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wondereads · 2 years ago

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Personal Review (01/23/22)

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Summary

Tessa is an apothecary who steals Moonflower, the only cure for a fever that has long since plagued the kingdom of Kandala, and distributes it to those who can't afford it. Corrick is the King's Justice, younger brother to King Harriston, and responsible for punishing smugglers that steal Moonflower. They're on two sides of a conflict as rebels grow bolder and rumors of the cure losing its efficacy rise.

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I really liked the plot of this book. The basic elements are probably something you've seen in various fantasy books, but they come together really well. There's a good amount of tension through the entire thing with the consuls, the rebels, and Tessa and Corrick's own secrets. I was never bored, and I actually almost missed an appointment with a professor when I got caught up in the story toward the end. For the most part, I think there is a good balance between the information given and the information withheld. I could guess who was behind the rebels, but it was a satisfying guess, the kind that I was very pleased to have predicted correctly.

This is a fantasy world, but other than the fever and Moonflower, it doesn't really have any fantastical elements. It keeps things manageable for the reader, especially since there are a lot of political elements to keep track of. I do wish that there had been some more investigation into the origin of the fever and Moonflower's connection to it, though I bet that'll be covered in the second book. Also, while the fever is the catalyst for all these problems, it feels like it isn't given as much weight as it should. I think if maybe one of the main characters or major side characters had caught the fever, it would have raised the stakes quite a bit.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tessa is a pretty good main character. She's got the typical traits of a YA fantasy protagonist (strong morals, perseverance, etc.), though I think her situation is well-constructed to make these traits reasonable in her. Her parents also stole Moonflower and made the cure, which makes her involvement with smuggling and her apothecary skills reasonable. She grew up in a country with seemingly huge wealth disparity where money is literally the difference between life and death. Finally, when it comes to her interacting with Corrick and Harriston, normally I would have an issue. Her willingness to cooperate and see their side of things wouldn't normally make sense for a character like her, but the circumstances surrounding how they meet work really well to make this reasonable.

I quite liked Corrick as well, even though I am firmly in the 'eat the rich' camp in real life. Kemmerer did a very good job of humanizing him and bringing in the conflict between what he wants to do and what is necessary in order to create a character that is hated but not irredeemable. His relationship with Harriston is complicated, and I don't think it's all quite resolved by the end of the book. I also really liked Corrick and Tessa's romance. I always prefer intense slow burns over multiple books, but I feel like their relationship is well written, not rushed, and they definitely have a couple very good scenes between them.

I'll be honest. I don't trust Harriston. I feel like in the next book he's going to on-purpose or accidentally create a very big problem. I also have an intense dislike for Allisander, though I'm sure that goes for everyone. I have no doubts that he will continue to cause problems. The only other major side character is Quint, who I like, but he doesn't have much nuance right now.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I would consider the writing of the book standard for YA. There were some points at which I was really struck by the writing, but there were other moments where I definitely thought "oh, that's a really common phrase." I do appreciate the naming conventions of this book; a lot of high fantasy, at least that I've read recently, have these really weird or lazy names for things, and that is, thankfully, absent in this book.

The pacing is very good. Like I mentioned in the plot section, there is good tension throughout, and I was never bored. Information was revealed at a steady pace in order to keep the characters moving and the reader invested. This book has a lot of factors going on at one time, making sure there is never a lull in the story other than maybe some softer scenes, but it also isn't overwhelming.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This was a good book with a really strong plot. I think the pacing and the different factors contributing to the political situation made the story interesting and engaging. The characters, while a little typical, had personalities that made sense with their situations, and the romance was sweet but didn't dominate the story. It was just overall a very solid book that grabbed my attention, and I'm definitely interested in reading the sequel.

The Author

Brigid Kemmerer: American, 45, also wrote A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Letters to the Lost, and Call It What You Want

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

#books #review #defy the night #brigid kemmerer #fantasy #ya #high fantasy #secret identity #illness #brother relationship #begrudging allies

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kumeko · 2 years ago

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A/N: For the @mythsofvoltronzine! A companion piece I wrote for “of hopes and doubts”, which both was written later but also got posted two years before I released this piece. I love Mahabharata, so heavily influenced by that. Lotor and Allura had a lot of potential in the series and I’m sad it never got properly explored for political alliance shenanigans or tension angst.

…

Allura walked next to a river of stars, her bare feet squelching in the soft mud. Tightening her shawl around her arms, she tried to ward off the chilly night air but it was of little comfort. Her thin nightwear was made to be slept in and a midnight walk was beyond its capabilities. The moon hid behind the clouds as she followed the river through a field of mustard, the golden flowers brown in the dim light.

Fortunately, she did not have far to go. The White Tiger had brought her here for a reason, and that reason was kneeling just ahead of her, shrouded in the shadows. Cupping water from the river, he caught a star and raised it to his lips.

“Rajkumar Lotor,” she greeted, coming to a stop next to him. Dozens of fireflies flickered around them, their tiny lights lighting up the tips of his ears, the brown of his pants, the rings on her fingers. She imagined this was what the heavens felt like, to be so close to the stars you could just touch them.

“Oriande is beautiful,” Lotor echoed her thoughts as he languidly stood up. His long, braided hair coiled around his neck like a snake. He was a thinly dressed as she was, not a hint of armour in sight. How strange it was to stand next to her mortal enemy, without a weapon, without protection, without malice. Turning to her, he touched his forehead as he greeted her. “Rajkumari Allura.” He appraised her clothing. “I see I am not the only one who was rudely summoned from their sleep.”

He looked slightly put out and Allura tried not to laugh. “The White Tiger was very insistent when he tugged me out of bed.” She gestured at her slightly torn sleeve. “I almost thought he’d bite me instead of my clothes.”

“I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than finding a giant lizard on your face.” Lotor grimaced. Glancing at her sleeve once more, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The White Tiger…I heard the generals of your kingdom are all bonded to different tigers. Gods’ messengers, as some call them.”

“Bonded,” Allura mused, scrunching up her nose. It was true, in a way. Multi-coloured tigers were the constant companions of her head generals. Unfortunately, just as the gods were, the tigers were capricious. “I suppose you could call it that.”

“And what would you call it?” Lotor asked. Despite his carefree tone, his eyes were sharp.

Digging for information, was he? Allura smiled politely. “Babysitting.”

His lips quirked, amusement and curiosity warring on his face. When it was clear she wouldn’t add anything, he gave up and changed the subject. “So this is Oriande.”

“I had heard stories as a child.” Grateful for the change, Allura didn’t comment on the abruptness of it all. She cupped her hands around a firefly, bathing her skin in a pale yellow light. “I never thought I’d get the chance to visit it.”

“It is beyond us mortals normally.” Reaching down, he picked up a flat rock off the riverbed. He turned it over in his hands, his thumb brushing over the hard surface. “Though it is more ordinary than I expected.” Expertly, he flicked his wrist. The rock skipped over the river’s surface, bouncing once, twice, thrice, before sinking into its depths.

“What were you expecting?” Shoulders shaking with laughter, Allura let the firefly go. It flew around her before floating off with the rest of its kin. “This may be the land of the gods, but they enjoy the same things we do. Of course there’ll be some similarities.”

“Glowing flowers? Floating fire?” Lotor’s lips quirked as shrugged. All ideas that Allura had as a child and she tried not to look away in embarrassment. “Something extraordinary.”

Lance and Hunk had suggested the same things when she’d left. It seemed unlike people, ideas crossed borders freely. Allura rested a hand on her hip. “I don’t know, flying here was pretty amazing.”

“That’s true—the world is very different to a bird.” Realization crossed Lotor’s face and he turned to her. “Is this an ordinary thing to you? Your mother is a goddess.”

“Not really,” Allura admitted regretfully, rubbing her wrist. “My mother is not one for visiting. All I know are my father’s stories and his are the same as everyone else’s. I had hoped to see her here.”

“I thought we’d see at least one god.” Lotor glanced around. They stood in the middle of a field, able to see as far as the horizon in any direction, but all that was visible was an endless sea of mustard. He glanced up. “Perhaps higher up.”

She followed his gaze. Above them were pink clouds and she caught the briefest glimpse of a white elephant, no doubt filling up its trunk with rain. Higher still were white rocks, glowing serenely despite the lack of light. Jagged lines of bright blue coloured the rocks and she wondered if they were abodes for the gods or just a playing field for one of their games. “A chance for privacy then.”

“Is anything private from the gods?” Lotor asked, raising an eyebrow. Stepping away from the river, he moved to a drier spot and sat down. There was a bitter tang to his tone. “I would say half of our troubles are due to them.”

Blasphemy. Yet, she couldn’t help but agree. There were many issues that would have been resolved if the gods hadn’t interfered. Or if they had just cleared up a simple misunderstanding. Moving back, she sat down next to him and stared ahead. “Even our war?”

His breath hitched and she peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. Lotor chuckled, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear. “Even our war.”

An agreement. She wanted to laugh. They had fought each other dozens of times before now. Never had she thought they could simply nod and agree with one another. Turning to him, she said, “Then let’s stop it.”

He snorted derisively. “It’s not that simple.”

She had thought the same before the White Tiger had brought her here. Perhaps it was just the beauty of this place. Perhaps it was the fact that they were able to sit next to each other, side by side, without bloodshed. Either way, she shook her head. “It is.”

“Really?” Crossing his arms, he looked at her scornfully. “You think Raja Zarkon will just give up, after all the years he spent preparing for this?”

A good point. She bit her cheek. “No, but…you can stop him. You are his son.”

“When he chooses to acknowledge that, yes.” His fingers dug into his arm, his lips twisting in distaste. “And even then, he’ll never take my advice.”

“Then.” Allura scrunched her nose. The White Tiger had brought them both here for a reason. There was a solution somewhere. They just weren’t seeing it.

“You could just surrender,” he suggested simply, a smirk on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was being playful or honest. “That would end the war.”

“You can’t be serious.” Allura’s hand curled into a fist. Whatever solution there was, this wasn’t it. “The Galra would destroy us.”

“Just a suggestion.” Lotor held his hands up in surrender, still grinning broadly. Like this discussion was a joke, like she couldn’t see the gleam in his eyes at the possibility. “I promise to keep Altea safe in that case.”

“Didn’t you just say your father wouldn’t listen to you?” Allura growled, digging a hand in the soil. Maybe she could throw it at him. It’d be worth it just to see dirt in his hair.

“No, he won’t.” Lotor’s smile finally fell. Pressing his palms on the ground, he leaned back and stared up at the clouds. “But he will not be emperor forever.”

“Not good enough,” she stated bluntly, her brow furrowed. This option was almost as bad as war. “He will destroy us before then. It’ll be annihilation.”

Lotor shook his head. “No, he doesn’t have long to live. My father is ill. Within a year, perhaps…and whatever you think of me, I am not Zarkon.”

“…no, you are not,” Allura begrudgingly admitted. It felt like a defeat to admit it, to say those words, but she had seen him in battle. Heard of his exploits outside. Whatever else she might say about him, he was a decent man. If a little misguided. “Either way, it’ll never work. We won’t surrender, ever, and even if—and this is a big if— that happened, my people will never submit to a Galran Emperor.”

There was a long, heavy beat, where Lotor didn’t say anything. He stared up at the sky and Allura sighed softly. An impasse. There was nothing to be done, no way to avert the war. The White Tiger had been wrong. Pulling her legs close, she hugged them and rested her cheek on her knees. At least she saw Oriande before she died. Allura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“And what if I were half Altean?” Lotor finally said, his voice no more than a whisper. “What then?”

Allura’s eyes flew open. The moon emerged, highlighting his features, and Allura wondered how she had missed it all these years. The silver of his hair, the sharp point of his ears, the marks on his face. Altean and Galra blood mixed alike under his skin and she should have recognized it earlier.

Noticing her shocked stare, he cocked his head. “Did you not hear me, rajkumari? What then?”

“You’re half Altean?” Allura finally muttered, sitting up. Her hand reached out, brushing the jagged lightning marks under his eyes, identical to those she saw in the mirror. It wasn’t paint. It wasn’t mehndi or kohl. Her other hand reached up to touch her own marks, and they both glowed faintly.

Allowing the touch, Lotor closed his eyes. “On my mother’s side.”

“Oh.” She drew back, still trying to process it all. This didn’t mesh at all with what she knew of the Galra or Raja Zarkon. “Zarkon married an Altean?”

“I know, unbelievable, right? Even that monster found love once.” Lotor chuckled depreciatively. “Before my mother died, she told me stories of Altea, of its white spires and idyllic gardens. I’ve always wanted to see them.”

“Maybe when we have peace,” Allura murmured. She rubbed her ear and frowned. “The Galra are fine with a half-Altean heir?”

“Might makes right,” he shrugged. This close, she could see the gold flecks of his eyes, the shades of purple in his skin. The Galra in the Altean. “And I’m still half Galra. Who better to rule both kingdoms?”

That snapped her back to reality. She rubbed her ears, not sure if she heard right. “This is your plan?”

“Yes.” Confident, Lotor sat up straighter. His hand rose in front of him, gesturing grandly as he spoke. “When I’m crowned king, I’ll allow you to run Altea autonomously. There can be peace between our kingdoms then.”

At this she laughed in disbelief. “You are serious about this. It will never work.”

“Of course it will.” Indignant, Lotor scowled at her. “It’s the only way to minimize bloodshed and allow Altea to survive. You will also keep your independence.”

“You will allow it,” Allura bit out, the word itself showing just how preposterous his idea was. “What independence is that? You’ll keep a collar around our neck, forcing us to pay tithes to the Galra. There is no equality in that.”

“That is the fate of the loser,” Lotor defended, crossing his arms. A fair point, perhaps. It was the rule of the world. “But it won’t be subjugation. It won’t be destruction. My father would rather see you burn to the ground but I don’t want that.”

“My people will fight to the end,” she refuted, her blood boiling. She could feel her marks glow, her god’s blood churning within her, filling her with rage. “We will not be kept.”

“Even if their emperor is Altean?” Lotor asked gently, trying to persuade her. And gods, he thought it was true. He thought the world would work like that. “This is the best solution—don’t let your people die in vain.”

At this she laughed. Scathingly, she asked, “And how are you Altean? You’ve never been to Altea. You’ve never lived with us. You’ve spent your life fighting us. And now you want to rule us?”

Lotor stiffened, his lips curling into a snarl. “I am not entirely ignorant of our people.”

“No, you are if you think this is all it takes,” Allura growled. “Our ideas, our culture, even our clothing is different. They are my people. You are just another outsider.”

It was a blow. She could see him recoil. “I am—”

“No,” she repeated firmly, squaring her jaw. “You are not. You aren’t Altean, anymore than I am Galra.” She paused. “Anymore than I am a god.”

“I am still better than Zarkon,” he insisted. His hand curled into a fist. “And he will win this war.”

“How?” Allura bared her teeth, allowing her powers to flow over her. The power of her mother. The power of the white Tiger. The wind swirled around her. “You’ve seen me fight.”

His eyes glowed and for a brief moment, she wondered if he was like her. A child of the gods. “And you have seen me fight.” Without warning, he shoved her, her back hitting the ground with a thud. Looming over her, he smirked. “Even better, I’ve seen how the other Alteans fight. They’re no match for the Galra.”

Oh that did it. She knocked over his leg and flipped him over. Pressing her hand against his throat, she sneered. “And you’re no match for me. You won’t win.”

From the corner of her eye, she spotted the White Tiger. He loped over the river, leaving faint ripples in his wake. Allura pulled back, quickly standing. Lotor gasped, eyes filled with fury as he struggled to get up. “You,” he hissed, venom in his voice, and this was the man she was used to. The man she had fought up till now.

The White Tiger softly padded up to her, his lips curled back to reveal his teeth. He glowed faintly in the moonlight—no, to be exact, it was more like he was moonlight. Her hand sunk into his fur as she stroked his head, a sensation that was more like a warm fire than fur. She glanced at Lotor one last time. His hair was mussed from their fight, stray hairs falling out of his usually neat braid.

If not for the vicious glare, he looked like an ordinary man. And she an ordinary woman. A sense of rue filled her—in a time of peace, perhaps they could have been friends. Maybe that was the real tragedy of war, the relationship that were lost.

Not that it made a difference now. The gods were wrong. There was no way to avoid this war, to avoid this clash. Sitting astride on the White Tiger, she turned away. “I’ll see you in battle.”

With that, her mount bounded forward and with a powerful leap, she left him and her doubts behind.

#lotura #vld allura #vld lotor #allura x lotor #voltron legendary defender #fanfic #i think they could have been really interesting together #like a political alliance #a hatemace #or even begrudging allies that did end up falling #the show put such an interesting idea forth #and then wasted it

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