[Reread] All That Lives Must Die by Eric Nylund

All That Lives Must Die (Mortal Coils #2)
Author: Eric Nylund
Genre: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: July 20th, 2010
GoodReads

Since Goodreads only allows you to list a book as read (in your GR challenge) once, and only once, I'm forced to take matters into my own hands by noting which books I've reread on my personal review blog instead. The same can be said for reviews; you've only got one opportunity to do so, so I've started a new "reread" category. If you're looking to read the original reviews of the first two books, they can be found here. Since this is the second review of something that I've already read once, there will be major spoilers so if you're looking for a glance at what it's all about please refer to the original review found at the link above.

Now that that is out the way I'll continue on with my deliberation. There are a lot of subtle details and references that I missed on the first read-through, including the veiled references to the divine powers, which obviously aren't talking about the Immortals considering how they're pretty much the same morality wise as the Infernals. Despite all the cosmetic differences and propaganda, they're just as callous towards human life as the other side. I believe that this book hints at the possibility (which is now crushed, but more on that at the end of this review) of actual forces of Heaven, as in the Angels, coming down to the Earth and getting involved in the conflict between the immortal beings. This is supported by a statement made by one of the characters and by footnote #57 where it's claimed that "...this church was later the location where the Divine reentered the mortal world..." that in this context literally means what it says. That Angels or a heavenly host descended from Heaven during the war that ended the Fifth Celestial Age. Angels (at least of the non-fallen kind) have yet to make an appearance in this series so all these dropped hints make me believe that in the third book they'll be more closely involved with mortal and immortal affairs. This is perhaps the biggest game-changer in the series because of the tremendous effect it will have on the overall plot. It will turn it on its figurative head and make the series that much more enjoyable to read with the introduction of a fourth force (the third being the mortal magical families and Paxington Institute) to be reckoned with in the eternal war between the Immortals and Infernals.

However, I just found out that the third book will not in fact, be coming out. Why? Simply because TOR had to be a big-ass douchebag and decline to buy any more books in the series and yet they've obstinately kept a hold of the copyrights to the original two. This is preventing the author from going ahead and getting the next installment out to us; the faithful readers with cash or credit card in hand, just dying to buy the next book. More information on the status of the series can be found here on the author's blog. It's truly a sad state of affairs for those of us who love the series. Here's to hoping that Eric has been writing the third book in the meantime, though there's not much hope of seeing it published anytime soon.