This week, I read pages 40-53. Once again, it was only one chapter- Chapter Six, but I think this should be the last week where I only read one chapter for a while.

Characters:

• Elias
• Helene
• Marcus
• A couple of the other students who are graduating are mentioned, like: Faris, Dex, Demetrius, Tristas, and Zak

Settings: 

• Blackcliff

What’s happened so far? CONTAINS SPOILERS 

• ELIAS is acting off and paranoid, so Helene advises him to not behave weirdly. However, she doesn’t suspect he plans on deserting, rather that he is nervous about graduating. The chapter spent a lot of time explaining Blackcliff and the Martial world.

THOUGHTS?

The writing was a bit choppy in this section, but Tahir has really descriptive settings.

“I tear off my mask…the cold metal releases its hold” Is there a name for the metal used to make the masks? And where are they found? I really hope Tahir will explain a bit more about them in the last book. They’re a big part of the story.

Elias is actually really annoying. He kind of just complains and is overall a passive character. I know that there have been times when his choices and actions influence the plot, especially later on in the book, but he spends like 3/4 of the book just going with what’s happening.

QUOTES I LIKED: 

“Elias, stop curling your eyelashes and get out here. We’re late.” (p. 44)

“Through the arches, Serra’s lights glow dully, tens of thousands of oil lamps dwarfed by the vast darkness of the surrounding desert. To the south, a pall of smoke mutes the shine of the river.” (p.52)

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This week, I read from page 32-40

So I only read Chapter Five and it follows Laia and her search to find the Resistance. I’m trying to read more in the next couple of weeks, but I’m not sure. I’m thinking about trying to make time to read two/ three chapters per week.

Characters:

• Laia

Settings:

• The Catacombs of Serra

What’s happened so far? CONTAINS SPOILERS 

• LAIA is in the catacombs. She wanders around for hours, but isn’t too worried. It isn’t until night time that Laia realizes how stupid she was by coming in the catacombs, but she motivates herself to continue. But she finds them, however, a patrol approaches and Laia is forced to follow the Resistance.

THOUGHTS?

I never noticed this before, but there are so many instances where Laia gets scared, and I just really appreciate that. Many books now have snarky heroines who know no fear and can do no harm. It’s a nice change to have a narrator who messes up and isn’t so perfect.

Personally, I find the setting to be the best part of any book, and Tahir shares the world perfectly. Society-wise, it  models ancient Rome, but she brings in aspects of South Asian culture and Middle Eastern myths and I just really like the diversity.

On page 39, Tahir wrote, “Izzat means many things. Strength, honor, pride. But in the past century, it’s come to mean something specific: freedom.” So Izzat is basically the motto of the Resistance and that’s how Laia figures out its them. But going back to how Tahir brought in south-asian culture- Izzat literally means respect in Hindi. I know it’s like a really small detail, but it’s just so cool to see non-Latin or non-Greek words in fantasy literature.

So that concludes my thoughts on Chapter Five, and I’m just going to include some quotes I really liked.

“Stop Laia. No such things as ghosts. As a child, I spent hours listening to Tribal tale-spinners weave their legends of the mythical fey: the Nightbringer and his fellow jinn: ghosts, efrits, wraiths, and wights.” (p. 35)

“Sana. A Scholar name, short and simple. If she were Martial, her name would have been Agrippina Cassius or Chrysilla Aroman or something equally long and pompous.” (p.37)

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