Status Updates From Bookburners: The Complete S...

Welp, the cat's outta the bag. Magic is real. London is a city transmogrified. (Love the monster city avatar---a giant Raven!) And Team 3 is on ice. In theory, at least. Say, has anyone seen Perry? This chapter was magnificent.

It's "Live in London" part 1, and as the city burns (and writhes) a Team 1 grunt with magic armor, a Team 4 scientist nothing but tentacles below the belt, a NY city cop, and her angel/brother amalgam are heading into the rift to close it. What could possibly go wrong? And wow, that last scene with Grace....

"Broken Vessels": London is ground zero for the Apocalypse! Teams 1, 3, 4, and the Thames (!) battle the City Eater. But fatal mistakes are made, and Hana has a few final choice words for Fr. Menchu. Could the Experiment be doomed? Gah!!

"Crossing Over" the City Eater is born inside the British Museum, and despite their best efforts, Team 3 (and 4) can't contain it. Plus, Ashanti's secret is out! Perry/Aaron confirms Hana's plan to "save" the universe (at least we're not being experimented on by the mice!). And Cardinal Fox has two words!

Chap 3.10 "Into the Woods": Perry/Aaron spills the beans about Team 4 to Fr. Menchu as they save Hansel and Gretel from Baba Yaga/Mother Goose, while Ashanti inadvertently leads Hana to the last artifact she needs to hatch her dubious rescue of the "experiment" she created. Yeah, this urban fantasy is absolutely bonkers, and I love it.

"Homecoming": Fr. Menchu (and Sal) investigate a suspicious dig back home in his native Guatemala, but instead find themselves in a much hotter place. Hana and Perry break protocols to divulge another tranche of angel sekrits as Team 3 realizes they have unwittingly been playing a part to save the "experiment". The suspense is palpable y'all.

"Making Amends": Liam implements Step 9 with disastrous consequences. Manchu finally tells Asanti about Hana. But all this drama is backgrounded by Sal and Grace's discovery! And they will never be the same. A great ep!

Chapter 3.7 "Cracks in the World", in which the main story arc advances by means of a mind-share trap that brings Team 3 back together, almost. Brilliant!

Chap 3.6 "Oracle Bones": amid a bit of "Raiders of the List Ark" spelunking, we finally spend some time fleshing out the Bookburners' longest, most complex relationship, between Fr. Manchu and Grace, and it is heart-achingly beautiful. This chapter was more than two seasons in the making. Wow.

Gah! So many sekrits! Asanti's slow burn self destruction. Fr. Manchu's (literal) personal demon. Hana's doomsaying. VPerry's involvement in Team 4. _Freakin' Team Four!_ This series keeps on delivering.

Another trip to the Market Arcanum, another long burn of Grace's candle. Her reconciliation with Sal is touching.

The already splintered team 3 splits up to investigate simultaneous orb events at antipodes with Shaw's team 1, and it's one of the best eps so far: lycanthropes, hydras and---finally!---Menchu's nemesis from the defining trauma of his past. Pacing and tension in this ep are perfect. Hana could be the series' most formidable foe yet!

Team 3 is barely holding together, with Grace poached by Team 1, Asanti feeling betrayed by Menchu and reconstituting Team 4 in secret, and a new unsympathetic boss who restricts their activities. Meanwhile, why is Sal's brother Perry in Lascaux, and who is Menchu's mysterious nemesis?

Why yes I have 2 audiobooks on the go, shhh. I needed a respite from Grace breaking my heart.

I laughed through significant parts of ep4, but I ended it wanting to give the team a hug. So many broken edges showing.