In the second half of the sixth chapter of A Wizard of Mars<\/i>, Nita visits a friend, then travels to Mars where EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.<\/p>\n
NOPE.<\/p>\n
S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee<\/b><\/p>\n
I was so thrilled to get a chance to catch up with S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee, and of course<\/i> I am pleased that Duane took this a step further by having S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee accompany Nita to Mars. MORE ON THAT LATER, THOUGH. S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee has been quite busy since we last saw her in the previous book, and even that was much briefer than this. We get an update on the project that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been bothering her for quite some time, which made me wonder: did we really<\/i> dump depth charges into the Great South Bay? That sounds exactly<\/i> like something that humans would do, and I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised if they littered the ocean floor.<\/p>\n
Anyway, Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suggestion for a solution is pretty clever, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not expecting we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll ever see this again in the book, given that the end of this chapter veers off into NOPEVILLE. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that Duane devoted space within the text to show us that S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee has a life outside of the main characters. From experience, I know how difficult it is to get that sort of balance. We manage to learn about wizardries S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee is working, get to hear the story of Pellegrino, AND this happens:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, there are other reasons to go out singing than just errantry,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee said.<\/p>\n
That was when Nita remembered that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153out singing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d had more than one meaning for a whale. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whoa, wait a minute. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcRee, are you seeing<\/i> somebody? You are! You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re finning around with someone!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
LIKE, THIS IS SO ADORABLE ALL BY ITSELF THAT I COULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HELP FEELING HAPPY READING IT. S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dating\u00e2\u20ac\u009d another whale who \u00e2\u20ac\u201c BY THE WAY \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is the whale version of a food critic<\/i>. Were you<\/i> ready for that? I CERTAINLY WAS NOT. But I also wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prepared for this moment:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, great! Another wizard?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, no, not at all. We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t all date wizards, hNii\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO SUBTLE, I LITERALLY MISSED IT UNTIL DUANE POINTED IT OUT THROUGH THE TEXT. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 is this the book where Nita and Kit will actually<\/i> address their attraction to one another??? This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the sole reference thus far, so I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair to expect more. Maybe???<\/p>\n
Carmela<\/b><\/p>\n
I do adore this character, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m certain I always will. I am also glad that Duane is exploring the ways in which Carmela grates on Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s senses. Some of that is pretty normal sibling stuff between Kit and Carmela, but Nita has a different reason to be frustrated with her. She is so much more casual<\/i> about wizardry than she should be, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d chalk that up to Carmela not being<\/i> a wizard more than anything else. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already used to her transit gate and her weapon and the ease with which she can straddle the worlds of wizards and non-wizards. I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t call her complacent, necessarily; she learned during the events of the last book just how dangerous all of this is.<\/p>\n
But Carmela does feel some entitlement to wizardry. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care that Kit won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want her around, nor does she care if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to interfere in some important wizardry. She just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 does what she wants, consequences be damned. So it made sense with me that Nita felt some aggravation towards her, you know? Wizardry has a cost, and Carmela has found a way to use it without ever having to pay <\/i>that cost.<\/p>\n
Arsia Mons<\/b><\/p>\n
So, a great deal of the information here is actually true in regards to Arsia Mons, but most especially the seven cave entrances named after women. ALL OF THEM LOOK IN ON PITCH BLACK DARKNESS. Thus, there was no way<\/i> that this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to make me super nervous. The fifth site had wizardry running and wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blocked and I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WOULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T END WELL. As the trio descended into the volcano, I figured the worst that would happen is that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d find another superegg. That was my working theory, and then it was proven wrong and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n
The wand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silver fire gleamed and slid down skin like green metal as the creature moved forward. It looked very like a scorpion: but it was almost the size of a Shetland pony. It had entirely too many legs and claws, and blank, cold polished-jade eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I would like you to know that my soul has left my body.<\/p>\n
Pouring along behind it out of the shadows came about fifty more like it, all their front claws scissoring together softly, making a grating, echoing whisper in the room of stone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that my body was just ground to dust by this cliffhanger. WHAT THE FUCK. Is this the creature that the superegg tried<\/i> to mimic? WHAT ARE THESE?<\/p>\n
HELP ME.<\/p>\n
I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
http:\/\/youtu.be\/KVvcA-Z-qd8?a<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
-\u00c2\u00a0Please visit my new site for all announcements<\/a>. If you’d rather not have to rely on checking a website regularly, sign up for my newsletter instead<\/a>! This will cover all news for Mark Reads, Mark Watches, and my fiction releases.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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