Rereading the sampler now that I have some free time. Here are some thoughts on Chapter 1.
I’m so sure Ty’s theoretical notes on how to get to Thule will become practical at some point. Maybe not in this book but definitely in the series. Also, can Ty do some magic? Is he looking into ways shadowhunters can learn some magic? Or is he talking about collaborating with those who can do magic while solving crimes?
Ty’s age should be 19. It says later that it’s been four years since the clave split so I’m just hoping this gets fixed in an edit.
Catarina seems to be clocking things FAST. Ty just glances over at where Livvy’s ghost is and she whips around. I feel like maybe Magnus has dropped some hints in the past four years. Or maybe Catarina’s warlock senses are kicking in. (Was she there when Ty fainted after Livvy went too far in GotSM? I can’t remember.)
So, Lucifer is showing up at some point. @dreadeves has a theory about Johnny being Lucifer and I love it. It just seems to fit. We don’t know anything about him and his origins. Johnny is described to be really resourceful but the way he died was too quick. Like, he didn’t even fight back. Like he was trying to die after he found out Rosemary died (we know from GotSM she died shortly before the events of Lady Midnight and there’s no way Johnny didn’t find out). Besides, Cassie’s kept him deeply shrouded in mystery for seemingly no reason at all. The only thing sort of giving me pause here is a scene in Red Scrolls of Magic where Johnny asks Magnus for an ointment to hide someone. I would imagine if he’s the all powerful Lucifer, he’d be able to come up with something better to hide Rosemary. I guess that leads me to think he would have been able to hide her better if he actually WAS lucifer?? So maybe he isn’t?? Maybe something happened which stripped him of his powers to an extent and once she died he’s now on a mission to get his powers back so he can begin his revenge arc.
Ty as a teacher at the Scholomance. I need that. (Weirdly the first thing I thought of was how Harry Potter should have chosen to be the DADA professor at Hogwarts, but chose instead to be a cop 😒. In that sense, I guess this is Ty’s chance to be a different kind of shadowhunter, something that he’s always wanted to be).
Classic Cassie Clare miscommunication moment with Livvy wanting to ask Ty why he has a picture of Cirenworth but not actually asking it. But also, Livvy, do you really need to ask?
Why does Livvy think she wouldn’t be safe outside the Scholomance?
It is a bit sad to see Livvy and Ty go from being able to talk about anything to Livvy being afraid to bring some things up. I guess necromancy will do that to you.
Dru’s character evolution 🤌🏽
I really like the moral dilemma we’re being presented in this series, especially because I don’t know the answer. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Can heinous bigots be rehabilitated? I’m very much on the fence about this but I’m excited to see how the series tackles this. And I’m excited to see Dru’s learning curve on the issue. ‘Cuz right now she’s being a little hypocritical.
Luke straight up changing the subject when asked if he would give Zara and Manuel a second chance. Intentional or something still to be edited? Because even when Dru asks again if they should let the Cohort rejoin nephilim society after the peace talks, he gives a vague non-answer, and then Jocelyn promptly interrupts. So clearly, this is Dru’s journey to go on, and none of the adults are going to be helpful.
Dru’s quip about fixing the door 😂.
Is Kit’s dream taking place in Thule? More evidence that Ty might be able to wield magic? It’ll be interesting if we see Ty performing magic before Kit in the series because we’ve all been expecting him to be the more magical one cuz of the fae heritage.
This paragraph is written a bit weird, to me. There are two references to the sword and I feel like they’re disjointed. It should have been one line at the end maybe? Or are there two swords?
15. I felt Jem’s response to Kit telling him about his dreams was very…invalidating? He just sort of hand waves it away and I don’t like that.
16. I wonder why Oscar’s spirit couldn’t pass on.
17. Couldn’t Tessa try and help Kit learn to use his magic? Or is it too mysterious even for her?
18. Kit has to be in touch with some faeries, because he seems to know what “it” is, in the warning left to him. I think he knows something about the prophecy.