{"id":4688,"date":"2018-09-18T05:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4688"},"modified":"2018-09-16T08:15:35","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T15:15:35","slug":"mark-reads-the-book-of-night-with-moon-chapter-13-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/09\/mark-reads-the-book-of-night-with-moon-chapter-13-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;The Book of Night With Moon&#8217;: Chapter 13, Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the third part of the thirteenth chapter of <i>The Book of Night With Moon<\/i>, the myth is reborn. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <i>Feline Wizards<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so satisfying to me to see how the concept of choice is tied intricately into this narrative. This was not simply a repeat of a legend that these wizards had to participate in. Choice still matters so to this narrative. In that respect, this reminded me of the Song of the Twelve, though the context is very different. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a story playing out here, and it absolutely matters that each of these wizards made a decision to be a part of that.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yet I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the crucial difference here: Arhu wanted to reinvent all of this. He wanted to tell the same story, but <i>change the ending<\/i>. Why make the same mistakes? Why allow the tale to unfold in the same way again? Once Rhiow unleashed that spell, she helped to alter the narrative, first by bringing Iau into her. And I love how <i>visceral<\/i> this came across; it helped me to get a sense of the immense and unfathomable power that ripped through Rhiow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body. She was a God, one of the Powers That Be, and it is the closest look we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten at these beings in a while. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen lots of the One\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Champion, but FIVE of them at ONCE? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unreal. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a <i>treat<\/i>. And Duane does not disappoint us: as the Powers enter the bodies of these wizards, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given life anew. Look, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna \u00e2\u20ac\u0153undo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d major character deaths, THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT: allow Gods to raise them from Death to fight anew.<\/p>\n<p>Aaurh becomes Saash, and the fire that destroyed her body burns <i>backward<\/i>, which is REALLY FUCKING COOL. Plus, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re cats! I bought the tension and the horror of their deaths, but they have nine lives. Coming back to life is part of the deal, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel this is a cop-out in the slightest. Rather, this is the logical progression of this story. Aaurh returns, followed by sa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Rrahh in Arhu (which is probably my favorite part), and lastly, the Old Tom, Urrua, becomes our favorite, irascible tom, Urruah. The transformation of Urruah alone is worth everything because:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>That shape stood up, and was a panther\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shape, heavy-jowled and white-fanged, with unsheathed claws that burned and left molten spots on any stone they touched.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>YES. HELL YES. THIS IS AMAZING. So, Duane sets up one hell of a fight, and then immediately subverts our expectations. How? Well, the showdown between Haath and the wizards doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end with a massive fight. No, once Rhiow\/The Queen offer Haath a chance to redeem themselves, Haath hesitates. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a moment, but in that moment, the Lone One <i>must<\/i> have figured out that they had already lost Haath. Just a second later, the Lone One renounces Haath, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153all of Haath\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deaths simply caught up with him at once.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Like that, he is just <i>dust<\/i>, nothing more.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But it clears the way for the much, much bigger fight while demonstrating that the Lone One sees all other beings as just pawns in Its greater schemes. That is why Ith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eventual rejection stings the Lone One so much. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so full of Itself, you know? The Lone One <i>just<\/i> murdered Its last servant right in front of Ith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes for merely THINKING ABOUT CHANGING SIDES, and then thinks that Ith would totally be cool joining them! The Lone One is so concerned with power, though, that this is the only way they know how to express themselves, you know? Sure, they have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153soft\u00e2\u20ac\u009d voice here when trying to smooth talk Ith, but actions truly speak louder than words. Ith saw how the Lone One acted, but he <i>also<\/i> saw how Arhu acted, and the story finally comes full circle. Because of Arhu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind treatment of Ith, Ith believed that there was hope. He believed that you could experience pain\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich life is full of\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<i>and still live beyond it<\/i>. Arhu was a model of behavior and belief that Ith could trust in, and I LOVE THAT THIS HAPPENS. Arhu demonstrates that nothing is more valuable than living your life for yourself and for others rather than devoting your life wholly to someone else.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so cool, then, that as soon as Ith makes the Choice for his People, the world <i>literally<\/i> changes around him. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a power in a metaphor, of course, but I found it fulfilling for the malleable nature of the Downside to fall into a new configuration as the past is changed. The fight happens all over again, with the four Powers attacking the Old Serpent, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one last surprise in store, something <i>no one<\/i> was ready for:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Suddenly there was a Fifth among them; and sa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Rrahh laughed for joy and plunged anew into the battle beside that Fifth one; and the others cried out in amazement. For it was another Serpent, a bright one, as great as the Old Serpent, and its scales glittering like diamond in the light of their own fires.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Just like the serpents in Mercury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s staff. HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS FORESHADOWING, I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO THIS, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. How? HOW??? Oh my god, this is how it ends: Ith turns on its master, and his final act is to hold the Lone One down while Urruah uses a HYPERSTRING CONSTRUCT to decapitate the Old Serpent. (That is such a great sentence to type out. Seriously.) The Old Serpent\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blood is used to heal the Tree, and then&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>And then what? The Powers leave, the Downside has changed, Saash has helped the River of light turn into&#8230; well, another tree, so to speak. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about returning the place to its formal glory but writing a new tale in its place. I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the next (and final) part of that story is.<\/p>\n<p>WHEW, THIS WAS A RIDE, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/bWv__cBeDTA<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>My YA contemporary debut, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AngerIsAGift\">ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the third part of the thirteenth chapter of The Book of Night With Moon, the myth is reborn. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Feline Wizards.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[547,548],"tags":[513,549],"class_list":["post-4688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feline-wizards","category-the-book-of-night-with-moon","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-feline-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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