*spoilers*
It is kind of hard to believe this is the last of the ND
saga. I became invested in these characters, and there were several ways the
story could end, not all of them happy. It actually ended happier than I was
expecting, though there was still some sadness, as was to be expected from a
series like this.
Say what you will about him and his past deeds, but Chane
was one of my favorite characters, and I am glad he survived. However,
*spoilers* now that Wynn is gone, what is going to happen to him? Her passing
was tragic, particularly for him, and I wonder where he will go and what he
will do next. Live with Ore-Locks perhaps? At least he got a good 30 years with
Wynn, where they lived together and were happy, but it was still sad.
Wayfarer and Osha (I also find Osha adorable) married, which
made me happy, though I wish they had gone into more detail about that. In
fact, the lack of detail is my biggest complaint about The Night Voice. It all
felt rushed, like the Hendees were just trying to finish the series and get it
over with. There was so much leading up to the final confrontation with the
Enemy, and there were other plotlines as well, since as the division among the
elven castes thanks to Most Aged Father. We don’t get that resolution, and
everything was kind of rushed. After several books devoted to hiding the orbs,
now suddenly they all had to go back for them? I think things could have been
structured differently, and also certain scenes, which should have gotten more
detail and attention, were short. For example, Wynn –finally- confesses her
feelings for Chane, which the story had been leading up to for a while, or at
least some sort of resolution concerning the love triangle. However, when this
scene at last occurs, it is rather brief.
This is just one of the many things I wish they had gone
into more detail about. The story was so rich and epic, I felt like they should
have given the last boo k that…flare the rest of the series had, but I found it
lacking. This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the last book. I did, and as I said,
it was a lot happier of an ending (minus Bro’tan’s and later Wynn’s, death)
that I thought it would be, but it lacked the detail and attention it should
have gotten.
It is still a good, suspenseful read, and I recommend it to
any ND fan. Most of the characters I love made it through the series, and while
I felt there were some loose, unresolved plotlines, it was a good ending as a
whole, even if it lacked in some areas. I still enjoyed it.
Evans has a great way of balancing the overreaching, epic plot of what
is going on in the world with the characters' personal lives (such as
their relationships). Havilar and Farideh are both young women, and they
have the wants and desires of young women, but they are also involved
in world struggles, and are the Chosen of Asmodeus, thus having real,
serious issues to deal with. They can't constantly focus on who their
"brightbird" is. Evans makes us care about all her characters.