Wells, Martha -- The Siren Depths (Raksura, 3) [e-book purchase]
Third book about angsty scaly dragon-people. I'll call this the
conclusion of a trilogy, if only because it gets back to the "Fell
invasion" threads of book one (thus stranding book two out in
middle-book-syndrome land). Also, we finally see a hint of epic-scale
historical backdrop, and appropriately climactic trilogy-ending drama.
(In an appropriately cinematic setting.) But I wouldn't swear that
there won't be a fourth book heading off in some as-yet-unexplored
plot direction.
The Fell are an impressive brand of antagonist, precisely because
they're not mad-cackling villains; they're just all sociopaths. They
lie to get what they want, and then stab you in the back or the face,
and never a moment of guilt or shame or empathy. Call it one-note if
you like -- it's the opposite of "heroes of their own story" -- but
it's damn creepy and rarely done in the genre.
(Belated note: It's very cool that this trilogy is, more or less, a
romance -- set in a culture that does not contain "love" as a concept.
Nor does the story lean on raging hormones as an excuse.)
Books I have acquired recently
All the books I own