The Thirteenth House, by Sharon Shinn

This is the second book in the Saga of the Twelve Houses; Mystic and Rider is the first (see the review). Personally I don't think this second one is nearly as good a book. First off, it took a few chapters for me to really get into this book. I'm not sure if that's just me or what. I also felt it lacked some of the deeper themes found in the first book. Again, maybe it's just me and I missed some of what this book is all about.

But my main beef is the infuriatingly stupid choices of the main character, Kirra. You know those annoying pre-teen books where the main character predictably gets in trouble because he refuses to do the obvious thing? You know, the kid who could fix things by telling the truth to just about any adult on the planet, but instead tries to fix things by himself to avoid getting grounded, and ends up stuck in a much deeper pot of hot water? "Just tell you dad already, you know you're going to have to eventually!" Those books drive me crazy! Well Kirra drives me crazy in this book, so much so that I don't even like her any more. The author very nearly ruined her character for me. And to make things worse, this is the main story line of the entire book. Ugh!

The political intrigue of the first book continues. There are some significant events that will impact future episodes. In spite of my frustrations with Kirra it is still a good book. I definitely want to keep reading the series, but this one was too frustrating to stand on its own. By itself, this book only merits two stars. As part of the Saga its value gets bumped up a bit.

3 Stars