Status Update

Joe is 99% done

God, what a beautiful book. No one quite writes like Guy Gavriel Kay. I can’t even put it into words but he moves me. The worlds he paints, even those like the Sarantium setting, which is a mirror to our own is still unique. And the characters. My god, all of them feel alive. Crispin, Vargos, Kasia, Linon, Valerius II, Alixana, Leontes, Styliane, my god theyre all great. I am scared to see how it ends.

— 14 hours, 37 min ago

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Joe’s Previous Updates

Joe is on page 427 of 448

Oh Zoticus. Fare thee well.

— 14 hours, 53 min ago

Joe is on page 410 of 448

Damn. Betrayed by her own chancellor. Gisel is not having a good time. So it will be war in Batiara. Pity. And Gisel will wallow in Sarantium in exile

— 15 hours, 13 min ago

Joe is on page 397 of 448

So Pronobius Tilliticus became a martyr after trying to assassinate Crispin… Interesting.

— 15 hours, 25 min ago

Joe is on page 393 of 448

Ah so Shirin has a bird. Interesting. These birds are obviously more important than I realized.

— 15 hours, 30 min ago

Joe is on page 379 of 448

Christ, Sarantium is a den of vipers. Leontes seems a perfect match for his scheming wife. I dont see this ending well

— 22 hours, 59 min ago

Joe is on page 328 of 448

I really love Valerius and Alixana’s dynamic. And for being a ‘lowborn dancer,’ she is very clever and aware of the intricacies of Sarantium. She even deduced Gisel’s little request to the Emperor. I worry for Crispin getting entangled in all this

— Jul 09, 2026 11:42AM

Joe is on page 297 of 448

I really like Scortius the charioteer. Well, Crispin will not be forgotten anytime soon. Not with that entrance into the court of Sarantium.

— Jul 08, 2026 06:23PM

Joe is on page 287 of 448

Well Crispin just made two strong enemies at the very least. Leontes and his wife Styliane. Yikes. The court of Sarantium is rife with plotting but what can one expect in an Empire of such magnitude?

— Jul 08, 2026 06:12PM