I’ve heard good things about Fine’s writing and hadn’t read anything by her, so when I saw this one on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. However, I hadn’t appreciated it was the third book in the series…
Ernestine “Ernie” Terwilliger never intended to live among the Immortal Dealers, much less to be party to an ongoing battle where the fate of humanity is in the draw of a card. And the stakes have gotten only higher now that a shady new Forger has been crowned. Virginia may be in charge of creating the chaos that makes the universe tick, but her assignments have been noble—each one in the aid of strangers. But when Ernie discovers Virginia’s true purpose, she realizes it’s going to take an entirely new kind of play to stop her.
That’s as much of the very chatty blurb I’m prepared to share, but I would add that if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the previous two books in the series, The Serpent and The Guardian, I would advise you get hold of them first. I regularly plunge into the middle of a series, but starting with the third book in a trilogy is a tad extreme, even for me…
I really liked Ernie, who is a sympathetic protagonist with a lot of power, but at times completely out of her depth – which I liked. It can be difficult to depict a powerful heroine without making her so invulnerable that she isn’t really at any risk of dying or coming to serious harm. There is also a strong supporting cast with an interestingly detailed backstory, some of whom are on her side and some who aren’t. The magic system is an interesting one – as well as having an animal companion that can be animated from a tattoo, which enhances the dealer’s magic, each dealer possesses a deck of cards. Some are defensive, others aggressive and some assist the dealer to access dreams and visions, or heal serious injuries.
All this makes for an action-packed story with a lot of skirmishes. However, Fine nicely ramps up the stakes when dealers find that a situation they are involved in turns into something far worse. Ernie is convinced they have to work in concert to overthrow the menace threatening the world, but dealers are an ornery, individualistic lot. Some are very old – think of grumpy old people with lethal powers – and you’ll get a sense of her problems.
I liked the story arc very much, though if I have a niggle, it’s that I felt Ernie was too far ahead of the others when she felt there was something really wrong which meant I had a good idea where the story was going and wasn’t at all shocked by the reveal. It was shame, because if our heroine had been more willing to believe what she was being told, that surprise would have packed far more punch. However, it wasn’t a dealbreaker and I really enjoyed this action-packed fantasy adventure. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy.
The ebook arc copy of The Warrior was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
8/10
Brainfluff 