I'm already halfway through the third book but here's my post on Moon Over Soho
I will keep this short because most of my thoughts on reread are not particular insightful.
Reactions on Reread:
Reactions on Reread:
- I had forgotten how quickly the action ramps up w/r/t Faceless Man. All of the Faceless Man stuff here was stuff I thought was in the next book. I have no idea what I thought this book was about.
- On reread, Nightingale is striking me as extraordinarily incompetent. MASSIVE and BLATANT dark wizardry was going on and he was still going on his merry way, thinking that magic would die out with him. I mean, I understand that he was grieving, but when you cut off a guy's head and then reanimate that guy's head in front of an audience, you are definitely not trying to hide. I think the Faceless Man's reaction is most telling when Peter finally introduces himself - it doesn't even occur to him that there's magic police. At that point, he probably still doesn't realize that there's magic police, he likely thinks there's just the one policeman after him who happens to do magic.
- And I mean a part of that is I think the way Peter is plugged into the magic community and clearly represent Tides of Change to White Male English Wizardry as someone who doesn't think they shuld just kill people in violation of the Human Rights Act, whereas Nightingale represents the old ways. So, if someone were to do the same sort of Larry the Lark showmanship in modern, Peter would definitely find out about it (at minimum, the rivers would find out and would notify Peter), whereas it's likely Nightingale still wouldn't without Peter's bridge-building. The books definitely paint Peter as a positive force for change and I do appreciate how Peter continually notes the way languge changes and attitudes change historically in the books that he reads.
- I remembered and was expecting the Simone Fitzwilliam twist, though her death still made me sad. I do have to wonder if the river flooding that Peter notes is related to this though - I think the river floods when he has sex with Simone? Which could be Beverley-inspired jealousy? Or Simone-related magical release? Or completely unrelated, I guess. In any case, it isn't brought up again, so I guess that's one for completely unrelated.
- The bit where Nightingale won't let Peter see bits of the club is incredibly effective as a writing technique. I am STILL thinking about and wondering what could be there.
- I'm not entirely clear on why the chimeras fight for the Faceless Man. I'm not entirely sure the Pale Lady is a willing minion though.
- I can't imagine being Nightingale, realizing that while you thought magic was dead, all sorts of illicit and evil magic was going on and now you have one easily-distracted and untrained apprentice and if you die your apprentice who hasn't even progressed beyond second-order spells will now be in charge of maintain magical peace and will probaby die shortly thereafter. I feel like the scene where he goes into the club and gives Peter precise instructions on what to do if he doesn't make it back is particularly affecting