And by “finishes,” I mean, “completes the trilogy and ponders what will fill the gaping chasm in my heart.” h e l p
So, first things first! Thank you to Jen and Lianne for commissioning these last three chapters and being patient enough to wait until I got back from LeakyCon to do them. I appreciate you!
Chapter 18
Part 1
Part 2
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
I’m not kidding: As soon as I finished the video for chapter 20, I set all the files to encode properly for YouTube and then IMMEDIATELY KEPT READING. BECAUSE I DIDN’T HAVE TO STOP, AND THIS WAS A BLESSING. Let me start off by saying that I am immensely pleased with how this series has ended. (At this point, spoilers for the whole trilogy lie ahead.) Brennan didn’t betray any of these characters, the tone of the trilogy, and she didn’t conclude this journey by writing something that wasn’t true to the world she’d created. Is the choice these people make upsetting? Of course. It’s openly acknowledged in the text multiple times, but this isn’t the first time Mae, Jamie, Nick, Sin or any of these characters have made a decision wrought with complications. The Demon’s Lexicon is an inherently complex story, both in terms of the narrative and the interactions these characters have with one another. To be honest, I think I would have felt cheated if this had ended with puppies and rainbows.
I’m serious! There is some happiness at the end, such as Jamie and Seb’s budding romance, or Alan getting his body back, or Nick learning to appreciate the people in his life, or Mae and Sin coming to a consensus about the future of the market. All of these stories are resolved in one sense, but at the same time, Brennan hints at so much more that could happen. Will the magicians find a way out of their horrible fate? Will Mae be a good leader of the Goblin Market in her seven years time? How will Nick continue to humanize himself?
If you’re just catching these for the first time, I really would recommend this trilogy. Highly. Sarah Rees Brennan has a knack for heartbreak, plot twists that will ruin your day, and teen angst. And you know, teen angst gets a lot of shit from people, and I kind of find that irritating? My favorite period in life to read about is the teenage years. It’s why I read so much YA and why I’m writing my first YA trilogy myself. The angst that comes with growing pains is endlessly fascinating to me, and I truly believe that Brennan has been able to portray a myriad of people struggling with issues of identity, sexuality, and loyalty amidst a chaotic, violent world.
This shit was awesome. Why must we wait so long for Untold? THIS IS A TRUE TRAGEDY.
Thank you to the handful of people who binge commissioned this trilogy from me. I’m so thankful I read it, and I implore others to do the same. And thanks must be given to Sarah Rees Brennan, who is absolutely lovely on Twitter to me and her fans, and I cannot wait to read more of her words.
