His Sacred Incantations
Finished His Sacred Incantations, the sequel to His Secret Illuminations, today! (Which, in case you missed it, made me fall in love with reading again.)
Or as I call it: Once More, with Social Justice, Zombies, and Pegging.
I admit I didn't love this one with the fervor I loved the first one. The biggest letdown for me was halfway in the book when Lucian and Glory embark on their quest to vanquish a necromancer--and bring a whole roster of RPG party members along with them. I liked these characters a lot, the characters themselves weren't the problem, the problems for me were:
1. How much the danger was scaled back as a consequence. I understand why it had to be, both because it just makes sense (why wouldn't you arm yourself to the teeth with warriors and mages in a battle against the undead) and it fits with the book's themes of family and friendship. But because the characters aren't as fully-realized as Lucian and Glory (which I'm glad they aren't because good lord that'd be too many to keep track of) and because they've got at least three healers on their team, it's harder to feel any sense of urgency during the battle scenes.
It's a problem I have with a lot of fantasy stories that start out with one or two heroes on a dangerous quest that eventually have to gain a whole band. I even remember when I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the first time, feeling that initial rush of excitement because Oh, shit, Harry has to be on his own now, only for that to deflate when Hermione and Ron come rushing in to ensure it doesn't have to be that intense for him. On one hand, yes it makes sense, friendship is good, safety in numbers, the more the merrier, but on the other hand I just want danger.
There's still danger here, don't get me wrong, but that sense of intimacy connected to it is faded, and that sort of brings me to my next problem.
2. I don't know how better to phrase it than that I, I just want Lucian and Glory. I don't just need danger! I loved the first book's tense scenes of Glory rescuing a fever-ridden Lucian as much as I did the laid-back moments of them sitting in the field with unicorns piling up into their laps, and I missed those moments so, so terribly. They're not entirely absent, and there's still a great deal of pages dedicated to just them, but those solitary adventures have undergone significant reduction, and I can't recall any scenes I'd replay in my head again and again like I did the first book's.
That said! I still loved it. There was a lot to love, but I'm mostly going to talk about Lucian.
I was worried about where Lucian's character development would be heading in this book, because something I appreciated about the first book was seeing him grow without losing the shyness and sensitive heart I could connect to, in addition to being competent and cool without turning into a warrior. There's, of course, nothing wrong with becoming a warrior as character development--but most of the time it feels like a shortcut the writer (or writers, in the case of more collaborative mediums) takes when they can't figure out where to take a major, less combat-oriented character, rather than drawing on their strengths. It's practically inevitable with male protagonists of stories like these, and I feel like we could use a lot more male heroes who have the strengths you'd be more likely to find in a female character.
So it's refreshing and fantastic that Lucian remains a healer and a mage in the story. There's times where he has bouts of self-consciousness over being the weakest fighter on the team, despite being more experienced in learning combat than a couple of the newest recruits, but those are tied to his fears of uselessness resulting from his upbringing at the monastery, and they're something he gets past when he learns why his prowess doesn't lie in physical combat (the answer being his circumstances are different, and learning combat isn't the same as partaking in it).
It all comes to a rewarding conclusion when he joins the Guild and, even after demonstrating his amazing skills as a mage in defeating the necromancer, fully embraces his position as a healer, first and foremost, wanting to spread hope, comfort, and guide others in need. His "I'm not a warrior" repeated throughout the story (without any cut-ins of characters ever going "Oh, but of course you're a warrior, Lucian") even comes in his speech when he's sworn into the Guild, showing he understands the value he brings just as himself, and furthermore, so does the story.
I also appreciated Lucian still being traumatized from killing in self-defense in the first book, vomiting when emotionally overwhelmed, crying easily (including during sex), startling easily, flustering easily...I loved that despite his newfound confidence and strength, he was still allowed his vulnerabilities, and these weren't things that needed correcting. Also loved that he was tempted to return to the monastery! It felt very real that, as shitty as the place was, there was a comfort in its predictability and routine--but in the end, he chooses the outcome that's less predictable, more terrifying, and it's worth it because he has someone he loves to share it with.
Scattered thoughts...actually, just one additional thought:
- I love that the story continues after the couple gets together. I vehemently reject the sentiment that a story is uninteresting or no longer worth telling once the romance is resolved. Even as they had less solitary scenes together, I appreciated they were still together and openly loving each other (and having hot hot sex) and being the best kind of power couple.
That's about it, I think! I love these books, I'm so grateful they exist. There's usually a bittersweetness that comes with finishing a story, but this one was so heartwarming and fulfilling and still allowed room for imagining further adventures with Lucian and Glory. I know I'll be doing just that.
Or as I call it: Once More, with Social Justice, Zombies, and Pegging.
I admit I didn't love this one with the fervor I loved the first one. The biggest letdown for me was halfway in the book when Lucian and Glory embark on their quest to vanquish a necromancer--and bring a whole roster of RPG party members along with them. I liked these characters a lot, the characters themselves weren't the problem, the problems for me were:
1. How much the danger was scaled back as a consequence. I understand why it had to be, both because it just makes sense (why wouldn't you arm yourself to the teeth with warriors and mages in a battle against the undead) and it fits with the book's themes of family and friendship. But because the characters aren't as fully-realized as Lucian and Glory (which I'm glad they aren't because good lord that'd be too many to keep track of) and because they've got at least three healers on their team, it's harder to feel any sense of urgency during the battle scenes.
It's a problem I have with a lot of fantasy stories that start out with one or two heroes on a dangerous quest that eventually have to gain a whole band. I even remember when I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the first time, feeling that initial rush of excitement because Oh, shit, Harry has to be on his own now, only for that to deflate when Hermione and Ron come rushing in to ensure it doesn't have to be that intense for him. On one hand, yes it makes sense, friendship is good, safety in numbers, the more the merrier, but on the other hand I just want danger.
There's still danger here, don't get me wrong, but that sense of intimacy connected to it is faded, and that sort of brings me to my next problem.
2. I don't know how better to phrase it than that I, I just want Lucian and Glory. I don't just need danger! I loved the first book's tense scenes of Glory rescuing a fever-ridden Lucian as much as I did the laid-back moments of them sitting in the field with unicorns piling up into their laps, and I missed those moments so, so terribly. They're not entirely absent, and there's still a great deal of pages dedicated to just them, but those solitary adventures have undergone significant reduction, and I can't recall any scenes I'd replay in my head again and again like I did the first book's.
That said! I still loved it. There was a lot to love, but I'm mostly going to talk about Lucian.
I was worried about where Lucian's character development would be heading in this book, because something I appreciated about the first book was seeing him grow without losing the shyness and sensitive heart I could connect to, in addition to being competent and cool without turning into a warrior. There's, of course, nothing wrong with becoming a warrior as character development--but most of the time it feels like a shortcut the writer (or writers, in the case of more collaborative mediums) takes when they can't figure out where to take a major, less combat-oriented character, rather than drawing on their strengths. It's practically inevitable with male protagonists of stories like these, and I feel like we could use a lot more male heroes who have the strengths you'd be more likely to find in a female character.
So it's refreshing and fantastic that Lucian remains a healer and a mage in the story. There's times where he has bouts of self-consciousness over being the weakest fighter on the team, despite being more experienced in learning combat than a couple of the newest recruits, but those are tied to his fears of uselessness resulting from his upbringing at the monastery, and they're something he gets past when he learns why his prowess doesn't lie in physical combat (the answer being his circumstances are different, and learning combat isn't the same as partaking in it).
It all comes to a rewarding conclusion when he joins the Guild and, even after demonstrating his amazing skills as a mage in defeating the necromancer, fully embraces his position as a healer, first and foremost, wanting to spread hope, comfort, and guide others in need. His "I'm not a warrior" repeated throughout the story (without any cut-ins of characters ever going "Oh, but of course you're a warrior, Lucian") even comes in his speech when he's sworn into the Guild, showing he understands the value he brings just as himself, and furthermore, so does the story.
I also appreciated Lucian still being traumatized from killing in self-defense in the first book, vomiting when emotionally overwhelmed, crying easily (including during sex), startling easily, flustering easily...I loved that despite his newfound confidence and strength, he was still allowed his vulnerabilities, and these weren't things that needed correcting. Also loved that he was tempted to return to the monastery! It felt very real that, as shitty as the place was, there was a comfort in its predictability and routine--but in the end, he chooses the outcome that's less predictable, more terrifying, and it's worth it because he has someone he loves to share it with.
Scattered thoughts...actually, just one additional thought:
- I love that the story continues after the couple gets together. I vehemently reject the sentiment that a story is uninteresting or no longer worth telling once the romance is resolved. Even as they had less solitary scenes together, I appreciated they were still together and openly loving each other (and having hot hot sex) and being the best kind of power couple.
That's about it, I think! I love these books, I'm so grateful they exist. There's usually a bittersweetness that comes with finishing a story, but this one was so heartwarming and fulfilling and still allowed room for imagining further adventures with Lucian and Glory. I know I'll be doing just that.