Status Updates From The Tyrant (The Masquerade,...

it sometimes feels like the oriati mbo culture is mary-sueified but also whatever it's nice to have some cultural element in this be, like, worth rooting for. but also woah you have multiple genders and your social system is based on generosity and kindness and the people you're fighting want to institute a eugenics program and rule your land? who should I root for here 🤔

This section is a bit heavy handed. Yes, I know Bel needs to be taken off the board but am I supposed to believe Iscend's powers of persuasion are so good that he 1) goes back to substance abuse 2) is so immediately off his rocker? If we had some scenes before this demonstrating the tension between him and Heigyl...

I’m so sick of “Barhu’s” whining and naïveté and even more sick of people letting her get her way all the time. And Tain Shir and Iscend and Ormsment and Aminata are all alive somehow? But “Barhu’s” hallucination during meningitis has saved things. She has realized she does want to be a tyrant, but believes it’s because she’ll be the only “good” tyrant.

I LOVE Baru's parents.

Poor Baru! She gets almost lobotomized, almost dies from meningitis, almost stops a genocide, and now on top of everything no one wants to go to the ball with her :(

WE STAY WINNING #PHYSICS #MATH

"[...] that power comes not from brute strength but from the control of the context in which strength is deployed?” lets talk about THESIS

Tain Shir is my favorite archetype of character. Maybe I'm too mando-pilled but its literally just what if there was a woman who was cool as hell. The ability to face and understand the indignities and horrors of war without trying to absolve or justify herself. "All those she's killed had mothers. All of them. None were worth any more or less than hers."

I genuinely thought revanchist was a made up star wars word and encountering it here threw me. I guess Darth Revan was named after the revanchists and not the other way around.

Ugh! This long, drawn out thing with the Sulane ship and Ormsment and the giant Cancrioth ship took forever. Not the pacing I had been enjoying. I don’t even feel like reading any more of this book. The author has been dragging out this Kyprananoke plot line for way too long. Move on!

It makes me really happy to see Aminata and Baru's friendship has survived. They've both done some fucked up shit & they are both still ordered to act against each other but! Friends 🥰💜

So, I’m getting sick of Baru making herself a victim. And then she’s willing to be lobotomized? Oh, and now Yawa is on her side. Baru doesn’t even try, but everybody thinks she’s the greatest thing. Baru’s split brain has its own personality and thinks it’s Tain Hu. And now Yawa thinks of Baru as some sort of prophet. This is absurd.

I like how much we’re learning about the lore and mythology, but Baru is just becoming weaker, more pathetic and not doing anything impressive. And the tumor stuff is still ridiculous to me. Apparently radiation = magic. Baru is clearly a narcissist. She grieves over losing people who were a benefit to HER, who served her or helped her. And doesn’t flinch to lie to anyone.

"Yawa clearly hid [cocaine] to weaken me." Baru WHAT are you talking about?

I'm trying SO hard to figure out if the magic is real or not. Anyway shout out uranium sorcerers; I need to find out what the real world basis is.

The first book had very obvious parallels to historical empires/ideas. The second continued and acknowledged its connections to the real world in the end acknowledgments. This third one fully starts with a blurb about vasco de gama. Yes, Mr. Dickinson I understand that this series is actually secretly about our world I got that from the eugenics/hygiene as oppressive tools and central banking policy parts