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Traitor's Knot
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Wars of Light & Shadow--Traitor's Knot - Ch XIII, XIV - FINALE - SPOILERS!
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"Well you know the darkest hourAlways comes just before the dawn."
(CSN&Y, "Long Time Coming")
The violence and extreme sacrifice are a big part of what makes this series "360 degrees" (fully rounded). All readers please note that the violence is never gratuitous and is NEVER glorified, even (especially, actually) when done by the protagonists. It is usually depicted as either a horrible mistake or inevitable/unavoidable due to circumstances, then it is still tragic.
Mod
1. The lead-up to, and then sad conclusion of, Arithon and Elaira's um consumation of their relationship. It has to be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever read.
2. The necromantic ritual. I've read scenes with necromantic magic and blood sacrifice and so on before, but never ever with such intensity and such incredible detail. It's as if every other similar scene (by other authors) just showed what happens, and this one started digging under the surface and described everything others take for granted.
I'm hoping to get into Stormed Fortress in time to join the discussion next week, but I'm so hopelessly behind with reviews that it may be a challenge.
Stefan wrote: "The finale of this book was amazing and made it a 5 star rather than a 4 star book for me. Two scenes specifically took my breath away:1. The lead-up to, and then sad conclusion of, Arithon and ..."
I couldn't agree more Stefan! And the lead in to Stormed Fortress is seamless.
So, I need to re-read the ending of Fugitive Prince?
I can say this without spoilers: Stormed Fortress is, in my opinion, definitely the most powerful book, emotionally, in the series. It also delivers a lot of action and a lot of revelations. You are all in for such a treat.
Jon wrote: "So, I need to re-read the ending of Fugitive Prince?"No, Jon, a re-read will not be necessary. Stormed Fortress will pick up some threads laid down earlier in that volume, and you (may) discover there was a lot more going on in certain scenes than you thought. Just read ahead, and as those threads reveal - then you'll know what to look for. I recommend for this series: read them all, find out what happens, then go for the subtleties in the re-read(s) - each volume unveils more. It can show you an entire new story contour, and entirely different things emerge in suspense.
But a re-read in advance, looking for them - your perceptions will still be in the old paradigm. ;)
That is part of the long range nature of this project...to shift the vantage more and more with each book.
Okay, I'll restrain myself. :)I'm starting Wise Man's Fear tonight when I get home. As soon as I'm finished with that, then I'm off to Stormed Fortress ... and beyond. :)
Jon wrote: "Okay, I'll restrain myself. :)I'm starting Wise Man's Fear tonight when I get home. As soon as I'm finished with that, then I'm off to Stormed Fortress ... and beyond. :)"
Oh, you are in for a treat. Charles is right, although the emotional impact throughout these books is almost overwhelming.
Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Jon wrote: "Okay, I'll restrain myself. :)I'm starting Wise Man's Fear tonight when I get home. As soon as I'm finished with that, then I'm off to Stormed Fortress ... and beyond. :)"
Oh, you..."
Yes, Sandra, the emotional impact was for me so overwhelming that, even after several reads of the series to dat.e that impact is still what I mostly hold in memory. I am still finding nuggets of clues to mysteries and small twists of subplot that I missed, from being so caught up in the drama. Such a rich tapestry there.
I had said at the start of this discussion that these books were 'geared' for maximum impact - that they would become textured as an 'experience' - not shock value, never that, but an emotional tapestry that would engage and challenge, with an involvement tempestuous enough to leave an impression and to fire contemplation on many levels.At this point, has it delivered, and if so, how do you feel about it? Was it what you expected, at the outset, and if not, how might your view or your expectations of the books to come, become changed?
My comment above says it all about delivering emotional impact.
I finished this last night and am emotionally drained and fragmented from the long awaited interrupted coupling to the demise of the Necromancers to Lysaer's newest warmongering. It is hard to imagine the next volume being more intense at this point. I am taking a break before SW until the compulsion to continue recurs in a week or two.Mention of the Black Rose Prophecy caused me to search for and read its mentions in my Mistwraith e-book copy. I do not recall a quote of the actual prophecy, nor can I find one, but what I get is the Arithon must survive to become King, Davien must repent and Ciladis must return restoring The Seven. Have I got this right?
I cannot conceive how one could plan out this mythos and then write it up so musically.
Mod
I have not commented on the last several chapter sets as I finished them, partly because I'm reading at my pace and partly I didn't feel the need to add anything.
But I'm going to attempt to sum up a few thoughts here:
None of the characters are close to who they were at the beginning of the series, IMO. Even the F7 are different.
My heart literally ached for Arithon and Elaira and I was SO angry with Selidie, but not surprised. And yet Elaira seemed to think that Arithon and she could have dealt with having a child and somehow gotten around the Koriani debt and her oath to them. I don't want to underestimate them, but I don't see how.
Davien is really a wild card here. He is, I think, guiding (that may be a kind way of putting it) Arithon to some great fulfillment of his potential. I don't see it but I think it's there.
I don't quite understand what Jieret's daughter's plan is, by going to Melhalla.
Although Dakar has grown a lot, he still has the power to drive me nuts. He still is so irresponsible with drink and that lessens his ability to be helpful and useful.
The scenario in Etarra BEFORE Arithon is captured was wonderful, with the disguised gold and the naked priests.
Janny asked in message 11 about whether the books have "delivered". I have to say yes, for myself. This is my first read and I'm most focused on the unfolding of the story itself, while delving a bit into the underlayers. I can see a re-read in my future (but not near future)--perhaps when all the books are published.
Kathi wrote: "I finished last night. Stefan (message #3) summed it up very well.I have not commented on the last several chapter sets as I finished them, partly because I'm reading at my pace and partly I did..."
Longform: the characters Have to change and grow. Part of my personal beef with sequels: that too many times, storybook characters as written do not show the impact of their prior experiences....glad you noticed the attention to this point!
I will leave Stormed Fortress to answer the rest....other readers may also speculate.
Janny wrote: "Kathi wrote: "I finished last night. Stefan (message #3) summed it up very well.I have not commented on the last several chapter sets as I finished them, partly because I'm reading at my pace an..."
Kathi, as Janny implied, Stormed Fortress is a very intense read, very loaded with story, as well as many glimpses into the mysteries. Enjoy!
I just finished reading this one, I think for the third time, and have to comment about how beautifully and seamlessly it's put together. It just flows. Of course, I wasn't in such a big hurry this time as I already knew what was going to happen.A few things stuck out - the awful painfulness of Lysaer's attack on Sulfin Evend and his remorse afterward... and the way his close aids are starting to see his attacks as madness. Thank Ath. I'm beginning to think he's not entirely hopeless.
The scene in Halwythwood with the coitus interruptus was much more lyrical this time around, and of course I saw the sense in it...still I fall on the side of letting it happen or giving them a choice and letting them decide what they wanted to do. I cannot imagine that they would let a baby fall into Koriani hands.
The necromancy thing, of course, is quite dramatic and horrifying. And of course, Lysaer sees it as Arithon's fell sorcery, very ironic after all, that he was saving Lysaer. Sometimes he's just a stuie. Like when he blasts Ath's Hostel with his 'gift'. Embarrassing.
Oh, and it seems to me like many of the characters are really stuck in the old way of doing things, and Arithon and Davien are the ones that break the mold. Arithon doesn't do what's expected - he uses his masterbard's voice to say GRACE. His true name, is it? Blowing away all of their preconceived notions.
Mod
The scene with Arithon and Elaira...wow. I really felt for Dakar, who was forced to interrupt something so beautiful.
Loved, loved Arithon's plot with the naked priests, though his necromantic torture in the aftermath was devastating. So glad he was able to recover himself at the last second.
Lysaer...ugh. He knows about the curse, I wish he would make even the tiniest bit of effort to resist it...or is he using it as an excuse not to have to examine his actions too closely?
Yes! Totally gripping, isn't it? Love, love, love this series.
Mod
Stefan, your final comment on Traitor's knot echoes my overall impression of the entire series: "This series is stunning. A very demanding read, but entirely worth it." Well said!
Good God! I'm reading this again (I think 4th time) and this series has so many layers! I finally caught the seeds for a later betrayal of Arithon by one of the 'companions' - survivors of Tal Quorin. It's amazing how much I missed or forgot in the rush to find out what happens next.
I'm glad to see that I am in good company, my first reaction, at the conclusion, was to feel emotionally drained, I felt I actually blanched and read the last chapter with open wide eyes. When I recovered and collected my thoughts, the sum-up word was "stunning".And the climax in Etarra was closely preceded by another complex scene which engaged me at many levels, the one with Elaira and Arithon, I was swept up by the beauty of the building up of the tension, from the 'safe' beginning to the moment when the peril becomes clear and Dakar starts seeing the images -in a way that I felt like a voyeur, first time ever with a book love/sex scene- until the conclusion where my reactions varied from surprise (I knew the old Koriani spider had to have hidden motives, a contingency and a disaster recovery plan all together, but what exactly emerged surprised me), to frustration, to sadness, to embarrassment, and to mirth. At some point I actually laughed. "Ill-starred lovers" doesn't even begin to encompass the misery heaped upon those two, on top of that, Kharadmon callous handling (and description of intervention) left me totally incensed and I shared Dakar's anguish for his betrayal. And this coupled with a deep description of the energies evoked and a sanctioned prince bond with the land.
So, I run the gamut there, just to be tricked into reading the scenes in Etarra, where everything started deceptively innocently, with the prank at the priests' expense based upon a dire theme, and Arithon's retaliation for Dakar's "unconscious sacrifice" (speaking of priests, I laughed my head off at the scene in Innish with the sunwheel-clad ladies, for one).
Then bang! Chilled to the bones. At some point I didn't know what to think anymore, I mean, my only certainty was that this wasn't the last book of the series, so...
So, I was thoroughly, sweepingly, utterly and inside out-ly manipulated by the author. From start to end, the book delivered intense scenes dropped like candies with relentless pace and played on my awareness of the connections with details from the previous books. And the seamless change from seriousness to humor to bittersweet and back again got me off-guard most often than not, and probably to the intended emotional involvement as the story progressed.
It is indeed not only what the story shows, how the plot unfolds and the characters develop, it's also how this is told, the way it is conveyed, the depth, the involvement makes a great difference.
Since all of the above wasn't enough, apparently, another delightful surprise of this book is Sulfin Evend, the way he acts and reacts, I started to like him more during Peril's Gate -yes indeed- but he grew on me as he grew into his role, and he was source of lots of thinking. The scene in Avenor when he accepts Sethvir's help, the way it was described, is there an end to Janny's eclecticism? One of my favorite scenes ever, problem being that this book is very generous to the reader.
Lysaer is lucky to have him, a townborn sharing clan blood and particularly with knowledge and education about at least a little of Athera's mysteries.
Arithon gets Jeynsa, Eriegal and Sidir instead. Sidir is clearly conflicted, since he witnessed Arithon's mettle and integrity in Vastmark, but Eriegal just remembers Tal Quorin and a prince who played with whistles, and Jeynsa is too grief-strieken. They stop at the obvious, and I felt the tension building, dying to know what will happen next.
And what about Fionn Areth? Loved how he was baited by s'Brydion and delivered a lesson in humility.
Davien said to Elaira, in Peril's Gate "now, we play chess" before he started meddling for real, and I am loving to see how he is keeping true to his word, and I wonder, too, what Arithon will do since he is aware Davien is using him. I don't even try to make conjectures about his agenda, anyway I'm pondering about his visit to Sethvir, this passage: "to the shade, whose stealth wore the fierce tang of the magics imbued by the drakes" is totally puzzling me. His ties with necromancy, too. He has grimoires in his library, he broke his exile when he felt blood-magic in Camris, he declares that Arithon is a weapon, and calculatedly tutored him/prompted him to reflect on certain things, he denied Dakar's free will, he wears a maddening signet ring, he is both corporate and shade, and I wonder why in the first place he build his maze and why Kamridian s'Ffalenn, who wield Alithiel, too, entered it in the first place, and so on. His dialogue with Sethvir revealed some, but piqued my interest even more.
No letup, I've already started with Stormed Fortress.
Another element I liked a lot is the title, the titles of all the series books are indicative and subtle, but I'm pondering a lot about "Traitor's Knot", there are obviously the traitors of Avenor's inner circle, but the theme of betrayal is very extensive, ihmo, in this book. And the word "knot", too.
What are your impressions?
Instead of trying to figure out what everything means (as I'm usually wrong anyway) I sit back and enjoy the ride, trusting in Jannys infernal ingenuity to dazzle, surprise, infuriate or bring me to tears. Speaking of which I was so annoyed by the ending of the love scene that I nearly threw my Nook across the room! And suit up and hang on as Stormed Fortress is a magnificent tour de force of a book. I envy you, just starting it. Damn! I may have to do another read soon.
There are many layers of fun and entertainment as well with this series, eheheeh! You are right, it is impossible to be detached. And, really, that scene was totally unpredictable, I mean, sure I had a feeling it was not going to be copacetic, but how it played out, the outcome! Ah!I've read the first chapter of Stormed Fortress :D I'm trying to slow down, I devoured Traitor's Knot, no regret in the least, the ride demanded no less, but *grin* I trust when you all say the last book of the arc is magnificent and I want to make the best of my first read of it.
Mod
I'm loving your comments, Alissa--you are a much more thorough and thoughtful reader than I. I am more like Sandra, mostly enjoying the ride, but then I read the discussion and it makes me think about things in a new way, so that's why there are certain books that I love to read with a group. The discussion adds to my enjoyment and appreciation.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That is why I am happy that the past discussions remain available for people to read and for comments.
Hi Kathi, thank YOU all for the discussion threads. I was lucky to find such as these.I wasn't there when you did the group read, but following the discussion now is totally enhancing my experience. I would have loved the series in any case, I can see clearly I'll cherish it, always, but as you say, certain books beg for a group reading, and so, hope I won't bore you all with my enthusiastic chattering and brainstorming, I can't help it!!!
If the scenes are examined in depth, the reader will notice layers and layers and layers laid down in earlier volumes - that allow these scenes to move on all levels without explanation - by now, as the narrative takes you, you understand the underpinning forces at play.
And there are more.
Get ready, as this volume closes - because Stormed Fortress will accelerate the pace even more - and things you thought were just 'window dressing' or characters you thought were cameos will be back.
Since the opening chapter of the next volume takes place scarcely seconds after this one closes - do take time here to review (if you wish) any event backwards or to revisit the seemingly innocuous bits of Fugitive Prince, or to ask any questions you like about the depths, the research, the deeper meaning of some of the events that close Fugitive Prince - there was a deeper purpose in everything depicted here.
If your hair stood on end, if you were disturbed - the shock value is NOT the point - I did my job in that the impacts of what happens here are part of the understanding given for later events - that will NOT shock - or disturb - I don't do the same story twice.
After the depths comes the light.
Let the discussion begin.