In the eleventh part of Bloodhound, PEARL SKINNER OH MY GOD. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Bloodhound.
YO, THIS SECTION IS TOO MUCH.
- I applaud the lovely folks who figured out the splits for this book because goddamn, this section starts off BRILLIANTLY. The first sentence introduces the conflict to come, and boy, it’s a doozy. I mentioned in the last review that part of the suspense built into this book comes from the fact that Beka is in a strange and unfamiliar place. Well, here’s that fear exacerbated a billion times over. The folks who confront Beka and Goodwin know that they’re Dogs who don’t belong, and they call them on it.
- I mean, how bold is it that one of them just orders Goodwin, OF ALL PEOPLE, to just come with them? There’s no reluctance, no fear, no sense of respect. He just knows he’s in control, and he expects obedience.
- TELL ME THERE’S FANART OF THAT WOMAN WITH THE FACE PAIN AND HER DRESS AND ALL THOSE COLORS. HOLY SHIT.
- I was just so excited and pleasantly shocked once it became clear that they were being summoned by Port Caynn’s Rogue, Pearl Skinner. Pearl Skinner might just have the best first scene in a Tortall novel, I swear.
- “I saw the flick of a brown tunic as our watcher twitched out of sight. He was still on our track, then, and he didn’t belong to the Rogue of Port Caynn.” WELL, THEN WHO THE HELL DOES HE BELONG TO? (Now I can snicker at my own unpreparedness. I never would have guessed it!)
- BLINDFOLDED. THEY HAVE TO GO INTO THE ROGUE’S COURT BLINDFOLDED
- SO MUCH NOPE
- NOPE FOREVER.
- But you know, Goodwin is such a calming force for me. She recognized how rare it was that they were getting to meet the Rogue (on their first full day!), and I think she also guessed that the Rogue wouldn’t risk killing two Dogs like this. However, given how we later see Skinner acting, I’m not so sure that she wouldn’t have done so. Still, Goodwin so quickly reverses the dynamic of power between her and the Rats who accompanied her, and I’m just so happy that she was the one who came with Beka to Port Caynn. SHE’S MY EVERYTHING.
- I love how Pierce deliberately portrays Skinner’s court as such a dark and unforgiving place. The lack of windows, the fascinating and grimy party of rushers and Rats who fill the room, the weapons on display… it all builds the atmosphere wonderfully.
- I AM ALSO SUPER INTO PEARL SKINNER AS ANTAGONISTIC FORCE? I love the idea that she’s older, that she looks vicious and immovable, and that she is vicious and abrasive. Have we ever had a character like her before???
- OH MY GOD, IT’S STEEN.
- You know, I now understand why Skinner would assume that they were in Port Caynn on Rosto’s behalf, but at the time, all I felt was that she was SO WRONG. But it’s later insinuated that Skinner had been Rogue for a long, long time, much longer than Rogues usually serve. So I imagine that she has to view people like Goodwin and Beka as a threat.
- Goodwin handles this all like a champ, but I have to remind myself that this is barely an act for her. She was once a loose Dog herself, so only Beka has to play the part. I WANT MORE OF GOODWIN’S PAST SO BADLY.
- “Ask Nestor Haryse what I do to them that cross me.” NO, HOW DARE YOU GET INTERRUPTED AND NOT TELL ME THE REST. WHAT THE HELL????
- I do like that just seconds after mentioning his name, Nestor arrives with Dogs to retrieve Goodwin and Beka. What happened between Nestor and Skinner? There is clearly a ton of unspoken history between the two of them, isn’t there? I CAN TELL.
- “I remember how things are done,” he replied. “It’s you who seems to have forgot.” WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
- Oh my god, the spy? It was Haden. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. It’s actually a brilliant idea on Nestor’s part, and I hope it helps out in the future.
- I was also pleased that there was a spinner in Port Caynn! I assume they’re all over, not just in Corus, then. Anyway, this particular spinner – who has a beautiful name, Hesserrr – gives Beka another clue. THERE IS A DOG SPYING FOR PEARL SKINNER IN PORT CAYNN. Y’all, the plot is constantly thickening in this book. I love it!
- Yo, if you haven’t had buckwheat noodles, you are missing out on life.
- So, we can’t exactly trust Hanse Remy anymore, can we? It’s now confirmed that he was the same Hanse that Otho Urtiz named earlier in the book. So, he gambled coles, and probably has done so many times, most likely on the passage between Port Caynn and Corus. But where does he get them? Are they connected to the Rogue, too?
- I HAVEN’T FIGURED THIS OUT AT ALL. But I’m so impressed at how Pierce has taken something like counterfeiting money and made it so exciting!
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