#varice

I made no secret that Emperor Mage was my favorite Immortals Quartet book, and that Numair was a lot of the reason for that, but I also really enjoyed Carthak as a setting. That we get to see even more of Carthak in this book is a HUGE plus. We get the much-vaunted university, we get the arena, we get some of the city, and we get some of the rivers and green spaces. Objectively the arena and the university are the primary locations, and I loved the educations that Arram gets in both places and how the imperial family and imperial power structures are so deeply woven into both spaces.

And Arram comes to realize this over the course of the book, even going so far as to realize that he could leave the toxic structures once he achieves mastery. That realization is somewhat complicated by the fact that his is both a student who finds his way to teachers who value him and are willing to teach HIM rather than the politically acceptable curriculum, and the fact that he is roommates and BFFs with Ozorne Tasikhe. Plus, the fact that Varice is dedicated to protecting and supporting Ozorne...that's gonna get complicated in future books.

This is where I feel like it's important to point out that reading Tempests and Slaughter after Emperor Mage had the potential to land like The Phantom Menace did, because there were a lot of similarities. We KNOW where Ozorne, Varice, and Arram end up. We can see all the foreshadowing and we are writhing in our seats as we see every single one of the red flags that were always there for Ozorne. We can see the setups to payoffs we know are coming but don't have yet.

Where Tempests and Slaughter stands head and shoulders above Phantom Menace though is in not simplifying characters because they have a pre-set trajectory and pre-set growth they have to go through to get them to where we know they're going. Ozorne, Arram, and Varice are still complex, compelling characters, and knowing where they're going does not in any way make the journey less interesting. This book does more than just fill in a backstory gap. It is itself a story that weaves into the wider Tortall universe. It's really, really damn good, and it has things to say independent of the expected ending in Emperor Mage.

This book has things to say about class, power, sociopolitical institutions like the arena, and the politics of education institutions. It also has a lot to say about what learning is and where it occurs. I have a PhD, I was in university for eleven years. There is a huge part of me that holds a deep, complex, and oft-uncomfortable love for these insitutions, and having Tempests and Slaughter both recognize the good things universities can do and also highlight the hideous harms they can do was just an incredible experience.