NOTE: There will be spoilers for book one in the series, Along the Razor’s Edge, but the review will be spoiler free for The Lessons Never Learned.
Plot: 4/5
The Lessons Never Learned feels to have more of a wandering story as the main goal is to not get thrown back into the Pit. However, as the story goes on, more threads get picked up and a more focused plot appears. I had no issues with the early aimlessness as it felt natural to the story, but it definitely peaks with the back half when Eska’s goals become clear. The plot was engaging throughout, and though there were moments where things slowed down, they never became boring.
Characters: 5/5
The story begins with the characters we left off with, and the cast grows to add a few more. Eska’s growth was phenomenal during this, we see her transition more into what she wants to become and she learns more about the world. Not much changes with the old cast, but the new cast adds plenty of depth to the characters and impressive relationships built between them.
There was a character moment with Eska that I did not like, and felt that it might be making an easy out for a situation, but I was foolish to think so and Rob changed my mind pretty quickly about it. The decision made sense for Eska, and the aftermath of it helped to add a lot more to the story than I was originally expecting.
Worldbuilding: 5/5
Rob’s strengths for this series are still in the impressive worldbuilding for me. If book one introduced us to several ideas and gave us a hint of what’s to come, this book delves into all of that and adds so much more. We have improvements to the magic system (love those that come with Kinemancy), much more depth to the world and the other forces that exist within it, as well as a peak into the history as we learn more and more about the War Eternal. Overall, we see great depth added to an already expansive world.
Writing: 4/5
The writing was still fantastic for the second book as it was in the first, and the pacing felt improved, as we saw plenty of action spaced out between relaxing moments to catch our breath. The prose worked well for the story, and I found the looks into the future to be less distracting and better handled this time around than in Along the Razor’s Edge.
Enjoyability: 5/5
The story was filled with intense action using a fantastic magic system, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had a blast with this story and Eska’s continued adventures, and felt that every aspect of Along the Razor’s Edge was improved with this book. The writing builds its strengths off of the fantastic character of Eska and some phenomenal, in depth worldbuilding. By the end of the book, I was actively finding time to listen to the story as it gripped me so much, and though I am taking a short break from the War Eternal, I know book three will be calling to me to return very soon.
OVERALL: 5/5 Sourceblades
Narration: 5/5
Moira Quirk continues to be one of the best in the business, and her narration for Eska is phenomenal. This is definitely a case of Moira being able to enhance everything Rob does to only make the story better.