Mister Impossible
Mister Impossible by Maggie Steifvater Book Review
Maggie Steifvater is one of the reasons I love reading so much. Her prose, her writing style, her way with words-all of it is so beautiful and whimsical and just mind boggling.
I don’t know a better way to explain any of her writing other than it comes across as both fantastical, amazing, and just...awe-inspiring.
Her words make me want to write, they make me want to dream, they make me weep.
They just make me feel things, she makes me feel things and isn’t that why we read these stories in the first place? To feel moved? To be inspired?
This happens to me every time I read a Maggie Steifvater masterpiece (with one notable exception of All the Crooked Saints) and Mister Impossible is no exception.
As an avid lover of The Raven Cycle and Call Down the Hawk, myself and many others eagerly anticipated this book for months.
Is this because we’re all Pynch trash? Yes, probably.
Is it also because of Maggie’s stellar writing, chaotic storytelling, ambitious themes, hard-hitting words, and complex characters? All of that too.
I gave myself a good, hearty chuckle by looking through the Goodreads reviews of this book as most of them include a bumbling intro of where to even begin, what to say, and how to even describe this next installment of the Brothers Lynch.
To be honest, I’m in the same boat.
This book simultaneously had so much going on and yet...nothing of huge consequence externally happened. I do think this book was mainly character driven, and within that, internally driven.
Most of the action, development, and plot happens within the character's minds, feelings, and interpersonal relationships. As someone who really enjoys this style of narrative, I wasn’t bothered in the least and I found this to be a really compelling next portion of the Dreamer trilogy. For someone who likes more action and drama, this book might have been more of a bog for you.
I’ve also seen quite a lot of people talk about how disappointed they are in the lack of Adam representation and while normally I would be picking up my protest sign to join the leagues of Pynch fangirls, I was actually quite content with where this book took us as readers and the journey that Ronan and the other characters are going through.
As Maggie said at the beginning, this is a book about the Lynch brothers, not a Ronan/Adam fanficiton manifesto come to life. I’m okay with waiting. I’m okay with the journey and I think Ronan and Adam and the others need it more than they need snuggles and kisses and fluff, no matter how much the fans might want it.
That being said, I’ve said a lot about this book without actually saying anything.
To put it succinctly, this novel covers Ronan’s new adventures with Bryde and Hennessy on trying to rescue ley lines and specifically one ley line in particular known as Ilidorin, Declan and Jordan’s burgeoning romance and lives in Washington D.C. as art connoisseurs, criminals, and lovers, Matthew’s teenage crisis about being a dream and what that entails, and Farooq-Lane and Lilliana coming to terms with leaving the Moderators and guilt of their previous actions.
Can I say more? Oh absolutely, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear me ramble on for twenty more pages about the minute details of how Ronan’s inner monologues go so I will leave this brief summary as it is.
I really found myself falling in love with both Declan and Jordan in this book. While Matthew I found to be really interesting and kind of sad to see go through this bout of teenage rebellion and purpose, to see Ronan struggle with his loneliness and his power, and to see Hennessy come to terms with her destructive tendencies, but being unable to stop herself, it was Declan and Jordan who were the true draw for me for most of the novel.
I found their relationship to be so interesting and lovely. Their love for art, their respect for each other, their drive for ambition and independence. The part that struck me was where Declan talked about how Jordan was the first person in his life he didn’t have to coddle, or protect, or take care of. She was just his equal and that hit me so hard.
Reading about them and Declan matter of factly saying they’ll get married had me squealing. It was especially needed as Ronan was out being a wanderer and Hennessy’s self loathing was both poignantly and heart-breakingly present.
A part of this as well was previously seeing Declan as a villain, but Maggie did a superb job of showing everyone’s perspectives in this book and not any one character was right or wrong, but instead all of them had nuanced opinions and goals with understandable motives and desires.
As a whole, all of the characters witnessed a lot of growth in this installment and while this book definitely came across as a second book in a trilogy with lots of set-up and anticipation, I’m once again okay with waiting for the finale as I know Maggie will deliver.
I’m here for the long journey and this book was such a pleasant dream to meander through that I can say nothing more about how tremendous I think the writing was and how complex and varied the characters came across.
I’m already anxiously longing for book three, as I already know it’ll be as breathtaking and bewildering as all of Maggie’s creations are.
Recommendation: If you haven’t read The Raven Cycle you need to read it. If you haven’t read Call Down the Hawk then you also need to read that. That’s it, that’s the whole recommendation, people. You won’t regret it.
Score: 8/10
