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A review by dee2799d
The Virtu by Sarah Monette
4.0
We slowly reread the Doctrine of the Labyrinth series--although I can't say I'm slow tbh, I'm tearing through these books like I used to when I had more time and less distractions.
Sarah Monette still doesn't shy away from taking us to the darker parts of the labyrinth--honestly, if things could go wrong just expect them to go wrong in the worst way possible, but this time we got a prophecy at the start care of Thamuris. And I honestly expected the whole prophecy for Mildmay to happen over the course of the other books, but nope! All those shitty things Thamuris saw in the patterns of the future were all events in this one book. Poor Mildmay.
World building and magic system are getting even more robust, and I really love how Sarah Monette establish the world here?
Another thing I love is how she allows the characters to act like the selfish and petty humans that we are. One of the most memorable things for me is when Felix joins Ingvard and Florian to look at the ruins, and he admits that he feels well, happy because he was finally away from Mildmay's presence. The same man who saved his life and stuck with him through the journey to Troia, and he's like 'Yes, the atmosphere is better without Mildmay'. And it's understandable: Felix hates how Mildmay has seen him in his most vulnerable, Felix is attracted to Mildmay (who is still very much his half brother), and well, Mildmay is not like the shining people from the court that Felix is used to. It's such a shitty way for Felix to feel and I respect that the author allowed him to feel it, no matter how much he actually loves Mildmay.
Honestly, Felix and Mildmay's relationship is the biggest draw here.
Sarah Monette still doesn't shy away from taking us to the darker parts of the labyrinth--honestly, if things could go wrong just expect them to go wrong in the worst way possible, but this time we got a prophecy at the start care of Thamuris. And I honestly expected the whole prophecy for Mildmay to happen over the course of the other books, but nope! All those shitty things Thamuris saw in the patterns of the future were all events in this one book. Poor Mildmay.
World building and magic system are getting even more robust, and I really love how Sarah Monette establish the world here?
Another thing I love is how she allows the characters to act like the selfish and petty humans that we are. One of the most memorable things for me is when Felix joins Ingvard and Florian to look at the ruins, and he admits that he feels well, happy because he was finally away from Mildmay's presence. The same man who saved his life and stuck with him through the journey to Troia, and he's like 'Yes, the atmosphere is better without Mildmay'. And it's understandable: Felix hates how Mildmay has seen him in his most vulnerable, Felix is attracted to Mildmay (who is still very much his half brother), and well, Mildmay is not like the shining people from the court that Felix is used to. It's such a shitty way for Felix to feel and I respect that the author allowed him to feel it, no matter how much he actually loves Mildmay.
Honestly, Felix and Mildmay's relationship is the biggest draw here.