Mark Reads ‘The Realms of the Gods’: Chapter 8

In the eighth chapter of The Realms of the Gods, Numair and Daine face the dragons and IT IS EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Realms of the Gods.

Chapter Eight: Dragonlands

OH MY GOD H E L P

• BABY DRAGONS.
• BABY DRAGONS.
• By the way, a child dragon is TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD. Which, generally speaking, leaves me riveted by the dragon concept of time. Like, later in this chapter, a dragon is told not to be seen FOR A FULL CENTURY. Does a century feel like a year to a dragon? THIS IS SO FASCINATING.
• Grizzle and Scamp are just too precious. I like how Grizzle is much more serious and mature, despite being merely a century older than Scamp. Scamp is, as far as I’m concerned, a dragon puppy.
• ” – Children should be seen, not heard. –” Grizzle, AREN’T YOU A CHILD YOURSELF? Oh my god, I love the dragons so much.
• One of the things Tamora Pierce does extremely well in chapter eight is show us the ramifications of the dragons being cut off from the mortal realms and choosing to make their own world within the Divine Realms. Initially, Daine is disappointed that the dragons seem to believe that humans mostly spend their time fighting one another, though that disappointment is directed at her own kind more than anyone else. She can’t help but notice the irony that she’s coming to the Dragonlands specifically because she needs to go home to stop the fighting in her home world.
• ” – Uncle Moonwind has been teaching me about mortality. It sounds uncomfortable. –” Well, that’s the best explanation of mortality I’ve ever heard.
• DRAGONS DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER, AND THEY HAVE REALLY LONG MEETINGS ABOUT IT.
• They have amphitheaters. THE DRAGONS HAVE AMPHITHEATERS.
• It wasn’t until the later moments of this chapter that I realized what this whole dragon segment feels like: a combination between the Council of Elrond and the Entsmoot. It’s fascinating, extremely long, and features two humans amidst a group of supernatural creatures who take forever to agree on anything. I mentioned in the last review that I looked forward to the worldbuilding and characterization from Pierce, and she delivered. Oh my gods, did she deliver!
• Like, these dragons all have distinct personalities! That’s so amazing to me!
• Thank you, Nightbreath, for filling the quota of sassy animal for this chapter. You are wonderful.
• Again, once the Dragonmeet starts, it’s clear that dragon society is not just complex, but completely out of touch with what’s happening in the mortal realm. I assumed that since Daine had saved and raised Skysong, the dragons would largely be on her side. Instead, this is hardly a thing to celebrate for them. While a few dragons offer their support, most are furious that there are even mortals in the Dragonlands.
• I legit got scared when Numair became all SUPER SCARY MAGE. Holy shit, was he seriously thinking that he could attack a dragon WHILE IN AN AMPHITHEATER FULL OF DRAGONS? That dude is ridiculous. Also, he’s clearly in love with Daine. CLEARLY.
• Diamondflame is the best. I WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH HIM.
• Pierce’s description of what dragon magic feels like is a big pile of NOPE. What a squeamish sensation that must be!
• “You don’t know her as I do. She’s never this philosophical about surprises.” BLESS. BLESS. Also, why don’t you just go make out with her face?
• Riding dragons. RIDING DRAGONS. NO I CAN’T DO THIS. Oh my god. The Stormwings show up as well. OH MY GOD, DAINE IS RIDING A DRAGON WHILE STORMWINGS ACCOMPANY HER.
• So, understandably, I was super confused about how nonchalantly the dragons passed into the mortal realms. It wasn’t until the end of the chapter that I found out they used their magic to simply pass between worlds. OH, AND THEY CAN DO THIS TO TRAVEL ANYWHERE.
• No, unable to cope with this reunion, IT’S GARETH AND BURI, I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE THEM. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
• While I am certainly relieved that the enemy forces have ceased their assault on Corus, I don’t trust the idea that the enemies just packed up and left. Something is happening. SOMETHING IS GOING ON IN PORT LEGANN. Oh lord, the next chapter is going to be utter chaos, isn’t it? Gods, dragons, immortals, humans: all of them will be fighting one another. This is going to fuck me up. I KNOW IT.
• h e l p

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Mark Links Stuff

– I have been nominated for a Hugo in the Fan Writer category! If you’d like more information or to direct friends/family to vote for me, I have a very informational post about what I do that you can pass along and link folks to!
– I have announced what the next books I am reading on Mark Reads will be, as well as updated y’all on the events, cons, tour dates, GOING TO EUROPE OH MY GOD, and general shenaniganry going on in my life. I have a similar post up on Mark Watches, detailing the next two shows I’m doing as well as the return of Double Features, and I finally explain what happened with my Vimeo account. Check these posts out!
– If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am doing a live reading/Mark Does Stuff event at Borderlands Books on April 21st at 5pm. Come on out! I’ll have copies of my latest book to purchase and sign.
- Mark Reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is now published and available for purchase! It’s available in ebook AND physical book format, and you can also get a discount for buying the ENTIRE SET of digital books: $25 for 7 BOOKS!!!
- Video commissions are open, and you can commission a Mark Reads/Watches video for just $25!