The Merciless Ones

Product Information

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Gilded Ones so was excited to receive a copy of the sequel, The Merciless Ones. I am in love with the Deathless series! First, The Gilded Ones blew me away with the amazing story of Deka and her finding out more about herself, and then The Merciless Ones threw some twists and spins I never expected and savagely devoured!

As for the romance part, I can't tell if there's less of it or around the same amount as before? Everyone is so busy fighting that there's hardly time for anything else, which is accurate, and it makes those few stolen moments much sweeter. I also absolutely loathed the dialogue here. It's SO WOODEN and not at all realistic. Everyone says these things that should be emotional or impactful or whatever, but they never hit because the way they're written is so poor. The much anticipated sequel to The Gilded Ones does not disappoint! We return to find Deka and her supporters battling to save their kingdom from dark forces. The fantastical ancient kingdom of Otera and the characters that inhabit this magical land are described by Namina Forna in rich detail. From the start, it is clear that Deka struggles with the adverse impact of her previous actions and the final revelations in the preceding book. Her complex emotions are regularly detailed, allowing readers to understand her decisions throughout the story. As her powers grow, Deka also experiences some personal growth that makes her character easy to connect with and realistic. It felt great to see her gain even more confidence and seek the truth for herself rather than completely trust what she is told. Where the disconnect between books really comes through though, is in how this evolves from a “take down of the patriarchy, feminist rage arc” to a generalized fight against all inequality. We see it first with several characters decrying the position of women at the top of the power chain, while men are viewed as less than by the Mothers, and then it evolves to include other marginalized communities and groups of people. I feel like I can understand where the author was trying to lead us with this, but I also can’t say it felt as well executed in the way feminist rage against the patriarchal power structure was presented and discussed in book 1.

Genre

Phenomenal and extraordinary! Forna’s breathtaking use of language depicts a thrilling journey through an epic world, rife with danger and deception, as an obedient girl survives the patriarchy and becomes a warrior. Unquestionably, the best fantasy of 2021.”—Kim Johnson, author of This is My America I do think this was a connector novel as Deka discovers more truths within her own world about the gods and magic, it does become a very interesting mystery.

The lgbt characters are featured a lot more too. As well as slightly different but no less important themes. The Merciless Ones is a beautiful and inspiring continuation of the Deathless series and Deka’s adventures. As this book is the second book in the series, I strongly recommend reading The Gilded Ones first, to be able to enjoy the story to its full potential.

Except, of course, those forces upholding the patriarchal system do not want to be dethroned, nor want the way Otera is governed to change. Deka and her friends are fighting for an Otera where gender equality is the norm.

Because characters make a book for me. I want to invest in them, and once I do, then I'm invested in the story. Deka here has become so overpowered, it's ridiculous. She's no longer relatable, no longer interesting. Her friendships and relationship with Keita are just transferred over from book one with no further development, but I absolutely, positively did not care about any of them. I did find the pairing off of literally every single named character with one another to be an unnecessary exercise. So much of the character development in The Gilded Ones occurred through the friendships forged between the alaki, and from the constant forced couplings and the number of scenes where Deka is lost in her own head, there wasn’t much room for those kinds of relationships to flourish. Come to think of it, the only supporting character that had a solid, emotional presence was Britta. Keita could have been replaced by a broom half the time and you’d never know. But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There's something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can't command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can't even understand them when they speak. I felt this book was a lot more polished than the Gilded Ones and a lot more intricate. I enjoyed the action scenes and since the stakes are higher – the heart pounding action started early on. The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.For him to say this in such an off-hand, laissez-faire way nearly broke me,” she says. “At this point I had been writing since undergrad and this was my dream, there was nothing else I could do.” You need to stand in one of the rooms in Mother of Mothers where there is a tree with the Sixth Hidden Symbol for about 2 minutes until you hear echoes.

This book gave me absolute whiplash, to the point it doesn't even feel like it belonged to book 1. It felt like it went hard compensating for "mistakes" in the first book to the point I felt like I'm reading a new series. Could not stay engaged or interested as all the secondary characters felt like cardboard cut outs, only there to serve and revere Deka. Deka felt like part of a computer game where if she completed a chapter she got to Level Up With A New Super Power. Every....second...minute.... There is a saying, Deka: when gods dance, humanity trembles. And a lot of dancing is happening these days. Thankfully, as the Nuru, you have a say in the direction of the dance.” Deka glaubt, ihre Bestimmung gefunden zu haben. Als Tochter der vier Göttinnen kämpft sie für die Freiheit der Alaki, Todesrufer und all der anderen Frauen Oteras. Aber auch ihre Gegner, die Jatu, sind stärker geworden und plötzlich nicht mehr so leicht zu besiegen. Anscheinend werden sie von einem Gott unterstützt, aber allein die Existenz dieses Gottes stellt Dekas Weltbild erneut auf den Kopf. The plot veered into strange directions, it was moved along by a series of conveniences and with each chapter I liked less and less where it was going. It's like the series forgot what it wanted to be.Some six months after she freed the Gilded Ones goddesses from imprisonment in the mountains and promised to “fight for all the women of Otera”, Deka is alerted to the rise of a dark power that she and her army must quell, alongside adapting to changes in her own gifts. The Merciless Ones is recommended for upper school students as it contains violence and threat. Both this and the first novel would make excellent front facing books for dynamic shelving in a library and they would also make good summer reading recommendations. I am sure this will be as popular in the school library as the first book. Some things I liked a little less. I found the pacing off at times, and I could see the plot twists coming from a million miles. Because of that, I felt that this book was a bit less exciting than the first one. SUMMARY: The Merciless Ones is the second thrilling instalment of the epic fantasy series in which a young heroine fights against a world that would dare tame her. Firstly, I struggled with Deka’s behaviour and decision making, over and over again. For an immortally super-powered warrior woman, she certainly became inept or unconscious a hell of a lot. There was also one or more emotionally charged breakdowns in there too, which, sure, made sense considering the devastation she faced and the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, but it still felt a tad out of place at times. Had it not been for the calming, logical, rational minds of her closest friends—I’m looking at you Keita, Britta and Belcalis—I fear Deka’s choices/behaviour may have ended the story in a whole different way.