More on the Crimson Crown

[silverflight8]

RIGHT SO the ships I would like to see the most are probably Micah/Raisa and a little Amon/Raisa. Even if it is painful. Well, the first one is an antagonist ship. I mean, he drugs her at one point, he definitely kidnaps her from Oden's Ford...but I've always liked antagonists just as much, or sometimes better than, protagonists. Also he's being pushed by his father (and a genuine affection for Raisa, I think, by The Crimson Crown) and out of his whole poisonous family, he's not too bad. Lady Bayar excepted - we get maybe a couple lines of dialogue, mostly confusion over where her daughter and husband have gone. And Han earns his peace in the end, so I'm satisfied on that front.

I'd also love to see more of Dancer, just because. Also Averill Lightfoot, because while I dislike Reid Nightwalker and was so pleased when I was vindicated, I still love Averill. And I love that Crow's response to Dancer's 'one condition': "The Maker save me from upland traders" (page 396); Dancer's usually seen with Han and moreover more of a crafter than a tradesman, but it comes out from time to time. Dancer's sweet on Cat, I think? I forget how they meet - I think it must have been Oden's Ford.

I really wonder about Elena Cennestre. She is like the foil to Willo - leader of the clanfolk, and Demonai besides, she's a lot more aggressive and concerned with the standing of the Spirit Clans, than healerWillo. Elena doens't seem altogether happy with Han and Raisa, but the Demonai have been rather chastened by Reid and what he's done, so perhaps she's willing to make concessions. One of the major themes of the novel is the importance of unity, and it kind of bothers me that there was only a sort of small delegation of people working together. To be fair, most of them are, despite their young age, extremely important - Micah Bayar of the dominant Bayar wizarding family; Night Bird and Reid Nightwalker (in name) as representatives of the Demonai, with Nightwalker being the next Lord Demonai; and Han being a mix of all three, including the Ragmarket section - Cat falls into this too. But still, they are not brought together independently. All of them have separate ties to each other and to Raisa in particular; they are greatly influenced by Raisa herself. There doesn't seem to be actual unity amongst what I can only call the people - those who are not personally influenced by Raisa's not-inconsiderable pull. I keep flogging this poor horse, but the major theme is unity or death, and there just doesn't seem to have that over-reaching unity yet. (Also, Reid is fairly horrible and Night Bird dies, Averill is shaken but Elena seems still somewhat intractable.)