Rereading Broken Ground
Fall of the Beasts continues! We are once again back at it.
Fun fact: When this book's cover was first revealed, I assumed the three Redcloaks on the archway were in fact Abeke, Rollan and Anda. I thought Anda would be sticking around for the rest of the aboveground adventures. RIP.
Something I find interesting is that the Evertree's tremors reduce even the Four Fallen to a beastlike state, stripping away their greatness as well as their link to their humans. We see this with Uraza and then Briggan. I suppose it could be a callback to the Great Beasts' origins; before the Wyrm struck the Evertree and gave them their godly forms, they lived as common animals.
"This one called himself Worthy. He came asking for the Keeper. They left together and haven't returned." I love it when the books reference the game. They're off to save Talon!
There's an inconsistency here: In the last book, Abeke and Rollan sail to Amaya on the Tellun's Pride II. There is no mention of a crew, and no Greencloaks accompany them on their trek, which suggests they were manning the Greencloaks' finest ship all by themselves. Not a problem, since Abeke has proved herself to be up to the task, but an odd choice of vessel. In this book, it's said that they went alone, but on a smaller boat more suited to their little party. Then, of course, they board the Tellun's Pride II as if for the first time and are introduced to the captain and crew. Funny little mistake I noticed.
Apparently marriage between Greencloaks is unusual. No idea why; it's not made clear.
"Rollan thought he could see Anda beside the gate, dark eyes wide and watching. Rollan lifted a hand, but the boy -- if it was him -- didn't respond." This is so haunting and sad. I wonder what Anda was feeling in that moment. Apathy? Or anger at being left behind?
"Ever since they'd faced Zerif in the forest, [Abeke]'d been closed off, distracted." Imagine if that was not only because she was stressed about the strain on the spirit bond and worried about Anda, but because she was wondering if the mysterious masked man was Shane... I know it's not canon, but man, the story would have been so much better if she started to wonder and wrestle with herself about it as he kept appearing and saving their lives. In a vague sort of way that wouldn't directly spell out her suspicions to the reader. Considering how little time she got with Shane in the end, that was the least they could have done.
Here we have another case of the usual laws of the spirit bond being broken: Arac, a Euran, is bonded to a spider monkey, an animal that would presumably be native to southern Amaya. There are no monkey species anywhere near the select few northwestern European countries that I base Eura on, so my solution for A Revised History of Erdas was to make Nexi a stoat instead -- an entirely new animal, but one present in Eura and more suited to a seafaring life!
I imagine Nisha's spirit animal, Relis, is an African (Niloan) grey parrot. It'd be funny to have the captain and her parrot hold animated conversations with each other.
"Back in Nilo, she had seen a man die of infection." I like to think that this was Chinwe's husband and Irtike's father.
I like how this book shows Abeke has had time to think about what Shane said to her during their fight in The Evertree. She wasn't ready to consider his reasoning back then, but many passages here make it clear that she sympathizes with the people of Stetriol, sees where they were coming from and understands that the Greencloaks were wrong to condemn them. That kind of nuanced perspective is something I very much appreciate.
I do wish Magda had made an appearance. I suppose she would have been released from her position when the Greencloaks took over, but I doubt she would have left.
"Abeke had eventually come to terms with her family, but she knew she'd never see such a look in her father's eyes." The look she is referring to is the look of pride that Tasha's parents gave her. A look of pride. So here we have one of our protagonists, the black girl, the famously distrusted and mistreated, admitting to the reader that she has made up with her abusive father, but he has not changed, and she has simply learned to deal with it. Can we talk about how awful and disturbing this is? That Abeke stays trapped in the cycle of abuse, and it's only a footnote in the story?
Something about Abeke lingering in the same halls Shane grew up in... walking in the gardens, maybe standing in the very spot where he learned of the Bile from Zerif... they're so intertwined.
James appearing right after the castle is mentioned to be inhabited by some of Shane's cousins, and coincidentally looking near identical to him, makes me believe the author intended for them to be related. I've always thought of them as cousins, so that's a win for me.
Aidana was presumably at the Evertree with Lenori, since Wikerus was the one to deliver the seer's ominous message to the kids. (Of course, it's not explained why. In my heart it's because they are lovers, but I'm sure that is not what the authors intended.)
This post was a bit short, but make no mistake, I loved this book. It may even be in my top three of the series. I don't have much to say about the underground plot, other than I still find it interesting and am grateful for the quiet moments and slower pace to even out the often action-packed aboveground plot. The bonds being built between Abeke and Rollan on one side and Conor and Meilin on the other have my whole heart. Tasha was great, and so was seeing all the positive change happening in Stetriol, even if it ended horribly. Love, love, love Arac and Nisha (both of whom are alive and well in ARHoE, by the way). This was King's time to shine, and he kind of stole the show, I'm not gonna lie. Also, a couple of minor characters were introduced who have much bigger roles in ARHoE, so I got to point at them like I was seeing my OCs in print. Very cool. Lots of good things in this book.
This is part of an ongoing series.
Wild Born | Hunted | Blood Ties | Fire and Ice | Against the Tide | Rise and Fall | The Evertree
Immortal Guardians | Broken Ground | The Return | The Burning Tide
Heart of the Land | The Wildcat's Claw | Stormspeaker | The Dragon's Eye
Tales of the Great Beasts | The Book of Shane | Tales of the Fallen Beasts
