Where do I even begin with this one....
I started the book sometime in May, guestimating it would take me at least a month to get through it. And here it is, the beginning of September. Whelp.
Don't get me wrong. This book is breathtaking. And it is, without question, THE book to have broken my YEARS LONG reading slump. I literally can't wait to pick up another book.
But holy shit it's long.
I think we could've done without the first 2-300 pages of Ead at court. I suspect this was to try and build up the relationship between her and Sabran, but I don't feel that ever really got off the ground. I'm not really sure what they see in each other, but also... I don't really know who they are. Ead is essentially a warrior nun. Which is cool, but it's not, you know. A personality. Sabran generally comes across as cold and unrelenting (though she becomes abruptly progressive at the end of the book—not that I minded that, but I never really saw much evidence for this sudden change of heart). We're sometimes told that she can be easily depressed or gloomy, but I don't feel like we got to see this in her.
But that's okay, honestly. I could easily brush aside their romance and just enjoy the dangerous world of politics and magic that surrounded them both. There were many minor characters surrounding them that were more interesting; Meg, for instance, or Chassar.
Tané is next. I will say it took a loooooong time for her personality and story to get off the ground. For about 400 pages or so, she was "the girl who fights hard to be the best." Once she experiences her great heartache/fall (I'll try not to give spoilers here), she really starts to grow. But it does take some time. In the end, her bond with Nayimathun is quite sweet, and I loved Nayimathun's gentle confidence in her. Towards the end of the book, I think she starts to see dragons as companions instead of gods, and that's true growth.
Loth is, frankly, a precious bean. I found him to be the second most likable major character (though Tané isn't far behind). In a strange way, he doesn't experience much growth; he's still the same gentle-hearted, earnest guy at the end of the story as he was at its beginning. But there's just something about that earnestness of his that really tugged at my heartstrings. I loved his friendship with Sabran and Ead, but it was the sort of thing that we saw without really feeling. I think this is because he is separated from them before the book even begins, so we don't get to actually experience their deep love for one another. When they meet again after, what, 4, 500 pages? and embrace, it feels... a bit hollow. Still, that's hardly Loth's fault. For a long portion of the text, I thought he was hinted at as being asexual/aromantic, but every now and then he would, out of nowhere, think about the Donmata Marosa, a woman he barely knew. I'm not sure if this fascination/concern of his was supposed to be romantic, but it felt sadly very tacked on.
And finally... Niclays Roos. Man, what can I really say about this guy? I DEFINITELY have a new favorite character. Forget the other characters. His personality consistently leapt right off the page (and into my heart). Dr. Roos... outcast by a relentlessly proud queen (her persistent heartlessness towards him does her no favors) and quietly grieving over the loss of a man he wasn't even allowed to fully be with... he absolutely broke my heart. The world consistently spit on Niclays Roos, and he had to just stand there and take it. This man multiple times throughout the narrative contemplated death, then bitterly called himself a coward for not being able to seek it. If that's not relatable...
In many ways, Niclays truly makes up for the flatness of many of the other characters. Since he's a major character (and POV character) I always knew another chapter of his was just around the corner, and it often helped me slog through some of those early Ead or Tané chapters. I also felt the end of his story was handled with compassion and dignity, and I was just... really grateful for that.
Characters aside... it just felt great to read an epic fantasy that wasn't cishet white male-centric. I haven't dabbled in the sub-genre since my high school days, when it was dominated by dudes like Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin (names that frankly still dominate it... some things never change, I guess 🙄).
All I can say is, when's the HBO show? When's the Amazon show. The Netflix show. This needs to happen. I won't get on a soapbox here, but for the love of the Mother, let's be done with these old white dudes and their crusty, misogynistic stories.
I'm ready for a change. 😤
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