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Onyx Storm: Chapter 27
Xaden, Violet, and Halden versus three panthers and all the king's men. What could go wrong.
They're trying not to kill any of the opposing guards, in the interest of salvaging diplomacy with Deverelli. Like many writers, Yarros seems to think being knocked unconscious and dying are mutually exclusive options. This is a ubiquitous misunderstanding in media, so I'm not going to hold it against her, but I will say it here: if you are hit in the head so hard you pass out, you can die from that. Sometimes it's a concussion and sometimes it's a fatal hemorrhage! Woo!
They're woefully outnumbered, and the guards are determined to kill him in the hopes of killing their dragons.
Whoops! Xaden used Violet's conduit to do his venin bullshit!
This display of power is enough to intimidate Courtyn into cooperation, I guess. Andarna arrives, Courtlyn's panther in her mouth, just to terrify him some more. Violet then tells Courtlyn that dragons don't die when their riders do, so killing them won't save him from their wrath, and offers to send Xaden out and restart negotiations.
This works, so Xaden leaves with the two daggers that started all this drama. Violet offers Courtlyn Andarna's shell as a gift, which he likes, and they make a deal to allow the Navarre contingent to use the Deverelli isles as a base for their search. She also gets Halden banned from Deverelli, which is probably for the best since he has the brains of a small animal.
Chapter end.
Meh. Not bad, but I wish the consequences of Xaden's venin-ing would catch up to him. It's been 46% of the book, and so far we've had a lot of discussion of the enormous danger but no actual consequences. He hasn't been caught and he hasn't actually done anything that caused problems--in fact, in this chapter he inadvertently brokered the deal with Deverelli and saved his and Violet's lives. And Violet tolerates his lapses in temper extremely well, considering. It really takes the suspense out of this conflict which should be driving the book.
This deal with Deverelli doesn't satisfy me, either. Courtlyn is absurdly villainous in the last chapter, in this one he immediately caves and is now an ally. This is what happened with Tecarus, too, to be honest. Characters only exist to oppose and assist Violet and co--there's never a sense that Courtlyn has his own agenda, even though he ought to have his own concerns outside the Navarre-venin conflict.
They're trying not to kill any of the opposing guards, in the interest of salvaging diplomacy with Deverelli. Like many writers, Yarros seems to think being knocked unconscious and dying are mutually exclusive options. This is a ubiquitous misunderstanding in media, so I'm not going to hold it against her, but I will say it here: if you are hit in the head so hard you pass out, you can die from that. Sometimes it's a concussion and sometimes it's a fatal hemorrhage! Woo!
They're woefully outnumbered, and the guards are determined to kill him in the hopes of killing their dragons.
Metal hits the ground.
Screams sound around us, and I jerk my head left, finding Xaden’s outstretched hand mid-twist. The unmistakable sound of cracking bone follows, and every guard surrounding us drops to the floor, their heads twisted at unnatural angles.
Wisps of barely there shadow dissipate, and the band around my waist falls away with a familiar caress.
No, no, no.
Whoops! Xaden used Violet's conduit to do his venin bullshit!
This display of power is enough to intimidate Courtyn into cooperation, I guess. Andarna arrives, Courtlyn's panther in her mouth, just to terrify him some more. Violet then tells Courtlyn that dragons don't die when their riders do, so killing them won't save him from their wrath, and offers to send Xaden out and restart negotiations.
This works, so Xaden leaves with the two daggers that started all this drama. Violet offers Courtlyn Andarna's shell as a gift, which he likes, and they make a deal to allow the Navarre contingent to use the Deverelli isles as a base for their search. She also gets Halden banned from Deverelli, which is probably for the best since he has the brains of a small animal.
Chapter end.
Meh. Not bad, but I wish the consequences of Xaden's venin-ing would catch up to him. It's been 46% of the book, and so far we've had a lot of discussion of the enormous danger but no actual consequences. He hasn't been caught and he hasn't actually done anything that caused problems--in fact, in this chapter he inadvertently brokered the deal with Deverelli and saved his and Violet's lives. And Violet tolerates his lapses in temper extremely well, considering. It really takes the suspense out of this conflict which should be driving the book.
This deal with Deverelli doesn't satisfy me, either. Courtlyn is absurdly villainous in the last chapter, in this one he immediately caves and is now an ally. This is what happened with Tecarus, too, to be honest. Characters only exist to oppose and assist Violet and co--there's never a sense that Courtlyn has his own agenda, even though he ought to have his own concerns outside the Navarre-venin conflict.