book-reviews

Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Keeper, Chapters 10-13

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Like A River

***Spoilers for The Rain Wild Chronicles through chapter 13 of Dragon Keeper. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

It might just be that I am writing this on December 26th, but the Island of Misfit Toys vibes have never been stronger.

There are two elements really jumping out to me so far:

  1. how rapidly my feelings keep shifting, and
  2. the amount of mirroring happening, on both a micro level within the story and a macro level across Hobb’s entire body of work.

Let’s start with my emotional whiplash.

Shifting Feelings:

In my last post, I had a lot of pep in my typing fingers. After Dragon Keeper’s bleak opening, the story started gaining momentum. Then I dove directly back into a Sintara POV and realized it was the lack of dragon experience that lightened things up. I mean, with lines like:

“And now they were masters of nothing, doomed to mud and carrion and, Sintara did not doubt, a slow death by slog up the river.”

… it’s hard to be buoyed by optimism.

As counterbalance to the dreary dragons, we have Captain Leftrin floating in the clouds with his crush on Alise. Sir- you are a grizzled, murdering (only once, but that counts), ruthless river man. Get ahold of yourself! As hard as I rode for their meet-cute, I have to admit I developed a smidge of an ick this time around. Leftrin is fucking gone for our girl, and Alise is relishing the attention, but it doesn’t feel like they’re on equal footing. Alise seems more lost on the sauce of someone being into her (rightfully!) than genuinely attracted to Leftrin, so surprisingly, I’m finding myself a bit worried for the captain’s heart.

It’s not just them- my feelings across the board have been shifting as rapidly as the Rain Wild River itself. Part of Liveship Traders’ brilliance is how Robin Hobb not only develops characters, but actively reshapes our perceptions over time. Most notably, of course, with Malta- going from the absolute worst to the Elderling queen we worship. In Malta’s case, it’s a long arc, but here in Dragon Keeper, I’m finding my opinions shift chapter to chapter.

Take Sedric. Sympathetic one moment, near-villainous the next. We learn he doesn’t care for animals (red flag), so Alise’s hackles are raised at his interest in assisting the dragons. She doesn’t know his actual motivations like we do, but she’s right to sense something is off:

“Oh, he shared some of her scholastic interest in dragons, but she had never seen him pet a dog or talk to his horse. And now he was going to assist this girl in doctoring a dragon? There was something here, and she felt she stood at the edge of a strange and perhaps dark current. Could he possibly be interested in the girl? She was so young and so peculiar looking. It would be very inappropriate.”

Alise’s ability to read a situation, as ever, remains unmatched.

Mirror Mirror

One of the clearest structural throughlines in Dragon Keeper is mirroring. In the overt sense, we have the dragons and their keepers; Alise and Sedric; Tats and Thymara. But there are lots of smaller examples too. My favorite odd pairing is Sedric and Thymara.

These are two characters who, outside the premise of this story, would never cross paths. Yet thanks to Sedric’s underhanded goal of bringing home dragon specimens (the little shit), he buddies up to Thymara with his sudden interest in veterinary medicine, offering to help tend one of the unpaired dragons. But the real gem of this combo comes when they are walking together and Thymara vents to him about the keeper dynamics:

“‘He behaves as if he can’t stand for me to have a friend, like it makes him less important. It’s almost as if he tries to drive a wedge between Tats and me. Why are some people like that?’
She hadn’t expected him to have an answer, but he looked startled, as if she had asked him something of great significance. When he answered, his words came slowly. ‘Maybe because we let them be that way.’”

Which triggers:

“It had snapped a stinging realization into his mind. Hest didn’t like him being friends with Alise. Hest didn’t want him to have conversations with her or have opinions about her…
He didn’t like thinking of all the implications of that. He pushed aside the thought of other friendships he’d neglected for Hest’s, even how he’d alienated his father by taking the position with Hest…”

It’s a tidy little lightning bolt of self-awareness. I maintain that Sedric has a lot of growth ahead, and I’m excited to watch it unspool.

The Gang’s All Here!

Our main characters have congregated in Cassarick. I’m enjoying how Dragon Keeper blends elements of Liveship Traders and our Fitz-centered series. We have a Liveship-like ensemble, but instead of scattering them across the map, Hobb drops them all into Cassarick to join a central mission. (The sort of shit quest we’re usually watching Fitz get sent on.) That doesn’t mean, however, our group is unified. Let’s examine:

Keepers/Dragons

There’s a lot of meat on the bone (not literally for the dragons, of course) when it comes to the dynamics of the keepers and their dragons.

Last post, my commentary on Thymara’s experience of becoming part of the keeper cohort got left on the cutting room floor. Her joy at feeling part of a community was so endearing. I mean:

“She looked from face to face and named them to herself, counting them off as if they were jewels in a treasure box. Her friends.”

Don’t get excited- the kumbaya camp vibes didn’t even make it to the next page. Fractures almost instantly materialize, and rivalries and power struggles continue to widen the gaps as we prepare to set off upriver.

But it’s not just the keepers facing division. There are a lot of fascinating social dynamics at play.

Sedric-Leftrin

They don’t trust each other, but these two have more in common than they realize beyond just caring for Alise in their own ways. Both are harboring secrets: Leftrin with his blackmail resurfacing via a mysterious note, and Sedric with his quiet mission to collect dragon specimens. Oh! And of course they hate each other.

Alise-Thymara (and Sintara)

Alise strolls in armed with Selden-level dragon flattery and immediately forms a bond with Sintara, stoking Thymara’s jealousy. Add Sedric slinking around, and there’s a lot simmering here. At first, I imagined a big sister/little sister dynamic developing between Alise and Thymara, but I think we’ve got some ground to cover before we get there. I’m hopeful that these castoff women (Sintara included) have a lot to teach each other about their worth.

Tats-Greft

Our clearest emerging conflict. Greft is wanting to assert leadership over the group, and while some are happy to fall in line, Tats (with Thyamara) is not especially keen to accept his authority.

Add in the fighting over Thymara, and these two are a real tinderbox. I haven’t even mentioned the other keeper chickadee simpering over Tats and fueling Thymara’s jealousy. Ahhh, the social politics of youth. Let’s make things as complicated as possible and then send everyone on a brutal river journey with ill-tempered dragons. What could go wrong!

Of course, we’re firmly Team Tats as a good-guys-versus-bad-guys dynamic seems to be taking shape. And I would like to go on the record that I am getting extremely bad vibes from Greft. Major concerns for what he’s capable of as the story progresses.

Musings!

Alise is the epitome of book-smart, not street-smart.

She interprets Sedric’s protectiveness around Leftrin as possible jealousy. She reminisces on her youthful crush on Sedric and muses:

“Was it possible that he had once cared for her? Was it remotely possible that in some corner of his heart, he still did?
Oh, it was a silly fancy, as silly as her timid flirtation with the captain. Silly and absolutely delicious.”

Oh, girl.

Her rise is going to be satisfying, but I fear she has a rough road to walk before we get there. Or Sintara is just going to bluntly spill the beans: he’s just not into you.

But for now, a girl can daydream (and hope she’s transformed into an Elderling with the power of gaydar).

For those who rode with me on my Liveship journey, you’ll know how important this line was to me:

“But the deal had been struck. Kalo had pressed his muddy, inky foot to a piece of parchment…”

I’m here for the talking ships. I’m here for the animal bonds. I’m here for carving giant stone dragons with one’s fingernails. I’m here for prophets, catalysts, forging, unforging- I’m here for it all.

But dragons signing contracts with muddy dragon footprints is pure absurdity.

I loved our time with Malta. She enters chewing the scenery in all her bitchy, Elderling glory. And if, during her arguments about why the dragons need someone advocating for their interests, you found yourself wondering why she isn’t down in the swamp tending them herself, we learn that after struggling to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term, she’s once again pregnant. 🤞

Last post I asked, where’s Wintrow? But the better question is: where the fuck is Reyn? Why is my gal spending hours advocating for the dragons alone? There may have been a passing line about what business he’s attending to, but it clearly wasn’t a good excuse because it didn’t stick with me.

Reyn- I want you present and doting, stat!

Protect Rapskal and Heeby!

They didn’t seem quite significant enough to mention in our list of most interesting dynamics, but I love these irritating little sweeties. Yes, Rapskal is endlessly annoying, but also deeply endearing.

(Greft is going to murder Rapskal, isn’t he? FUCK.)

Hard to believe, but we are approaching the end of Dragon Keeper. I’m sure all the issues will be ironed out and we will set off on our journey upriver smooth sailing.

‘Til then!

Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Keeper, Chapters 6-9

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Old Friends & New Beginnings

***Spoilers for The Rain Wild Chronicles through chapter 9 of Dragon Keeper. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

After starting off with a good amount of stage-setting and introductions, our story is picking up quickly! Each time I start a new RotE series, I’m never quite sure what to expect, and the transitions from one storyline to another can be a bit jarring. Let’s examine:

  • Starting The Farseer Trilogy: Who’s this little boy? Oh yay, a puppy! 😦
  • Farseer -> Liveship Traders: I miss Fitz. Who are all these awful people? Talking Ships?!
  • Liveship Traders -> Tawny Man: Yay, Fitz! I miss Malta. Booo, Chade.
  • Tawny Man -> Rain Wild Chronicles: I miss Fitz. A whole new cast of characters? Serpents be struggling!

I suppose with each change, I worry about leaving the magic of the previous series behind. But with every new installment, it never takes long before I find myself swept away by the incredible characters and plots- whoever and wherever they may be.

The moral of this rambling prologue: never doubt our supreme leader, Robin Hobb.

So what exactly is hooking me so far in RWC? Thank you for asking.

Trehaug

I’m enthralled by this new slice of life we are getting in Dragon Keeper. We’ve spent most of our time in the realm among the upper echelons of society. Sure, our characters may be down on their luck and facing hardship, but by and large, our main POVs have come from the privileged class.

So spending time in the slums of Trehaug with Thymara was a real breath of fresh air (kind of literally, since the poor live in the treetops). I’ve been fascinated by the social strata of the Rain Wilds, especially how Thymara’s family is forced to move higher and higher into the trees as their status sinks lower and lower.

Trehaug itself is such a unique setting. It’s hard to grasp the sheer immensity of this treehouse town, but Hobb does a fantastic job unfolding it for us. We got a small peek into life in the trees during Liveship Traders, but having so much additional color and detail filled in now is incredible. No offense to that smelly, sewage-filled pirate town – or even my beloved Buckkeep – but this may be my favorite setting in all the realm.

One of my favorite details is the naming of the various housing regions. Thymara’s family currently lives high up in the Cricket Cages, having been pushed there after being forced out of the art district, the Bird Nests, due to rising costs from gentrification. The only place higher to move from here is the Tops.

These details add so much whimsy and texture that it’s impossible not to feel enveloped in the Rain Wilds’ rich ambiance.

Ahoy, Mateys! (pt. 1)

If we ever get my Dragon Court procedural (and if you weren’t with me on my Liveship journey, don’t worry about it), Alise is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

We pick up with her exactly where we left off: miserable in her marriage to Hest. She insists that Hest honor the part of their contract allowing her a trip to the Rain Wilds to observe the dragons (sis needs a vacation). He’s not pleased- and, determined to maintain his position as “Top Dick,” also picks a fight with his lover, Sedric, when Sedric encourages him to be minimally decent and grant Alise’s request.

Hest, exasperated by both legal wife and functional “wife,” throws up his hands in a real these hoes be wildin’ moment and decrees Sedric will escort Alise on her dragon-seeking adventure.

What a fun pairing this should be!

Sedric then turns POV character, and we get a mopey boy to fill the Fitz-sized hole in our hearts. My favorite petulant Sedric moment:

“Trehaug was the prime city in all the Cursed Shores for a Trader to find Elderling goods at a reasonable price, and he’d had to race past it without even a glance because Alise feared she wouldn’t get to see her smelly, deformed dragons.”

Honestly? I can relate. At this point, Sedric is like a luxury vacationer dragged along on a roughing-it camping trip. But he feels primed for real growth- and I suspect those smelly, deformed dragons may just capture his heart.

In fact, I can see both Alise and Sedric breaking out from under Hest’s shadow and finding their own place in the world. I’ll get back to Alise shortly (don’t you worry), but I couldn’t help wondering: who in this region might catch Sedric’s eye?

And who crossed my mind (not just because they practically share a name)? Selden. Years have passed, so he should be of age for some romance. And while not every arc needs to be romantic in nature (though it would be nice), I like the idea of these two opposite sides of Hest’s shitty partnership coin finding both themselves and the love they deserve.

Welcome to the POV squad, Sedric!

Ahoy, Mateys! (pt. 2)

Imagine my delight when Sedric and Alise reveal they haven’t booked passage on just any old ship. Nope, it’s our old friend ShipFitz Paragon, complete with Captain Trell, Althea, their young son, and Clef.

We’re so intimately familiar with Paragon and crew that it’s slightly jarring seeing them through a relative stranger’s eyes. And frankly, I did not appreciate how often Sedric dismissed Paragon as insane. (He may be a bit nuts, but he’s our nutso, so stfu.)

They primarily serve to shepherd our new friends, both physically and through knowledge, toward their dragon-seeking adventure. Regardless of their role, it was just wonderful to be back in their midst.

Musings!

🚨 New Wayward Boy Alert 🚨

Warming up to new characters usually takes time, but whether it’s the familair setting or Robin being the GOAT, I am getting down with these characters at record speed.

Enter: Tats.

We meet him climbing onto Thymara’s branch during her post-fight-with-evil-mom reflection hour. (Ok, evil might be a tad strong, but Thymara’s mom is a rough hang. At best: vapid.)

I (obviously) instantly loved their teen-angst dynamic. Thymara doesn’t just feel unworthy of love, she’s been explicitly told that it’s forbidden to her. And Tats, a marked-slave orphan from another world, is clearly enamored.

He signs up for the dragon keeper job alongside her, and we’re also introduced to a dickhead rival for her affection (a sort of a bizarro Grag situation). I’m sat. My popcorn is buttered. I’m rooting for these two!

Where is Wintrow?

We’ve checked in with Althea and Brashen, heard mentions of Malta and Reyn, plus Selden- so where is my most favorite would-be-priest-turned-reluctant-bad-boy pirate king usurper?

We know Hest is heading to pirate town. Is this the duo we’re destined to see?

Careful, Hest. He took down the king of all assholes, Kyle. You should be child’s play.

(My deepest apologies to Ronica and Keffria for not giving a flying fuck what they’re up to.)

Lady and the Tramp

Speaking of these hoes be wildin’, Leftrin didn’t make a huge impression on me in the opening chapters- but boy does he come roaring back into the story.

This is where I really started to feel giddy.

Paragon delivers Alise and Sedric to Trehaug, but from there they need a second ship capable of navigating the shallow waters to Cassarick, where the “dragons” reside.

Lucky for them – and for us – our favorite flat-bottomed barge, the Tarman, happens to be setting off in that very direction. As Alise and Sedric rush to board, we get the most Jack seeing Rose for the first time moment between Captain Leftrin and Alise.

Think I’m exaggerating? Exhibit A:

“She had large gray eyes set wide apart in a heart-shaped face. She had bundled her hair out of the way, but what he could see of it was dark red and curling. Freckles sprinkled her nose and cheeks generously. Another man might have seen her mouth as too generous for her face, but not Leftrin. The single darting glance she gave him seemed to look not into his eyes but into his heart.”

Easy, loverboy!

Safe to say our rough-around-the-edges river rat is immediately smitten with proper Bingtown lady Alise- and I couldn’t love this more. Yes, he’s a bit shady. Yes, I’m ignoring red flags like I always do for sailors on the Cursed Shores. 🤷‍♀️ YOLO.

After Alise’s self-perception as plain and the emotional deep-freeze of her marriage, seeing someone outright bewitched by her? Love this for her!

The way I want this man to ravage her and remind her she’s desirable.

And listen, if Lana Del Rey can marry a swamp tour guide, Alise can ditch her douchebag husband for a barge captain. This is how I will be picturing them moving forward:

Breaking the 4th Wall

Part 1: wizardwordship gets corrected

Alise drops this line that felt aimed directly at me:

“The Rain Wilders who found the dormant dragons in their cases, sometimes incorrectly called cocoons, had no idea what they were.”

Yes. I have repeatedly called them cocoons. Oops!

Part 2: wizardwordship gets clocked

Hest patronizes Alise with:

“You’d come of age in a harsh time in Bingtown. You needed to escape reality, and what could be a better fantasy than tales of Elderlings and dragons?”

You know what? It is a harsh time. And I will never apologize for getting wrapped up in tales of Elderlings and dragons.

(Side note: Am I Alise?)

I’m very excited to learn more about what’s going on with the Tarman. We’ve gotten several intriguing clues:

  • Leftrin mentions crafting something for it from the found wizardwood
  • Remarks around its ability to sail just as well, if not better, with a reduced crew
  • Allusions to something new beneath the waterline
  • And little lines like:

“The barge moved up the river steadily, avoiding shoals and snags as if bewitched.”

Are we going to be introduced to a figurehead that lurks below the surface?

Lots of “point-at-the-page” moments in these chapters. My favorites:

“She stroked an insignia on the side of the kettle, an image that looked rather like a chicken with a crown.”

“All had believed that Tintaglia was the last true dragon in the world. To discover it was not so was shocking, and the tale of the black dragon who had risen from the ice was almost too far-fetched to believe.
Some prince of the far Six Duchies had unearthed the dragon…”

“She recalled that his original boyish face had been damaged, chopped to pieces; some said by pirates, while others believed his own crew had done it. But someone had recarved the splintered wood into the visage of a handsome if scarred young man.”

Onward to Cassarick!

wizardwordship Programming Update! November 30, 2025

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The Keyboard Calls

Ahoy, mateys!

It is I, wizardwordship, checking in after a slightly extended post-Tawny Man trilogy break. While I’ve been enjoying some time focusing on life responsibilities without the gnawing desire to get back to reading and reacting my way through the Realm of the Elderlings, it hasn’t been a full abandonment: I’ve popped in for small maintenance tasks- cleaning up some early posts, tidying the archive, etc. But overall, it has felt a bit like sending my blog to overnight camp: I’m touching base from time to time, but taking a break from the heavy lifting of day-to-day care.

The recharge is working, though, and lately the call to return to my keyboard has been intensifying. I also completed a few reading side quests (more below) during my time away, but now I’ve found myself with nothing queued up, and the Rain Wild Chronicles are beckoning.

Yesterday, I noticed that my last Tawny Man post was published on October 29- almost exactly one month ago. I didn’t set out with a specific hiatus length in mind, trusting my body would tell me when it was time to pick the quest back up. And apparently, one month was the time I needed. So here I am – November 29 – back at my laptop and ready to quip, cry, and break down dragon mating rituals.

No Blog November is no more!

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 34-Epilogue

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I’m in a Glass Case of Emotion

***Spoilers for The Tawny Man Trilogy through the end of Fool’s Fate.*** 

Well, friends – I have concluded my read-through of the Tawny Man trilogy. What a beautiful culmination to an incredible series. I was struck by how complete this story felt when combined with the Farseer Trilogy. They may stand as separate series, but they truly feel like necessary companions. While both are remarkable on their own, it’s the arc of all six books that I find almost unbelievably stunning. This ending leaves me with a strong sense of closure, and a deep curiosity about how the Fitz and the Fool trilogy will complement, expand upon, and ultimately conclude Fitz’s story.

Before diving into the emotional conclusion of our tale, I have to address my personal state as I write this post. I debated whether to include this, but what’s the point of blogging if not to show up authentically and share a piece of oneself? This endeavor has always been about connecting across the human experience, and what I’m going through now is something almost everyone can relate to. It also ties closely to the themes of the text, so I’d feel remiss not to include it.

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 30-33

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How Fitz Got His Groove Back

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 33 of Fool’s Fate.***

If the revelation of how Fitz was previously able to return to his deceased body thrilled me last post, then that was just the appetizer for this section’s full buffet of answers. There’s a lot to cover, so allow me to get right to the goods.

Fitz and the Fool are lingering in their market-square campsite, recovering and wrestling with where things go from here. Once again, we get that wonderful parallel between the Fool’s sense of lostness and desire to retreat from life, and Fitz’s past experience:

“…you cannot hide forever from your life and friends. Eventually, you must face it again.”
He almost smiled. “This, from the man who spent over a decade being dead.

They almost feel outside of time in this suspended healing sojourn, but eventually the Fool declares himself recovered enough, and it’s time to rejoin the story. Not before a detour to the stone dragon garden for a visit to Girl-on-a Dragon.

Turns out the Fool has promised the rooster crown to the sort-of-lead minstrel of Girl-on-a-Dragon’s entombed coterie, Realder- a former wearer of the crown. (The crown/Skill-dragon/coterie lore goes pretty dense here, so let’s just stick with that and keep it moving).

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 10-13

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No. I am your father.

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 13 of Fool’s Fate.***

It’s time to slay some dragons. For Fitz, both the literal and metaphorical varieties. We have arrived on Aslevjal, and our quest has begun in earnest. At the same time, the day of reckoning for Fitz’s past seems to be upon us.

Let’s begin with Nettle, shall we? All my dreams are coming true. After Skilling into a Nettle-Fitz dream interaction uninvited, Dutiful has had enough of the secrecy and demands answers. When he learns of his secret cousin (sister? 😬), he is pissed! I loved the dressing down he gives Fitz and Chade (more so the Chade part, but still). He’s wondering why he’s been left in the dark about an alternate Farseer heir, left to shoulder the entire responsibility of the line on his own. And when Fitz, in his classic myopia, tries to brush it off with a “yeah, I didn’t think it would really affect you,” Dutiful clocks him perfectly:

“You go around making these monumental decisions about what other people should know or not know about their own lives. But you don’t really have any more idea how it will turn out than I do!”

Such a great scene. I see the argument on both sides (both being Dutiful and Fitz, and very much excluding groveling, self-serving Chade), and they do too. Fitz wants to protect Nettle from being sucked into the Farseer machine the way he was. But witnessing Dutiful’s reaction shows how protecting one child has, in a way, cost the other. (Do we consider Dutiful Fitz’s child? Eh, tomato, tomahto.) So while Dutiful’s point about Fitz not knowing outcomes is true, it cuts both ways. Sure, Fitz shouldn’t shoulder these decisions alone, but what else can you expect from an abandoned boy who has never been able to truly trust anyone?

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Reactions from the Realm: Golden Fool, Chapters 6-10

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Slow Burn

***Spoilers for The Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 10 of Golden Fool.***

I went pretty hard into Fitz’s sexcapades in my last post. But honestly, the real foreplay is everything happening in Golden Fool right now, leading up to whatever shoe is about to drop at Buckkeep.

In this section of chapters, Fitz is settling into this new version of life in Buckkeep. I wouldn’t say things are going particularly smoothly – the teenagers are being very teenager-y – but nothing major is happening yet. Teenage dramatics aside, it feels like we are on the brink of something.

For me, there are two (presumably) looming events I’ve been eagerly anticipating:

  1. A Nettle/Molly/Burrich confrontation
    I noted in my previous post that Nettle nears- she’s making contact in Fitz’s dreams, and Chade (via Thick’s raw skilling) is aware of her and her Skill ability. How long can Fitz remain hidden from those in his past life?

    We also had a near miss with Lady Patience earlier in this book. I feel we are due for some kind of collision soon. (Hell, I’d take Hands recognizing him at this point. Throw me a bone here!)

  2. The Bingtown Brigade appearing
    I am ready for the crossover event. To be up front, I did see the next chapter title: ‘Tidings from Bingtown.‘ So predicting a series collision doesn’t exactly make me Nostradamus. But I have been anticipating the stories to overlap in Tawny Man, and so far, it’s been a very Fitzian tale (no complaints!). We are around the trilogy’s midpoint, so surely the merge can’t be too far off.

Robin certainly has me on tenterhooks waiting for either event. 

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Willed Into Words: The Will of the Many, Part III

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

***Spoilers for The Will of the Many***

We’ve reached the exciting conclusion to The Will of the Many! Some questions were answered, and many more were raised. Theories died, and new theories sprang to life. Loyalties have shifted yet again, and we lost a real one. Whew! What a ride!

Let’s not waste any time and get right into Synchronous.

This is it, people. Shit has officially gone off the rails heading into The Strength of the Few (releasing in November, see you back here then!). I love how James Islington handled this twist. After completing the labyrinth, Vis enters a chamber and steps into the bronze blade ring. He experiences something – it’s super painful and sucks – but when he emerges, everything seems the same. So we spend the rest of the book wondering what exactly he unleashed. I kept expecting something to show up or there to be some major shift in the world- wizardwordship was on alert! But everything continues along mostly normal (rotting arms and new powers aside), and Vis wins the Iudicium and we seem to be on our merry way. Then comes Synchronous.

Synchronous, Part 1

We are taken back to the moment Vis emerges from the bronze blade ring. It starts the exact same way… right down to the instructions getting carved into his arm. He exits the chamber and things begin to diverge. When he approaches the gate to the labyrinth, he comes to a stone that has some mumbo jumbo about needing to pay a toll for passage to Luceum, places his hands on it, and whoosh! He is transported, sans left arm(!), to a vast rotunda. There are people there who tell him to “Stay with us… the other from your world will be coming.” Fade to black on Luceum…

Synchronous, Part 2

Oh, but we’re not done here, folks! We get thrust back to the bronze blade ring emergence again. This time, there’s someone in the chamber- who introduces himself as… CAEROR!!!!

Caeror has arrived and he starts spilling the tea. This Vis is in Obiteum. They have a cute, “Oh, you know Veridious?” / “And you know Ulciscor?” small-world sort of exchange before Caeror is like, enough small talk, we’ve got to save you back in Res (apparently the name of the world we’ve been bopping in). He busts out a knife and we solve the mystery of the carved arm words!

So now we’ve got three Vis’s in three worlds. And we know that what happens to his body in one world affects his bodies in the others. (Very concerned that Caeror is just going to start writing letters to his friends back in Res on Vis’s torso.)

Synchronous rocked my world, but we have to get into the Iudicium. Shit went pretty hard.

Let’s begin by paying due respect to our big loss: Callidus. I’m going to be honest, coming into this story straight out of the emotional warzone that is Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings, this was light work for me.

I liked Callidus. He was a great pal to Vis, loyal to the end. And I am sad for Vis. First, his lady love stabs him and shoves him off a tower, then his best friend dies in his arms. It’s a rough stretch, for sure.

So how did we get here? Well, after his jaunty little Synchronism-launching side quest mid-Iudicium, Vis returns to the fray to discover that things are going a bit awry. After linking back up with Callidus and Aequa, they make a plan that involves splitting up. Callidus loses the coin flip that seals his fate, and Aequa and Vis head out on the initial mission to go for the heart of Jovan (the goal of the games).

Well, nothing fucks up your plans like stumbling upon a mass grave of all the safety teams plus a few students – YOIKS! It is gross, and I am grateful we got to gloss over Vis and Aequa retrieving Sianus’s tattooed arms as proof of what they’ve found.

Change of plans! They decide to warn the remaining competitors and GTFOH. Vis gets to Ionus, who very quickly accepts the story and peaces out. Things with Emissa don’t go as smoothly.

Before we get to the Emissa confrontation, Vis stumbles upon the bodies of three Class 4 students and has a run in with the creepy, teleporting Anguis leader we saw conversing with Relucia back at the Festival of Pletunia. He emerges as the HBIC and basically calls Relucia small potatoes. He cuts a deal: if Vis wins the Iudicium and becomes Domitor, he will let Emissa live.

Off Vis goes on a mission to save his lady by defeating his lady. (That’s going to be a fun convo, “No, honey, I swear. I only want to win over you for you. Not for me.“)

He first has to fight a Sextus guard and almost gets tossed off the tower before Emissa wields awill and saves the day. They have a sweet moment, but Vis is like, “Yeah… what was the wielding Will all about.” She brushes him off: “Shh sweetie, not now.”

And then we learn why it is always best to address things in the moment, because her eyes black over again, she stabs him in the stomach, and throws him off the tower. School romances always end poorly! (Says the woman married to her freshman dorm neighbor.)

It’s not looking great, but if we know anything about Vis- it’s that he finds a way. He pulls a magical ability (more on that in a bit) out of his ass and summons the heart to him as he falls. He’s saved (again!) by DiagoDog, makes his way back to the mortally wounded Callidus, and stumbles his way back to the Academy – dead best friend in arms – to stuff the heart back in the statue of Jovan, thus winning the Iudicium in the final moments of the test.

OH! And it’s his eighteenth birthday!

Time for my final musings on The Will of the Many:

Let’s revisit some of my predictions heading into Part III, so we can all have a good chuckle at my expense (and maybe find something to be impressed with!).

First, the bad:

  • My bold prediction at the end of my previous post was that Vis was going to come into contact with a family member – possibly a sister – LOL. In our catch-up with Fadrique in Suus, he makes it abundantly clear that all of Vis’s family members are dead. He saw all of their bodies. There is zero chance any of them are alive. If you even thought someone could’ve gotten away, you’re stupid and shouldn’t share your thoughts for public consumption. (I’m paraphrasing just a bit).
  • I was pretty gung-ho in my suspicions of Aequa. To be fair to myself, pretty early on in Part III, I started shifting those suspicions onto Emissa, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Aequa was too obvious. And while the budding Vis-Emissa romance was sweet, we were kept at arm’s length from their dynamic in a way that screamed this was ripe for heartbreak. Emissa is very much giving “first love, not true love” energy. (Though I don’t think her betrayal is straightforward, more on that later).
  • Onyx did not come back to be significant (yet!). Was it even onyx that the swords were made of? The Remnants are described as obsidian. Did I just flub that whole thing?

Now, the good:

  • The injured Alupi returning to aid Vis! A bit of a layup, but DiagoDog (much more on double names later) did return and, though not exactly a cuddle bug, does have some sort of bond with Vis and served as his protector for much of the Iudicium.
  • The Vis-Emissa romance heating up on their island getaway to Suus. I mean, let’s be real, it was about as hot as a bowl of yogurt, but still.
  • Vis’s magical ability watch: I pointed out Vis’s ability to sense other’s presence seemed like it might hint at a magical ability, and it looks like my powers of perception were on point! He seems to get a bit of a post-portal upgrade, with his natural skills taking on a supernatural quality – fun! So far: internal people radar, some sort of semi-invincibility, and the power to summon objects.

  • My “Could Veridious actually be good?” theory from my Part I recap has legs, baby!! Never a doubt. (Unless you count my very explicitly stated doubt from my Part II recap, which, fortunately, I do not.)

    In the main timeline (pray for me, folks), Veridious is with Vis when he wakes post-Iudicium. He tries to get Vis to declare himself to Religion, and I don’t know… I was catching a vibe of genuineness here.

    Another point in Veridious’s favor: Vis’s brief interaction with Caeror in Obiteum. Caeror asks Vis if he knows Veridious and when Vis calls him Principalis Veridious, Caeror kinda gives an “Oh Veridious, you rascal” smirk. Not the reaction you’d expect to hearing about your murderer.

    I’m gonna keep the Veridious train rolling here. Veridious’s possible ascent is set against Ulciscor’s hard fall in the “who-seems-cool” rankings. You know what? This seems like a perfect time to segue over to Ulciscor.

Papa Ulc: fuck you! (That felt good).

I forgot to mention this is my Part II reaction, but I started to sour hard on Ulciscor back at the Festival of Ancestors. After Vis details his harrowing, near-death escapade to the first ruins, Ulc is immediately like, “Yeah, not enough. Do better.”

And boy does he not get any better from that point on. In Suus, Vis reports that not only has he ascended to Class 4, but also his successful even more insane recon of the second ruins site. But Papa Ulc wants more. If greed is the hallmark of the Hierarchy, Ulciscor is a true company man. He insists Vis run the certain-death labyrinth or he’ll invoke his fatherly rights (you adopted an adult less than a year ago, chill out) to toss him in a sapper. Winning the Iudicium, becoming Domitor, and defying all the odds to scout two sets of should-be-unreachable ruins… still not enough for Papa Ulc.

Vek have mercy on me. I was complaining last post about the double-identity of Sedotia/Relucia. And now I have to keep track of characters copied across multiple universes 😵‍💫. This should be interesting for your girl.

I was already fuming that Vis named his wolf Diago (his own former name in Suus), and now I am going to be wrestling with Res-Vis, Obiteum-Vis, and Luceum-Vis.

Synchronous is death you say?
Yeah… death to this blogger.

Superhero Vis! He continues to be the athlete of a generation. He is running around Solivagus, forging freezing rivers, fighting alien guards, fighting non-alien guards, carrying his dying friend, and defying the laws of sleep to an astonishing degree. Even without his new upgraded powers, he’s a beast.

Listen. The hierarchy does some pretty bad stuff, but their crimes against taste and design are right up there for me. I was horrified right along Vis at the defacing of his family’s ancestral palace. He describes:

“Gone is the character-filled hewn look of the sandstone. In its place is a monstrosity. Walls smoothed, polished, and painted garishly in the colours of Caten: orange and white and purple.”

And that’s not even the worst of it! At our first dinner, Vis observes:

“Gone is the long table in the centre, replaced by several smaller ones, each surrounded by three broad couches in the Catenan style.”

Do not serve me a formal dinner while I’m seated on an m-fing couch. This definitively proves that no amount of Will-wielding can buy taste.

Big questions heading into Book 2:

  • Who, pray tell, is the “person from Vis’s world” the people from Luceum say is coming? Are they referring to Caeror over in Obiteum? (I don’t think so.) Is this possibly someone who is dead?

    Vis has that dream-convo with his dad, who tells him, “Death is a doorway, Son. You will see him again. No one is ever truly lost.” One of these new worlds being some sort of afterlife seems very in play.
  • What the hell went down during Veridious’s/Caeror’s/Lanistia’s Iudicium? Obviously, a lot more than we were led to believe. Very curious how Lanistia factors into it all.
  • Will Vis have to wield Will? He makes a split-second decision to request a placement with the Censor (Callidus’s father!!) post-graduation, as is his right as Domitor. This will keep him firmly in the mix of the Hierarchy governance. One of his strongest motivations through most of the story has been to avoid both ceding and wielding Will, but he ends on a note of “circumstances change.”
  • What role will Eidhin play going forward? He gets a default promotion to best friend via Callidus’s untimely death. And we still have the mystery of why he had to decline supporting Vis in the Iudicium. I’m excited to see how he factors in.
  • Will Emissa and Vis make up? I think they may work out their differences after a long period of distrust from Vis, but ultimately, I think the romance ship may have sailed for these two.
  • Who left the missing-from-Suus carved wooden “Diago” ship on Vis’s side table post-Iudicium? Could this be the faintest sign of life for my “family member still alive” theory?

Final remarks on my journey through The Will of the Many:

This was fun! I wasn’t sure what to expect jumping into a new story while taking a little break from the deeply parasocial relationship I find myself in with the Realm of the Elderlings. Imagine my surprise when this new story also followed a lonely boy of secret royal lineage who bonds with a wolf. Quite the niche I’ve carved out for myself!

The complexity of the world and plot pushed me at times, but I enjoyed breaking it all down and I hope you had fun following along.

Next stop: back to Six Duchies, where I pick up my main quest with book two of the Tawny Man Trilogy: Golden Fool.

I’m coming, Fitz!

Willed into Words: The Will of the Many, Part I

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New Series, Who Dis?

***Spoilers for Part I: Chapters I-XXIV of The Will of the Many***

Starting a new fantasy series is like visiting a new city. I’m familiar with the foundational elements (that’s a building, here’s our protagonist, yay! there’s a map, and so on), but everything feels a bit foreign (wait, where is the biblioteque?). There are a lot of new names, settings, technologies, and governmental structures flying around, and as a reader, it’s a delicate dance between trying to absorb what’s going on while also moving forward with faith that it will all click into place in time.

(Likewise, I am trying to get my bearings as a blogger here, striving to discuss what’s happening while not recapping every little detail or explaining who each character is. Please bear with me as I get my sea legs on this new adventure. It’s all part of the process, baby.)

So that’s where I find myself, having completed Part I of The Will of the Many. There’s a lot of setup and world-building taking place, but I’ve been impressed with James Islington’s ability to feed us information amid a fast-moving plot. He’s great at introducing concepts and then gradually layering in more details to build our understanding without overwhelming us.

We meet Vis, our hidden-in-plain-sight orphan prince from a conquered land, doing his best to blend in among the enemy. He’s scraping by and biding time until he can get his revenge. I’m immediately in on Vis. Perhaps stepping out of Realm of the Elderlings for this side quest has me preconditioned to root for a young male narrator with the odds stacked against him, but I’ve found him quite likable so far. He’s clearly exceptional without being overpowered.

I was pretty much sold when, upon finding out he is about to fight a higher-station (and thus stronger Will-powered) opponent in the nighttime fight club he participates in to raise funds (revenge ain’t cheap, folks!), his strategy is to strip butt naked. This is the sort of unhinged action I am looking for in my main character: determination and drive; strength and speed; quick thinking and cunning; and a willingness to go to any lengths to get the job done. This is someone I can get behind!

Continue reading →

wizardwordship Programming Update!

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A Side Quest Commences…

Hello everyone!

An exciting update on my journey through realms: I will be taking a quick detour from my mission in the Realm of the Elderlings to embark on a side quest through…

James Islington’s The Will of the Many!

Fear not! This will be the briefest of detours from my main mission. Yes, my whole heart still belongs to Fitz, and I cannot wait to jump into Golden Fool soon.

But I have found that blogging through a story takes a lot more time than my previous blistering pace through a series. I don’t want to burn out or get stuck in a rut. And where we left things at the end of Fool’s Errand feels like an easy place to take a quick pause, recover a bit after you know what, and return to the Six Duchies very soon, refreshed and ready to rip.

I’m also curious to see how it feels to blog a different series and get in from the very beginning. The sequel to The Will of the Many is due out later this year, so it seemed like the perfect time to jump in.

I’m aiming to complete this side quest quickly; I have a solo adventure coming up in a few weeks, and I plan to be blissfully reunited with Fitz for that trip- so your girl is on a deadline!

Hope you enjoy this little departure, and if not, I will see you soon in Buckkeep!