I agree with you about Grimbolt because he was such an interesting character and I feel like he had so much room for development. Didn't like him initially but he really grew on me. As someone who prefers side characters to the main characters, Grimbolt just reinforced this mindset and I think he had much more potential as a character than was shown.alexsbookhoard wrote: ↑18 Mar 2023, 20:50 I'm working on my official, formal review of this book, but I need to say that two characters deserved better than they got by the end of this book.
The first character who got the short end of the stick is Grimbolt. He starts as an extremely minor side character who works his way into the position of major side character. He begins to get a personality, and we get to see exactly how observant he is and how he uses his skills beyond just doing his job. By the last page, I was sad that we didn't get to see more of him. I wanted so much more of his presence because he was a good balance of serious and funny, depending on the moment. Maybe I'm the only one he made laugh, but I loved having him around.
The second character is Jarla. She's intense, and fierce, asserts herself (maybe to an extreme), and doesn't let anyone walk all over her...and will harm them if they try. I hated the symbolic 'clipping of her wings' when Delvin makes her trip and break her nails so that they have to be cut. She was such a strong female character and I appreciated that she wasn't just a stereotype...and hated that Delvin seemed to push her back into the stereotype box too much. At times he was even kind of rude about making it clear that he should do a task because it wouldn't look right for a woman to do it.
I definitely enjoyed this book, but justice for Jarla and Grimbolt!
The Short End of the Stick Goes To...
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Rocky Ellery James Tumbelaka wrote: ↑19 Mar 2023, 02:32 I agree with you about Grimbolt. I would like to read more about him too. As for Jarla, well, they are on the run and on a covert mission, so to speak. Delvin was being wise when he ask her to step down a bit. If they attract too much attention they could be caught in no time.
I completely agree with you on both point. Grimbolt definitely has more to give in the book. And it’s not suppression of Jarla and her personality just for the sake of it, it’s to blend in so they can complete the mission Jarla is undertaking.
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I do not agree that Delvin was reducing Jarla to a specific 'female' role on purpose; it was mostly the society they lived in and everyone around them who had that mindset. Delvin wanted them to be less noticed, considering they were in hiding. I believe Delvin did not mind Jarla taking the lead when they were on their own or outside the villages.
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I agree with you on this. But we are in the era where villains have to get a redemption arc or at least that is very popular opinion. I think the author did what he did very intentionally and I understand his reasoning.Olga Markova wrote: ↑20 Mar 2023, 14:11 I think that both Grimbolt and Jarla got the right end of the stick. I think the message behind their punishments is that they got retribution for their evil acts, even if they evolved to better characters later in the story. Especially Jarla who is a murderous villainess - tripping her to break her murderous nails was the least favour Delvin could do to the world. I am happy though that Jarla did not lay her nails or teeth on Delvin's Freda!
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