s gladiatii are a crazy bunch of fuckers and reuniting them all made the journey I would usually find annoying quite entertaining. I didn’t quite realize the importance of their relationships with Mia before having them all in the same place, working together. They might all come from different sides of the world, but they were all part of her family – especially Mercurio and Jonnen. The only character I absolutely despised was Ashlinn. I felt like her character development was thrown down the sewer for the sake of her being a love interest – the entire book her only purpose was to stop Mia from doing whatever the hell she wanted and talking about living in a nice warm house with her. Thank you, but I started rooting for Tric again.
“But to live in the hearts of those we leave behind is to never die. And to burn in the memories of our friends is to never say goodbye. So let me say this instead.
Goodnight, gentlefriend. Goodnight.
Never flinch.
Never fear.
And never, ever forget. “
*sobs*I got chills reading this book, and I laughed and I despaired, and if anyone asked me I’d do it all again. Thank you for this masterpiece Mr. Kristoff, and I hope you aren’t done with this world quite yet.
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