We are still going full steam ahead through our Indranan War Read Along! Today I’m diving into the opening chapters of Beyond The Empire, the final book in the trilogy, so be aware that major spoilers are going to follow!

 

 

So before we begin, here’s a full run-down of the schedule and hosts:

• Week 1: Chapters 1-9, hosted by Dear Geek Place
• Week 2: Chapters 10-19,  hosted by There’s Always Room For One More
• Week 3: Chapters 20-29, hosted by The Book Nook
• Week 4: Chapters 30-End, hosted by Bookforager

Questions will go up on or by each Sunday in February in our Discord channel for the read along, so if you’d like to follow that discussion but don’t have an invite let me know and I’ll fix you right up! Otherwise you can follow the weekly links round-up here to see what others have to say.

Right! Onward…

“Your mother said no!” Any thoughts or theories about what Clara might have meant by her final words to Hail?

OK, so I included this question mainly to get other people’s thoughts on it, since I’ve read through this book once already and I know the answer. Everyone else is delighting me with their predictions, but while I’m sitting on some pretty chewy thoughts on this matter, I think I’ll wait until we have the reveal to really get into them. (If I can stand to wait that long…)

Bial is dragged back before the Empress to explain himself. What did you make of this interaction with Hail, and of Hail’s decision to imprison him now and deal with him later?

Her decision made a lot of sense – she has an immense amount on her plate, Bial’s a tricky question with no clear and immediate answer in terms of trustworthiness, so why not simply stick him somewhere out of the way, under guard, and worry about it later? I can also sympathise with Hail simply not wanting to deal with him then and there, politically or emotionally. I’d also like to spare a moment to celebrate this instance of a woman telling a man she doesn’t need to prove anything to him. Excuse YOU, Bial.

It seems even men who are at peace with living in a matriarchal society can’t help themselves when it comes to excessive pride, hmm?

…And in light of this encounter with Bial, what did you think of her public execution of Specialist Modi?

This was quite a turn, and for all that I love and appreciate her, I kind of wanted to slap Hail back into common sense territory here. She chooses to execute Modi in public, knowing full well how it’s going to look, and she blames Wilson for forcing her hand? Hail. Honey, no. You’re angry and you wanted an excuse. Just admit it. By claiming her actions are a result of Wilson’s scheming, she’s basically denying any responsibility for them, and however much I might like her I can’t condone that. Maybe it’s how gunrunners do things, but again, that’s Hail grasping for excuses to vent her anger. Even if Wilson IS trying to provoke reactions from her, giving him what he wants is pretty much always going to be the wrong thing to do. And Hail is smart enough to know this. So I’m pretty disappointed by this turnaround.

Things are taking a curious, if complicated, turn with Fasé following the events of the previous book. How do you feel about her apparently newfound ability?

I’m curious as heck about this. I don’t fully understand how or why it came about or what it really means for Fasé, in or outside of Farian society, and this is kind of the problem with the breakneck pace of a lot of this story across the whole trilogy – it’s going so fast that we don’t get nearly enough time for side stories or even exposition, and I’m not the biggest fan of long explanations but in this case I’m enjoying the story and the characters so much that I can’t help wanting more! I wish these books were longer so we had more time for this stuff.

As it is, Fasé seems to be teetering on the brink of being a deus ex machina here, but she’s trying not to be? Which is good! But is that sustainable in the middle of a war? Is she going to want to Do Something with this ability to help her friends? I WANT MORE FASÉ TIME DARNIT.

(Again, I know the answers here. But again, that’s for later.)

… And on that note, that’s it from me for now. But take a look at what others have to say, if you haven’t already! (Links will added as they’re available.)

Week 1: There’s Always Room For One More | Bookforager | The Book Nook | A Dance With Books