Chestnut King

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So it took me much longer than I thought it would to finish N.D. Wilson's The Chestnut King.  This was no fault of the author, as apparently my ability to read books quickly is very much dependent on how tired I am and how much work I have to do.  Funny thing, this growing up business.

I am probably not the best person to write this review, as this novel is the conclusion of his 100 Cupboards trilogy, and I read the first two parts over a year ago.  However, as this is the most recent book I've read, and I have to start somewhere with this blog, The Chestnut King it is.

My overall impression of the novel was one of contentment, despite the week it took me to read it.  I thought Wilson did a good job of wrapping up the trilogy in a way that brought closure without being too cliche and fairy tale-esque.  I was curious about where all the characters ended up, but I was happy to know that they seemed all right, wherever they might be.  He definitely hinted at some things, but never flat-out told the reader what was going to happen to the characters after the book, which I think is a good thing.

I can't write much on specific things I liked and didn't like, as I stupidly didn't take notes since I didn't actually expect it to take me a full week to read Chestnut King.  However, I do remember really liking how Henry had developed throughout the series, especially in this book.  He's still a kid, but he's had to make difficult decisions that affect many people, not just him, and I liked how Wilson portrayed his internal struggle and growth in a fairly realistic way.  The one thing I didn't like very much was how much buildup there was for a fairly disappointing climax.  It felt like everything was building for most of the book, and when the final climax came, it was just sort of over.  That's not to say that the book just ended with a fizzling climax, but I personally didn't really like how the final battle was just over.  Like it was something really small and trivial and not worth the time to describe in detail.  However, despite my disappointment with the battle, I did like how Wilson worked to tie up most of the loose ends, which I mentioned earlier.

So overally, fairly happy with the end of the series, though I wish I had actually read the entire series straight through instead of one book at a time over the course of two years.