It kind of breaks my heart to say this, but this was a good book. Why does it break my heart? Because up until now this series has been utterly amazing. I think that one of the outstanding aspects of the concept was boxy as a semi-clueless but lucky as hell monster that has no compassion or empathy was what drew me to the books. However, since Boxy got upgraded from a Greater Mimic to a Doppelganger things have gone from a feral and brash villain to a clever imitator it just doesn’t have the same vibe.
Initially, I hated how the book started, but later saw that I was cleverly played by Iliev in a classic bit of chess play that utterly destroyed my mental game. AS clever as it was I still missed the ferocious, bumbling, and inconsiderate mimic. I completely get that Boxy had to evolve, but the perfect transformation from murderous but clueless monster to clever imitator was far too abrupt, and personally I did not like the new version of boxy. Perhaps, had I started off with this version I might not have been so let down. I do tend to gravitate towards manipulative characters. Iago, from Othello for example is probably my favorite literary character. I love characters that lie and manipulate others. Con men carry a lot of weight in my world. I admire and respect their audacity and intellect, but having Boxy live like that that did not fit the monster I know and love. We needed more scenes with Boxy wiping out hobos and criminal gangs than we did him in his alt personae. That would have fit the book much better.
Overall, in spite of all that I still loved the book. Again my favorite bits are the phone calls to Demons R Us, and while I really wanted more at the end the epilogue with the dryads was hilarious and the impact that Boxy had on the elven nation hundreds of years later fit much better, as I showed just how oblivious, unwitting, and uncaring in his machinations with the tree girls. The end result was more of what I was expecting from a mimic than a calculating doppelganger.
Jeff Hays, I continue to stand in awe of your incredible narration skills. No one could do this series in the way that you handle it, and I know you only add more when it comes to the story itself. Jeff is a one man army going to war, and makes me believe that an insensitive monster could actually feign concern and empathy.
Final score 8 stars, I think what the book really is missing is the time that Boxy actually practiced being a humanoid. I needed to see it fail spectacularly, rather than successfully imitate a fully crafted persona almost effortlessly. The rest of the story is really good, but for me it was lacking all the essential things that make Boxy an inhuman MC.