Book 1 Aras: I do hope this sorcerer isn't going to be too difficult to deal with. They often are, you know.

Book 3 Aras: Another evil sorcerer, you say? I can't WAIT to CRUSH him under my heel and make him WISH HE'D NEVER BEEN BORN. I'm going to DRAG HIS WORLD DOWN AROUND HIS EARS. *ahem* ...For the greater good, of course.

Okay. With the greatest and most respectful restraint, I have to say that I am JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND SCREAMING. This book was an extremely long, epic journey to hell and back. I had chores to do today, and I did exactly none of them because I could not countenance putting this book down for that long.

This is definitely a long travelogue book. They are traveling the ENTIRE time, without exaggeration. There are three distinct phases: 1) Journey to the Summer Country, 2) Journey to the Summer King's Reckoning, and 3) Journey to the Land of the Jackal-Headed People and People-Headed Lions.

We pick up immediately after the end of book two, with Ryo, Aras, and the whole crew traveling back to the Summer Country after their extremely long and arduous sojourn. So many questions remain. Can Ryo come to grips with the weird polygamy situation he's entered into? Is Aras' newfound difficulty controlling himself getting worse? Of course, there are many small and large dangers and adventures they face before they even get within sight of the river. I was riveted the whole time, naturally. I'm not going to lie - I don't enjoy the weird polygamy situation, and it took up a lot of emotional and narrative space in this part of the book.

Once they make it to the Summer Country, though, things really started kicking off. Some highlights:

• I was RABID to know how it Aras' justice against the attempted assassination from last book was going to go. Frankly, I did NOT expect how it went? Gratifying. Deeply concerning. Both at the same time.

• Kerren was a good character. He got better and better as the story went on.

• WE GOT TO MEET ARAS' FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have liked, frankly, to spend a LOT more time with them than we did, but what we got was quite enjoyable. I clocked his granddaughter the MINUTE she said, "Don't be sad!" What a terrifying, heart-wrenching set of circumstances. This subplot had me on tenterhooks the entire time.

• This is redundant because by now we all know the entire series is about this but. THE LOYALTY DYNAMICS. They remain ABSOLUTELY UNMATCHED. Everyone has some sort of complex tangle of deep honor and loyalty they're striving to satisfy, and it's incredible. I was FEASTING.

• Lots more worldbuilding was added. It's interesting we hadn't heard anything about day-astrology in the previous books, but it became so significant here. It was also interesting to hear what the Jackal People had to say about the origin of sorcery.

• There is absolutely a high-pitched violin note of sustained tension rising in the background the whole time, when it comes to Aras' slowly yet inexorably progressing descent into megalomania. Each time he wanted to do something, or did something, and Ryo pulled him up on it and in all wide-eyed sincerity he argued, "I really don't think this will cause harm, Ryo." Well. I was biting my nails. By the time they dealt with the Peacock Desert issue, WELL. The writing was pretty clearly on the wall. I was horrified and scared but I also loved it. Even the gradually-progressing changes of his speech patterns that Ryo made note of... THE TENSION.

• I WAS SO. INVESTED. in the Summer King's reckoning. And it delivered. I loved seeing their family dynamic there, as well, with the king and the prince and Aras and Commander Samaura all being relatives and caring about one another, but also bound so strictly to their greater responsibilities.

• Aras voluntarily taking the sleeping potion over and over throughout his life, never knowing if this is the one time he's not going to wake up from it... Upsetting.

• I still have less than no idea what the People-Headed Lions actually look like, and I'm not sure I want to. A weirdly small human head affixed to a massive lion body with zero neck? A weirdly huge human head with a freakishly large neck? They still have manes, so is the human head just like, planted in the center of the mane like the middle part of a sunflower? Creepy. I just started imagining them as complete, sentient lions after a while because it was less distracting.

• Also, is it just me or are the People-Headed Lions kind of OP? Like, they CREATED the Jackal People? They had the power to grant sorcery in the first place? They can teleport, terraform and so on and so forth? Each people does have their own special abilities, but this seems to just make the People-Headed Lions basically demigods.

• Aras whenever he gets to be a part of a happy surprise: >:D

• The climax... I would say "the ending" but in classic Tuyo Series fashion, it's not the ending since there's a decently long "and back again" portion. THE CLIMAX...

Spoiler

When Ryo stabbed Aras I was so sad. When it turned out to have been a sorcerous false memory, I was SHOOK. WHEN HE HAD TO DO IT THREE TIMES... WHEN ARAS FINALLY LET HIM DO IT FOR REAL...