In the fourteenth chapter of Deep Secret, Rupert feels pretty damn awful for what he did. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Deep Secret.
Chapter Fourteen
- This is an extremely satisfying chapter to read, especially given how I felt about Rupert in chapter thirteen. It’s so great that Jones recognizes how Rupert was written and has him openly acknowledge to both the reader and the people he hurt that he overreacted the previous day. I love that Jones isn’t subtle about this. Literally, the first sentence is about Rupert knowing he was a jerk: “Looking back on things, I see I was more concerned about what those two had managed to do, almost unaided and wholly untaught, than I was about the failure of my attempt to find a new Magid.”
- And that’s also something I recognized, too: that what Nick and Maree had just down was undeniably huge. It was! Without a lick of training or education, they were able to traverse the complicated path to another world. Oh, right, and they avoided TRAPS. Oh god, who would set the traps?
- We’re nearly two hundred pages into this book, and there’s no sign of a clear antagonist. Holy shit.
- We also find out the source of Will and Carina’s argument: Will telling Nick and Maree about Magids. But I agree with Stan here. Will had to have had a reason to tell them, right? I’m sure he knows how serious it is to keep the existence of Magids a secret.
- Regardless, it’s so nice that Rupert is able to sort through the mess of emotions he’s feeling – towards Fisk, towards Will, and towards Mervin – and understand how they got mixed up with the fake anger he tried to direct at the Mallory siblings. We needed to see this from Rupert’s point-of-view to understand the chaotic emotional landscape that was his life at that point, you know?
- I THOUGHT THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC WAS FILKING. OH. OH GOD, IT’S STAN.
- THIS IS SO FUNNY TO ME.
- STAN. OH MY GOD. Psychic earphones? CAN HE DO THAT? He’s the most mundanely tragic ghost in the history of the world, isn’t he?
- I’m not exactly clear what mindburn is, despite that I now know that Thurless and Fisk both seem to have it. And Gabrilosevic can smell it, maybe? Did someone put it there, or is it a by-product of bad magic?
- Is there fanart of Janine’s sweaters? I’d also love some of that as well.
- I just… y’all, I’m a huge fan of Rupert’s conversation with and apology to Nick and Maree. It’s humble, it’s a proper apology that doesn’t shift the responsibility to the others, and it allows him to explain why Maree’s comment hurt him, which surprised me. I know that I brought up the issue of free will earlier, and there’s a disturbing context to Maree’s “ruler of the world” bit that she was unaware of:
- “Sometimes you get a directive to leave things alone, but sometimes you have to work out for yourself that there’s nothing you can do. There are times when you even have to go in and make things worse, knowing that millions of people –”
- Unfortunately, Rupert doesn’t get to finish his thought, which I’ll discuss in a second. I really wanted to hear more! I imagine being a Magid can be incredibly agonizing when you’re ordered to not interfere in horrific world events. How does that work? And has Rupert ever dealt with this before? Did he later learn why it needed to happen?
- So, the reason why Rupert doesn’t complete his sentence is Andrew.
- Who waltzes into the lobby.
- Because he’s the gorgeous Nordic man that everyone adores.
- HOW
- HOW DID I NOT FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT.
- CHRIST, I KNEW HE WAS NORDIC THE WHOLE TIME.
- Y’all, who the fuck is Andrew? Why is he always so coincidentally in the right place at the right time? How can he observe the world around him without ever looking directly at it? WHY IS HIS REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR DIFFERENT THAN WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SEES???
- Rupert, please go solve this mystery now.
- Oh god, what did Will do for his “unintentionally dramatic entry?” LORD. THIS IS TOO MUCH.
The original text contains use of the words “mad” and “certifiable” (in reference to sanity).
Part 1
Part 2
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