Tongue Eater by John Bierce (Mage Errant #6)
I used to frequent a subreddit called Who Would Win, the basic premise being characters are pitted against one another in some form of contest, and commenters make arguments for who would win. One of the in jokes that developed was that Batman, with prep time, was invincible. Tongue Eater is a book solely devoted to prep time.
It’s the lull in battle, between the seige of skyhold and the final fight with the Havathi Dominion. It’s all sides shoring up support and strength and strategy until the momentum of preparing for a war inevitably pushes everyone into a fight. But not yet. Hugh and friends are preparing, even while they mourn. Alustin is doing much the same, although he gives himself less time for the latter. It’s the calm before the storm, and it was great.
That’s not to say the book lacked action or imagination. Far from it, by escaping from the overarching narrative of the fight for the future of the world, Bierce has the opportunity to show us some of the most unique and awe-inspiring environments and non-humans we’ve seen up to this point. We have the leisure of analyzing the mind of a betrayer, and magic unlike anything we started with. It’s a series of vignettes that grow the characters and their abilities, without rush. Also there’s a very cute short story attached to the end, well worth the read and by then you’ve earned some fluff.
On the whole I think I just appreciated spending time with the characters, and exploring the author’s imagination without the threat of societal collapse. It was fun, and I missed it, after my long break from Mage Errant. If you got through Book 5 and felt devastated, you’ll get some deserved catharsis. Well worth the time, and happy reading.
