There’s no excuse for having taken so long to get round to reading this, and now I’ve finished it I can say it seems a fitting interlude.
Chaol may not be a character many feel much investment in, but in this we can see a most intriguing man. For so much of the series he’s been there, in the thick of things, but we never really see beneath the surface. Tower of Dawn allows Maas to really show us the man.
We follow Chaol and Nesryn as they journey to try and garner support for Aelin. We hear rumours of what is happening elsewhere (which I’m hoping will be the focus of Kingdom of Ashes), and there’s a clear sense of a people teetering on the edge of destruction.
Much of the story centres on Chaol and the attempts by the healer Yren to cure his paralysis. A number of stories merge here, and nothing happens smoothly.
Learning a little more of the Valg and just what horrors might be to come didn’t make for a book full of excitement. It wasn’t dull, but it felt like a necessary story to develop our understanding and shape things in anticipation of what is to come. The inevitable romances kept things entertaining, and it certainly got me back in the mood for tackling the last instalment.