Book Review

The Desolation of Devil's Acre, Ransom Riggs 

A fitting end to an entertaining sextet of books. The first trilogy ended so well that the second trilogy wasn't even needed, but it ended up enhancing the original idea and then bringing it full circle to where it started. It demonstrated as it unpacked the world that had been built in the first series that there only a limited way in which the characters could realistically exist within. But it's not a let down or a commentary on any lack of talent on the part of the author. It was an exploration of the material, stretching of it slightly, but not breaking it. Not casting aside what works in attempt to improve it. It was a successful exercise in depth and enrichment. I only would have liked to have seen a little follow up at the end. After the reset the two main characters could definitely have lived, at least partially, as normals and there were others that could have too. I think an epilogue of how some of their lives proceeded would have given a better sense of closure since it's clear that no more, or very little more, can be done with this concept. 

It had some flaws. It had a couple of holes left unplugged; teasers that was went nowhere. In particular, the insinuation that those seeking revenge on Jacob's grandfather may have had valid reasons for doing so. But it's a thread that was lost in the creation of tensions between the American and European peculiars. Also, the movement of dissenters in the Acre against the ymbryns didn't cause as many problems as it was positioned to. But that's probably for the best. It could have gotten too complicated. 

On the whole it was a neat little series of books. I don't know if I have a favorite since they all run together so closely. I guess my favorite part will always be the photographs. They give the story an extra dimension and were what I'd always looked forward to when buying the next book. This last book has an abundance of them in it. Probably as many as the first book of the first trilogy, so I was pleased at that since the other books had been slightly lacking. It's not for everyone but I recommend it to anyone who enjoys creative writing because it still feels like a long experiment of creative writing to me. And I enjoyed it.