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nclcaitlin's reviews
1731 reviews
The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
2.75
Who would sup with the mighty must climb the path of daggers.
Nynaeve, Elayne, the Sea Folk, the Aes Sedai, and the Kin’s Knitting Circle are run out of Ebou Dar from fear of a gholam made to kill Aes Sedai, the Black Ajah, and the Forsworn.
They plan to use the Bowl of Winds to heal the weather.
Perrin is sent to secure Alliandre’s alliance and to track down the Prophet of the Lord Dragon, Masema.
The biggest threat is the Seanchan who have captured Amador and are spreading their ruin.
The Dragon Reborn cannot could fight the Seanchan and the Forsaken and the Light alone knew who or what else, all at the same time…
There's a storm coming, a bad storm.
Only it isn't a storm, not weather.
THIS BOOK WAS INFURIATINGLY HORNY.
How could so many sensible, intelligent, capable women turn into such scatterbrain over men?!
If he had been there, she would have boxed his ears. And kissed him. Then boxed his ears again.
Rand didn’t take centre stage in this instalment, neither did Mat. Instead, the Aes Sedai reign as they politic and Egwene tries to gain advantage.
When Rand did feature, it seems he is questioning his own sanity. He appears to be coming down with what Nynaeve had called the dreads. A kind of madness, a crippling dark suspicion of everyone and everything. Not conducive for someone who wants to bring the nations together before the final battle.
Nynaeve, Elayne, the Sea Folk, the Aes Sedai, and the Kin’s Knitting Circle are run out of Ebou Dar from fear of a gholam made to kill Aes Sedai, the Black Ajah, and the Forsworn.
They plan to use the Bowl of Winds to heal the weather.
Perrin is sent to secure Alliandre’s alliance and to track down the Prophet of the Lord Dragon, Masema.
The biggest threat is the Seanchan who have captured Amador and are spreading their ruin.
The Dragon Reborn cannot could fight the Seanchan and the Forsaken and the Light alone knew who or what else, all at the same time…
There's a storm coming, a bad storm.
Only it isn't a storm, not weather.
THIS BOOK WAS INFURIATINGLY HORNY.
How could so many sensible, intelligent, capable women turn into such scatterbrain over men?!
If he had been there, she would have boxed his ears. And kissed him. Then boxed his ears again.
Rand didn’t take centre stage in this instalment, neither did Mat. Instead, the Aes Sedai reign as they politic and Egwene tries to gain advantage.
When Rand did feature, it seems he is questioning his own sanity. He appears to be coming down with what Nynaeve had called the dreads. A kind of madness, a crippling dark suspicion of everyone and everything. Not conducive for someone who wants to bring the nations together before the final battle.
A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
2.75
Why does Robert Jordan make all the characters so horny?
Rand sends everyone close to him away - including an enraged Perrin who is having woman problems with Falie.
Mat is at his wits end with Nynaeve and Elayne who are in Ebou Dar tracking down the Ter'angreal.
Egwyne might be just 18 and well short of a true Amyrlin's grandeur, but she was no fool. Too many of the sisters seized on any excuse to call halt to her moving army and any of her plans.
Not to mention, Moghedien has escaped.
Non-spoiler thoughts:
Seeing how Egwyne must manoeuvre the Aes Sedai when she is seen as a figurehead, easily directed, was fascinating! Seeing her play the master manipulators off each other.
“You aren't just changing a few things, you're rebuilding the boat while sailing a storm!”
I continue to enjoy young Olver and his adoption into the band. Saying that, I didn’t like how womanising this small child is.
The men all looked after Olver like a gaggle of uncles, though certainly the sort no mother would want near her son.
What I hated -
Mat. Not him per se, but what Roberts Jordan decided to do with him. There’s a situation with the Queen where the roles are basically reversed and it’s the woman chasing after the man. Whilst not called sexual assault or rape, that’s what I would name it.
I don’t know if Jordan meant this to be funny or ironic, but it really icked me.
“That woman won't take no for an answer; I say no, and she laughs at me.
She's starved me, bullied me, chased me down like a stag! She has more hands than any six women I ever met. She threatened to have the serving women undress me if I didn't let her—"
Overall, I feel like this book and the last one could have basically been condensed into one and nothing would have been missed.
My least favourite so far.
Rand sends everyone close to him away - including an enraged Perrin who is having woman problems with Falie.
Mat is at his wits end with Nynaeve and Elayne who are in Ebou Dar tracking down the Ter'angreal.
Egwyne might be just 18 and well short of a true Amyrlin's grandeur, but she was no fool. Too many of the sisters seized on any excuse to call halt to her moving army and any of her plans.
Not to mention, Moghedien has escaped.
Non-spoiler thoughts:
Seeing how Egwyne must manoeuvre the Aes Sedai when she is seen as a figurehead, easily directed, was fascinating! Seeing her play the master manipulators off each other.
“You aren't just changing a few things, you're rebuilding the boat while sailing a storm!”
I continue to enjoy young Olver and his adoption into the band. Saying that, I didn’t like how womanising this small child is.
The men all looked after Olver like a gaggle of uncles, though certainly the sort no mother would want near her son.
What I hated -
Mat. Not him per se, but what Roberts Jordan decided to do with him. There’s a situation with the Queen where the roles are basically reversed and it’s the woman chasing after the man. Whilst not called sexual assault or rape, that’s what I would name it.
I don’t know if Jordan meant this to be funny or ironic, but it really icked me.
“That woman won't take no for an answer; I say no, and she laughs at me.
She's starved me, bullied me, chased me down like a stag! She has more hands than any six women I ever met. She threatened to have the serving women undress me if I didn't let her—"
Overall, I feel like this book and the last one could have basically been condensed into one and nothing would have been missed.
My least favourite so far.
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
4.0
This is so much better and painful than An Ember in the Ashes. I’m here for it.
Aiz is an orphan driven by vengeance and a passion to see the tyrant of her people killed.
Quil is a reluctant crown prince grappling with his tragic lineage (cough cough, Empress Helene and fostered by Tribe Saif -aka Laia and Elias).
Sirsha is a banished tracker hunting a child killer who feed on their hearts.
I devoured this. The found family. The longing. The wilfulness, spark, amazing storytelling.
He caught her wrist. "Behave," he whispered.
“I never have," she said, her lips a breath away from his. "Why would I start now?"
Do you have to read An Ember in the Ashes quartet before reading this?
Whilst it is not necessary to read Ember beforehand, you might struggle with the onslaught of names and allusions to Quill’s family and his Empire’s bloody history.
I had no idea what this book was about before picking it up. It was by Sabaa Tahir and had an incredible cover. It was so fun to see some of the Ember characters as they slot into this new world they have made, how they guide the younger generation.
“Grief is a strange beast. Some battle it, their souls scarred from its abuse.
Some bury it, and live life waiting for it to reemerge. And some tread water, the grief a weight about their necks. Every reminder makes the weight heavier."
The themes Tahir explores in Ember is expanded in here. How can we condone our actions? How far can we take our ambition and martyrdom before it becomes too much?
“For the people" was a blood-soaked shield brandished by tyrants everywhere.
Whilst some things felt too convenient and predictable, the twists still had me gritting my teeth.
Tahir knows how write pining. How to write forbidden longing. How to build seething hatred and passion. How to describe determination and show heart-pounding (and heart-rending) character arcs and downfalls.
Thank you to Little Brown Book Groups for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!
Aiz is an orphan driven by vengeance and a passion to see the tyrant of her people killed.
Quil is a reluctant crown prince grappling with his tragic lineage (cough cough, Empress Helene and fostered by Tribe Saif -aka Laia and Elias).
Sirsha is a banished tracker hunting a child killer who feed on their hearts.
I devoured this. The found family. The longing. The wilfulness, spark, amazing storytelling.
He caught her wrist. "Behave," he whispered.
“I never have," she said, her lips a breath away from his. "Why would I start now?"
Do you have to read An Ember in the Ashes quartet before reading this?
Whilst it is not necessary to read Ember beforehand, you might struggle with the onslaught of names and allusions to Quill’s family and his Empire’s bloody history.
I had no idea what this book was about before picking it up. It was by Sabaa Tahir and had an incredible cover. It was so fun to see some of the Ember characters as they slot into this new world they have made, how they guide the younger generation.
“Grief is a strange beast. Some battle it, their souls scarred from its abuse.
Some bury it, and live life waiting for it to reemerge. And some tread water, the grief a weight about their necks. Every reminder makes the weight heavier."
The themes Tahir explores in Ember is expanded in here. How can we condone our actions? How far can we take our ambition and martyrdom before it becomes too much?
“For the people" was a blood-soaked shield brandished by tyrants everywhere.
Whilst some things felt too convenient and predictable, the twists still had me gritting my teeth.
Tahir knows how write pining. How to write forbidden longing. How to build seething hatred and passion. How to describe determination and show heart-pounding (and heart-rending) character arcs and downfalls.
Thank you to Little Brown Book Groups for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!
Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan
3.5
Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows meets The Black Prism.
Cemmy is a thief, trying to keep afloat in a city which is on the brink of shattering amidst a civil war between the Council of Shades and the Church, both of which hates her kind. A Hue. Half a Shade, only able to dip in and out of the shadow realm by anchoring herself to the In-Between.
Cemmy and her friends of fellow misfits, hunted by both sides, are blackmailed to steal the most securely guarded artefact.
Cemmy makes a lot of bad decisions a lot of the time. But she is always fuelled by mostly good intentions. Protecting her friends, caring for her mother’s sickness, dealing with her own fear and trauma of a previous job gone wrong.
For this reason, she can be an incredibly frustrating character to follow. Wrapped in secrets like a security blankets leads to more and more problems (and betrayals).
I don't want to talk, or go home, or act sensible. I want to burn.
The problem with a burn is that it's wont to blister. And when it inevitably does, the pain only screams worse.
It is fascinating that a lot of the issues the crew runs in to is a matter of false information by people who control the flow. How altering what people know can shape their prejudices, fear, and sense of self.
“A perfect soldier is a Shade they can predict and control," Chase says, jaw tense, voice bitter. "And when power is afraid, you can always trust it to make the most morally bankrupt choice."
The magic system was hard to grasp to begin with. A lot of colours and their aligning powers and attributes and weaknesses, yet so long as you get your head around the main crew, it is easier to follow.
However, I do think a glossary at the start might have helped.
Bonuses:
- Bi-sexual representation
- Deaf and signing representation
Thank you to Hodderscape for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!
Cemmy is a thief, trying to keep afloat in a city which is on the brink of shattering amidst a civil war between the Council of Shades and the Church, both of which hates her kind. A Hue. Half a Shade, only able to dip in and out of the shadow realm by anchoring herself to the In-Between.
Cemmy and her friends of fellow misfits, hunted by both sides, are blackmailed to steal the most securely guarded artefact.
Cemmy makes a lot of bad decisions a lot of the time. But she is always fuelled by mostly good intentions. Protecting her friends, caring for her mother’s sickness, dealing with her own fear and trauma of a previous job gone wrong.
For this reason, she can be an incredibly frustrating character to follow. Wrapped in secrets like a security blankets leads to more and more problems (and betrayals).
I don't want to talk, or go home, or act sensible. I want to burn.
The problem with a burn is that it's wont to blister. And when it inevitably does, the pain only screams worse.
It is fascinating that a lot of the issues the crew runs in to is a matter of false information by people who control the flow. How altering what people know can shape their prejudices, fear, and sense of self.
“A perfect soldier is a Shade they can predict and control," Chase says, jaw tense, voice bitter. "And when power is afraid, you can always trust it to make the most morally bankrupt choice."
The magic system was hard to grasp to begin with. A lot of colours and their aligning powers and attributes and weaknesses, yet so long as you get your head around the main crew, it is easier to follow.
However, I do think a glossary at the start might have helped.
Bonuses:
- Bi-sexual representation
- Deaf and signing representation
Thank you to Hodderscape for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!
Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy
3.5
Leo is a walking disaster, just trying to keep it together to pass his final year at the Fount, a school for sorcerers.
Shouldn’t be too hard right? Only thing is, his rival, the perfect Grimm, the best caster, is partnered with him. Then, they unknowingly fall victim to a curse which compels Leo to do whatever Grimm says. If authority finds out, they’re both screwed.
To break the curse, they must brave the strange and sprawling Wilderlands beyond the borders, where magic flourished unhindered, producing all sorts of odd creatures and plant life. Picture giants, flowers which can kill you, dogs with mouths for eyes.
“You're usually kept apart because anything else is more trouble than it's worth for the rest of us, but that's not the same thing as avoiding each other. Those restrictions were put in place because you both seem incapable of doing just that.”
Leo is a scriver, someone who writes spells, whereas Grimm is a caster. However, Leo refuses to write anything more powerful than small magic or charms as any time he attempted to write Grandmagic, it twisted to something wrong.
I liked how this was used to explore trauma and uncertainty and fear.
This was grumpy and sunshine troupe, non-stop talking, annoying each other as if it’s a sport. This is also sloooow burn.
Also, prepare yourself for an infuriating main character in Leo. Someone who seems to cause chaos wherever he goes (accidentally but normally purposefully).
Those bones had always been there, but their function had been silent, invisible. Then suddenly, with each painful breath, I was aware of them - their placement and their flaw. Perhaps it was dramatic to compare love to an injury, but that's how this felt. Like something that needed to be mended.
This reminded me of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, but I enjoyed this a lot more!
This was a fun break between longer, more intricate reads! I literally finished it in a day!
Recommended cozy high three stars! 🌟
Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Shouldn’t be too hard right? Only thing is, his rival, the perfect Grimm, the best caster, is partnered with him. Then, they unknowingly fall victim to a curse which compels Leo to do whatever Grimm says. If authority finds out, they’re both screwed.
To break the curse, they must brave the strange and sprawling Wilderlands beyond the borders, where magic flourished unhindered, producing all sorts of odd creatures and plant life. Picture giants, flowers which can kill you, dogs with mouths for eyes.
“You're usually kept apart because anything else is more trouble than it's worth for the rest of us, but that's not the same thing as avoiding each other. Those restrictions were put in place because you both seem incapable of doing just that.”
Leo is a scriver, someone who writes spells, whereas Grimm is a caster. However, Leo refuses to write anything more powerful than small magic or charms as any time he attempted to write Grandmagic, it twisted to something wrong.
I liked how this was used to explore trauma and uncertainty and fear.
This was grumpy and sunshine troupe, non-stop talking, annoying each other as if it’s a sport. This is also sloooow burn.
Also, prepare yourself for an infuriating main character in Leo. Someone who seems to cause chaos wherever he goes (accidentally but normally purposefully).
Those bones had always been there, but their function had been silent, invisible. Then suddenly, with each painful breath, I was aware of them - their placement and their flaw. Perhaps it was dramatic to compare love to an injury, but that's how this felt. Like something that needed to be mended.
This reminded me of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, but I enjoyed this a lot more!
This was a fun break between longer, more intricate reads! I literally finished it in a day!
Recommended cozy high three stars! 🌟
Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Esrahaddon by Michael J. Sullivan
3.5
After being exiled to the dangerous jungle by his dad when tigers and jaguars refuse to eat him but destroys the rest of the village, Esrahaddon meets goblins who basically adopt him.
If you have read the Riryia revelations, you may be familiar with Esrahaddon. This shows his upbringing and shaping. This means it either provides that extra backstory and details, or gives you a brand new glimpse into the world!
This book is chunky which can be intimidating but Sullivan’s writing is extremely addictive.
What I really liked is Sullivan’s subverting of expectations.
Not to mention, goblins have always been seen as vile creatures and normally depicted as enemies in every book in the world of Elan (and other fantasy series). But Sullivan shows, just like with humanity, there are good and evil individuals within the goblins. It was a pleasant surprise to read that Esrahaddon was raised by goblins after being exiled by his own dad.
”See now . . . this here’s the problem with taking in a stray cub. There always comes that time when you got to let them go back to the wild — that moment you know deep in your lousy heart that you’re never gonna see them again. The moment you take them in, the instant you carry them home, you know freaking well that you’re gonna have to say goodbye one day. And as the little furball starts purring and scratching you with his crazy needle claws, you also know when that time comes it’s gonna rip your heart out… And you know what? I need this heart. It’s the only one I got. And you’re killing me here.”
The narrator did a phenomenal job at bringing the funny goblins alive with all their quirks and banter. As well as giving a personality to a naive and oblivious Esra.
The first half was definitely a lot better than the second half. I adored seeing Esra grow up and then adapt (or rather make everyone else gasp at his actions) to socialisation after years living with goblins. His acclimatisation to the city and the magic school.
However, the second half felt slightly drawn out with too many new threads to follow. The higher the stakes, the less my enjoyment for some reason.
Now I really want to reread the Riryia Revelations….
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell
2.75
This was almost like listening to a friend’s voice notes. In this sense, I would say this didn’t always border on a factual nonfiction account. It is more like a personal outlook, memoir, rant on society.
Taking us through relatable Taylor Swift fanatics, conspiracy theories, YouTube spirals, influencers, political movements, and even therapy, there is definitely something in here everyone will have experience with.
Montell discusses mental health, behavioral science, misinformation, and online culture so prevalent in the 2020s. For our survival, we have developed shortcuts - or, more aptly described, cognitive biases - which has led to an influx of internal stresses and social acceptance or rejection.
It’s become almost impossible to separate truth from marketing ploys, so cynicism becomes our best friend. Everything seems to be a crisis, pushed along by attention spans that continue to shrink.
The brain is perennially odd about time.
It defaults to hyper dramatising the present, glorifying the past, and devaluing the future.
I loved Montell acknowledges we prefer personal relevance over facts. Anecdotes. Frequency bias. Nostalgia. Sunk cost fallacy.
Toxic relationships are just a cult of one.
I think Wordslut remains my favourite by her, but this short book was very interesting. Like a look into Montell’s mind.
That’s the most important thing I took away - what is someone else’s truth may not be ‘the’ truth. De-influence.
For that reason, I think this book falls into the very thing it warns against. There are too many mentions of her ‘Backpack Boyfriend’ and her own experiences for it to achieve what it claims to be.
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
"By the look of you, Nynaeve, I could almost think you were angry, but I know you have such a sweet disposition people ask you to dabble your fingers in their tea."
3.5
The first part of the Great Lord's message was simple. 'Let the Lord of Chaos rule.'
1,011 pages of politicking, Rand being frustrating, Mat being bullheaded, and Perrin being led everywhere….
Rand grants an amnesty for all men who can challenge, worrying over problem after problem, and struggling with controlling Lews Therin’s voice in his mind.
Mat is leading the Band in a subterfuge to defeat Sammael.
Nynaeve and Elayne are with the rebel Aes Sedai, learning and hiding Moghedien held prisoner and only known to them. There is just so much subterfuge between the Hall and the White Tower.
Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers is back with Falie at his side, balking at the duties of a Lord and feeling the need to return to Rand.
General non-spoiler thoughts:
Mat finally has more of a purpose and personality… hurrah! Also, he low-key adopts an orphan kid and it’s not what I was expecting, but it is actually very endearing.
Rand’s contrasting attitudes towards women and men really annoys me. The way he doesn’t care so much if an Aiel dies, but Wheel forbids one of the Maidens die who have sworn to protect him… Honestly, anything Rand frustrates me.
No spoilers, but Egwene - YES, GET IT! I wasn’t expecting it, but also it makes so much sense? I guess I wasn’t expecting it to happen so early.
We are always more afraid than we wish to be, but we can always be braver than we expect.
Elayne and Nynaeve take a backseat in this instalment as Min takes centre stage (and centre lap). However, character progression annoyed me as she went from the incredibly wilful and independent woman who didn’t care why there thought, to someone who blushed in Rand’s presence.
"By the look of you, Nynaeve, I could almost think you were angry, but I know you have such a sweet disposition people ask you to dabble your fingers in their tea."
I think the slog is supposed to start in the next book, but at the moment I am still engaged enough to continue! I am glad as this was where I expected my interest to wane.
Januaries by Olivie Blake
Monsterlove
Sous Vide<
2.25
"Is love beauty?"
"Yes. But not always beautiful."
A collection of stories contemplating human existence, relationships, and the pain of loving and living and leaving divided into seasons.
Overall, sadly more misses than hits. I think this was too chaotic and melancholic for me. It felt like a brain vomit, but also sometimes a cathartic experience?
Notable mentions:
SPRING
The Wish Bridge
This is a story about the guardian of a bridge that appears with every full moon who is able to grant wishes.
This has the biggest case of miscommunjcation, unrequited or misplaced love, and murder as a backdrop to a persistent wanderer who can't make up his mind who wants the guardian to wish for herself.
The Audit
The Life Audit pilot program uses the latest AI technology to determine a person's capacity for accumulated lifetime wealth which is given as an up front as a loan before the age of 30 where the person must work to pay it back.
Blake satires the fear of growing older, the mislabelled freedom of youth, and the bonds between people.
Money doesn’t buy happiness.
What do I want? I have all the money in the world. What do I want? What do I want? Time feels like it's slipping away from me. It's already been five days. I can't breathe.
Sucker For Pain - Not a huge fan - problematic.
Nora, an ordinary human, is adopted by an immortal cruel woman to be little more than maid, plaything and co-student for her son who is training as a witch.
This one made me uncomfortable. Not only is the nickname ‘kitty’ used, Nora is seen as a pet. This had a great urban paranormal setting, but the storyline left me feeling icky.
For a similar recommendation I adored - A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher.
SUMMER
The Animation Games
With a boy like Bran Barza and a girl like Rhosyn Viteri, sparks were no doubt going to fly— but this is no tale of ordinary love. Rather, it is a twisted story of murder, revenge, and obsessive, toxic love.
Think the currently popular serial killer romance book ‘Butcher and Blackbird’, but with haunting reanimations.
To Make A Man:
A story about a being which seemingly isn’t human and the fighter who she confides will die in one year unless he changes.
Repetition is the beast of captivity, habit the tyrant of awe. He would have traded euphoria just to keep her, to make her the subject of his tedium. To live a colorless life in the shade of her bones, in the sound of her breath, knowing and eternally recounting the monotony of her details until he ground himself down to nothing, never learning or experiencing another beautiful thing,
Monsterlove
What the heck?! What. No. Just no.
What did I read?
My least favourite by far.
Fate and Consequences<m
Guy Carrington’s thread of fate was mistakenly cut which finds him meeting Hades’s and suffering in the Underworld.
Do we deserve our fates? What determines our actions?
Sous Vide<
Cooking for demons.
I don't get how people can say that money doesn't buy happiness. Because my whole life revolves around money. It has to! That's the system I'm plugged into! You know? You can't be happy without money, because in order to be happy you need choices, you need freedom, you need the ability to think and dream and wonder and you just simply cannot do that if you spend all day and night thinking about how you'll pay your next bill.
WINTER
A Year in January
Using Craigslist to find a roommate may have been a terrible idea, but it finds her January. January is odd for sure, but very endearing.
This was one of my favourites! This reminded me of the books Beautyland!
I explained that I'm more like a place than a thing; I have seasons of poor weather, tourist seasons, El Niño or Santa Ana winds. At my foundation I am always the same, but atmospherically there can be issues.
“Transcendentally it's an issue of work product."
"What type of work?"
"Well, the canvas is me, I suppose? But the debilitation of creation is such a competing factor."
"Shouldn't the not-knowing keep it interesting?"
“Yes, I think so? But it's also quite exhausting," I said, referencing where I lay on my bed.
Thank you to Tor for providing me the arc in exchange for a review!
Farilane by Michael J. Sullivan
3.75
Farilane, is a noted scholar who is searching for the secrets to the founding of the First Empire.
She is also the unwanted twin in the imperial line of succession and is obsessed with finding the Book of Brin (!!!).
Farilane is smart, stubborn, and logical who figures things out too fast and is driven by her innate sense of justice. Additionally, she is extremely bookish, doesn’t care what others think of her, and has no end to her sass and wit.
Yes, she can also be insufferable and arrogant, but also she is technically a Princess and told that she is above humans and emotional attachments.
This is something she learns to deal with throughout the story.
But that’s the result of time, not understanding.” “And yet time allows for understanding, doesn’t it? A boy sees his father as a god, then grows up and realizes he’s flawed, mortal, and foolish. Then he has his own children and discovers his father isn’t foolish at all, but still isn’t a god. Understanding changes the reality of a thing—at least insofar as we perceive it—even if that thing itself doesn’t change.
Like Nolyn, it is so interesting to see how hundreds of years have turned the events in Legends of the First Empire to legends, myths, and fairy stories told as bedtime stories.
It’s almost as if Sullivan is winking at us throwing Easter eggs and teasers.
The characters are definitely more realised in comparison to Nolyn, with more spunk and brains. Although not by much as some things were so glaringly obvious I had to wonder if Sullivan’s foreshadowing and hint dropping might have been too heavy handed for readers to be frustrated at the characters not realising themselves.