Review The Morning Star

The Morning Star by Robin Bridges Goodreads | Amazon

Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers August 2013

288 Pages

Last (Third) Book in Katerina Trilogy- The Gathering Storm #1, The Unfailing Light #2

Source: Library, read the beginning of trilogy

Bookologist Analysis: Trilogies are a series of three books. They are very common because of the idea of a set beginning, middle, and end. A trilogy could be thought of as a large book.  The Morning Star was the last book in the trilogy. It was the ending of a world of intrigue of Russian fantasy. The spinning tale came to an end with a soft quiet thud.

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.

Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.

The trilogy can be summed up in one word: improvement. The book itself progressed from beginning to end becoming more in depth. Throughout the trilogy I felt the writing become more improved, as in the beginning it was more self-publishing style. Now, it feels like a properly edited book and plot. The complexity of Katerina is now not just her power, but also her entire circle from the tsar to her maid. The circle of people surrounding Katerina also considerably grew from just her parents and her brother and now is Dark and Light Court fae as well. 

There is the constant problem of Konstantin that was dragged out a little with the whole lich tsar. I felt after the first book the worldbuilding went a little downhill. This book was more of a sum up without its individual plot; it was that the book felt a little wonky and was just the final conclusion rather than a book in its own right.  The characters were the definition of grandeur and opulence, but they went down in pathetic ways. They made a big footstep, but left on the quiet wings of a sparrow. 

The traveling component was quite perplexing. Traveling in the Imperial Russian time period is nothing is that I have ever read. You learn the anonymity of travel in those days without the entire hassle of official documents ad Interpol. Overall the plot wasn’t what made this book memorable it was the interweaving of all of the characters, fantasy, and historical fiction.

The Katerina Trilogy when first picked up was something that I expected bit more from. I though our heroine Katerina would be a bit more decisive and cut throat, but we ended with more of a timid moral questioning girl. The final ending lacked grandeur and was a bit anticlimactic however. The books did improve as the trilogy continued, but ultimately I wouldn’t recommend for someone to start the trilogy, but once you start you must finish it. My Rating:«««