I Read What?!

So here we are. EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY PAGES done. And you know what? It actually wasn't a slog.

I remember reading a review where someone said that the only part of the book that mattered was the last third. But I disagree with that. The last third of the book is definitely the best part, but it wouldn't work without what came before.

We needed the first two parts of the book to appreciate what's lost. We had to meet the brothers. We had to appreciate the slowburn growth of the relationship from enemies to cautious allies, to brothers in spirit as well as blood. We needed to know Lysaer, to appreciate his strengths and his weaknesses, so we truly understand the scope of the tragedy.

Because Curse of the Mistwraith is a tragedy. And it's also a massive fucking prologue to an even more massive book series. Ten books so far, with an eleventh on the way. Though, unlike some other doorstop series, there is an ending in sight. That eleventh is reputed to be the last.

I have NO idea what to expect for that. But we should be talking about Mistwraith, not its massive sequels.

The funny thing about this book is that everything's spoiled in advance. We knew, from the prologue set in the far future, that the brothers were going to fight. We knew, from the Fellowship's visions that everything was going to go straight to hell.

But even with that, a part of me still hoped, still BELIEVED that they'd find a way out of this. That they'd fix Lysaer. That they'd protect Arithon. That this could all be avoided.

And of course, it couldn't. But man, what a ride.

The prose style takes getting used to, and sometimes the over the top descriptions of Arithon's angst or Lysaer's beauty get to be too much even for me. But I have to admit that it serves to lend a mythic quality to all of this.

The pacing is a little uneven. I appreciate the first two thirds of the book, but I might have liked to see more of Athera before the brothers' fall. (...though I suppose that runs the risk of Lysaer becoming more aware of the true state of the world before his perspective is skewed by the curse).

I also think the book didn't do a spectacular job of conveying exactly how long the Mistwraith fight was actually supposed to be. It felt very quick, though we're told later it was months.

But those are minor quibbles. I enjoyed the ride.

So with plot out of the way, let's talk about characters.

We'll start with Arithon s'Ffalenn, he of the ridiculous sobriquet and even more ridiculous angst. He's one of those characters, like Drizzt Do'Urden, who basically determines the enjoyment level of the series. If you like Arithon, you'll like the books. If you don't, you probably will hate it completely. Fortunately, I think Arithon's great.

The angst is over the top sometimes. I will never stop making fun of "Oh no, my sword is just too awesome. Woe is me!", or "scarred by severe conscience" and those other spectacular turns of phrases. But a lot of the over the top angst is mitigated by the reactions of the other characters. The levels of exasperation never stop being hilarious to me. Or the fact that Arithon was so angsty that Morriel decided to side with Lysaer instead.

It also helps that the guy is a total asshole, incapable of taking a step that isn't inherently self-sabotaging. He's a messy, complicated and very amusing guy.

It's probably easier to like Lysaer s'Ilessid. Which is kind of the point, really. Certainly, it's the tragedy of all this. But at the same time, there were seeds of the monster he became even at the beginning. For all that Lysaer could be kind and was certainly courteous, he's never shown much inclination to empathy. He's never shown any interest in putting himself in another person's shoes or seeing things from their perspective. Even as he became fond of his brother, for example, he never really sought to understand him. He just filed him away as an exception to his general aversion. This doesn't make Lysaer a bad person.

But it does give the curse something to latch onto.

And there are a lot of interesting and uncomfortable questions about accountability here. It's not Lysaer's fault that he was cursed. And I think the book shows us that, without the curse, Lysaer would never have done what he's done. But how much of Lysaer's actions can be blamed on the curse, and how much of it comes from Lysaer himself? The curse drives him after Arithon, but what about the collateral damage? The lack of empathy for the people caught in between? Lysaer was hit harder than Arithon and doesn't fully comprehend what is happening, but there are points where he seems aware enough to pull himself back. And yet, he doesn't pull himself back when it counts.

I'm not sure how a character can come back from what he's done. And I'm not really sure I want him to.

We also have a collection of really interesting minor characters: Elaira, Dakar, Felirin, Halliron, Steivan, Maenelle, even Diegan. And some utterly vile people that we hope get what's coming for them.

And then there's the Fellowship.

I can appreciate that the Fellowship members are flawed and that the fact that they made mistakes is part of the plot. But at the same time, I don't really think I'm supposed to hate them as much as I do. Would it have killed you guys to treat the lynchpins of your plans with some basic human decency?

It particularly didn't help that after months of scheming manipulation, forcing Arithon onto his throne, fucking Lysaer over in the process, they up and skip town as soon as everything goes to hell!

Their chosen heir, the one whose supposed to restore the full strength of their number, is fleeing into the woods. Do they bother to go after him and help? Nope, they're just busy reclaiming the fucking crown jewels after Arithon hocked them.

Meanwhile, the man who wants to kill Arithon is raising armies to wipe him and everyone else out.

The clans of Deshir died and the Fellowship did nothing.

Fuck the Fellowship.

--

So anyway, as to the verdict: The Curse of the Mistwraith gets a passing grade. I enjoyed it very much, and I'm looking forward to maybe starting the next one.

...after a long break.

I've realized that since the chapter titles are actually relevant for this book, if nothing else then to keep the damn thing straight when we start getting the subchapters, I should actually include them in my own post titles. I'll go back and fix the earlier ones eventually. It's not like it's the second to last chapter of the book or anything... Shit...

So now we've made it to the penultimate chapter of the book. It's kind of funny that both Mistwraith and Lifeblood will end in the same week, given that Mistwraith is a fucking gigantic book and Lifeblood really is not. I have no idea what I'll pick next!

Anyway, where we left off: the brothers are preparing for war. Arithon got high, and it was a terrible experience, because of course it was. Elaira got something resembling an explanation, which is a pretty fucking rare thing in this book. And the fellowship sorcerers finally finished stashing the Mistwraith somewhere safe. So maybe they can now get back to their little pet project and stop this fiasco before it goes too far?

The content warning that I need to give for this chapter would say no. Be warned. This is going to be fucking horrible.

( I really can't emphasize the warning enough )

So last time, everything went to hell in a handbasket. The titular curse has raised its ugly head and Lysaer, at least, is not dealing with it well at all.

This time in the chapter called "Strakewood", we'll get to see how Arithon is dealing with it. Spoiler: also not well at all.

( How will they fix this? )

So, last time, we saw the climactic battle between man and mistwraith. I suspect, however, that we're not going to be done with the story any time soon. We have an entire third left of the book to go. And that's not even counting the OTHER books in the series.

I don't know entirely what happens in this particular chapter titled "Etarra", but I suspect that the rest of the book will be heading toward a coronation. And possibly some chickens come home to roost.

( Seriously, fuck the Fellowship, man... )

So last time, our intrepid heroes made it to their destination. And promptly started actually fighting their great enemy off page, which is a slightly odd narrative choice.

But given that this chapter is called "Desh-thiere", which is the proper name for the Mistwraith, I suspect the book will be making up for that.

( If not, I'm sure we'll at least get some angst and flowery language, which is pretty much what I signed on for )

So last time, Lysaer was judgmental, Arithon was melodramatic, and Asandir was a total dick. This isn't really new, but it was pretty entertaining anyway. But this chapter ought to be both entertaining and new, I hope, as it's tilted "Althain Tower". Which presumably means that our heroes reach their destination.

( And explanations will be had, I hope. But probably not. )

So last time, Arithon snuck out, met a girl whose level of impulse control and wise decision making are about on level with his own, got clonked on the head by said girl, and accidently got his mental block broken. It was a moderately busy evening!

( At least Arithon and Elaira have some mutual interests. For example, magic, telling people to fuck off, and damaging Arithon physically. )

So last time, our idiot brothers had made it through the gate, and we learn that apparently the people of this new world (Athera) are depending on some kind of prophecy that requires a descendant (or two) of one of the exiled royal lines to do something to defeat the giant scary mist demon that has engulfed the planet.

I don't know, waiting five hundred years for some idiot princes to stumble through a magic gate seems like a really bad method of problem solving. But I'm not an ancient and powerful sorcerer so what do I know.

I DO however know that trying to manipulate the resident self-destructive chaotic asshole of the cast probably won't end well, Asandir.

( I know you haven't read the first three chapters of the book, dude, but I have. )

So last time, the asshole brother got dragged before the King of the enemy nation. The King was warned that whatever he did to the asshole brother would also happen to his own son. He decides to exile the kid instead.

I don't think mages are that easy to thwart, dude.

So this chapter is "Exile"

( At least the king doesn't seem to be getting off on this anymore )

So last time, we got a prologue that had an interesting, if pretentious conceit, as scholars from the "seventh age" have used magic to look back in time to a legendary war(s) of the "third age", to discover what really happened.

So now, we start that recollection:

( I hope someone warned those scholars about the massive amount of angst incoming in this series, I'm just saying )