Review of "Furious Heaven" by Kate Elliott

I received an ARC of this book from Tor in exchange for an honest review. This review will not contain any spoilers for Furious Heaven, but will contain spoilers for the previous book in the series, Unconquerable Sun. 

The three main points of view--Persephone, Apama, and Sun--all carried their weight, though I tended to find Persephone the least exciting (especially in the first half of the book). Apama's increasingly complicated, but still loyal, relationship to the Phene Empire was a highlight of the book for me. She served as an excellent window into Rider politics and showed the range of Rider personalities in a way that wouldn't have made sense for the Chaonian characters. Without spoiling who exactly Apama meets, it suffices to say that she encounters Riders of all ages and temperaments, each of whom has a crucial role to play both in the plot and in her character development. If anything, I felt shortchanged by the cuts back to the Chaonian perspective, since some events I would have preferred to see firsthand instead unfolded "off-screen." For the most part, though, Elliott deftly balances the Chaonian and Phenish perspectives, and despite only having Apama on the latter side, she certainly pulls her weight. Getting to see more of Sun's perspective was helpful in illustrating her determination and absolute confidence. When seen through other characters' eyes, I felt that Elliott often "told rather than showed." Having Sun take a more active decisionmaking role, and letting the reader into her mind in those crucial moments, was a more effective approach for me.

Four out of five stars. On the long side, and not all the characters are equally interesting, but still a well-executed example of the genre.