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Tuyo #11
Sekaran
A crown forged piece by piece, moment by moment.
Prince Sekaran is nine years old when he meets his cousin Aras for the first time.
Twenty when Aras is given a scepter.
Thirty-five when he becomes heir and discovers the truth about his cousin …
A novel-length series of linked stories and vignettes, each revealing the moments that define Sekaran’s first encounters, unexpected revelations, and the ties of blood, friendship, and loyalty that bind him to his cousin, his broader family, and the summer country itself.
Prince Sekaran is nine years old when he meets his cousin Aras for the first time.
Twenty when Aras is given a scepter.
Thirty-five when he becomes heir and discovers the truth about his cousin …
A novel-length series of linked stories and vignettes, each revealing the moments that define Sekaran’s first encounters, unexpected revelations, and the ties of blood, friendship, and loyalty that bind him to his cousin, his broader family, and the summer country itself.
- GenresFantasy
492 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2025
16 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Neumeier
56 books576 followersRachel Neumeier started writing fiction to relax when she was a graduate student and needed a hobby unrelated to her research. Prior to selling her first fantasy novel, she had published only a few articles in venues such as The American Journal of Botany. However, finding that her interests did not lie in research, Rachel left academia and began to let her hobbies take over her life instead.
She now raises and shows dogs, gardens, cooks, and occasionally finds time to read. She works part-time for a tutoring program, though she tutors far more students in Math and Chemistry than in English Composition.
She now raises and shows dogs, gardens, cooks, and occasionally finds time to read. She works part-time for a tutoring program, though she tutors far more students in Math and Chemistry than in English Composition.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 26, 2025
An interesting tale that timelines how Sekaran became king. The book is a prequel, a middle book and carves out an ending that leaves more books to come. Still unfinished is the outcome of the exhibition to the land of stars. I believe Rachel Neumeier will continue to be prolific with this series.
What we see in this story are events that occur while we were reading the various adventures of the Tuyo realm. Behind the scenes, if you will.
Very well done, I thought and certainly brought back memories of the past events. Fortunately, Neumeier didn't have to invent a whole new culture as she did in Book 10. That became a slog, as many of you know.
A belated Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or whatever you celebrate this time of year. And Happy New Year to more exciting reading.
What we see in this story are events that occur while we were reading the various adventures of the Tuyo realm. Behind the scenes, if you will.
Very well done, I thought and certainly brought back memories of the past events. Fortunately, Neumeier didn't have to invent a whole new culture as she did in Book 10. That became a slog, as many of you know.
A belated Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or whatever you celebrate this time of year. And Happy New Year to more exciting reading.
December 7, 2025
More of the same. Delightful
A great addition! Effectively adding prologues and epilogues to the previous books in the series that further ties them together. Showing how the many great events changed the world of Tuyo by telling the story of the would be King, Sekaran.
Written with Neumeier's usual care. A story of powerful people trying to do good.
A great addition! Effectively adding prologues and epilogues to the previous books in the series that further ties them together. Showing how the many great events changed the world of Tuyo by telling the story of the would be King, Sekaran.
Written with Neumeier's usual care. A story of powerful people trying to do good.
November 7, 2025
A hesitant 5 stars because, while I recognize the flaws in this book, the Tuyo series (and most of Neumeier’s writing in general) is so specifically what I want to read that it makes it difficult to do anything but love her books.
Mostly I think she should have either cut the scenes that allude to books that she hasn’t published yet or held off on publishing this book until those stories were out. She does like introducing upcoming MCs as side characters so I wasn’t surprised she did this, but I think that was the weakest point in the story.
But I mean, I’m not complaining. I got almost 500 pages of intense, emotional interactions between two characters that I love. I get to watch them balance affection and duty and do all this with the very real threat hanging over their lives.
I’ll put up with a little confusion for Ms. Neumeier to have free rein to write her crazy heart out.
Mostly I think she should have either cut the scenes that allude to books that she hasn’t published yet or held off on publishing this book until those stories were out. She does like introducing upcoming MCs as side characters so I wasn’t surprised she did this, but I think that was the weakest point in the story.
But I mean, I’m not complaining. I got almost 500 pages of intense, emotional interactions between two characters that I love. I get to watch them balance affection and duty and do all this with the very real threat hanging over their lives.
I’ll put up with a little confusion for Ms. Neumeier to have free rein to write her crazy heart out.
December 11, 2025
I adore the Tuyo series, and I really wanted to give Sekaran a full five stars. I would certainly give the series as a whole five stars were that an option. But in the interest of being honest, Sekaran didn’t quite meet that mark for me, largely due to the kind of book that it is rather than any specific fault it had.
First of all, Sekaran isn’t quite a novel in the traditional sense of the word. It’s a lont-term character study of Sekaran, prince of the summer country and chosen heir of its king, his father Soretes. Sekaran has long been lurking around this series as a fairly important side character, though his importance is generally due to his political and social position rather than his importance to the plot. Sekaran the book follows a much longer time span than any other book in the series so far. It begins when Sekaran is only nine (chronologically, long before even Marag takes place) and ends fifty-four years later, when Sekaran is sixty-three and has been crowned king, several years after the events of Hedesa. We see his reaction to many of the important events in the series, particularly those concerning the summer country, but even so, the events of the original Tuyo don’t occur until over halfway through the book.
But that’s not to say the book is uninteresting or dull—far from it. Though it is definitely slow-paced as is standard for the series, I really enjoyed this look into Sekaran’s character and the chance to watch him grow and develop as a person. He doesn’t start out as the heir, or even his father’s likeliest choice to succeed him. We see Sekaran grow to adulthood, navigate relationships in his large family, suffer in an unfulfilling political marriage, find unadulterated joy in his children, take on additional responsibilities, and struggle with how to be a good prince and a good king in a land that is both prosperous and in need of serious reforms.
Many characters from the larger series show up throughout the book. Much of the focus is on Sekaran’s parents, siblings, wife, and children, but we also see protagonists from other books, like Rihasi and Ryo (Ryo’s back!!). But Sekaran’s most significant relationship, at least within the confines of what this book is interested in, is with Aras, his most interesting cousin. It is fascinating to see Aras as a child and then a young man, to see him many years before the truth of his sorcerous abilities become common knowledge, to see him grapple with the aftermath of the events of Tasmakat, and towards the end of the book, take up what many readers will probably see as an indefensible position out of a desire to protect his granddaughter, even at the expense of broader societal progress. I doubt we’ll ever get an entire book from Aras’s perspective the way we got several from Ryo’s, but seeing him from this side, through Sekaran’s eyes, was deeply compelling.
I enjoyed Sekaran a great deal, especially how it covered such a lengthy time period and how we could see the world shift around these characters. For example, at the start of the book the Lau barely consider the existence of the Ugaro beyond thinking of them as “northern barbarians,” yet by the end of the book—due to events we’ve seen play out in detail throughout the series—they have a much better understanding of Ugaro culture and consider the Ugaro close allies. Sekaran himself was a wonderful character and a delight to get to know better.
But I think the overall structure of the book is what held me back from the full five-star rating, and it was a pretty close thing. The fact is that this isn’t so much a novel as it is a collection of short stories or vignettes—Rachel Neumeier admits as much in her author’s note at the end—and as such, it definitely falls into the “character study” category of book rather than one that advances the series plot in any significant way. After Hedesa, I’m simply dying to know what happens next, and Sekaran was not the book to give me answers in that regard.
This is not at all a good starting point for those new to Tuyo. Sekaran depends strongly on already knowing the basic plot points of several books in the series, and ideally knowing at least some of the characters as well. While not my favorite entry, I still enjoyed it thoroughly and will surely think back fondly on it.
First of all, Sekaran isn’t quite a novel in the traditional sense of the word. It’s a lont-term character study of Sekaran, prince of the summer country and chosen heir of its king, his father Soretes. Sekaran has long been lurking around this series as a fairly important side character, though his importance is generally due to his political and social position rather than his importance to the plot. Sekaran the book follows a much longer time span than any other book in the series so far. It begins when Sekaran is only nine (chronologically, long before even Marag takes place) and ends fifty-four years later, when Sekaran is sixty-three and has been crowned king, several years after the events of Hedesa. We see his reaction to many of the important events in the series, particularly those concerning the summer country, but even so, the events of the original Tuyo don’t occur until over halfway through the book.
But that’s not to say the book is uninteresting or dull—far from it. Though it is definitely slow-paced as is standard for the series, I really enjoyed this look into Sekaran’s character and the chance to watch him grow and develop as a person. He doesn’t start out as the heir, or even his father’s likeliest choice to succeed him. We see Sekaran grow to adulthood, navigate relationships in his large family, suffer in an unfulfilling political marriage, find unadulterated joy in his children, take on additional responsibilities, and struggle with how to be a good prince and a good king in a land that is both prosperous and in need of serious reforms.
Many characters from the larger series show up throughout the book. Much of the focus is on Sekaran’s parents, siblings, wife, and children, but we also see protagonists from other books, like Rihasi and Ryo (Ryo’s back!!). But Sekaran’s most significant relationship, at least within the confines of what this book is interested in, is with Aras, his most interesting cousin. It is fascinating to see Aras as a child and then a young man, to see him many years before the truth of his sorcerous abilities become common knowledge, to see him grapple with the aftermath of the events of Tasmakat, and towards the end of the book, take up what many readers will probably see as an indefensible position out of a desire to protect his granddaughter, even at the expense of broader societal progress. I doubt we’ll ever get an entire book from Aras’s perspective the way we got several from Ryo’s, but seeing him from this side, through Sekaran’s eyes, was deeply compelling.
I enjoyed Sekaran a great deal, especially how it covered such a lengthy time period and how we could see the world shift around these characters. For example, at the start of the book the Lau barely consider the existence of the Ugaro beyond thinking of them as “northern barbarians,” yet by the end of the book—due to events we’ve seen play out in detail throughout the series—they have a much better understanding of Ugaro culture and consider the Ugaro close allies. Sekaran himself was a wonderful character and a delight to get to know better.
But I think the overall structure of the book is what held me back from the full five-star rating, and it was a pretty close thing. The fact is that this isn’t so much a novel as it is a collection of short stories or vignettes—Rachel Neumeier admits as much in her author’s note at the end—and as such, it definitely falls into the “character study” category of book rather than one that advances the series plot in any significant way. After Hedesa, I’m simply dying to know what happens next, and Sekaran was not the book to give me answers in that regard.
This is not at all a good starting point for those new to Tuyo. Sekaran depends strongly on already knowing the basic plot points of several books in the series, and ideally knowing at least some of the characters as well. While not my favorite entry, I still enjoyed it thoroughly and will surely think back fondly on it.
November 14, 2025
The latest Tuyo book held me utterly spellbound – I finished it in 24 hours, despite it being over 500 pages on my Kindle! Which is a little bit surprising, simply because the eponymous Sekaran isn’t a character that I’ve cared much about before.
Only it’s not surprising, because this is far from the first time that Neumeier has made me fall in love with a character I previously never gave much thought to. If anything, I think she makes a habit of it in this series especially; introducing minor characters as background in someone else’s story, then turning round and giving that minor character a novel of their own, wherein they steal my heart and don’t give it back.
For once, this isn’t a novel; Sekaran follows the eponymous character with short stories/interludes from across his life, starting when he’s very young, all the way past his ascendance to king of the Summer Country. I don’t think this would be a good place to start with the Tuyo series – a lot of the tension from the early stories, for example, comes from the reader’s knowledge of facts baby!Sekaran doesn’t have yet, such as his cousin Aras being a fully-fledged sorcerer; other stories take place in the background, or behind-the-scenes, of major events that were the focus of earlier novels, such as what Sekaran – and the rest of the Summer Country government – were doing during the events of Tasmakat.
But if you have read the previous books, Sekaran is immensely satisfying – adding even more rich depth to our understanding of the Summer Country in general, and exploring the subtleties and context of major plot points from the series. It helps that Sekaran is a wonderful character – I’m so glad he got his own book! (This has been my reaction every time someone I considered a minor character ended up with their own book in this series.) I think giving us his story this way – via many smaller stories, rather than a traditional novel – was the right call; he’s maybe not…exciting enough to carry a novel himself (though would I be shocked if Neumeier managed to write a novel about him? No, no I would not), but he’s fascinating and deep and was a delight to get to know. This is a character who genuinely wants what’s best for the Summer Country, who is able to tuck away his own pride and desires when they come into conflict with that. He has a temper, but he never loses it; he has small, petty feelings, but he never acts on them. He’s excellent at putting disparate pieces together to see a big picture most others miss; he is at ease with not being The Best in the room at something (being willing to defer to experts is a character trait I ADORE). He loves his mother and siblings, he adores his children, he respects his wife even as he cannot love her. If I’m making him sound boring…I can see why someone might call him that, but they’d be simplifying things to the point of nonsense.
This is a fairly languid, unhurried book; even the stories with quite high stakes are mostly not nerve-wracking, because we’ve already seen how most of the problems Sekaran encounters resolve themselves. This is very much not the book for someone looking for a lot of action. On the other hand, political intrigue is everywhere, sometimes on a fairly small scale, sometimes on an immense one. Unlike most of the other spin-off books set in the Summer Country, Sekaran shows us what the Summer Country’s perspective on the Winter Country is, what Ugaro look like to outsiders. It was kind of appalling to see, in the early stories, how ignorant most of the Summer Country is about their neighbours (who, after all, we as readers know all about by now) – and it was proportionately lovely to see that ignorance wear away over time, as the relationship between the two countries (as mostly driven by Ryo and Aras, the stars of the main series) deepens.
We saw a good bit of this in Rihasi, but just as Tano’s storyline in his books questions the use of physical punishment among Ugaro, Sekaran delves unexpectedly deeply into the restrictions on noblewomen in the Summer Country. (I say ‘unexpectedly’ because Sekaran, after all, is not a woman, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if this was an issue he didn’t notice, or didn’t consider a problem.) It’s never done bluntly, but it’s easy to see how Sekaran comes to view it as a problem, over the course of his life – and I thought it was really interesting that Aras, who we’re used to thinking of as pretty heroic, was actually in opposition to Sekaran on this, insisting that noblewomen want to not be allowed out in public, or involved in politics, or sign their own names on their theses and plays. Neumeier has always loved to build worlds, and characters, that are a mix of grey, not black-and-white, and she continues to be really freaking good at it. (This did not stop me from being annoyed with Aras!)
I think Sekaran was also a really deep dive into the Summer Country perspective on sorcery, which makes a lot of sense given that a) it’s much more common in the Summer Country than the Winter Country, and b) it’s even more common among the nobility of the Summer Country. It was absolutely fascinating to see how the various minor forms of sorcery manifest, and all the ways people have of dealing with them – sometimes well, sometimes badly. I don’t have anything very clever to say about it; I just really enjoyed seeing it. In particular, Sekaran’s fears around any of his children potentially growing up to be sorcerers were extremely understandable and deeply heartbreaking.
WHAT CAN I SAY, ANOTHER WONDERFUL INSTALLMENT IN THE TUYO SERIES, NO ONE IS SURPRISED AT THIS POINT!
Only it’s not surprising, because this is far from the first time that Neumeier has made me fall in love with a character I previously never gave much thought to. If anything, I think she makes a habit of it in this series especially; introducing minor characters as background in someone else’s story, then turning round and giving that minor character a novel of their own, wherein they steal my heart and don’t give it back.
For once, this isn’t a novel; Sekaran follows the eponymous character with short stories/interludes from across his life, starting when he’s very young, all the way past his ascendance to king of the Summer Country. I don’t think this would be a good place to start with the Tuyo series – a lot of the tension from the early stories, for example, comes from the reader’s knowledge of facts baby!Sekaran doesn’t have yet, such as his cousin Aras being a fully-fledged sorcerer; other stories take place in the background, or behind-the-scenes, of major events that were the focus of earlier novels, such as what Sekaran – and the rest of the Summer Country government – were doing during the events of Tasmakat.
But if you have read the previous books, Sekaran is immensely satisfying – adding even more rich depth to our understanding of the Summer Country in general, and exploring the subtleties and context of major plot points from the series. It helps that Sekaran is a wonderful character – I’m so glad he got his own book! (This has been my reaction every time someone I considered a minor character ended up with their own book in this series.) I think giving us his story this way – via many smaller stories, rather than a traditional novel – was the right call; he’s maybe not…exciting enough to carry a novel himself (though would I be shocked if Neumeier managed to write a novel about him? No, no I would not), but he’s fascinating and deep and was a delight to get to know. This is a character who genuinely wants what’s best for the Summer Country, who is able to tuck away his own pride and desires when they come into conflict with that. He has a temper, but he never loses it; he has small, petty feelings, but he never acts on them. He’s excellent at putting disparate pieces together to see a big picture most others miss; he is at ease with not being The Best in the room at something (being willing to defer to experts is a character trait I ADORE). He loves his mother and siblings, he adores his children, he respects his wife even as he cannot love her. If I’m making him sound boring…I can see why someone might call him that, but they’d be simplifying things to the point of nonsense.
This is a fairly languid, unhurried book; even the stories with quite high stakes are mostly not nerve-wracking, because we’ve already seen how most of the problems Sekaran encounters resolve themselves. This is very much not the book for someone looking for a lot of action. On the other hand, political intrigue is everywhere, sometimes on a fairly small scale, sometimes on an immense one. Unlike most of the other spin-off books set in the Summer Country, Sekaran shows us what the Summer Country’s perspective on the Winter Country is, what Ugaro look like to outsiders. It was kind of appalling to see, in the early stories, how ignorant most of the Summer Country is about their neighbours (who, after all, we as readers know all about by now) – and it was proportionately lovely to see that ignorance wear away over time, as the relationship between the two countries (as mostly driven by Ryo and Aras, the stars of the main series) deepens.
We saw a good bit of this in Rihasi, but just as Tano’s storyline in his books questions the use of physical punishment among Ugaro, Sekaran delves unexpectedly deeply into the restrictions on noblewomen in the Summer Country. (I say ‘unexpectedly’ because Sekaran, after all, is not a woman, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if this was an issue he didn’t notice, or didn’t consider a problem.) It’s never done bluntly, but it’s easy to see how Sekaran comes to view it as a problem, over the course of his life – and I thought it was really interesting that Aras, who we’re used to thinking of as pretty heroic, was actually in opposition to Sekaran on this, insisting that noblewomen want to not be allowed out in public, or involved in politics, or sign their own names on their theses and plays. Neumeier has always loved to build worlds, and characters, that are a mix of grey, not black-and-white, and she continues to be really freaking good at it. (This did not stop me from being annoyed with Aras!)
I think Sekaran was also a really deep dive into the Summer Country perspective on sorcery, which makes a lot of sense given that a) it’s much more common in the Summer Country than the Winter Country, and b) it’s even more common among the nobility of the Summer Country. It was absolutely fascinating to see how the various minor forms of sorcery manifest, and all the ways people have of dealing with them – sometimes well, sometimes badly. I don’t have anything very clever to say about it; I just really enjoyed seeing it. In particular, Sekaran’s fears around any of his children potentially growing up to be sorcerers were extremely understandable and deeply heartbreaking.
WHAT CAN I SAY, ANOTHER WONDERFUL INSTALLMENT IN THE TUYO SERIES, NO ONE IS SURPRISED AT THIS POINT!
December 9, 2025
The instant I heard about this book I knew it was tailor-made to delight me specifically, and I was correct.
Sekaran is a series of vignettes following Prince Sekaran, heir to the throne of the Summer Country, from the time he was a child through the entire rest of the Tuyo series. We jump in and out of his life every few years, witnessing heretofore unknown pivotal moments that interplayed with the rest of the stories we know already. And we even get to peek a little bit into the future of the series, and guess at where we might be going.
You definitely shouldn't read this until you've read basically every other Tuyo book, because the events of the main series are referred to a lot but never rehashed.
Every single one of these scenes was a joy to my heart. Sekaran himself is wonderful. I love nothing more than an overly-burdened, scrupulously conscientious prince tirelessly refusing to compromise his iron sense of morality. I looooooooove the catch 22s such a person has to navigate when love and duty come into conflict, or loyalties to two different things threaten to clash.
We got never-before-seen conversations between Sekaran and Ryo, I know I personally came away with a MUCH stronger sense of who is who in the royal family, and the cherry on top is that a minimum of half of all this content revolved squarely around Lord Aras.
I, dedicated Aras stan and a proud member of the "Aras Has Done Nothing Wrong, Ever*" club, was VIBRATING into some kind of fourth dimension while reading this.
Look. I LOVE outsider POV. I love seeing favorite characters through others' eyes, and the insights it gives you being outside their typical dynamic. I was reading Rihasi scanning for the merest clue about post-Tasmakat Aras, so you can imagine how much I ADORED getting a behind-the-scenes view of: 1) him as a boy!!!, 2) him as a young scepter holder!!!, 3) *me shouting through a megaphone* SORCERY REVEAL TO SEKARAN SCENE(S)!!!!!!!!, 4) multiple post-Tasmakat conversations between Aras and Sekaran, 5) MULTIPLE "accepting the cup" scenes ;_; 6) up close look at Aras' and Sekaran's feelings and plans regarding Tathimi, Aras' granddaughter.
All of this is worth more than gold to me. The experience of reading this was thrilling, and I only waited so long to read it because I KNEW it was going to knock me completely over.
This book was truly a priceless gift directly to yours truly. As always, can't wait for more. Can't wait to find out what went on with Ryo while Tano and the Boys(TM) were in the Starlit Lands; can't wait to find out what on earth happened with Rihasi and Illiethani; can't wait to find out what's GOING to happen with Tathimi.
*it was ONE time
Sekaran is a series of vignettes following Prince Sekaran, heir to the throne of the Summer Country, from the time he was a child through the entire rest of the Tuyo series. We jump in and out of his life every few years, witnessing heretofore unknown pivotal moments that interplayed with the rest of the stories we know already. And we even get to peek a little bit into the future of the series, and guess at where we might be going.
You definitely shouldn't read this until you've read basically every other Tuyo book, because the events of the main series are referred to a lot but never rehashed.
Every single one of these scenes was a joy to my heart. Sekaran himself is wonderful. I love nothing more than an overly-burdened, scrupulously conscientious prince tirelessly refusing to compromise his iron sense of morality. I looooooooove the catch 22s such a person has to navigate when love and duty come into conflict, or loyalties to two different things threaten to clash.
We got never-before-seen conversations between Sekaran and Ryo, I know I personally came away with a MUCH stronger sense of who is who in the royal family, and the cherry on top is that a minimum of half of all this content revolved squarely around Lord Aras.
I, dedicated Aras stan and a proud member of the "Aras Has Done Nothing Wrong, Ever*" club, was VIBRATING into some kind of fourth dimension while reading this.
Look. I LOVE outsider POV. I love seeing favorite characters through others' eyes, and the insights it gives you being outside their typical dynamic. I was reading Rihasi scanning for the merest clue about post-Tasmakat Aras, so you can imagine how much I ADORED getting a behind-the-scenes view of: 1) him as a boy!!!, 2) him as a young scepter holder!!!, 3) *me shouting through a megaphone* SORCERY REVEAL TO SEKARAN SCENE(S)!!!!!!!!, 4) multiple post-Tasmakat conversations between Aras and Sekaran, 5) MULTIPLE "accepting the cup" scenes ;_; 6) up close look at Aras' and Sekaran's feelings and plans regarding Tathimi, Aras' granddaughter.
All of this is worth more than gold to me. The experience of reading this was thrilling, and I only waited so long to read it because I KNEW it was going to knock me completely over.
This book was truly a priceless gift directly to yours truly. As always, can't wait for more. Can't wait to find out what went on with Ryo while Tano and the Boys(TM) were in the Starlit Lands; can't wait to find out what on earth happened with Rihasi and Illiethani; can't wait to find out what's GOING to happen with Tathimi.
October 23, 2025
This is not a good entry point to the Tuyo series because it relies on events in the rest of the series, but it’s a fantastic add on. I love seeing Aras from the perspective of a slightly younger cousin, and how their relationship evolves over the years. The other relationships among the royal family are very well done too. There’s a wonderful progression through many chapters from the king wanting desperately to make his oldest son his heir despite his unsuitability, to Aras describing how proud and confident the king (retired) is of Sekaran.
My favorite chapters are those that came after Tuyo (chapter 13), Tasmakat (chapter 16) and Rihasi (chapter 18). They seem like both part of Sekaran’s story and also neat little extras for those novels.
The author has said she doesn’t feel like this is a novel because there’s no plot and that might technically be true, but it feels satisfyingly complete! I read it all the way through and then immediately started over to savor specific pieces.
My favorite chapters are those that came after Tuyo (chapter 13), Tasmakat (chapter 16) and Rihasi (chapter 18). They seem like both part of Sekaran’s story and also neat little extras for those novels.
The author has said she doesn’t feel like this is a novel because there’s no plot and that might technically be true, but it feels satisfyingly complete! I read it all the way through and then immediately started over to savor specific pieces.
November 4, 2025
Very interesting and unusual book. Amazing worldbuilding, with much thought given to the intricate details of court life and politics. It's a bit hard to define in terms of genre, but its an excellent companion piece for those who've read most of the Tuyo series and want and additional look at the world, from a vastly different perspective and a very wide scope.
It's fascinating to see the events of the series and beyond from a different point of view, and gain introspective into the Lau view of the various past events and the world in general, and take a look at the intricasies of the royal court and day to day existence of the high nobility in the Summer Kingdom.
I enjoyed this greatly, and then went back to some of the other books to re-read specific events and then back to Sekaran to compare and understand better some of what was going on behind the scenes.
Strongly recommended, with a small caveat - enjoying this book relies largely on having read the most of the rest of the series, so its less approachable for newcomers to the series.
It's fascinating to see the events of the series and beyond from a different point of view, and gain introspective into the Lau view of the various past events and the world in general, and take a look at the intricasies of the royal court and day to day existence of the high nobility in the Summer Kingdom.
I enjoyed this greatly, and then went back to some of the other books to re-read specific events and then back to Sekaran to compare and understand better some of what was going on behind the scenes.
Strongly recommended, with a small caveat - enjoying this book relies largely on having read the most of the rest of the series, so its less approachable for newcomers to the series.
October 14, 2025
I remain admiring of the way that Neumeier manages to get me thoroughly engrossed in the stories of side characters I wouldn't have thought I cared to read about.
A patient hunter, a moral man, a subtle statesman. I look forward to the next tales under this reign.
Seeing Aras from this perspective is fairly illuminating - especially when it comes to the very last of the book and the changes in society that Sekaran is willing to wrangle in his own way.
A patient hunter, a moral man, a subtle statesman. I look forward to the next tales under this reign.
Seeing Aras from this perspective is fairly illuminating - especially when it comes to the very last of the book and the changes in society that Sekaran is willing to wrangle in his own way.
November 3, 2025
If you're a Tuyo fan, you don't need me to tell you to pick this up: any excuse to return to the world of the Lau and the Ugaro (yes, there are brief moments in the Winter country). What's really fun about this one is the sort of behind-the-scenes looks at various incidents from the Tuyo novels from Sekaran's POV. But Sekaran himself is a great character to get to know, and I loved the development of his relationship with Aras. Also we get a bit more Illiethani!
November 8, 2025
Certainly not a novel, or truly a short story collection, and it doesn't in any way stand alone. But it's a very enjoyable companion to the other Tuyo books, letting us see familiar characters from a new perspective and spend more in-depth time with an otherwise minor character. The structure also lets Neumeier spend time developing the theme of gradual social change around the role of women and the structures of power in the summer country, which makes for a satisfying read.
December 30, 2025
I wish I could explain why I love this style of plainly written philosophical fantasy so much. Neumeier's characters are deeply invested, always, in the question of what it means for a leader to be good in their society and she keeps playing the answer out across different stories and I love it so much.
October 17, 2025
A fun read connecting lots of the existing stories in the Tuyo world, and setting the stage for the ones yet to come, which is so exciting! Also it prompted me to go reread Tasmakat, which is a delight, and I think I’ll reread Hedesa next. This series is a treasure trove of stories that are so immersive and creative - fantasy at its best.
November 6, 2025
This was an odd one, a series of linked vignettes about Prince Sekaran, rather than a novel. Not sure it really worked.
November 16, 2025
love these books
4.5 stars. Every time I read one of these books it makes me want to go back and read them all again.
4.5 stars. Every time I read one of these books it makes me want to go back and read them all again.
December 31, 2025
You have to read the previous books for this to make sense and be enjoyable. I did like it, despite being entirely political.
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