This book is less fun for me because 1) no pirates and 2) I always struggle with anything that focuses on the Wyldermen because their portrayal is pretty racist. This is almost better in that they have a very clear and understandable reason for attacking Brackenholme (the people of Brackenholme have been attacking them for years!), but it's still pretty offensive.
That being said, I love that we get to see more of Gretchen and Whitley's friendship! I enjoy that they get along despite being so different, and while it can be frustrating that Drew takes up so much of their conversations (in the sense that their romantic interest in him does), I love that this doesn't come between them and they're not fighting over him. I also appreciate how Gretchen tries to adapt to life on the road here. It illustrates how much she's grown, both in actual survival skills and in her attitude (she's so funny when she accepts that she's very bad at these things, but that she wants to learn and help!).
I also love the design of the city of Brackenholme (both in the book and the show!), and I think it makes such an interesting location for a battle because of its structure, with trees, bridges, and lifts that are unique in-world.
And Hector! It speaks to the strength of his arc that I felt stressed reading his chapters even though I've already read this series several times! I was so afraid for Bergan and all his companions when they met him that I was on the edge of my seat, even though I know what happens!
It's fascinating, too, to watch his internal conflict here. Having been away from Bergan for so long (and having a longer established relationship with him), it's harder for Vincent to manipulate him and justify his treachery. There's something so tragic in the assumption that Bergan will disavow him once he learns of his betrayal being the very justification for continuing on that path -- it's not that this reasoning is wrong, per se, but there's something particularly horrific about this logic resting on a preemptive, assumed rejection. Wereworld is ultimately a story about war and its horrors, and Hector's awareness that he's beyond redemption then justifies continuing to commit atrocities against those he was once close to.
Speaking of the theme of war, Red Rufus pretty directly walks us through it in this book, pondering the justification of violence and dragging us even further into a darker take on the fantasy genre. While Red Rufus is a fascinating character in his own right (I enjoy how grumpy he is), he also serves as a stand-in for the era of Wergar: as part of the group that was once the Wolf's closest ally, he shares his philosophy on war. It's also telling that the one who schemes with him is a Boarlord serving the Staglords, two houses that are typically associated with peace and nobility. That collaboration further builds on the idea of moral ambiguity (no one group is perfectly moral or immoral), but it also points to how widespread this acceptance of violence is among Lyssia's nobility. It's not surprising, given that Wergar was generally a popular ruler while being a warmonger, but while Red Rufus' actions are narratively justified by the success of the plan, I think that we are the audience are still left with Drew: horrified by this violence and wishing for a better order.
Furthermore, this began in the last book, but we're seeing even more innocents fighting. Part of this is the civilians being recruited to fight (in Azra and Stormdale), but what stands out even more is the focus on children. Our main protagonists (Drew, Whitley, Hector, Gretchen, and Trent) are all teens, with the oldest being around 16 or 17 now. The new young characters who've become more prominent in the past two books (Casper, Pick, and Milo) are even younger, and while not all of them are expected to fight or do fight, they're still exposed to the horrors of war very directly. The centering of these child characters further underscores how destructive war is, leaving no one safe, and I think it helps get that theme across to a young audience, as the teenaged characters may feel a bit older to the middle grade audience the series is aimed at.
(Personally, I was the target age when I first read it and thought nothing of Drew's age. Reading it now as an adult, it's devastating to think of how much he's seen when he's still a child).
On a less serious note, Gretchen's romance with Trent is hilarious. Her distrust of him is completely justified, so I won't say too much about her haughty attitude towards him (which also isn't new), but I love how she goes from, "oh, he's like Drew" when she sees his strict adherence to his moral code to, "oh, he's like Drew, but less smart" when he doesn't immediately get her plan and is somehow even more attracted to that.
(Speaking of Trent, I have no idea what that scene with the wolf could mean, but as someone who thinks wolves are cool, I love it. I love that the book is very upfront about how hard that cold winter weather is to survive in, especially for a human, and that a wolf saves his life).
