I just finished book two, Prince of Dogs, and I also liked it better than the first. I think that is because Elliott had already established her world and thus was able to focus on her characters and plot. But she's not as subtle as I'd like. I'm pretty sick of reading, "My Da used to say "If you're gonna pick peppers, don't pick your nose."... or some such.
She's a bit heavy handed in her presentation of Sarpentia, Villum, Tallia, Wichman and other minor characters. Granted, they're minor characters and they'd be fleshed out more if they were foci instead of accents.
She's done good job with her villains. Sabella is a bit thin, but she is s straightforward resentful, proud, and arrogant sibling. Antonia is a bit more slippery... and now that she's joined Caput Draconis she might get nastier or else devoured by her new allies.
Bloodheart is alien. No one knows what he wants, who he is, or what his methods are. He is other. He is beyond the understanding of Sanglant, Henry, the Mayor, Lavastine, and the rest.
You've heard that a hero is only as good as his villain... well, Hugh makes Liath. She is the typical whining, self absorbed, over indulged, petulant, and beautiful teenager of the same old fantasy with a hidden past and secret powers. Rand, Garion, Harry Potter, Katniss, etc... Except that she's not guided by a wizard, nor taken to a magic school, nor put into the most ridiculous gladiatorial games ever conceived... No, she's actually sold into slavery in her own village and forced into offering her body and her only possession to the local priest. Hugh is a bit of Charles Manson, Phillip Garrido, Jim Jones and Nurse Ratched rolled into one. Hugh actually made me feel sorry for Liath.
Elliot also leans heavily upon history, but uses it more like a salad bar than a set meal. And we all know what Egg Shen said about salad bars. At times I wonder if she's a poor student of history or a clever craftsman commenting on our tendencies to reverse what our forefathers intended. She's got just enough wrong about Darre (Rome), Talliefer (Charlemagne), the Eika (Vikings), and Arethousa (Byzantium) to frustrate me, but then she reveals Agius' beliefs and I know she's done her homework. If Agius, Tallia, and Ivar and his friends got the Gospel right and everyone else has it wrong, then what else do they have wrong? I'm thinking she's a better craftsman than I thought at the start.
I guess I'll find out how the story progresses. I find myself enjoying it. I'd heartily recommend this over Tad Williams, Terry Brooks or Robert Jordan.
