Yeah, did I mention that I thought Orion really ought to have died?
So much this. I just don't buy the idea that El can save him the way she saves him. And layered onto that, but quite separate -- if he DOES get saved on those terms, then he's immortal now, right? I mean he's now the magical foundation of the Scholomance and he's no more able to die than a mawmouth is. Or is THAT isn't true, then the Scholomance dies when he does. Which is roughly when, according to Ophelia's calculations, it will actually be needed again; and why, if mals have been winnowed down to the point where it will be 60 years before they fully recover, are we setting the Scholomance up for use again right now? And why, if it's still so much better than the outside world that this is worth doing, does Orion need to be there to keep kids safe? And why, if the answer to that question is that he actually just needs to be there for reasons of magically-linked-to-it-now, can he ever leave to spend time with El?
I have similar long lists of questions in other areas. I really feel like she just asserts the particular mix of "bittersweet yes" and "sorry no" she thinks readers will accept emotionally, at the end, rather than actually following her world-building where it would take her. Which seems like a major fail, in a story with so very, very much exposition. (One of the things I find remarkable about the earlier books is how El just keeps on pausing to explain things, and somehow it doesn't bug me -- it's usually THE thing I won't forgive a writer for. But with so much explaining, it's a pretty under-explained ending).
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Date: 2022-11-07 06:18 pm (UTC)So much this. I just don't buy the idea that El can save him the way she saves him. And layered onto that, but quite separate -- if he DOES get saved on those terms, then he's immortal now, right? I mean he's now the magical foundation of the Scholomance and he's no more able to die than a mawmouth is. Or is THAT isn't true, then the Scholomance dies when he does. Which is roughly when, according to Ophelia's calculations, it will actually be needed again; and why, if mals have been winnowed down to the point where it will be 60 years before they fully recover, are we setting the Scholomance up for use again right now? And why, if it's still so much better than the outside world that this is worth doing, does Orion need to be there to keep kids safe? And why, if the answer to that question is that he actually just needs to be there for reasons of magically-linked-to-it-now, can he ever leave to spend time with El?
I have similar long lists of questions in other areas. I really feel like she just asserts the particular mix of "bittersweet yes" and "sorry no" she thinks readers will accept emotionally, at the end, rather than actually following her world-building where it would take her. Which seems like a major fail, in a story with so very, very much exposition. (One of the things I find remarkable about the earlier books is how El just keeps on pausing to explain things, and somehow it doesn't bug me -- it's usually THE thing I won't forgive a writer for. But with so much explaining, it's a pretty under-explained ending).