A controversial volume
Originally, both parts of the Grombelard legend were published as one book. Fabryka Słów decided to divide it into two separate volumes. Many people criticized the publisher for this, although the author himself said it made more sense. However, taking into account the publishing standard of Fabryka Słów, an attempt to fit the entire story into one book would end up with a huge brick that would be difficult to read.
In terms of content, the Heart of the Mountains closes a story, while the Ribbons of Aler return to it and deal with the next stage of the main character’s life. From this perspective, publishing them together and separately is justified.
Scratches
The previous volume was delightful. Of course, there were some imperfections in it, but it was a really great novel. Unfortunately, the Aler Ribbons are worse here. It cannot be said to be a poor novel. Feliks W. Kres is of a decent standard, but it is not an outstanding work.
First of all, the story is not as interesting as its predecessor. Together with the heroine, we return to Grombelard. Unfortunately, all the legendary characters are not there anymore, and without them, the reader is not as drawn in as a whole. Of course, we get to know the further fate of the Huntress (after all, both volumes are devoted to her), but not all other heroes appear. It is true that new characters have been introduced in their place, some of them are very interesting, but they lack something.
However, what grips the most is the way the whiteheads are depicted. It is very sad that in a book telling a story about exceptional women, the narrator repeatedly adds completely unnecessary inserts that threaten the representatives of this sex. At times the reader wonders why it is done this way, especially since the previous volume presented much better in this respect. Not only is this approach wrong, it also takes us a bit out of our immersion.
Secrets and hostile forces
The ribbons of Aler are full of secrets. There are figures that are hard to understand. There are also events that neither we nor the heroes understand. With time, however, everything starts to fit together and we learn the truth, or at least some part of it.
As attentive readers remember, in Grombelard under the skies of Szerni there are shattered ribbons of Aler. This hostile force has not been defeated, and in the novel the author touches upon a bit of what exactly can be found in these wild mountain backwoods.
Weaker continuation
The fourth edition of the Book of the Whole is at a fairly good level, but unfortunately it falls out much less than the previous volume. It does not seem to be a decline in the author’s form, since both parts of the Grombelard Legend were written at the same time. Perhaps it is a matter of coincidence or simply missing my reading tastes. I will gladly reach for the next volume and see how the author dealt with it.
