Oh, I MISSED these characters so much. And also I love them to pieces. And also I really appreciate how Pulley doesn't just repeat the mysteries of the previous book, but takes them as the groundwork for building a new kind of mystery.
Also, Thaniel and Mori are just the best and I would like 12 more books with them just wandering around and, you know, being.
Also, Mori as an argument for ethical power is incredibly interesting to me - I think it's LESS an argument about using power for good and more an argument that it is possible for people with power to be good.
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There's a thing here with the way Pulley handles female characters - first Grace in the previous book and then Pepper in this book, where they get sacrificed, in some way, for the two men to be together. Which is a delightful reversal of "bury your gays" and ALSO very complicated when it comes to thinking about the role of women in fiction. Grace is an antagonist and survives, both of which makes me more comfortable with her fate and the way her life plays out and. But Pepper...woman dies to save man so he can go home with another man? Which feels extremely Victorian homosocial and also, given the context, deeply validating in telling the quiet stories of queer men. I have a LOT of feelings about this and I'm not sure how to parse them.