The Song of the Ovulum blew me away. And coming from just finishing it, I can’t imagine the DioM and OoF universe without it! Digging into this spectacular world again was extremely awesome. It felt so good to read about Billy and Bonnie and the rest of the crew just like I had throughout most of my teenage life. Major nostalgia at times. Anyways onto the book.
Well, obviously, I loved it! The new characters, especially Matt and Lauren, were well developed and they really worked well. At first I was a little concerned about having Billy and Bonnie’s kids in the story but it was presented beautifully with some unexpected, but needed, surprises. I really admired the love that Matt and Lauren had for each other by the end of the story. Truly inspiring. Joran and Seleh were really intriguing as well, and I loved how their journeys were weaved in with previous stories leading up to the current time with Matt and Lauren. Joran’s progression as a character was extra special. The scene with Naamah was really powerfully and it made me love Naamah’s character even more. Zohar is totally awesome and I hope to see him and his giant friend again. All in all the new characters are awesome and the old charries are even more special. Walter and Ashley are definitely my favorite couple though!
The concepts and new ideas are as magical and fantastic as ever. The use of the lyre and the rods are incredible and imaginative. The use of song and the deep connection between the ovula is too cool. The new dragon traits are really creative as well. Lauren’s are really fascinating. I hope we’ll discover even more traits in the next books. It was good to see the inter-dimensional relationship between Earth and Second Eden fleshed out a bit. And also the relationship between the dragons/anthrozils and the rest of the world. It worked really well and helped solidify the story. The universe in these pages, and in the other books, is an imaginative feat that most all fantasy authors will never accomplish.
I realize that I am rambling, but I must talk about the ending before I am finished.
The ending was just right. For some reason Bonnie being captured again made me like her better as a character. And I don’t have much of a reason for it either. Also Ashley’s comment about her brain choking was really sweet and emotional. It is good to see her and Walter together. Mardon, again, proves to be creepy and mysteriously compliant; him showing up was a great development. The ending also answered an important question I had been wondering: What would the ultimate purpose of evil be in this new series? I mean, the merge of Heaven had failed so what would be next besides trying to kill off the draconic race? Tamiel answered this question in a chilling statement that Bonnie relayed to the others. Just the first word that he spoke to Bonnie abandonment was enough to make me shiver. Scary stuff! I am so excited for the next book! It’s going to be great!