Alcatraz Smedry (anti)hero of the series, finally makes it the Free Kingdoms, a place safe from the clutches of the evil Librarians. Once there, he discovers that against all common sense, the rulers of the Free Kingdoms are planning a treaty with the Librarians, one of which happens to be his mother. Alcatraz and his intrepid family, friends, and random people newly introduced, must thwart the treaty, uncover a traitor in their midst, and figure out why Alcatraz’s father is completely unlikable. Can they do it? Maybe they can!
And boy, did that synopsis just epitomize the title of this review. The book is actually better than that, though maybe not be a humongous amount. By the third book in a series, you should really know what you think of most, if not all, of the characters, and I just don’t. I realize that Brandon Sanderson is intentionally writing Alcatraz as an unlikable character for the sake of plotting; I just don’t know if smarmy was supposed to be a part of that as well, which is bad, because he and Bastille (yes, all major characters are named after one prison or another; it’s a whole thing) are the most fleshed out people in the book. Everyone else to varying degrees are set decoration/hangers to put clothing on and lines in their mouths to move the plot along. More like characters in a book or archetypes than actual people, if that makes sense. Which was not true of the first two books; they were actually fully fleshed out characters there.
There is some great dialogue though, and anyone who mentions Terry Pratchett several times a book is going to be given a tick up in my eyes. But the chapter numbering gets a little cutesy after awhile, and the bathroom humor got old four pages in. Now I realize that this is a children’s book series, but really? It’s especially noticeable, because Sanderson on the whole really does not write like a stereotypical children’s book author. He acknowledges the shocking thought that children aren’t idiots, and they can understand complex plots, sarcastic dialogue, and discussions of philosophy and history. So the juxtaposition is a little jarring. The first book was great, the second one was almost as great, this one is kind of good. Which being halfway through a series, is a slightly worrying trend in a downward direction. Still, a little harmless reading never hurt anyone, right?