I have been a major fan of the entire Loom Series from The Alchemists of Loom to The Dragons of Nova to The Rebels of Gold. Each book makes me more enamored, more respectful, and more in love with Kova, her writing, and her characters.
Summary
A new rebellion rises from the still-smoldering remnants of the five guilds of Loom to stand against Dragon tyranny. Meanwhile, on Nova, those same Dragons fight amongst themselves, as age-old power struggles shift the political landscape in fateful and unexpected ways. Unlikely leaders vie for the opportunity to shape a new world order from the perfect clockwork designs of one temperamental engineer.
Review
I have dragged my feet so long on this review, because even though I know the series is done, I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I steam rolled through this book – like each of her books – because it is fantastically written, entirely obsessive, and heart wrenching. It felt like home coming back to the rivets, the dragons, and the characters that consistently make my heart ache. In many ways, The Rebels of Gold handles some pretty pervasive questions the entire series has been grappling with. And in so many more ways, this becomes the perfect ending to this phenomenal series that has drilled its way into my heart.
The entire world is at stake in this book. Kova weaves a masterful tapestry of plots and characters. It’s striking, almost blinding, when I contemplate how much care and genius goes into this book – and trilogy! At the heart of this book is the acknowledgement that change comes at a cost. The ways we make way for new life is to clear it of the old. The world is in an upheaval and who will end up on top in this world of manipulation and sacrifice?
The diversity in this series is one of the reasons I love it. It features a lesbian and bisexual main character and they live effortlessly, seamlessly, in this world of dragons and golden blood. In fact one of my notes for this book is, “love, love, love”. It’s true. At the heart of this story are powerful women who decide what their future holds. Are they the harbingers of the future or the remembrances of the past?
Loom and Nova are also both grappling with this idea of the perfect weapon – a theme that I think we see a lot in books about rebellion. And who will suffer for this invention? What exactly will we need to destroy for the chance? Kova asks us how we are motivated. What will we sacrifice and how do we use our power once we have slain our enemies? Is our identity formed by our blood, our mentors, or love? (Although none of those are mutually exclusive).
Overall,
The Rebels of Goldis pure thrill, adventure, and scheming. It is the ending we deserve and everything makes this almost cosmic sense. Nevertheless, I’m sad to see it go. I can only give the highest of praise to the entire Loom series and Rebels of Gold. Check out The Rebels of Gold on Goodreads.