PhilipDeGroot posted a new student review of The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent. See the
full review.
From the get-go, it is obvious that this is the second book in a series, and should not be read as a stand-alone novel. Unfortunately, I was not able to read the first book, and was a little lost at the beginning as a result. It was, however, relatively easy to pick up on the plot and understand everything that was going on. One thing that was harder to do was get to know the characters, as the author probably assumed readers of the second book would already know the characters. Because of this, there were few things in this book that made the characters memorable, and I found them rather easy to confuse with each other.
While the individual details of the plot are unique (a government run by demons attempting to destroy other demons without destroying themselves), the overall idea can be found in many other books. I think this story is something that will appeal to those who read lots of dystopian fantasy, especially because of several unique twists that make it different from other books of this genre. Generally, the protagonist in dystopian books is fighting against one main antagonist througout the series, but (from what I gathered through this book), the first book, The Stars Never Rise, time is spent escaping and surviving attacks from the corrupted church. The Flame Never Dies, however, turns a different direction, and although it still contains things about the church, most of the focus is on the demon city that is set on destroying Nina and her group. I gave this book three stars because, although there were some different twists, I did not find it terribly unique or memorable, and it did not contain anything that really excited me. So if you love this genre and want something a little different, then The Flame Never Dies will probably be great for you. Otherwise, I would look elsewhere.
