Review: The Complete Convergence Trilogy

The Complete Convergence Trilogy by Melissa McShane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a lot of things I like about Melissa McShane's books (most of them; I'm not a fan of every series).

Firstly, they're well edited. This one has a few typos and other minor glitches, but I spotted a total of a dozen across all three books, and most books I read have twice that number in a single book, or more.

Secondly, the main characters are likeable, committed to doing the right thing, capable, intelligent, and have some depth to them; if they have tragic backstories, they don't whine about them or use them as an excuse for bad behaviour, and if they make bad decisions, they figure that out and do their best to recover and not do so again.

Thirdly, unlike a lot of prolific authors, McShane manages to introduce some depth to the fiction, provide insight into human nature and explore themes, and does that without bogging down the plot in a lot of navel-gazing or repeating herself unnecessarily.

Fourth, her settings and worldbuilding are original and feel solid and lived-in. No painted scenery flats or overworn cliché elements here. In this book, for example, we have two worlds, originally one, separated by magic that went wrong and now, centuries later, coming back together; each has its own part of the original magic system, and a significant thread throughout is figuring out how they relate to each other and whether they can be re-integrated.

If that was the whole thing, it wouldn't be exciting, but we also have romance, politics, war (between and among the people of the two formerly separated worlds), self-discovery, and a strong theme about leadership.

There are good leaders and bad leaders in this book, but not all the bad leaders are bad for the same reason. The main antagonist is a bad leader because she's both psychotic (not always in touch with consensus reality) and psychopathic (treats people as things), but she's the empress of an empire that treats its rulers as avatars of the divine, so... that's a problem. But there are also leaders who are capable administrators but lack a broad perspective because of personal ambition or bigotry, and petty leaders who put their own advancement and glory ahead of the actual aim they're supposed to be working towards, and a leader who isn't very bright and whose decisions are largely driven by cowardice, and leaders who, while both capable and willing to join in the effort for the greater good, are utter weasels. On the flip side, during the course of the story the protagonist gradually comes into her own leadership abilities, which she at first doubts; she's a good leader in part because she's humble. And she observes the leadership style of her love interest, and comments on it throughout; he learns some things about leadership too.

The story is told through her diary entries, which isn't going to be to everyone's taste; I know some readers don't like the epistolary style, though personally I enjoy it. The entries are written after the events, of course, so there's a lot of foreshadowing, and sometimes she has to stop and start again and tell things in the right order, all of which underlines the diary conceit and makes it more believable (though, again, there will be readers who find it annoying).

There's plenty of tension; multiple well-handled, intersecting emotional, character, and plot arcs; and just so much sound craft on display that I can't give it less than five stars. Highly recommended.

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