The Old Vivacia Can’t Come to the Phone Right Now. Why? Oh, ‘Cause She’s DEAD!
***Liveship Traders spoilers through chapter 21 of Ship of Destiny***
Hooboy. The battle of the liveships is upon us, and it emotionally devastated me as much as Kennit & co. devastated Paragon’s crew.
I have to admit, I got chills when chapter 21 opened with Althea seeing Vivacia’s mast appear in the mist. As predicted, the battle was over before it even really began. Never mind Kennit’s serpent minions having a sudden change of heart at the command to destroy Paragon- the crews were nowhere close to evenly matched. It was a sad, sad end to Paragon’s sailing.
Paragon 😩 . We knew the past was rough, but the Kennit-Paragon conversation wrecked me. I don’t know what’s to come, but we’ve got some VIPs to get out of the hull, and I’m hoping there’s an Amber (Chekhov’s woodworker?) salvage situation ahead.
We’ve got Althea fished out of the sea (side note: maybe sailors should reconsider their stance on swimming lessons), and Wintrow once again primed to do what he does best: wreak havoc on a sailing vessel. Stay tuned!
I’ve been having a lot of fun bopping along the Cursed Shores*, but this seems like a good time to remember my lessons from Farseer and brace for the remaining 14% of this series. (But let’s be real: we know I’m going to maintain hope that everything will go well and then have my heart ripped out at every turn – whee!)
*I keep calling this whole region the Cursed Shores. I’m not entirely sure if that encapsulates the Pirate Isles or is more specific to the Bingtown coastal area, but I’m too lazy to verify and am just going to roll with it.
Other observations:
Back on the brink of all hell breaking loose, Amber went full Three-Eyed Raven on us.
Amber: “The future of the thousands ripples like a serpent through the water, and the destiny of a ship becomes the destination of the world.”
…
Althea: “Amber? You’re frightening me.”
Malta and the Satrap continue to play musical ships. Now they’ve been scooped by pirates, so I think we may be heading toward a gay old Vestrit family reunion in Divvytown in the not-too-distant future. My favorite moment: Malta assuming that opening a door would be too much effort for Cosgo, which leads to an all-time delusional declaration from him – “I suppose I must do everything for myself” – before he simply opens the door. No notes.
Now, I have never seen Young Sheldon. But I have seen plenty of Young Sheldon commercials while watching the NFL on CBS. And I have to think that Young Sheldon would get along quite well with our very own young Selden. Or maybe they would be rivals in precociousness? Either way, Selden continues his reign as dragon-whisperer, and we’ve got a lot riding on a third-most-significant sibling. My favorite exchange:
Selden: “I thank you, Great One. Though to be blinded might not be so great a loss, if my last sight were of you, gleaming silver and blue as you rose. Such a memory to sustain me to the end of my days.”
Tintaglia: “Flatterer!” *blushes*
Take it easy, Cyrano de Bergerac.
Y’all. I screamed when we got another mention of Tintaglia signing the new Bingtown agreement. Like, “yes, we’ll get started searching for Malta and saving my species, but I’m going to need a few days to go over the fine print and leave my mark on the paperwork.”
This opens up so many questions. When dragons were thriving, did we have lawyer dragons? Is this setting up the possibility of a dragon court scene in the future? I’m dying to know what the plans are to nail Tintaglia with a breach-of-contract charge. Please, please tell me there is a dragon procedural novella coming my way.
In reviewing my notes, I simply see the line: “Mingsley still sucks.” I think that sufficiently covers my thoughts on him.
I love Sparse Kelter on Serilla:
“With no disrespect to this lady, I refuse her authority.”
EXACTLY.
Kyle Haven: our watch continues.
Gotta go. These doors aren’t going to open themselves!
wizardwordship 