The Gods

[Kypriotha]

The gods and other divine beings were very present in this book, much more than I expected (although maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, given how often they meddle in other parts of Tortall...)

What did you think of the various gods and divine beings we saw, including Enzi, Preet and the lightning snakes? In some ways, I thought there was too much divine attention being paid to Arram. I understand that Carthak is about to go through a period of change as Ozorne ascends (and then, relatively quickly in the grand scheme of things, loses) the throne and that Arram would have a place in that, as well as being a powerful mage in his own right, but I still thought it was a bit over the top.

[devilinthedetails]

I agree with you that at times it felt like there was a bit too much focus on divine beings. There were so many new god names and purposes introduced in this book compared to the others, and, while that was cool in a way since it showed that different cultures might worship different gods, there were also times it just felt almost like name-dropping to me.

The Graveyard Hag's presence in the story didn't feel that necessary to me--as if her role could easily have been cut from the gladiator scene--and her sort of prophesying about Numair's destiny on the cart ride to the gladiator camp was kind of annoying. If I were a first time reader, it would feel heavy-handed, and as someone who already knows how the Immortals war goes, it seems doubly so. That is one of the risks of prophecy and prequels that I think Tammy could have avoided if she just left the Graveyard Hag on the editing room floor.

I do like Enzi as a character (or god), and his interactions with mortals are amusing. He and his crocodiles also play an important role in the plot, so I appreciated their inclusion from narrative perspective more than I did the Graveyard Hag's.

Preet was sweet but reminded me a lot of the sparrows from Kel's books, and I kept waiting for a conflict with Mithros to materialize since there was so much foreshadowing with regard to that. It was a bit dissatisfying after all those hints that nothing happened in the first book. I expect payoff in the next book but that unfinished aspect does impact my view of Preet right now. I'll see how Tammy closes the Preet storyline before reaching a final verdict, I suppose.

I did enjoy the lightning snakes. That a cool, elemental power, and I think they contributed to the biggest plot point/mystery that I mostly think I've resolved in the story, so I believe that there was a big point to their inclusion. I would understand if other people didn't like them since they had never been shown in a Tortall universe book, but I admit to finding them fascinating and thinking that they played an important part in this story.

[Rachy]

I thought, and I found this in The Spy Guide as well, that the way that religion was portrayed was quite different to how we have seen it before?

Numair also might have been the least religious protagonist?

Mithros, Mynoss and Shakith felt very rough too.

It will be interesting to see how Preet plays out. Will his travels to Tortall be gods blessed? I almost feel like the Numair/Ozorne fallout is going to be tied in with the Mithros thing.

And I thought that the lightning snakes were cool, but transplanted from Emelan.