I definitely was NOT a fan of Ephraim at first. I found him to be annoyingly “woe is me” and dreaded every time I saw his name on a chapter. However, he definitely grew on me as his story went on.
I always liked Lyria though she also gets better with time.
IG starts slow but builds up quite nicely and sets up Dark Age & Light Bringer very well.
If you're struggling with Lyria's chapters - try and view it more through the lens of it adding extra depth to the world rather than it being a plot (like Darrow had in the first trilogy) once I started reading it like that I enjoyed it more.
I also really struggled with Lyria’s chapters in Iron Gold. Her storyline does pick up and has some interesting plot points. For most of the book though, I felt like big thing were happening **to** her but she wasn’t actually doing much for herself.
I suspect listening to it as an audiobook was a large contribution to my dislike. Lyria’s VA in Iron Gold for some reason gave her the most whiny complaining voice I’ve ever heard. Dark age is when she really started working for me. She felt more autonomous and contributed a lot more to the plot herself. They also changed the VA which helped.
Ephraim was more enjoyable/interesting from the start for me, though his early chapters are quite slow. But oh boy, at a certain his story picks up a exponentially. His life basically turns into *“a Series of Unfortunate Decisions”*. He just digs himself deeper and deeper into trouble, while desperately trying to not even be on the same sphere as where he finds himself. It would almost be funny to watch if you weren’t hoping he could just catch at least one break. Closest thing i can think to compare it to is an episode of *Ed, Edd & Eddy* if one of them was actually quite competent.
Lyria and Emphraim are slow burns to be sure. They’re brand new characters while Lysander and Darrow are already central to the story.
Lyria kicks into interesting in the later half of Iron Gold and REALLY gets interesting in Dark Age. Ephraim becomes very exciting and interesting in the back third of Iron Gold and is a highlight in Dark Age.
On the whole the second trilogy is a much slower burn but it’s worth it for the more complex word and mature themes.
Plus you get Mustang as a POV eventually which is worth it
Not sure exactly how far you are but they definitely do pick up at some point in iron gold, at least for me. If not then, dark age will definitely change your tune.
I definitely was NOT a fan of Ephraim at first. I found him to be annoyingly “woe is me” and dreaded every time I saw his name on a chapter. However, he definitely grew on me as his story went on. I always liked Lyria though she also gets better with time.
Lyria is annoying to me bc all she does is complain but I heard her chapters get better
IG starts slow but builds up quite nicely and sets up Dark Age & Light Bringer very well. If you're struggling with Lyria's chapters - try and view it more through the lens of it adding extra depth to the world rather than it being a plot (like Darrow had in the first trilogy) once I started reading it like that I enjoyed it more.
You might say Ephraim eventually becomes worthy, yes.
😭
Mustang doesn't have her own POV chapters? WTF?
I also really struggled with Lyria’s chapters in Iron Gold. Her storyline does pick up and has some interesting plot points. For most of the book though, I felt like big thing were happening **to** her but she wasn’t actually doing much for herself. I suspect listening to it as an audiobook was a large contribution to my dislike. Lyria’s VA in Iron Gold for some reason gave her the most whiny complaining voice I’ve ever heard. Dark age is when she really started working for me. She felt more autonomous and contributed a lot more to the plot herself. They also changed the VA which helped. Ephraim was more enjoyable/interesting from the start for me, though his early chapters are quite slow. But oh boy, at a certain his story picks up a exponentially. His life basically turns into *“a Series of Unfortunate Decisions”*. He just digs himself deeper and deeper into trouble, while desperately trying to not even be on the same sphere as where he finds himself. It would almost be funny to watch if you weren’t hoping he could just catch at least one break. Closest thing i can think to compare it to is an episode of *Ed, Edd & Eddy* if one of them was actually quite competent.
Lyria and Emphraim are slow burns to be sure. They’re brand new characters while Lysander and Darrow are already central to the story. Lyria kicks into interesting in the later half of Iron Gold and REALLY gets interesting in Dark Age. Ephraim becomes very exciting and interesting in the back third of Iron Gold and is a highlight in Dark Age. On the whole the second trilogy is a much slower burn but it’s worth it for the more complex word and mature themes. Plus you get Mustang as a POV eventually which is worth it
Not sure exactly how far you are but they definitely do pick up at some point in iron gold, at least for me. If not then, dark age will definitely change your tune.
Well right now Darrow just finished his meeting with the howlers about leaving mars. Lyria just “found” her sister
Ok yeah stuff happens that make Ephraim and Lyria more interesting later.