The Archer's Cup (Content and Quality) Book Review

Overview

Jo Shanks, the Blackstar twins, and Emma, who has recently discovered her royal heritage, are heading to Blackstone citadel to secure it's allegiance to Emma's cause and to unite against the Preylords, but all is not well. The reception is icy at best, and it's soon clear that Blackstone is divided between several factions, and to make matters worse a mysterious assassin calling himself Bane Graveheart has been leaving death threats around the citadel in places where no one is supposed to be able to go. Jo Shanks and his friends must discover the assassin, foil his plans, and unite the factions, and Jo Shanks has a more personal matter that he has to deal with, a doe named Amber.  

Negative

Less violence than you would expect from The Green Ember books, not that the violence has ever been problematic for this series. Some characters are found lying about drugged into a state of shock, and some are nearly blown up by a bomb. Once they are trapped in a room and nearly burned to death. SPOILER The story involves relationships between bucks and does, or more realistically men and women, and one clearly is led to the wrong path by his feelings but it is not sexual in any way, even implied. END OF SPOILER However, the themes will likely not be understood by younger readers. 

Positive

One character has to learn to honor his love interest's decision to not continue a relationship with him. As always, Smith's Christian morals and hope are infused throughout the story, and in my opinion, are nearly stronger than in the fantastic conclusion to his main series Ember Ends. Jo and the Blackstar twins will do anything to aid Emma, repeatedly risking everything from their own lives to food (!) to protect her. 

Conclusion

I was not very impressed with Smith's last "Green Ember Archer Story" as these spin-offs have come to be known. The First Fowler did very little to further anybody's character and felt like Smith went, "I need a book to release so I can eat so I'll just quickly throw something together." This book is the complete opposite. The contrast between how Jo first entered the Archer's Cup contest in the first book to how he enters it now is striking. In the first, he was determined to win to rise above every other archer and to prove himself to his superiors as worth something. In The Archer's Cup, he in the end views the contest almost as a distraction (Though at first, he views it as a way to prove himself to Amber). Also in his first entry, he was a little clumsy and forgetful, while in his next entry he is confident, he found himself. I loved all the new characters Smith gave us, from Lokson and Cheltham to Slimmo and Amber. It is a little disappointing that this is likely the end of any stories we will get from The Green Ember. I hope Smith continues what he started in The Tales of Old Natalia now that he isn't writing The Green Ember and makes the Golden Coast series that he hinted at, but we will see. For now, I'll enjoy this last little gem of a story that he gave us.