rainwildschronicles

Reactions from the Realm: City of Dragons, Prologue – Chapter 8

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Ooh I’ve been waiting for this…

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 8 of City of Dragons. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

I never rarely nail a prediction (see: Chade, still kickin’). But the predictions and wish list I left off with at the end of Dragon Haven, in relation to where we pick things up in City of Dragons, were pretty spot on.

Let’s check in:

The fallout: Hest.  ✅

He hasn’t discovered the full story yet, but we do get a visit with the rage monster.

More ties to the broader RotE: Malta and Reyn. Selden. Amber/the Fool. Tintaglia. What is Wintrow doing? Let’s get some old friends back in the mix. ✅

No Wintrow or Amber/the Fool yet, but we do get significant time with Malta and Reyn 😍 , Selden 😬, and Tintaglia as we open the story.

Chalced? ✅

We got our first POV from Chalced proper. And boy, that Duke is a real dickhead!

Re: Kelsingra, I asked: will we discover remnants of Fitz’s time there? ✅

Yuppers! Just as I was seriously starting to doubt that this was even the same place, Alise finds Verity’s city model and evidence that “Fitz wuz here.”

    All in all, a very satisfying start to the back half of our penultimate RotE series.

    Backing up for a moment: Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven had an increasingly insular feel, which I enjoyed. Hobb introduces us to characters scattered across the world, then brings them together in the pressure cooker of the river journey.

    One thing I’ve remarked on numerous times is the incredible way Robin mirrors the emotional state of the characters with that of us readers. Honestly, it’s almost as if she possesses the Skill herself, influencing our experience through her mind alone.

    And it works beautifully here. We feel the claustrophobia of the search for Kelsingra, and once the city is finally found, the bubble bursts and the story expands back out into the wider world.

    If you were worried the bleakness was exclusive to Team River Expedition, fear not – things in the outside world are likewise completely fucked up. Wheee!

    Let’s touch down on my favorite “not on the Tarman anymore, Toto” storylines.

    Tintaglia & Icefyre

    We start with a bang: a visit to Tintaglia and Icefyre. Surely they’re off enjoying newlywed bliss? Nope. They can’t stand each other and are already bickering like they’ve been married fifty years.

    “There is much you do not seem to recall. I think you were encased too long. It damaged your mind and left you ignorant of many things.
    She felt a spark of anger toward him. Icefyre often said such things to her.”

    Maybe you were a dragon ice cube too long, Icefyre. Did you ever think of that? Ass.

    But dragonsplaining isn’t even their biggest issue. They get attacked by a buttload of Chalcedeans.

    The dragons prevail, but it’s dicey for a moment. We get some pretty gnarly descriptions of them melting walls of humans with their poison and gobbling down bodies. They wisely let a few survivors escape to spread the word back in Chalced: Mess with a dragon, prepare to be annihilated.

    The Duke of Chalced

    We did it. We made it to Chalced. We get a peek inside the Duke’s court and the vibes are rough.

    The Duke appears to have attended Chade’s School of Aging Gracefully, meaning he is not accepting his impending death at all.

    We learn a bit more about his desperation – he has no surviving sons – and his leadership style, which seems to consist primarily of holding the families of his court hostage – with the occasional appendage removed to keep everyone honest.

    “How had it come to this? He had always had sons, and to spare. Too many sons, but some had been too ambitious for his liking. Some he had sent to war, and some he had sent to the torture chamber for insolence. A few he had poisoned discreetly. If he had known that a disease would sweep away not only his chosen heir but his last three sons, he might have kept a few in reserve. But he had not. And now he was down to one useless daughter…”

    We’ve been suffering the consequences of his dragon-part machinations all series, so it’s nice to finally have him enter the story proper. Welcome, villain!

    Selden

    I asked for Selden. And, well… I got him.

    Unfortunately, we find him kidnapped, locked in a tent, and being severely abused.

    Yikes on main!

    Tintaglia – please stop arguing with Icefyre and go rescue your boy! I’ve got a meet-cute in Kelsingra I’m waiting for.

    Hest

    If Selden’s situation was hard to stomach, I had a positively riotous time watching Hest get the crap kicked out of him in his own study.

    It was delicious watching him react to the realization that Alise and Sedric are missing. He makes some incorrect assumptions about their schemes, but it’s fun to see him spiral none the less.

    And then the bully becomes the bullied. A Chalced mercenary shows up to collect on Sedric’s promise of dragon parts. He slashes Hest’s hand and face, throws knives, threatens his parents – an all-around menace. It was violent and terrifying.

    It seems he has now set Hest Rain Wilds-bound in search of answers. This should be interesting!

    (Ok, new desire: Carson/Hest show down. Hest kills Carson. Relpda eats Hest (obviously). Sedric and Selden heal together. Boom!)

    Malta & Reyn

    If I opened with the worst couple – Tintaglia and Icefyre – I’ll close this section with the best: Malta and Reyn.

    I squealed when Reyn finally made his first on-page appearance. This was my Beatles-on-Ed-Sullivan moment. And boy, he remains as swoonworthy as ever.

    Where Alise and Leftrin’s mushiness can sometimes give me the ick, there is no amount of saccharine that could turn me off of Malta and Reyn. Reyn is just such a man– loving, respectful, protective. It makes sense why their absolutely absurd “courtship” in Liveship Traders worked so well. They are the real deal.

    I was kicking my feet like a school girl the entire time we were with them. I loved their sexy banter about their first veil-kiss:

    “…’You leaned in close to me and I thought you would tell me a secret. But then you kissed me. I felt your lips through the lace of the veil. And the tip of your tongue, I thought. It was . . .’ She paused and was surprised to realize she was blushing.
    ‘Very erotic,’ Reyn finished quietly for her.”

    But my favorite moment comes when Reyn defends their unborn child, as midwives pressure Malta to prepare for the possibility that the baby is born heavily Rain Wilds-touched.

    “Tell her? Tell her that I care nothing for custom or decorum! Tell her that I will be by your bedside for every moment, and that the instant our child is born, he will be safe in my arms. Should Sa take his life from us, then I will mourn. But if anyone else threatens him, in any way, I will kill them. That is what you can tell her. No. That is what I will tell the meddling old hag!”
    …
    “Did you doubt that I would protect our child?” he asked her quietly.

    Listen. I would never interfere with the truest love that ever existed (and my heart already belongs to a ding dong up north), but damn. Malta is one lucky Elderling Queen

    Getting some new “old” energy infused into the story was fun, but let’s check in with the ol’ Kelsingra crew:

    MUSINGS!

    Carson & Sedric

    Nothing too new here.

    I remain happy for them while not being particularly invested in the pairing.

    And I’m not trying to go full Chade on Carson – he does seem like a good egg – but he has his moments:

    “They’re just boys. They like each other, but it’s about physical discovery, not each other. Not like us.”

    Ok, Dad. Is it scary up there on your high horse?

    Honestly, all of our “elderly couples” are pretty self-righteous about their relationships for a group of people who paired off and hooked up on a dragon-boat cruise.

    Alise & Kelsingra

    I was proud of Alise for choosing her passion over a man. We love an autonomous, secure couple.

    Leftrin takes the Tarman south for supplies while Alise stays behind to document everything she can about Kelsingra before the treasure hunters learn of its existence and descend on the city.

    Also? I was ready for a break from all the schmoopie, schmoopie, schmoopie, schmoopie.

    Rapskal & Thymara

    The Rapskal-Thymara-Tats love triangle is now in full swing, with both boys openly competing for her affection.

    I’m torn. I love both Rapskal and Tats, but I also want Thymara to be valued as more than just a romantic prize. (Ok, honestly I’m mostly interested in the romance, but I’m trying to sound less shallow.)

    We got a lot of Thymara and Tats while Rapskal was off saving the day, but here we get some time with Rapskal and Thymara as he flies her to Kelsingra on Heeby’s back.

    Once there, Rapskal wants to give Thymara a glimpse into the Elderling world via memory stone. He insists this world – and these memories – are meant for them, and aren’t dangerous in the way they would be for regular humans.

    Naturally, he immediately shows her the memory-stone equivalent of Elderling porn, which gets her very hot and bothered and nearly leads to Rapskal sealing the deal.

    I do love Tats and Rapskal, but they are some pushy, horny little burgeoning Elderlings. Take it easy, boys!

    Things fall apart when Rapskal casually mentions Jerd, and that everyone thinks Thymara is scared of sex. Smooth, Rapskal.

    Although I haven’t been as invested in their storyline as the Leftrin-Alise-Hest-Sedric-Carson knot, I’m becoming increasingly interested in where they land, and how the creation of a new Elderling society ultimately shakes out.

    “He longed for cleanliness and tidiness: it was hard to find peace in the middle of disorder. He had always felt this way.”

    Have I mentioned before that Sedric is my spirit animal?

    Fitz out here taking strays from Malta:

    “Oh, Traders will always think themselves better than the Tattooed or the Three Ships folk in Bingtown, far better than any brutish Chalcedean or barbarian Six Duchies man.“

    Malta, I love you, but…

    A few fun Easter eggs:

    • In Chalced: “Once the fortress had stood upon this peak, and within its walls a circle of black standing stones under the open sky had been a place of great magic.”
    • Thymara, on hearing wolves in the distance: “Wolves were creatures of legend for them.”
    • As Alise explores the statues in the theater: “Gilded, too, was her crown of feathers and rooster heads…”

    I don’t have much purpose for including these in my reactions, but I get excited when one pops up, so why not?

    The Skill River

    I, noted intuitive, am picking up on clues that the “Skill River” from way back in Assassin’s Quest is coming back into play.

    First, we have Sintara, on the verge of remembering something she wants- something secret. Then Rapskal, similarly recollecting something special to help the dragons.

    The more I try to remember anything about the Skill River (or Kelsingra in general), the more confused I get. So I’m just going to leave it there and be excited to discover things along with everyone else.

    Alrighty! Given that, despite my best intentions, I am currently blogging at a George R. R. Martin Winds of Winter pace, my plan is to finish out City of Dragons with my next post so I can finish out RotE sometime this decade. See you then!

    Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 16-Epilogue

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    It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…

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

    It’s HEEBY AND RAPSKAL!

    My heart.

    They mocked silly Rapskal and his “slow-witted” dragon. They scoffed at their daily flight practices. So sure it was futile. Well, who’s laughing now?!

    Rapskal and Heeby make their triumphant return – IN THE SKIES.

    Not only is Heeby the first dragon to take flight and Rapskal now a majestic Elderling- they also found the lost city of Kelsingra while the rest of you were busy fucking around in the reeds.

    Triumph indeed.

    And it couldn’t go to a more deserving pair.

    It’s punctuated beautifully when Alise tries to extract Rapskal’s tale for the history books, but our restless hero can hardly sit still for her. He just wants to return to the friends he’s been missing throughout his separation from the group. Our boy was lonely. 🥺

    Welcome back, Rapskal. I knew your story wasn’t over.

    Ok, so Rapskal and Heeby returning to save the day was the most exciting part of Dragon Haven’s finale, but a lot more went down. Before we get into it all, let’s quickly review where we end things and pause at the midpoint of our Rain Wilds Chronicles adventure:

    • The dragons, keepers, and crew have mostly reached Kelsingra – with only one minor detail inhibiting the final push to inhabit the city: they’re on the wrong side of the river. Eh. What’s another few days after months of a harrowing, often hopeless-seeming journey.
    • Alise and Leftrin are in LOVE. (What else is new?)
    • Sedric and Carson continue to put the wild in Rain Wilds.
    • Tats and Thymara: it’s complicated.

    Now that “Does Kelsingra exist?” and “Can we find it?” have been answered, here’s what I’m hoping for in the remaining two books:

    • The fallout: Hest. I need to be present when Hest learns what Sedric and Alise have been up to.

    • More ties to the broader RotE: Malta and Reyn. Selden. Amber/the Fool. Tintaglia. What is Wintrow doing? Let’s get some old friends back in the mix.
    • How the Elderling transformations progress. I feel like some won’t go well. (Carson?)
    • Chalced?

    Oooh, I’m getting excited for things that may never even happen. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s get into how we got here.

    MUSINGS!

    Greft

    Yes, I’m starting with Greft.

    He’s been bad news from the beginning, but his demise is still brutal to watch.

    He demands blood from his dragon, who refuses and tosses him into the river. Rescued and back aboard, he lashes out, and it gets ugly. He makes the critical error of calling Alise a whore, and we know the captain doesn’t play about his lady.

    But what emerges most clearly in all of this is that Greft is a truly tragic figure.

    “’I’ve known all my life that I wouldn’t get as much as anyone else did. Not respect. Not even time. People like me, like us, we die young. Unless a dragon takes us on and makes sure we don’t. … But not Greft. Not for me.'”

    And then:

    “’I’m going to die… Things are starting to go wrong inside me. I can feel things going wrong. My gut hurts when I’m hungry and hurts worse when I eat. The shape of my mouth has changed so much that I can’t chew or even close my mouth comfortably. My eyes are dry, but I can’t close my eyelids all the way. Nothing simple is simple anymore. I can’t get enough air through my nose when I try to breathe, and when I breathe through my mouth, my throat dries out until it cracks and I spit blood.’ … ‘That’s my life,’ he said quietly. ‘Or my death. The death of someone who is changing, without a dragon to guide it. The death of someone who was born so Rain Wild touched that I can’t even live to be middle-aged, let alone old.’”

    I know that’s a lot of quote to include, but it’s just so visceral and affecting. This is some sad shit.

    Greft isn’t someone we rooted for, but Hobb works her magic, giving him dimension and wringing out sympathy.

    Now shunned from the group and painfully dying – yada yada more turmoil and conflict – Greft sets out on his own early one morning. Carson and Sedric are sent to track him down. (Hey, they need those ship biscuits.)

    They find him wedged in his small boat, dying from gallator poison.

    A grim end for a complicated character.

    🪦

    Let’s stay in Downer-ville for a moment.

    Alongside Greft’s death, we get the devastating conclusion to the Jerd’s pregnancy: she miscarries. The women handle it, and Bellin – no stranger to miscarriages herself – delivers a stern warning to the keeper gals not to sleep with anyone not fully committed to dealing with the consequences.

    It’s harsh, but it’s a needed reality check.

    Which makes a fitting segue to the Tats-Thymara situation I’ve been skating around in my reactions.

    I’ve been hard on Thymara for being wishy-washy all series. In hindsight, I probably should have been harder* on Tats for his pushiness. Because no, Tats unequivocally should not be pressuring Thymara past her comfort level. And it’s entirely understandable that she’s torn between physical desire and very real consequences.

    (*Important note: My lack of direct admonishing hasn’t been excusing the boys’ behavior, my “critical” focus has simply centered more on Thymara as a main POV character.)

    But we’re in Hobbland, so of course the situation has been crafted with grounded nuance. We don’t have to agree with the characters to understand their motivations. And through Jerd, the sobering stakes of procreating in the Rain Wilds are no longer theoretical. They’re immediate and can’t be brushed aside.

    These relationships aren’t clean or tidy, and we leave Tats and Thymara (and Rapskal) in an open-ended place:

    “’Oh, something happened. It just wasn’t what you expected. I said no and I meant it. I still mean it, Tats. But it’s not about you. It’s about me dealing with what I’m becoming, and dealing with it one change at a time.’
    He glanced over at her. His lashes were long and thick as they had always been. ‘Then it isn’t…forever. It’s just a decision for now.’”

    I don’t know what the future holds for them. And not every pairing needs to end in romance. But I hope Thymara gets to a place where she can accept love on her terms. She deserves that.

    Buckle up: I’m about to take a wild swing in tone…

    Mega “Horny Moments” Musings

    1️⃣

    We’ve been tracking the non-healing wound on Thymara’s back for quite a while, and now we finally get some answers. Sintara – not one to settle for a status quo transformation for her keeper – decides to make Thymara the first Elderling with wings.

    This was right up there with the Tarman feet reveal for me.

    Thymara is horrified and Sylve discovering the finger-like bone protrusions in her back was admittedly gnarly. But, me? I loved it. Especially because it leads to a very enjoyable scene between Thymara, Tats, and Rapskal as we close things out.

    If anyone has mastered the art of eroticism divorced from overt sexual context, it’s Robin Hobb. We saw it most potently with Fitz and the Fool in Tawny Man. But this wing inspection scene? It’s seriously charged.

    First, Rapskal coaxes Thymara to show him her wings:

    “’Your wings, of course! Everyone else has seen them but me. Take them out, I want to see them.’ …
    ‘I’m not ready for people to see them yet.’ He turned his head to one side. Sunlight ran down the scaling along his jaw, and she had to suppress the impulse to trace the same line with her fingers. …
    ‘…it’s only fair I get to see them now, because everyone else got a chance to see them then.’
    ‘That doesn’t make sense.’
    ‘Please.’
    She tried to think if he’d ever said please to her before.”

    Light begging ✅

    Then:

    “…she felt his fingers on her wingtips as he gently guided first one and then the other out of her shirt. His gentle touch put a shiver up her back and when she shook, she felt her wings suddenly quiver in response.
    …she heard Rapskal catch his breath. ‘Oh, they’re lovely. Can I touch them?'”

    👀

    We’re not done yet – let’s not forget Tats is part of this ménage à wing:

    “He crawled around behind her, and she felt him take the outermost tip of each wing in each of his hands. Then, as carefully as if she were a butterfly, he opened her wings fully to the light. …
    ‘The colors just got brighter,’ Tats said quietly.”

    Why choose indeed.

    2️⃣

    We know Alise and Leftrin are gone. Gone gone. They are in their own world, and the rest of this expedition feels like background noise. They are almost too mushy for my comfort.

    I mentioned very early – when they were traipsing through the Trehaug (or was it Cassarick?) treetops – that Leftrin’s level of smitten was giving me the ick. And listen, I’m happy for them. Especially Alise. I am firmly Team Lady and the River Tramp. But the ick has lingered.

    May I present:

    “For how could any man feel discouragement when every night a woman engulfed him in tenderness and sensuality? She woke in him appetites he had not known he had, and she sated them as well.”

    They did exchange “I love yous,” and it was all very sweet and hurrah for them.

    3️⃣

    Moving on to chief freaks of the expedition: Carson and Sedric.

    They set out on a mission to track down Greft and recover the stolen goods. Time is presumably pretty important when you are trying to catch up to someone with a head start.

    But that doesn’t stop these two.

    Sedric hits him with “I love your smile,” and that’s all it takes:

    His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “I’ve never done this in a boat before. It might be tricky.”
    “Tricky can be good,” Sedric responded breathlessly.

    Honorable Mention🏅

    Goes to Tats and his “throbbing urgency.” I’m just going to leave that there.

    Fitz Watch: Kelsingra Edition

    We get a brief mention of Alise longing to explore Kelsingra proper to search for records, scrolls, artifacts, etc. The reference to scrolls immediately made me think of Fitz (to be fair, he’s rarely far from top of mind).

    But I’m not insane: Kelsingra is the defunct Elderling town from some of our key Fitz moments, right? Or have I invented this entirely? If it is, will we get some remnants of what Fitz left behind?

    Just give your girl a crumb.

    Sedric’s Confessions, Part III: The Finale

    Greft’s final act is to use his last breath to expose Sedric’s original dragon-part selling plan in front of Carson. (Gotta respect the petty ’til the very end.)

    Carson is disappointed and makes it clear that full transparency is the only path forward.

    And with that, we get one final wild reveal for poor, dear Alise. I loved the opening to their conversation:

    “‘I’ll have nothing else left to apologize for, no more dirty secrets that I’ll have to dread you discovering some day.’
    She clasped her own hands. ‘That’s not a reassuring way to begin a conversation.’”

    Through this final confession, Sedric lays the groundwork for rebuilding.

    Alise forgives, and is more than ready to leave the past behind. For the first time in her life, she is happy and free. (And getting good loving on the regular doesn’t hurt).

    “It had been a chain of events that led to her finding Leftrin. That led to her finding both love and a life.”

    Yes! How far we’ve all come. (Resisting come joke here).

    There’s a shared recognition of who the real villain in their story has been, which gives us the incredible moment of Alise unceremoniously removing Hest’s portrait and lock of hair from the locket and replacing them with Relpda’s scale. She returns it to Sedric, now encapsulating a bond worthy of the inscription: Always.

    Sedric then flips Hest’s likeness into the cookfire.

    And with that, folks, I think we can call the Hestorcism complete.

    Be gone, doofus! You hold no power here.

    (At least until the next book. Bring it, man-demon.)

    Alright. We’ve done it. We’ve found love, lust, Kelsingra, and new appendages.
    Let’s keep this party rolling.
    See you in City of Dragons 🐉

    Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 12-15

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    Fork in the Road

    ***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 15 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

    I found it hilarious to jump into this section of chapters – directly after my groundbreaking speculations regarding Elderling transformations – only to have it all immediately laid out in the open.

    At first, I felt a little silly for framing the possibility of Elderling transformations as some grand prognostication. But the more I sat with it, the more it felt like a testament to Robin’s masterful storytelling.

    You see, I hit the point of needing to comment on the hints and signs we’d been fed at almost the exact moment she chose to bring the discussion fully into the open. That is some impeccable timing and buildup on her part.

    It’s not that the information was hidden, or that I had cracked the Da Vinci Code. Robin’s brilliance isn’t in covert plotting and shocking reveals. She will often tell you exactly where the story is heading, and still blow your mind on the way there.

    Which is what makes this Elderling lore reveal so satisfying.

    Elderling transformations happening isn’t the interesting part; it’s the depth and detail that bring this world to life and place Robin among the all-time world-building greats.

    Continue reading →

    Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 6-11

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    Where things ratchet up…

    ***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 11 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

    I knew these post-flood chapters would deliver, and boy did they. With so much action taking place, it feels only right to start with a character who has not physically appeared on the page since very early in the previous book: Hest. And while Hest may not be physically present in our story, his shadow certainly looms large- never more so than in this stretch of chapters.

    Both Sedric and Alise cannot escape his insidious specter. Even as they’re finally free from his direct control – and experiencing real personal growth and self-awareness as a result – his influence still lingers in absentia.

    But good news! They’re both making some serious progress.

    For Alise, it’s a case of one step back, two strokes steps forward.

    Caught in a liminal space – unaware of Sedric’s fate (and not loving the odds) – she discovers a locket bearing Hest’s image tucked inside Sedric’s pillow. I almost shrieked with joy that she was finally being let in on the “secret.”

    That joy, however, was short-lived when it became clear we were not getting a moment of realization at all. She had instead reached peak delulu. I’ll let Alise’s thought process speak for itself:

    “What did it mean? What could it mean?…
    There could be but one explanation. Hest had had the locket made and entrusted it to Sedric to give to her. Why had he done such a thing?”

    But one explanation indeed. 😑

    If that’s our one step backward, a mere few chapters later Alise takes a giant leap forward by bedding Captain Leftrin in the very bunk of her presumed-dead friend – the same place the locket was discovered.

    Continue reading →

    Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 1-5

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    Snakes on a Dragon

    ***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 5 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

    Ahoy, friends! I’ve returned from vacation and am delighted to jump right into book two of the Rain Wilds Chronicles with Dragon Haven.

    After a week in the World of Disney, I found myself deeply relating to Sintara’s inner monologue regarding humans in the prologue:

    “She would not have minded human sounds so much if they did not persist in spouting out their thoughts at the same time they tried to convey them with their squeaking. The dual annoyance sometimes made her wish she could just eat them and be done with them.”

    Don’t get me wrong – we had a wonderful family trip – but Disney adult, I am not. (And as an adult who operates a blog with a fairly large focus on dragon mating, I am not yucking anyone’s yum either. Just different strokes.)

    If you’ll allow one more personal update before I descend into my crazed ramblings literary analysis, I’d like to share some exciting news.

    Now, devoted (theoretical) WWS readers will recall that at the end of my Tawny Man journey, I said goodbye to my longtime animal companion, Scampi the cat. I’ve since spent several months unmoored- a cat lady with no cats. Like Fitz without Nighteyes, it just wasn’t right.

    With our January vacation on the books, we knew the only rational decision was to wait until we returned before adopting new animal companions. This created a hilarious dynamic in which our dream Disney vacation became less a vacation and more an obstacle between us and kittens (exactly what you want when you’re spending the equivalent of Igrot’s lost treasure on a trip).

    A winter storm further delayed my return to my beloved blog – and new kitties…

    Continue reading →