This is a pretty great conclusion to what was a pretty great trilogy: Healy solves the Concluding Book Villain problem (i.e. that a lot of the time the villain of the last book is weaker and less threatening than the preceding ones) by bringing back old foes and having them work together. The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw in general is an exercise in continuity, as characters from the first two books return in various ways, and by the end of the novel, where our heroes separate and show us just how much they've grown, Healy manages do all their respective stories justice. Spoilers below!
That insistence on bringing all those characters together, though, also results in the book's greatest downfall. The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw feels overstuffed, with eight royals, even more new characters and many minor villains to juggle. Healy then has to rush from plotline to plotline, perspective to perspective, with no room to let the book breathe. Gustav's romance with pirate Jerica, for example, feels rushed and flat, since the entire courtship is stuffed into only a few chapters. Briar Rose, whose progression from spoiled antagonist to occasional heroine is arguably the most interesting bit of character development in the series, has her growth brushed off in the space of a few paragraphs and a stupid jealousy plotline. Liam and Ella's rekindling of romance didn't seem very functional either, because there simply wasn't any time to see either of them grow.
I'm loath to lose most of the cool stuff that happens in this book, especially developments like Deeb Rauber putting a tack on his enemy's chair, Smimf's crush on Lila and the introduction of Val Jeanval, a woman thrown in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, using it to hit twelve guards and revolution (I know), but the Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw could do with being split into two novels (with a natural break between searching for Briar and planning against the Warlord) or some significant cuts (removing Jerica and having Gustav date Val, Briar or nobody at all, for example, or cutting down on the clash between Liam and Ella's respective egos).
Romance is something The Hero's Guide doesn't do particularly well, especially with Liam and Ella ending up together despite most of the series showing in detail why they would be terrible for each other and Rapunzel and Frederic's equally rushed love story. Healy's much better at setting up unrequited crushes, fun character dynamics and stable established relationships like Snow and Duncan's than he is at showing people fall in love. Lila and Ruffian building a surrogate family, for example, was very sweet, and Ella's realization that handling a bunch of heroes is harder than it seems worked well with the princesses' growing friendship.
Despite it faults, though, The Hero's Guide ends on a high note. Frederic, the prince we began with, saves the day in his own fast-talking way, and, thematically, the constant exploration of image and reputation works well in the context of bard songs and a certain villain's eventual redemption. Information and stories are what caused most of the problems that began the League of Princes, and it's fitting that the trilogy ends with the princes becoming able to control how they present themselves. I could draw a parallel to traditional media (the bards) versus the internet (the viewing spheres), but, what the hell, this isn't an English essay. The League save the day, the adventure continues, and I had a lot of fun seeing it all happen. What more can I need?
Rating: Four out of five. A fitting end.
Turd rating: Three. One for Deeb (always), one for the Warlord and one for the League fighting amongst themselves.
I'm loath to lose most of the cool stuff that happens in this book, especially developments like Deeb Rauber putting a tack on his enemy's chair, Smimf's crush on Lila and the introduction of Val Jeanval, a woman thrown in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, using it to hit twelve guards and revolution (I know), but the Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw could do with being split into two novels (with a natural break between searching for Briar and planning against the Warlord) or some significant cuts (removing Jerica and having Gustav date Val, Briar or nobody at all, for example, or cutting down on the clash between Liam and Ella's respective egos).
Romance is something The Hero's Guide doesn't do particularly well, especially with Liam and Ella ending up together despite most of the series showing in detail why they would be terrible for each other and Rapunzel and Frederic's equally rushed love story. Healy's much better at setting up unrequited crushes, fun character dynamics and stable established relationships like Snow and Duncan's than he is at showing people fall in love. Lila and Ruffian building a surrogate family, for example, was very sweet, and Ella's realization that handling a bunch of heroes is harder than it seems worked well with the princesses' growing friendship.
Despite it faults, though, The Hero's Guide ends on a high note. Frederic, the prince we began with, saves the day in his own fast-talking way, and, thematically, the constant exploration of image and reputation works well in the context of bard songs and a certain villain's eventual redemption. Information and stories are what caused most of the problems that began the League of Princes, and it's fitting that the trilogy ends with the princes becoming able to control how they present themselves. I could draw a parallel to traditional media (the bards) versus the internet (the viewing spheres), but, what the hell, this isn't an English essay. The League save the day, the adventure continues, and I had a lot of fun seeing it all happen. What more can I need?
Rating: Four out of five. A fitting end.
Turd rating: Three. One for Deeb (always), one for the Warlord and one for the League fighting amongst themselves.