Nulls are infertile.
Everyone knows this. Scarlett certainly knows this
So being pregnant
was… unexpected to say the least and raised all kinds of implications which she
has to learn about quickly
But the luparii
witches have arrived - they want their Barghest back (Scarlett’s cute pet
abomination) and more - they plan something big - possibly apocalyptic and
Scarlett is the key to stopping it and likely much much more.
I think this book
represents a rather excellently timed shift. After two books that have
established Scarlett’s life, her relationships (fraught and in flux as they
are), her friends, her purpose in the city and how she relates to the city’s
leadership, this book turns more outwards and even a little grander. While, at
the same time, not necessarily pulling the focus from Scarlett or her more
regional concerns
The arrival of the
Luparii brings not only a sinister threat to the city to be hunted down before
they bring carnage. They also represent the greater supernatural community, the
wider supernatural politics
The examination of
null physiology, null breeding and how this relates to the witches also adds a
much larger scale to the whole world, the nature of magic and the nature of the
supernatural. It expands the world from a relatively narrow circle around
Scarlett and puts and entirely new spin on it looking at her world and
especially her place and importance within it. Again, it doesn’t shift the
focus but it does expand it far more with consequently raised stakes
I also think it
brings some really fascinating stakes to Scarlett herself. She’s always been a
good character - capable and strong without being wonder woman, confident
without being too reckless (as far as urban fantasy protagonists go - let’s
face it this is a genre where everyone has major overdoses of recklessness) and
she’s caring without setting herself up as a martyr. She has friends but a lot
of them she doesn’t entirely trust especially within the supernatural
community, while she also has some excellent, powerful friendships with people
like Molly who are clearly in a very different mental category for her than her
political allies.
But now her very very
personal decisions have such a broader context including for the future of all
magical races and at a time where global supernatural politics just became very
very confused and very subject to change. It is both very personal to her while
also having vast implications which promises a whole lot of exciting storylines
in the future.
I think this works
well with the renewed focus on both Scarlett dealing with her pregnancy and her
reconnecting with her brother and considering the deep implications of him
being involved in her life. While we’re widening the lens we do have this
excellent call back to Scarlett;s personal life so the focus of the story
doesn’t change entirely.
The direct plot
itself is a search and destroy - not so much a mystery as a hunt with a hidden
enemy with considerable power. There’s not a lot of questions as to motives or
who is behind this but a lot of action and hunting and running. There is an
unfortunate habit of the hunted protagonist deciding she really needs to wander
around alone going on. But generally it’s an exciting well paced plot full of
sinister enemies and desperate good guys with a few fascinating twists which is
always good
I thought the ending
was somewhat epic but I also found it surprisingly narrow. We had a wonderful
grand battle that was set up as epic and was… fun? But perhaps not quite living
up to how it was laid out. But I think this is less due to the awesomeness of
the fight and more due to the excellent job of setting up the conflict and then
the rather narrow focus during it.
Also her barghest is the
cutest abomination man was not meant to know ever.
I do feel, though,
that I haven’t seen enough of the other predominant characters in this book;
especially central core characters in her home city like the heads of each of
the supernatural councils. I feel sometimes that I am not understanding the
relationship between them and Scarlett. However, I think this is my fault -
this book series appears to be a spin off of an older book series that covers
far more of this and I actually appreciate an author who isn’t bogging down
their books with unnecessary recaps. The book still reads extremely well
without this information - but I think would be even richer when I pick up the
other series as well
We have some POC -
Sashi, a side character witch is south Asian, there’s a Native American witch
matriarch who is all kinds of nice and snarky and we’re reminded that the
(deceased) father of Scarlett’s child is a Black man. But I think Jesse, her
new love interest, good friend and general foundation in her life is the most
prominent POC as a latino man - we generally have a few POC scattered around
but not in hugely major roles I’m hoping Jesse’s now escalating presence will
change that
We have no LGBTQ
characters.
This story is
excellent on its own, it’s got a great plot, it’s exciting and fun with some
excellent characters I really enjoy following with an interesting world and a
really good concept of the null in this greater supernatural world - giving her
both a great deal of influence and skill while, at the same time, not giving
her super powers or constant levelling up. I’m leery of how her special status
may reflect on her pregnancy but that remains to be seen. On the whole this is
one of my pinned series I always look forward to.
