Warning: This review contains a lot of gazing in to the rear-view mirror about the whole Fever series. If you only want to read about feversong, skip to the last paragraphs. Also, there are spoilers.
First off, any rating that I can provide here is never going to provide sufficient metrics for describing the Fever-series and it's latest installment, Feversong. In the end, it doesn't matter if I give this book 3 or 5 stars, as Karen Moning as an author is in a league of her own, one that few authors ever reach. When ever a new book in this series/world comes out, it's in competition against other books of the series, not anything written by anyone else. The Fever fans are a passionate bunch, and when the events in the series take a turn that makes us scream with frustration and bang some characters’ heads against a hard surface to knock some sense into them, the reviews sometimes reflect this. That's why it's important to give reasons for your rating in the review and clarify whether the rating is based on your own expectations of what you wanted to happen versus what actually did. This will help others determine what criteria you used to come up with it and make up their own mind about its relevancy to them.
It's impossible to review Feversong without considering the 8 other books that lead to the conclusion (which is not really a full stop, but more of a dash, signaling a pause – for now.). There's been highs and there's been lows along the journey, but the one thing is for certain: the characters in this series are more than 3 dimensional, with their hopes, fears, thoughts, growing experiences through pain and sorrow, and most importantly the triumphs they achieve through the struggle. Gee, sounds a lot like life, doesn't it? The events are always authentic, even when the characters pull stupid sh*t that makes the reader scream. Just like life, these books are not sanitized to portray a LaLa Land version of event's. But through it all, there is a strong backbone of hope, love and self-discovery that is unparallelled in any books or series I've ever read.
Now is the time to also applaud the rich world-building and unbelievable level of attention to detail KMM has weaved into these books since the beginning. It's been over a decade since some of the seeds were sown that finally come to play in this installment. What a mind KMM has! These books should be indexed under Philosophy and perhaps even Self-help, as they teach important lessons on self-awareness, contemplate the nature of love, of good, of evil, of hope, and the capacity for strength we all have in us. If there was ever a book series I want to see adapted to TV, this is it. It’s easily on par with Game of Thrones. So Hollywood, get on it, stat!
So finally, my opinion on Feversong:
After the first read, I’m still digesting all the events, and plan to do a re-read soon to catch all the details I missed the first time around. These books are multi-faceted, and every time you pick up new things or grasp the meaning in a new way. They stay with you, and you still find yourself obsessing over the events and characters after weeks of reading. As whole, I give the book 5 stars as it wraps up Mac&Barron’s story satisfactorily. We start the book with the sociopathic Sinsar Dubh on the loose, and boy is that baby sore (fans of BtVS will recognise that pun)! The Sinsar Dubh is batsh*t crazy, and makes Mac do things she will have to come to terms with and live with forever. Feversong handles this well though, and Mac is now mature enough to handle it. Roughly the first half of the book is non stop action and fun to read despite it’s gruesomeness, and I have to admit I found the Sinsar Dubh oddly entertaining, which is something that I would never say about a real live sociopath! Mac makes progress with vanguishing the book, and ends up getting the powers of the Seelie Queen in the process. This may sound a bit convenient as a solution, but how things happen in the book is believable, and I didn’t have a problem with Mac growing in power yet again. The first half of the book also has a couple of excellent, very charged scenes with my favourite duo Dani and Ryodan, and their interaction and characterisation is consistent with what came before in previous books.
If I were to rate the second part of the book on it’s own, I would give it 3 stars (remember, this is on a scale of KMM excellence, which already makes it much better than any given book). To set the scene, ever since Iced, I have thought that Dani and Ryodan are very much alike and have the potential to have a relationship where you truly know and appreciate the other person for what they are. So I am reading the books with the hope that they come to realise this, and it does affect my reading and my opinion of the book. So you’ve been warned. =) A lot happens in the second part with Dani’s character, and while I get where KMM was going with it, the delivery fell a little short for me. There’s no question that Dani & Dancer little romance was a development Dani needed to start building the emotional foundation she needs to be a balanced adult, but the execution of this felt rushed and therefore did not feel quite as authentic as it could have. Up until that moment, Dani has spent more time thinking and obsessing about Ryodan than she ever did about Dancer, so the switch from that to full-on Dancer lurve was a jolt. Of course, knowing that Dani is currently in complete denial about her feelings for Ryodan (and I’m not talking about full fledged love or anything like that, just that she cares for him but is not ready to admit it yet), the whole situation makes a bit more sense. KMM also throws some major hooks that end up getting no follow-up in Dani’s storyline (what happened with her mom, and her wanting to have Ryodan teach her to become more powerful), but I’m willing to be patient with these as I believe these will come into play in the Dani-centric book that comes next. The pacing of the second half of the book is definitely different from the first, and my critique about it is that up until that point, KMM has been very diligent about her trademark method of showing us, not telling us. This seemed to change in the second part of the book, and the pivotal moments between Dani & Ryo left me with a feeling they were rushed through, like we were just told instead of shown. Maybe I will change my mind on the second reading though, so take this as more of a reaction during the first read rather than a firmly set opinion. Also, Shazam = love.
So where does this leave readers now that Mac& Barrons' story is wrapped up? The Fever world is so rich that there is much to explore, and now is the time for other characters to take the center stage and tell us their story. Bring it on, Dani!!
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Reviews with images
The Fever Series is a religious experience!!!!
Karen is a brilliant writer that hits you right in the feels! Still so emotional after finishing FeverSong. Mac, Barrons, Dani...these characters have been a part of my life for 7 years! Thank you Karen for sharing them with all of us. If you're looking for a new series to read, this is it. Get started now with DarkFever so you can join the party!!
