The Not a Book Club Club discussion
Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne
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TPoF: Part 6: Chapter 42 - Chapter 52 (End) (Spoiler Away!)
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Well now! Great ending, especially for a second book in a 3 book trilogy. Looks like other sky was right about the young gods - Long Fist as Meshkent, Triste as Ciena. I never really liked Adare, there were times when I warmed to her - it seems a little unfair in these types of fantasy novels that the sister is often villainized - but the was a pretty dick move at the end what she did. And even after learning Kaden was still most likely alive, she didn't seem to give up her title as emperor.
Did we ever find Adiv's body? I suspected for a while he shielded his eyes because he had the burning eyes - but the explanation at the end seemed a little like an after thought.
Hopefully I'll still remember the plot when book 3 comes out next year!
Finished this over the weekend, and yep, called that one.Adare was pretty solidly somewhere between Liv (Lightbringer) and Glokta (First Law)... that is to say, when she wasn't being a tool, she was making bad decisions but didn't really have any good ones to make anyway.
I'm glad Valyn finally got rid of those pesky eyes of his. He got rather annoying there toward the end, maybe now he can just be a monster and get on with it.
All in all, a solid book, but I'm going to go ahead and say that Gwenna's chapters were the most enjoyable... maybe in the next book we can get away from the emperor's kids altogether and get some interesting points of view instead!
Hah...That's a pretty good fitting of Adare in the spectrum.Agree on both points - let the blind monster swordsman emerge, and it was nice to get a fresh POV from Gwenna.
Hate adare. She's a traitorous bitch.
Anybody else notice that when Valyn woke up blind, he heard that Owl?Hull— The Owl King, the Bat, Lord of the Darkness, Lord of the Night, aegis of the Kettral, patron of thieves.
I think all the gods are going to be creepin in book 3!!
Hehe...Yeah, I noticed that. I think so too!I was kinda bummed he ended up blind but I am expecting he'll be a badass Zatoichi next book.
Well wasn't that an ending?! I agree with others that I was really enjoying the story of Gwenna, Pyrre and Annick, Laith, Talal as well as Triste and Kiel more than some of Sunlatins children. It was disappointing to have Valyn holed up on the tower the whole time of the battle while his entire wing risked their lives for empire. He was so focussed on his revenge. He was so sad when Laith died but maybe if he helped he would be alive. I was not liking the person he was becoming.
I am not sure Adare's motive was to just take the throne. I think the battle scared the crap out of her and once she realized this was all bigger than just a battle with the Urughal she was freaked out. She realized that she was helpless to save the empire and that there is a bigger picture with the Gods. She isn't my favorite at all but I think her motives aren't as selfish as just the throne.
Having said that it was still shocking when she stabbed Valyn. Was he blinded because he ran into iL Tornja's invisible fire collar?
The story of Triste being a Leach and daughter of Adiv was interesting. Sky had called it with the identity of the two gods. That is definitely setting this story up for something much bigger than just who is Emperor.
And it seems that Annick, Talal and Gwenna are alive? Well Valyn might actually start acting like he belongs to part of a team again now..he was forgetting that.
Balendin...well that guy needs to die as well. He and Long Fist are a very dangerous combo. Book three should be really good with all of the final revelations that came out.
I did also hear the Owl at the end...that could be interesting. I suspect Valyn won't be too incapacitated with his Slarn capabilities : )
Overall a great read!
@Tammy Valyn was blinded when he ran at Il Tornja and he slashed him across his eyes.Yeah i was horrified when Laith died but i think he wasn't cut out to be a solider. All throughout the book he was becoming more and more undisciplined i new he would be the first to die.
I thought Triste was going to turn out to be one of the Nevariim. I did not see all that torture coming but i new she was a Leech when she pulled off all that running and the extreme strength she showed on occasion in book 1.
I was disappointed that Kaden wanted to 'destroy' the empire but i think he will make something of it..
Kiel was a wonderful addition im very fond of him!!
Valyns statement to Il Tornja was epic. Gave me shivers when he spoke about Kaden. Il Tornja's 'lip tightening' is the equivalent of a look of despair in Csestriim standards.
Oh I also wonder what happened to flea and if Tan will ever get out of the heart.
I was kind of disappointed Valyn was still alive because I didn't like him in the whole last half of the book - with his focus on the mission that he really executed in a stupid fashion. But I do like the setup with his increased senses and blindness. I don't like Adare either.I was happy Sky's prediction was true - that is an interesting aspect. Kaden's destruction of the empire was foreshadowed in the prologue when his father had the children watch the city burn and said something about 'to save the empire need to let it burn.'
Finally done. Nice job picking up on the gods. I didn't make the associations at all not even Hull at the end.I enjoyed the book overall but like most of you wish the Sanlitun line would quietly go away. Probably would of given it 3 stars if not for the Gwenna chapters.
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I think it's expectations. I had none in the first one, and much higher for this one. I think my problem is I no longer really like any of the kids. I'm wondering if that was intentional on the author's part or what..
They are all so stupid. It got to be very frustrating by the end of this book. None of their plans have any business working.
And Vaylen is so over his head and full of his vengeance that I hoped he was dead. Sadly that doesn't look to be the case. But he abandons his wing, for what exactly?
And Adare is a total idiot. First she runs off to get her enemies to fight for her. Gets stupid lucky somehow (still hasn't been explained how the lightning showed up. One presumes someone else is actually the god whose prophet she's supposed to be though..)
Then she doesn't tell Vayln the whole truth when she could have, and then stabs him when he won't see reason. If she had told him the truth back in the outhouse, maybe he'd at least be smart enough to know he was in waaay over his head.
And I still don't get how Kaladin's plan to overthrow the government was supposed to work. I guess lucky for him he was carting around the vessel of a god the whole book or he'd be fucked..
I'm with the "Skies" and everyone else who said Gwenna was by far the most interesting here. And like Tammy I want to know about the Flea and Tan.
I'm still looking forward to the final book, but my expectations for it have dropped.
And I totally missed the Owl thing. Or the fact that there is an owl god..
Yeah I felt the same way - really enjoyed it and Staveley did a good job of keeping us guessing about some things but.... the decisions of the 3 main pov's were a bit baffling and kind of frustrating at times. They all lost my sympathy at one point or another. The supporting characters saved the book as they are much more likeable or interesting in a lot of cases. Still looking forward to the next one - as I said I really did enjoy it, it's just the 3 emperor's kids aren't the brightest bunch. I'm still convinced that Il Tornja/Tanis /whoever he is is a baddie - he has lied so many times that I'm not buying his whole 'I'm trying to save the empire from the evil god of pain' bit, I still think he's got his own agenda. Also Kiel - what does he really want? Not convinced about him either. Like that all the gods seem to be getting involved - will make the next (last?) book pretty epic.
Love love love Il-Tornja, dude talked his way out of a sticky situation that should have ended in certain death for him, then won a war, blinded a MC all the while screwing the princess, made the legendary kettral, made the entire empire, killed 2 entire emotions and a whole ton more. Dude is the Aizen Sosuke of Unhewn Throne!!! Whatever happens, he'd better be given a damn good ending
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