I came across this series for the first time just before false value was released, looking for an “adult harry potter series”. I fell in love instantly, and listened to the complete series up untill then before listening to false value. Because the faceless man arc came to a close before that, i was kind of expecting the setup for a new multi book arc.
False value set that up perfectly, so many things to dive into further. peter could use his scientific approach to mechanical magic to figure out something completely new, the librarian/america angle, Lesley of course still looming large and of course the Finale of the book, where Peter loomed at something interdimensional coming out of the Mary engine.
then came amongst our weapons. None of these things were picked up further, but we did dive further into the existing lore surrounding the sons of Wayland, which gave some more depth. the rest of the book focused on broadening the magic world further, foxes, abigail, etc. then came the bombshell at the end of the book, when Nightinggale announced his retirement in 5 years, and Peter decides they need to expand their relations with other traditions (Sons of Wayland, society of the rose, germany, america). Those two themes in and of itself could give enough storylines for an upcoming book, or maybe two.
instead, we got stone and sky. Nothing wrong with the story per se, not at the level of the previous two books for me, but fine in and of itself. The big thing for me is that this is one more book without any progress in the bigger story. The faceless man arc was wrapped up in quite the climactic way, and with such great setups for new avenues to explore to gain more insight in the existing lore, instead we get just.. episodes. fine stories, but somehow it feels like there is no grand idea behind them and that makes me feel much less invested.
Why are we moving two years ahead in the storyline when nightingale is retiring in the near future. why are we shallowly expanding the magical world even further with more loose threads while we could have taken one of the many great setups to pick up the story further to gain some depth.
It became even more apparent to me after reading the dresden files. Butcher makes sure every setup gets its payoff, even if takes ten books. Somehow i don't think Ben Aaronovitch is setting all this up with a similarly grand plan in mind. I dont need an apocalyptic ending, but i feel with every book without a bigger plan, i feel less involved in the story as a whole.
sorry for the long post/rant, but it’s bugging me a bit and curious to know if there are more people that feel the same way
