In the fourteenth chapter of Trickster’s Choice, NOTHING IS OKAY AND EVERYTHING IS RIDICULOUS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Trickster’s Choice.
Chapter Fourteen: Pivot
WELL, NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CHAPTER IS CALLED “PIVOT.” OH MY GOD, TAMORA PIERCE JUST UPSET THE ENTIRE FLOW OF THIS NOVEL RIGHT BEFORE THE END OF IT AND EVERYTHING IS RIDICULOUS AND KIND OF SCARY and actually, it’s really sad for a moment BUT WE WILL GET THERE AND I WILL SHOUT A LOT SO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
“What now?” Aly demanded crossly. “I have enough on my plate at the moment, without you dragging me all over the mortal realms.”
I JUST FIGURED IT OUT: KYPRIOTH IS THAT ONE TEACHER IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO KNOWS THAT FINALS ARE NEAR AND EVERYONE HAS A TON OF HOMEWORK AND PROJECTS TO DO AND THEN HE GLEEFULLY ASSIGNS YOU A HUGE PILE OF WORK WITH A DUE DATE THAT’S LIKE THREE DAYS OF WAY. “Gleefully” is the key word here because KYPRIOTH IS SO HAPPY TO TROLL THE HELL OUT OF ALY. Bless him. BLESS HIM.
“Actually, I have a bit of a wager on with my cousin the Graveyard Hag about that.”
!!!!!!!! MY JOY KNOWS NO BOUNDS!!! I LOVE THE GRAVEYARD HAG AND OF COURSE THEY ARE RELATED. oh my god OH MY GOD.
Okay, so let’s take a moment to be a tad serious. I hadn’t said much of anything before, but I’m curious to know how people feel about Hazarin being portrayed as fat. I realized here that it was a big part of physical description; it must have completely passed over my head when I first saw him within the book. And I worry about characters whose fatness is used as a commentary on gluttony because sigh. Except when Hazarin dies of apoplexy (OH MY GOD, THE FIRST OF MANY PLOT TWISTS), we learn that he ate “badly” ON PURPOSE. The way I saw it, he ate so richly because he figured he was going to die at the hands of relatives anyway, so why not choose the way you get to die? So I kind of love that he ate whatever he wanted because food is delicious and horrible family members be damned!
But I also don’t want to ignore how sad this is. It’s sad for Hazarin’s servants and slaves because of the horrific system that the luarin have built. They’ll be suspected and most likely tortured/executed for the king’s death, despite that they had nothing to do with it. It doesn’t matter to the luarin ruling class, though. This policy is meant to keep the raka oppressed by giving them a terrifying incentive to keep their luarin masters alive. On top of that, Hazarin’s life is kind of sad, too, though I admit I’m not terribly sympathetic with him. As he openly speaks about his life and death to Aly (OH MY GOD AS A GHOST THIS BOOK IS SO AWESOME), she realizes how he spent most of his last years convinced he was going to be poisoned with every meal. It explains why he seems so relieved to die. It’s all done with. He doesn’t have to worry anymore. Of course, when we see Imajane and Rubinyan’s reaction to Hazarin’s death, the whole affair is made out to be pretty damn dismal. MESSED UP, YO.
hahaha HEY IT’S THE BLACK GOD JUST CHILLIN’ AND WAITING TO TAKE HAZARIN. I should have realized just how ridiculous this chapter was going to work when Death showed up and Aly escaped whole because this was just the beginning. FROM THE Black God to STORMWINGS WAITING TO EAT HAZARIN AND WARNING OF WAR TO COME, this chapter is doing the most, and I love that. Again, Pierce took the whole novel, shook it up, and now we’ve got TWO FUCKING CHAPTERS to put it all together. HOW? HOW?
“You’ve trouble at your backs, mortal, and you’re too full of yourself to notice!” shrieked a female, her voice cutting through the heavy brocade drapes. “If I were you, I’d watch for the Trickster’s choice!”
At first, I assumed this mean Aly, but it’s ambiguous enough to refer to Sarai or Dove as well. So much mystery. My take? I don’t think Aly is the titular character; I think it’s Sarai. My evidence? Well, aside from the clear path cut from Sarai’s characterization and growth in this novel, it’s this:
“I’m bored,” she informed him. “I bore easily. I do not wish to loll about here while everyone talks and eats and does whatever other silly things these luarin pests do for fun.”
Can you imagine if Aly is some sort of Chosen One, and she spends most of that time complaining to the god who chose her? Mostly, I’m convinced that this is proof that Aly takes shit from absolutely no one. SHE JUST TOLD A GOD THAT HE IS BORING HER. My hero, y’all. My hero.
Into Aly’s ear he whispered, “If he does not give you back, my flock and our kinfolk will make him suffer.”
SCREAMING BECAUSE NAWAT IS TOO MUCH YET AGAIN. Oh my stars, this is the rudest fictional character in the world, and I need him to stop.
Actually, I’m gonna need Bronau to stop forever. In a matter of a couple pages, this whole book becomes DEEPLY TERRIFYING. Bronau – desperate for power and clearly not using an ounce of reason – decides to try and KIDNAP NEWLY CROWNED KING DUNEVON. WHO IS THREE YEARS OLD. AND EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SCENE IS SUPER DISTURBING AND UPSETTING. It is just wrong.
The reason I called it all terrifying, though, is due to Bronau’s desperation. If anything, I’d say that Bronau is calculating. What we saw of him in the beginning of the book and at Tanair has painted him as a manipulative creep, but he was never so rash and egregious that he put himself at risk. Sure, he’d test his boundaries, as he did by courting Sarai in front of her parents without asking their approval, but he always knew how far to go. Here, he jumps straight to one of the most absurd plans imaginable. Like…. what the hell was he going to do with Dunevon??? Hold him hostage??? How was that going to improve Bronau’s current predicament?
It makes sense, then, that Kyprioth describes this event as the “pivot” on which Aly’s wager stands. This has changed everything, and I have no idea what’s going to happen! It doesn’t help that MITHROS AND THE GODDESS DECIDE TO SHOW UP AND NOW EVEN KYPRIOTH HAS TO WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE ISLES.
CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS? (Of course we can. I can’t believe how absurd that sounds now that I think about it. That’s the point of my own website, you goofball.) Let’s first discuss what Aly does here, which I respect so much:
Her knees wanted to give way, demanding that she kneel. She would not do it. It was one thing to kneel to the Black God, who would take her in hand one day. It was another to kneel to the pair who had done the raka such a terrible wrong when they supported the luarin conquest.
THIS FEELS SO HUGE TO ME. Aly is defying the traditional Tortall gods and Pierce willingly portrays them as 100% WRONG. They were wrong for overthrowing their brother and allowing the Isles to become oppressed under the luarin. And it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen these gods as characters in Tortall books. It’s just that this feels so different than everything before. Aly lies. TO. GODS. And she pulls it off. She pulls it off beautifully by taking Daine’s advice and lying to them with the truth.
I also feared for Kyprioth here, which was a new thing for me. He always seems so powerful and tricky, but after his siblings show up to remind him of his place, his demeanor changes. I was so shocked to read about him offering to free Aly from her wager SO QUICKLY. To me, that spoke of how serious he took this predicament. Now, his brother and sister were possibly suspicious of what he was doing in the Copper Isles. And yet, given the option to be free again, Aly chooses to stay. Aly chooses to stay. That’s so incredible to me!
I still don’t know how this is going to be resolved. I don’t get it! The end of this chapter largely details all of the variables and complications that have arisen due to Hazarin’s death and Bronau’s actions, and I gotta say: I feel less prepared than ever. Good gods.
Please note that the original text and the videos contain uses of the words “idiot” and “mad.”
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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