Venturing out, not very far though - The Sword Catcher is my next read!
About 50 percent into the book, here are my thoughts so far:
It took a long long time for the scene to set, to be expected I guess, when reading something with so much history, and backstory, and depth. So after 30 percent of the book is when things finally started to sit at a comfortable place and the action finally started. I now have the twinge of knowing I’m on the precipice of a revelation and I know I’m starting to collect the pieces but working on putting them together.
Here are my thoughts character wise:
Kel: very interesting person to be in the head of. He seems very sharp and very naive at the same time. I don’t have a lot of feelings for him yet even though he’s the front and center of things. Unreliable narrator with a twist. He seems like an outsider but really he’s an insider.
Lin: lots of spunk this girl. She shifts from being surprised at people taking Connor casually and taking Connor casually herself. I can see that she’s the girl with the purpose though, love that. She gives me very AU Emma vibes.
Connor: very curious, so curious. I wonder if Kel has the measure of him or Lin does. Kel believes Connor would break his leg for him, Lin thinks to herself that he didn’t have to go through with it (in a way that makes it sound like he wouldn’t ). Most of what we know about Connor is from Kel’s perspective and it seems Kel is clearly not objective. While he does note Connor’s stubbornness and his anger, he seems to very quickly brush it aside. Kel does seem to color Connor and Annetta with the same tones, you can sense fondness, and just a tinge of longing on both ends, mixed with realization and acceptance of it being beyond reach.
Is he just a brat like we are shown, or was he playing with his friends as a way to win some money and pay the debt off? Are there layers to you Connor? Or are you about to experience character development? You have me turning the pages.
Anetta: Cordelia coded to the T. I would love to read more of her.
Merren: I would read a whole spin off about him. I want his story!
Ragpicker King: oddly I like him, is he written to be liked? We haven’t seen anything about him so far that makes me not like him. He seems to collect people for their skills and lets them freely grow too, while making sure there isn’t “too much crime” in Castellane.
Other thoughts/theories -
1. Is Cas coming back in some way? Is he the Ragpicker King or Beck?
2. The word, the word that everyone whispered to the queen for the source stone. I have a feeling I know one such word already, happens to be a casual password thrown about?
3. Fausten sus AF! Did he throw away The King’s sword catcher under false pretenses?
4. Speaking of sus, Falconet shady too, did he order the hit on Connor? He definitely has an agenda.
5. Does anyone in the palace actually work for the palace? Everyone seems to just be passing around notes. The Queen there picking out drapes, and the whole staff be passing out notes behind her back.
6. Does Mayesh want Lin to take his place next?
7. I wonder who Connor will pick to Marry.
8. Mayesh… Is there more to him than just loyalty? I wonder…
