“Thorn was forever frowning, but he had a certain ability to modulate that frown according to his degree of irritation.”
Well, that was… one complicated finale that obviously demands several rereads.
But we’ll get to all the complicated plots and characters later in a different post, this one will be devoted to briefly noting what’s good and bad about this book.
OVERALL
7/10
SO…
Having told each other their feelings and also found out that the world might end any day now, Thorn and Ophelia embark on a quest to find Eulalia Gonde, the individual responsible for their situation, and defeat the Other, a being who can take on others’ appearances and swallow lands. Everything you’ve learnt from the last books come together (for the most part) and every character you have known gets their chance to tell you why they’re there.
Although, note that both this book and The Memoirs of Babel have a completely different set up from the first two books for the quartet. There are no more no court intrigues here, most things happen in a laboratory and have to do with the science of this universe.
WHAT’S GOOD
It is true from the first book to this one that The Mirror Visitor is an extremely unique series in terms of world-building. Very much like a weird Ghibli movie that you either love or hate. In fact, “the Other” also resembles No Face to an extent.
Buildings have their odd little rules, new characters come in with interesting powers and flaws. Even if you have no idea what’s going on most of the time with the big plot, these world-building details are fortunately enough to keep you turning the pages.
The writing is engaging, but not overly-dramatic and with minimal use of dashes and eclipses. Thank you.
Thorn and Ophelia’s moments are also the precious highlights of this book, with Ophelia being a brave yet insecure heroine, and Thorn, her awkward protector who still hasn’t figured out how to express himself without making some awkward mistakes.
Also, Thorn and Victoria, his baby cousin, get a short segment in this book that’s easily the best conclusions of them all.
NOT SO GOOD
As many readers have stated, Thorn’s ending is abrupt and felt like an unfinished business. While every other character gets a justifying conclusion to their journey, Thorn is just kind of hanging out in the middle of nowhere… literally.
The entire time, Thorn and Ophelia are always behind the bad guys. With all the research they do and all the skills they both have, Thorn and Ophelia never seem to catch a break. They deal with trouble very well, but rarely do the immense work and research they do matter when it comes to outsmarting the villains.
This book is also one of those finales that tries to resolve many things at once but doesn’t devote enough time to fleash out each conflict so everything ends up a little underwelming.
The family spirits appear too little and don’t get the chance to display their powers in an impactful way.
And lastly, I’m not sure I understand how the subject of infertility matters to this story as a whole, but that’s just me. This is more of a question than a complaint.