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'Uncle Albert glanced over at me. "But as long as they gave us medals, that fixed it, as far as the army was concerned. You expect heroes to survive terrible things. If you give them a medal, then you don't ever have to ask why the terrible thing happened in the first place. Or try to fix it." He made a flicking gesture with his fingers. "How else are you gonna have heroes?"'

If you have ever tried to make conversation with a monarch, over the hog-tied body of an evil wizard, with a dead man in the next room, it is not easy. Talking about the weather didn't seem appropriate, and "So, do you think this will work, or are we all going to die?" didn't strike me as very good either.
"Think this'll work, or are we all going to die?" asked Spindle, who was not troubled by social niceties.

I feel like I’m reading a different book than other reviewers

Am I reading the same book as other reviewers??