Whiskeyjack

Oh my goodness

I’ve just read Olive and the Dragon and thought: “why don’t I read Whiskeyjack?” It was an excellent decision.

The beginning is very intriguing. Jemis is in prison and we don’t know why. He is thinking about ancient poetry. (Of course he is.)

In Whiskeyjack, Goddard is playing with all kinds of adventure novel tropes. I’ve lost count of unexpected meetings and coincidences that just happen. There is a sinister cult, we also have old mysteries, suspicious magic, puzzles, poetry, heartbreaks old and new. Jemis is being badass and awesome a lot, it’s wonderful. His friends make my heart melt.

Victoria Goddard dropped an amazing plot bomb in this book! I am still reeling a bit. The emotional impact is huge. What show more will happen next? This series just keeps getting better.

Best quotes:

”My friend Mr Dart said that I was already sufficiently eccentric for a man three times my age.”

”I walked forward out of my silence, into his silence.”

”The Baron finds it exceedingly difficult to comprehend,” murmured Master Dart.
”The Baron finds most things exceedingly difficult to comprehend,” Sir Hamish responded.

”Mr Dart. Friendship runs both directions. You keep supporting me through my various tribulations.”
”Which are considerably more significant and interesting than my own.” show less

At this point, this series has become one of my great pleasure go-tos. The continuing unfurling of unexpected adventures (arrest, prison break, coach full of magisters, death cults, semi-sacred highwaymen) and extremely satisfying friendships is a total delight. Also, the very uncomfortable emotional growth that Jemis is experiencing is satisfying in its own right, although I'd really like it if they get around to healing Mr. Dart's stone arm. I'm also kind of pleased that while this is the kind of story where the main character falls into greater powers/influence, it is then almost immediately being shared back out again, which seems like a relief to Mr. Greenwing, who has entirely too much on his plate.

It's very nearly the Winterturn Assizes, the time of the year Jemis has been waiting for so that his stepfather's will can be read and his sisters and stepmother will get their inheritances. But he is in jail, unsure of how he got there after going out for a run and - after two mysterious men turn up in his cell - makes his escape back to the "sleepy" town of Ragnor Bella.

Another enjoyable entry in the Greenwing & Dart series. Jemis Greenwing is a bit naive and the reader will be able to figure out certain things before him, but it's extremely enjoyable to follow along his adventures. This book answers some of the questions left from the first book, but leaves a lot open for further developments.

Finding himself in jail for the murder of a legendary outlaw in the form of a dragon is a new experience for Jemis, but it's worse that he doesn't remember how he got there across the northern forest from stopping at the crossroads during his morning run. No time is wasted as he escapes with two shady characters, and they return to the not-so-sleepy-anymore area of Ragnor Bella. Then things get more interesting. Another headlong rush of an adventure in which a thing or two—but not that thing—gets explained.

More apparently random events that keep dovetailing in very interesting fashions. By the end of this...a lot becomes clear, about Jakory and Vorel and the cult (though who _is_ the Black Priest?). Many of the questions from earlier in the series are answered. And now there's a whole new set of questions…

(second reread) More revelations, about Jack and Jemis and Mr. Dart; about plots and conspiracies and deep magic applied far too many places - though not as many as first appeared. And we get to see Jemis working a puzzle, for the first time - lovely.