The Lightbender has survived the events that took place in the borderlands of Capherayna, though the trauma he experienced during that time remains. He has avoided dealing with his own pain, though he continues to travel and help the sick or injured wherever his journey takes him. This time, it has taken him to one of the cities that he has usually avoided. And in this book, he makes new friends, lovers, and even attempts to see what life might be like if he were to stay in one place. But staying put or even forming a long-lasting romantic relationship seems to be against his nature.
I read a review copy of this book, and while I enjoyed it more than I did the first book in this series—now that the worldbuilding was completed in the first book, it was easier for me to get into the story—I still feel that it lacks something. The writing and editing were good, but there was no rise or fall of action within the plot. And as near as I can tell, this book seems to be about The Lightbender helping others who are hurting, sick, or traumatized, yet when it comes to his own emotional pain and trauma, he appears to simply push it aside and try to ignore it. Or maybe he is simply trying to pretend it is not there at all?
While the tales told during this story are interesting, it feels like everyone other than the Lightbender, with his help, manages to grow and improve, though he is the central character of this book and what ties everything together. He does not seem to allow himself to heal or seek out or find someone who can help him through his own trauma. He simply seems to keep on as he always has … helping those around him and not allowing himself to truly become tied to any person or place. I did at one point think that I had run across a subplot that would allow him to confront the parts of himself that he kept seeking to hide or avoid, but that tidbit seemed to go nowhere, or maybe simply fell to the wayside. (And no, it doesn’t involve the temporary romances he has in this story.)
I have hope that it will come about in the next book and be resolved there, but with nothing changing and him not appearing to grow/heal in any way, for me it made the book feel rather flat. There was no rise and fall of action, and though he did seem to help those around him, more than once I wondered, where this story was going. Yes, we learn more about what happened from the king about what he suspects was going on during the events of the first book, but that was more stories being told without anything actually happening. As interesting as what I read was, I wanted to know what the point of it all was. As I mentioned, The Lightbender was clearly the central figure that drew everyone else around himself together, but for what purpose? Was it so that he could heal them while still avoiding dealing with his own pain? I’m still not certain I know the answer to those questions.
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