Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series Review

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

After book 1 - 4 stars
After book 2 - 3.5 stars
Halfway through book 3 (and unlikely to finish) - 1 star


What started out as a promising start to a trilogy quickly fizzled out by the middle of Book 2. The logical inconsistencies and the plot conveniences relegate this series to just another YA crowd pleaser overflowing with flowery descriptions and lacking in substance.

Key questions about the magics introduced in Book 1 were left unanswered in Book 2 and 3. Glaring plot holes are prevalent throughout the book, indicative of how little effort Laini Taylor spent in world building.

All we know about magic in that world so far is that it takes pain to activate, and can only be done by someone with talent or pedigree.

If Akiva was able to do magic because he was descended from the Stelians, as the author had led us to believe in Book 1, how could Liraz, Hazael, Zuzanne and Karou able to learn and practice the magic if they do not share the same pedigree?

How were Zuzanne and Mik able to pick up magical glamour in just a few hours?

By Karou’s own admission, Madrigal spent years of observations and learning under Brimstone before she was able to start with the most basic of resurrection work – the teeth sorting. Even so, she was able to learn from Brimstone because she had a ‘natural affinity’ for magic. In comparison, Zuzanne was able to pick up teeth stringing by just observing Karou working over a few days. This is a glaring plot convenience.

What is the magical mechanism behind conjuring bodies? How does residual pain teeth relics actually translate to flesh and bones?

What if somebody died peacefully of old age, are the teeth still useable for resurrection purposes?

Why were teeth not harvested from Chimaera dead, angel dead and revenant dead? Why do teeth have to be gathered from the human world? There is a sizeable chimaera population in Eretz and plenty of dead bodies generated from the ongoing war, sufficient for a steady supply of teeth. Teeth harvested from Chimaera dead are likely already in the desired configuration, saving Brimstone tonnes of work. Angel teeth are also going to be extremely useful for giving flight abilities to the resurrected bodies. Idea huh?

The use of magical healing in book 2 is the mother of all dues ex machinas

If the final bodies of resurrected bodies closely follow the original creature from which teeth originated, what kind of teeth did Karou use to create winged chimaeras since birds do not have teeth? Do they only use bat teeth? Do the newly resurrected soldiers only have bat wings?

Why had Brimstone and Warlord mellowed after their initial penchant for brutality destroying the angels a millennia ago? With their portals into the human world, they could easily have brought in human weapons and eliminated angel threats when they were still weak and magic-less.

How did Brimstone create wishes from pain, and why were these magics never mentioned again in Book 2 and 3?

Longevity and age are glaringly inconsistent among different characters. Brimstone lived to a thousand years in his own natural body. This is apparent because there is no other resurrectionist in the Chimaera society and because his body was still showing the scars from the time when he was still a thrall to the angel mages. On the other hand, we have a Misbegotten soldier who was "already turning grey", a Seraphim emperor who was already looking aged, and very young individuals like Madrigal and Scarab who were only in their teens when they were first introduced. So how exactly does it work? Laini Taylor just keeps us guessing.

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