The Sons of Heaven

THE SONS OF HEAVEN (Kage Baker) - Three Stars

I actually finished this book two weeks ago, but didn't sit down to write the review until today. I also haven't started a new book yet. Between the move and everything else, there probably won't be another review until July sometime. Anyway...

I'm okay with how this series ended. The series wasn't as good as it could have been, but it didn't completely fall apart like I'd feared. The triple-Adonai conceit I still find particularly annoying, because there was simply no reason for it. One Adonai personality became a main character, the other two served no purpose to the story (except for being the basis of an extremely bizarre, Oedipal plot arc). The Tiara and Lewis storyline was also wholly unnecessary and contributed little.

But, once again, Baker showed skill and manipulating a large-scale story, with numerous main characters in numerous plot arcs all converging on the same place and time. The subplots involving Joseph & Budu, Labienus, Suleyman, and others were all well developed. Still, the conclusion of the series leaves one with a slight feeling of "what might have been" if Baker had honed in on a specific direction for the series sooner than the fourth book.