FINISHED WOLF-SPEAKER!!
I realized after I started this book that I remembered even less of it than Wild Magic 😅 That said, I think it might be my favourite book in the series. I'm usually not a wolf person, but I like the pack in this book, maybe because Pierce doesn't go overboard with the alpha wolf stuff other authors get really into. Brokefang is a cool dog, but the others are not all weak and miserable, if you know what I'm saying.
Anyway! So much to love here. The pack, the horses, Tkaa, Maura, coldfangs (I completely forgot about coldfangs!), hurroks, ogres...also Daine and Numair being separated which gives her some good character growth. Daine is very stubborn and hates to figure out magic things on her own when someone else can give her the answer (similar to me at work tbh), so her being forced to figure out possessing animals and then transforming into one by herself is really good for her confidence in her power and her maturity and problem solving skills. She also learns a lot of interpersonal skills--she has to learn to be kind to Maura and manage relations between all the immortals and animals and coordinating attacks.
Also love the expansion of mage lore here. Tristan, Yolane & co. are basically living in Game of Thrones while Daine is Princess Mononoke lol. We see more of what the immortals do for their human handlers aside from attacking and hassling Daine. Also, Rikash! What a dick, he's still one of my favourite anti-heroes.
Anyway, excellent book. I'm taking a break to read some library books and then it's onto Emperor Mage. Very excited for the iconic Necromancer Jurassic Park "I got mad" scene, though I think a lot of the noble characters are going to annoy the absolute fuck out of me lol
