Chie Shinohara

Welcome to Volume 24 where I am deducting a star because HALF the book is taken up by Kail and Ramses being stupid and macho and neglecting their IMPORTANT duties. Like I don't know, the WAR THEY STARTED AND SHOULD MAYBE FINISH?

I love that everytime a leader is needed and Yuri is like 'Oh but where will we find one?!' and everyone looks at her and she looks at them and they look at her and she's all flustered and like 'No but wait! I can't!' Except Yuri we know you can because by this volume show more you've led more successful military campaigns, covert operations and hell rebellions then EVERY CHARACTER COMBINED. That includes Ilbani who is really close as your second.

Also I love that Kail realizes, before Ramses, that higher things are at stake and that Ramses realizes that THAT is what makes Kail a better man. Not his power, not his looks, not the fact Yuri loves him, or his physical strength and battle prowess--Kail realizes more keenly then almost anyone else in this series that emotions have a time and place. Yeah he got swept up for a while, but he didn't let it subsume him.

Also HA! Ramses is like 'well I can't have Yuri so my son will marry her daughter and look how great that will be!' (it actually turns out to be his grandson and her granddaughter, but hey doesn't matter). show less

I make my prayer unto Ishtar
to whom all confusion is a cause of grief.
The sorrows which I see I lament before thee.
Incline thine ear unto my words of lamentation
and let thine heart be opened unto my sorrowful speech.*

Ishtar...Yuri...Yuri-Ishtar...she totally pwns those women for being two-faced cows who don't understand the true meaning of the world. They think they can best the woman who led armies to victory over the Egyptians? Over the Mittanni? Arrogant women with no brain in their show more heads.

Hey so welcome to another book! Yuri has accepted her place as Kail's concubine and is relishing the chance to be of use to him. Meanwhile Nakia is reminded how pitiful she is by the spectre of Queen Hinti (Kail's mother) being echoed in Kail's words. Sucks to be you lady.

Rusafa meanwhile is not thinking clearly at all That damned black water is the bane of existence. Seriously. There's only one romance that really gets to survive this series, from what I remember at least, and I promise you its not yours Rusafa.

And lest we think Nakia is softening, she delivers a very...intimidating lecture to Yuri about what it means to be a woman vying for a King's favor.



(*) actual prayer to Ishtar which ironically is of Babylonian descent, which is where Nakia hails from) show less

I had, until I began re-reading this series, forgotten what a prick Kail could be at times. Mind you he wasn't the worst offender ever, but its kind of shitty to threaten a girl with "bedding her for real" if she tries to run away (even if you're attempting to keep her idiotic neck safe).

Though to be fair Yuri wasn't much better. The scenes (in the first couple of books at least) went something like this:

Yuri: I must go do this stupid thing!
Kail: But its stupid! And will get you show more killed!
Yuri: It doesn't matter! I will get home no matter what!
Kail: If you would just WAIT a couple hours I will have it taken care of SAFELY.
Yuri: No! I will endanger everyone's life by running off and doing this stupid thing against the Queen who has plotted and schemed to murder me since chapter 1 because of reasons!
Kail: Stupid girl! She will kill you!
Yuri: It won't happen! :runs off to do stupid thing: Oh no! I did that stupid thing and got caught!
Queen: Stupid harlot! Now I shall do exactly what I've been threatening to do to you since the very first chapter. Only Kail could have saved you!
Yuri: Oh why didn't I listen to him? He never told me the danger! Kail! Kail! Save me!
Kail: :bursts in somehow to save her: I save you not because I'm going to say I told you so, though I will, but because I lo....er want to foil the Queen's plots!
Queen: Curses! Foiled again by my overly elaborate plotting!
Yuri: Now on to my next stupid stunt!

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

I'll admit she isn't USELESS, just BRAINLESS most of the time. She's a bit of a Mary Sue in that she falls into all sorts of predicaments and then untangles herself through luck, innate skill and men falling over themselves to help her. By volume 3 this mostly ends as she realizes she needs to be useful to Kail and to be useful she needs to know how to DO things like fight and such. But this first volume is mostly spent with her lamenting her fate, ignoring Kail's justifiably concerned admonishments and getting folk killed. show less

Oh for the love of Holy Ishtar...Welcome to Book 17! Now as some of you may have noticed I have a certain impatience with certain characters and they're name may or may not be Nakia. She may or may not be the stupidest woman in creation (though I do feel bad for her and Urhi to a small small extent). Let me recap a converse she had with her brother in Vol 16:

Nakia: Brother! I KILLED THEM ALL.
Brother: OMG WHAT?!?!?!
Nakia: Also I killed Queen Hinti!
Brother: OMG WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS HATEFUL show more BLASPHEMOUS THING?!
Nakia: Babylonia betrayed me! Left me to rot! I had nothing and no one but my ambition!
Brother: OMG YOU ARE--
Nakia: Oh ps totally killed our niece, our bro has enough he won't really care.
Brother: No but--
Nakia: And you know since I find family expendable...
Brother: I WILL TELL NO ONE OF THIS HORROR.

So that :waves hand: happened right? This book she decides to REALLY heat things up by getting Rusafa (poor suffering Rusafa) accused on assaulting a senator's daughter in the street. Oiy vey..

I don't think she understands Karma very well...not to worry Yuri figures out a way to help Rusafa and Kail all but tells the Queen she pulls another stunt and its her head on a pike. show less