She starts off as a fascist but gets away from it by making a friend out of someone she thought was worthless. We learn through her background that she's a traumatized child that suffered a highly competitive upbringing. She went studying with master Kieffrey because she was disowned by her own family. That makes her very competitive and harsh at first. Then she meets someone that doesn't know the first thing about magic, but really likes it. Coco is filled with wonder at any spell.

Aggot first see Coco as an inconvenience an tries to get rid of her by throwing her at a dangerous exam, but Coco proves more resourceful and overtake it. Then not only does she never tells the adults what happened, she says sorry for destroying the flying shoes and work her best to repair them.

After that, Aggot isn't magically healed, she's still a rather self-centered person, but she learn that others can be a source of joy, not only a threat. She even helps Coco by showing her that being too selfless isn't good either.

I don't think everyone can be redeemed, but seeing a story that takes someone so far gone and make her come back to her senses by meeting a selfless person makes it easier for me to envision helping the most far gone people in my surrounding rather than just getting away. I just need not to be as selfless as coco and risk my life doing so x)

A villain with a family is just a hero who's honest about who he is. Bello. 💛

Redemption Ark (The Inhibitor Sequence, #2) by Alastair Reynolds,

May 17, 2022

This is the third book of Reynolds' I've read, and each one follows a similar pattern:

1. I struggle to finish the darn thing. Reynold's compulsion to restate details drags the book down and mired me in a struggle to get to the finish line. (For instance: Yes, I am aware the Wolves are dangerous. Yes, I am aware that the conjoiners are at war with humanity. Yes, I remember who the Inhibitors are.) Amazingly, in spite of this redundant repetition of major plot points, there were still moments I was confused -- and this was mostly because the actual characters, though incredibly different on paper, seem to all act and speak in a similar way. They're all tough and quippy with a chip on their shoulders, in spite of the fact that they range from technologically superior hive-mind denizens to scrappy opportunists.

2. I finish the darn thing, and, basking in its afterglow, the awesomeness of his plot hits me. Reynolds' ideas are revelatory. He spins together interesting threads of possibilities from our current understanding of science. Were you aware that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies were on an (incredibly slow) collision course? I am now!

I'm only 3 chapters in so far.

It's about Caine learning how to gain their trust after what happened in the show because I like clarity.

And it might be a little bad because it is my first time doing this.