S5 : Ep 41 - Brimstone by Callie Hart - PART 1

Summary

Flights of Fantasy Book Club Podcast

S5 Ep 41 - Brimstone by Callie Hart, Part 1

Release Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Anna, Kim, and Christina

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode kicks off a deep-dive book club discussion of Brimstone by Callie Hart, the second book in her Fae and Alchemy fantasy romance series. The hosts—Anna, Kim, and Christina—analyze plot twists, world-building, character arcs, trope execution, and series consistency, all in their signature mix of lively banter, critical insight, and readerly enthusiasm. This is the first of a two-part Brimstone analysis, focusing on world-building updates, pacing, new magical systems, key characters and relationships, and how the book’s devices enriched—or complicate—the overall reading experience.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Vibes & Reader Expectations

• The hosts went into Brimstone with the expectation of a “fun, lower stakes, romantasy ride,” valuing the series for its banter, vibe-driven narrative, and chaotic fun.
• While the story is “more about the vibes for us,” they acknowledge grammar issues and notable plot inconsistencies that have been discussed in the fandom (04:29–05:44).

“We went into Brimstone expecting a fun, lower stakes, romantasy ride...but overall, this series has been more about the vibes for us since the beginning. And we showed up for the banter, the romance, the chaos, and obviously Carrion. And at the end of the day, friends, we had a grand old time.” — Anna (04:40)

2. World-Building Expansions: The Vampire Court & Beyond

• New setting: The Vampire Court, notably the capital city of Amontraal.
• The “Five Lords of Midnight” serve under the Vampire Queen (Serris), representing a diverse array: Fae, vampires, and converted witches (06:06–08:17).
• Hierarchical magic—Queen Serris’ magically binding commands and the inability for vampires to lie to their sire.
• Feeders (feral vampires/zombies) are now “infected” and serve as an agent of chaos—the result of only the most powerful vampires being able to turn Fae (08:31–09:36).
• “The rot” is a spreading magical blight linked to Madra, who wields a portal spell centered on the human city Zilvarin (noted for its wheel/circle symbolism in the magic system).

“I feel like the most important thing here to note is the hierarchy power structure of the Vampire Court…There are five Lords of Midnight. They are the higher, more powerful vampires. But also they're not all vampires...there's room at the table for everyone.” — Anna (06:35, 07:10)

“The rot and the infective eaters are being created by Queen Madra, and she is transporting them through a very strong magical portal…what is the human city of Zavarin built and shaped as? A wheel, guys.” — Anna (09:01)

3. Magic System Analysis: Thermodynamics, Small Magics, and Plot Devices

• Introduction of “small magic,” finite minor magical wells distinct from birthright magic—leading to confusion and complaints about a lack of clear rules and potential for plot convenience (12:40–15:52).
• The first law of thermodynamics invoked to explain that magic is neither created nor destroyed, only repurposed—a metaphor for Madra’s magical siphoning and hoarding (10:47–11:45).

“Ask me why this is the only thing I remember from any science class—I couldn't tell you. But it really stuck out to me because when Foley talks about magic, he tells Saris that...you cannot kill magic. You can kill all of the people and magic wielders, but...that magic does not get destroyed. It just gets repurposed.” — Anna (10:55–11:37)

“Honestly, it just feels really messy...I wish there was more rules surrounding who gets what and why and maybe a limit to how many you can have. Like, I think we need more rules around these.” — Christina (13:18)

4. Pacing & Structure: “Lightning Speed” Plot

• The hosts praise the rapid pacing: “There was very little downtime, no rest, no recovery, barely a chance to breathe,” but note that this speed sometimes covers up plot holes—issues only spotted upon reflection (17:46–18:42).
• The spicy scenes are the only brief pauses in an otherwise relentless story.

“The plot was moving so fast and I was having so much fun because it was moving so fast. But then when I take a step back and look at it, I feel like we were on such a fast ride that I didn't notice all of the things that bothered me...” — Anna (18:20)

5. Key Moments & Magical Plot Points

a. Coronation Day: Vampire Rituals & Power Moves

• Unorthodox vampire customs: “Dosing”—a euphoric, sexualized blood-drinking ritual during Serris’ coronation.
• The aftermath: Aerith (Lord of Midnight) is killed after disrespecting the new queen, only to be revealed as a spy for Hell—adding intrigue to the power dynamics (19:45–20:34).
• Carrion's perpetual comic relief provides balance.

“Sweet Fisher is just standing there as she's dosing him. Painfully turned on in front of the entire Vampire Court, trying to survive the coronation with the hard on of a century.” — Kim (19:43)

b. The Little Blue Book: Seer Manipulation and Free Will

• Fisher’s mother, Adina, was a seer who wrote a cryptic, magical “guidebook,” dictating Serris’ journey in real time.
• The hosts express discomfort with how this device removes Serris’ agency, likening it to a heavy-handed “plot device” (23:00–26:25).
• The mechanics and origins of the book (stargazer birds, centuries-old, pages as magical eggs) are questioned for logic and plausibility.

“I feel like this was a very, very, very heavenly fire plot device…if you just flip the page, Idina literally says, turn the page after the ball...Is Serris actually making these choices because the book is telling her what to do?...This is not her doing it. This is not the main female character. This is Idina orchestrating it.” — Anna & Kim (24:59–26:25)

c. Magical Elements: Brimstone, Dragons, and Fire Sprites

• Brimstone emerges as a key MacGuffin—critical to defeating the rot.
• Fire sprites are entirely made of brimstone and considered precious.
• Dragons are highlighted as important, breathing both fire and runestone—laying groundwork for their role in the endgame (27:29–27:57).

6. Secondary Characters & Relationships

a. Taladeus: Vampire/Fae Complications and Motivations

• Taladeus, originally a side character, grows more significant—yet his motives (particularly regarding his relationship with Zovina) remain murky.
• The hosts theorize about a potential (but unconfirmed) mate bond, debating whether his actions make sense without it (28:12–32:46).

“Anytime they were on page together, I cannot stress enough that I feel like this woman hated him.” — Anna (29:53)

b. Lorath and Ishabel: Cults, Witches, and Enemies-to-Lovers?

• Lorath’s people prohibit magic, treating it as a sin “worse than murder,” giving “full cult vibes.”
• The hosts delight in potential hidden romance (“enemies to lovers”) between Lorath and witch Ishabel, backed by snarky banter, shared missions, and suspiciously loaded exchanges—plus a compelling “cloaked figure” theory (36:52–40:40).

“We are somehow, inexplicably, but absolutely shipping Ishabel and Lorath. Okay, I don’t care. It’s enemies to lovers. It’s so happening.” — Kim & Anna (36:59–37:10)

c. Carrion: Breakout Star and Emotional Resonance

• Carrion is unanimously adored—depicted as witty, deep, and an “onion” layered character with hidden vulnerability under his jester facade.
• Iconic moments: The “I really like your horns” scene (46:51) and Fisher’s raw advice on pain (42:14).
• His dynamic with Fisher evolves from banter to mutual respect, with the human realm trip providing “peak forced proximity” and critical character development (41:08–45:23).

“There’s only one way to learn how to endure pain the way I have. You have to suffer through it again and again and again...Feel the pain you’ve been given, Carrion. Don’t be fool enough to ask for more. It’s a curse I would spare you from, believe me.” — Fisher (42:14)

“If you treat me like I’m the court jester, I’ll be the court jester...If at any point you underestimate me, then I’d say that was your mistake. Rather than mine.” — Carrion (45:23)

“My name is Carrion. Nice to meet you all. I really like your horns.” — Carrion, addressing the Satyrs (46:51)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “We’re stem girlies, okay?” — Kim (10:34), after a segment on the laws of thermodynamics.
• “Who’s to say? Not us.” — Running joke.
• “Are you helping, or are you?” — Christina, regarding the meddling seer mother-in-law (23:30).
• “It’s very much giving culty—a sin worse than murder.” — Anna on Lorath’s people (36:52).

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:28 — Podcast starts, hosts reunite for Brimstone discussion
• 04:29 — Anna's PSA: Grammar, plot inconsistencies, and fandom context
• 06:06 — World-building with Anna: The Vampire Court, hierarchy, new threats
• 09:36 — Discussion of the rot, magical portals, and city symbolism
• 12:40–15:55 — “Small magic” introduction, confusion, and plot device critique
• 17:46 — Pacing analysis
• 19:43 — Coronation day, “dosing,” and Aerith’s fate
• 23:00–26:48 — “The little blue book” seer plot device, criticism
• 27:29 — Brimstone, dragon lore, and fire sprites
• 28:12–32:46 — Taladeus, Zovina, and mate bond debate
• 36:52–40:44 — Lorath/Ishabel banter, cults, and enemies-to-lovers ship analysis
• 41:07–47:27 — Carrion spotlight, Fisher advice, satyr audience, and banter
• 47:27 — Episode wrap–up and notes for Part 2

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

• The episode is playful and irreverent but does not shy away from careful critique, especially on plot mechanics and magic system consistency.
• Emphasis on the strengths: character dynamics, banter, Carrion’s arc, and the book’s “vibe.”
• Constructive criticism: the plot sometimes relies too much on convenient magic, thin logic, or “guidebook” devices.
• Many favorite quotes and moments are delivered in the hosts’ trademark humorous, exasperated, and bookish manner, making the discussion lively even when pointed.

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Stay Tuned…

Part 2 will dive deeper into main heroine Serris, Kingfisher, and the book’s explosive ending.

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Listen to Flights of Fantasy on your favorite podcast app. Join the community on Instagram and TikTok @flightsofantasypodcast.

Transcript

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[Christina]

Welcome to Flights of Fantasy, your Romantasy podcast book club. I'm Christina, joined by my book besties, Kim and Anna, and together we are.

[Kim]

Diving into the characters, theories, lore and.

[Christina]

Magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books.

[Kim]

Hello, book besties, and welcome to part one of our Brimstone coverage by Callie Hart, book two in her Fae and Alchemy series. Oh, friends, that. That sets the tone right there. Oh, friends, we are in for a time today. Okay. We are so excited. The three of us have not been together for a book. I feel like just in forever. And we are just getting to go through this and I cannot wait for you to hear our thoughts. I cannot wait.

[Christina]

We have some.

[Anna]

Oh, we do.

[Christina]

They're ranging.

[Kim]

It's. It's a spectrum and we're gonna get into it. Okay, we are. But before we do, Christina has some fun announcements for us.

[Christina]

I do exciting news. News listeners, friends, besties, we have over three hours of bonus brimstone video content awaiting you on Patreon right now. Yes, I said three hours. And it is all so fun. Our video chapter chats, if you're unfamiliar with those, these are our read along real time reaction video episodes where we pause every few chapters and hop on with our thoughts and theories. And these in particular are so, so fun. And you guys are having so much fun in the comments. We love chatting with you there. And just if you want more from us on this book, more detailed chapter breakdowns for the majority of the book, we've got you covered on Patreon. Anna even acts some things out. It's really wonderful.

[Kim]

She does.

[Christina]

It's great.

[Kim]

I'm waiting.

[Anna]

The Oscar nominated.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Kerrygold Advertiser]

Any day.

[Christina]

You got, you got dream big, right?

[Anna]

I should just dream big.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

You and Cynthia Erivo.

[Anna]

You know, listen, couldn't be better company.

[Kim]

Same, same, same, same.

[Anna]

We're basically the same person.

[Christina]

Okay. Also, we're feeling very festive this month, friends. Kim is bringing you her holiday TBR via a cutie video episode. We're also bringing chat video episode on Megan Quinn's how my neighbor Stole Christmas. Oh my gosh.

[Kim]

Oh yeah.

[Christina]

So festive, so steamy. Can't wait. And don't forget, as a patron, you get our episodes a day early ad free. The video of our episodes if you're in tier 2. And also access to our back catalog of chapter chats, our SJM series and so much more. We've got two tiers starting at $5 a month, so something for everyone. And we would love, love, love to welcome you into our Patreon family. So come join the [e-mail] flightsofantasypodcast oh my goodness. Speaking of Patreon, let's shout out some very important people. Kim, I would love to.

[Kim]

So one of the many benefits of being one of our tier two book betches is that you get a special shout out on one of our episodes. So in this episode we are shouting out Denise E. Katie in Amy L And Stephanie. Thank you guys so much for supporting us. We love you so much.

[Christina]

We really do.

[Kim]

XOXO your book besties.

[Christina]

We love you. Okay, Anna, why don't we start off with you? Do you have a little PSA for us before we begin?

[Anna]

I certainly do. Um, listeners, listeners. I feel like I have to say.

[Kim]

That twice lit summers.

[Anna]

We would be remiss if we didn't bring this up. So we are aware that there has been chatter on socials about some grammar and a few plot hiccups in Cali's book, some editing errors, and to be totally honest, the grammar wasn't something that we clocked initially. I mean, once you see it though, it's kind of hard to miss it, but it didn't pull us out of the story in a major way. If we're having fun, we're honestly pretty forgiving. However, there were some plot inconsistencies, and those did catch our attention a bit more. Here's the thing. We went into Brimstone expecting a fun, lower stakes, romantasy ride. And that doesn't mean that we don't have expectations, because we definitely do. And we will talk through our questions and our grievances as we go. The hot takes will come, but overall, this series has been more about the vibes for us since the beginning. And we showed up for the banter, the romance, the chaos, and obviously Carrion. And at the end of the day, friends, we had a grand old time. The time was heavy, but we have to acknowledge it. And don't you worry, we too, like I said, have grievances and we will air them as we make our way through it.

[Christina]

We will.

[Anna]

But we had a great vibry.

[Kim]

You know what we did.

[Anna]

So with that being said, consider this your official spoiler warning for Brimstone by Kali Hart, as well as Kingfisher's bonus chapters that she released on her website and at the back of certain editions. Yep, you have been warned. Let's dive in.

[Kim]

Let's go.

[Anna]

Okay, so guys, it's time for World Building with Anna.

[Kim]

World Building with Anna.

[Anna]

So listeners, we obviously have a quicksilver episode where we break down the world in that book as well. So we are just going to touch upon a few things, just rattle them off that were new to us in this book. So we have to kick off with the Vampire Court, specifically a Montreal, which is the main capital city of the Vampire Realm. Now, I do have to say that I don't know how much of this going forward is going to be important because of the events in this book. And Taladeus basically serving everyone poisoned Kool Aid, then getting rid of all the vampires.

[Kim]

So who knows who's to say if this is even important anymore? Not us, but it was a big part of the book, so we gotta talk about it.

[Anna]

It was a large part of the book, so we will talk about it. And we're just gonna rattle this off as quickly as possible. So I feel like the most important thing here to note is the hierarchy power structure of the Vampire Court. There are five Lords of Midnight. They are the higher, more powerful vampires. But also they're not all vampires because you have the hazeracts, so there's that.

[Kim]

And isn't one of them a witch?

[Anna]

Oh, she was a witch and now she's a vampire.

[Kim]

Okay, sorry. Not an eclectic group, I see. I see. We're multicultural. We're multicultural.

[Anna]

Listen, there's room at the table for everyone.

[Kim]

There is.

[Christina]

The one thing I could respect about the vampires is their diversity and power. You know that's the one thing they did right.

[Kim]

I could say one thing about them. They're a diverse bunch. Okay?

[Christina]

We've got women Lords, we've got Fae. We got vampires.

[Kim]

We got all witches that are now vampires.

[Christina]

Their voices were cruel, but we all had different voices. You know, we were speaking for the people. Even if they all sucked.

[Kim]

Exactly. They still deserve a voice.

[Anna]

Listen, who's to say? To say. I feel like that's going to be our running joke. Who's to say? Not us.

[Christina]

Not us.

[Kim]

Truly. That's the theme.

[Anna]

That is the theme.

[Christina]

Okay.

[Anna]

All right. We have the five Lords of Midnight. They swear allegiance to the crown. Now, in this case, it's Serris, right? Serris is the Queen. She killed Malcolm. So therefore she takes over as the crown of the Vampire Court. Again, I don't know if this is going to be important going forward, but I think it's important to note that Serris as queen, whoever is crown, gets to basically make blatant commands and everybody has to follow them. She puts a little powerful magic into her voice and she states at the beginning of the book, you cannot harm my friends or myself. And like, magic rushes out and everyone's like, takes the knee and they're like, got it.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

So Tal also explains to Seras that a vampire cannot lie to their sire. He explains it as if a blue aura light radiates off of Ceres whenever she lies to him. He is Fae now, so.

[Kim]

So who's she saying? The next thing I really want to.

[Anna]

Bring up are the feeders. These are obviously very important in this book. So Malcolm and apparently Tal are the only strong enough vampires to turn another Fae into a vampire successfully. This was based off of my research. If I am incorrect in this, please shoot us a dm. But this was all I could find. It's a bit convoluted, but I guess any vampire who is less strong than Tal or Malcolm, whenever they tried to turn a Fae, that Fae was unable to keep their sanity. And that's why you have a feeder. They're basically zombies, for lack of a better term.

[Christina]

Okay, okay, okay, sure.

[Anna]

Moving on. I say that because now we have a new subset of Feeders and they are infected. We have the rot and we have infected feeders now, gonna be honest, there's still a lot left to be explained about the rot. I'm hoping we learn more about this in book three. But what we can tell, the rot and the infective eaters are being created by Queen Madra, and she is transporting them through a very strong magical portal that she has created. Now, this magical portal, according to Foley, the most powerful magical symbol is a circle. And what is the human city of Zavarin built and shaped as? A wheel, guys.

[Kim]

A wheel.

[Anna]

It is a wheel with the spokes that are the different wards.

[Kim]

I liked this. I thought this was cool. Like, I liked agreed that he brought it up to Ceres that talking about a wheel and the power of a wheel and the circle, and then that revealed that Zilvarin, like Madra, specifically created Zilvarin to be a circle and a wheel.

[Anna]

I agree. I like this. We laid the groundwork. This is one of the things where we set it up in the beginning with Foley, and then it comes through in the end.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

We love a full circle. We love a full circle moment.

[Kim]

I see. Yeah.

[Anna]

Full circle, full circle.

[Kim]

Literally.

[Christina]

There weren't many in this book, so we gotta capitalize on the ones we got.

[Kim]

Gotta shout out the ones that did work.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Golf clap.

[Anna]

All right, guys, so normally we do a little history lesson with Anna, but we are gonna be bop over to the science wing.

[Kim]

My favorite. Kim's favorite.

[Kerrygold Advertiser]

Yes.

[Kim]

I love a science.

[Anna]

Guys, we are doing science and math in this episode, so I don't want to say that we're, like, really smart, but I'm not saying we're not.

[Christina]

I mean, call us Ali Hazelwood, female main character, why don't you?

[Kim]

We're stem girlies. Okay?

[Anna]

So bebop over with me. We're gonna pull out your notebook and pencils, and we are going to have a little physics lesson because the first law of thermodynamics.

[Kim]

I love you guys. Kim and Christina literally pulled out notebooks and pencils. We're good listeners.

[Christina]

Ready to go.

[Anna]

Oh, my God. Okay, so the first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Ask me why this is the only thing I remember from any science class. I couldn't tell you. But it really stuck out to me because when Foley talks about magic, he tells Saris that Essentially, you cannot kill magic. You can kill all of the people and magic wielders, but that magic does not get destroyed. It just gets repurposed. So when Madra killed and burned all of the alchemists centuries ago, that magic never actually went anywhere. It just got repurposed. And apparently what she has been doing is siphoning the magic and hoarding it.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

How?

[Anna]

I don't know. But she has been siphoning and hoarding it to then create this extremely powerful spell and unleash the feeders into Ovelia.

[Christina]

Yeah, and make it like a portal to get them there. Sure.

[Anna]

I don't really quite know how she's infecting the feast. Humans, I am assuming. She must have some lesser vampire stashed away.

[Kim]

Yeah. How is she doing this?

[Anna]

I was wondering, is she a vampire? But I feel like she'd be very powerful.

[Kim]

Well, she's a thousand years old. She's clearly not human.

[Anna]

Oh, she's not human.

[Kim]

So, like, is she able to do it? Or as you said, does she have someone chained in a dungeon?

[Christina]

Somewh mean, we know she is part of the Triumvirate, so they at some point could have turned her or, I don't know, done something. I also still think she's an alchemist, so.

[Kim]

Oh, because then she would just be able to snap her fingers and do it. Right. If she's anything like Sarah, she can just say.

[Christina]

Yeah, she can just go on through. Yeah, Yeah. I think that maybe that's why she killed all the other alchemists, so she could then be the only one and hoard it all. So that might be a way that she's doing this.

[Anna]

Yeah, that would be actually an interesting take on it. Maybe we'll find out in book three.

[Christina]

Who's to say not us?

[Anna]

The last thing I want to touch upon in this book that was introduced is something new to the magic system, and it is called Small Magic. Here is the quote. This is Kingfisher speaking. A small magic wasn't a part of a male or female's birthright, meaning their birthright magic, like my shadows were, it was a much smaller well of energy, a faint affinity that a person might have toward a specific line of magic. Unlike birthright magic, small magic was a finite source. So essentially, once the well runneth dry, there is no more magic to be used. Talana would be an example, though, of her birthright magic being healing. So that's why she's able to always. She's a healer. She gets to heal always.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

So, yeah, I don't know. What did you guys think of this?

[Christina]

Honestly, it just feels really messy.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Like, especially because we know from Fox the Boots and the Dress bonus chapter and from Kelly Hart interviews that you can have multiple small magics.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So unfortunately, that then opens the door for any character to just conveniently pull any magic out of their back pocket at any time and be like, oh, it's my small magic. Oh, this one is too. I just. I like. They're finite. I like that limitation on them. But I wish there was more rules surrounding who gets what and why and maybe a limit to how many you can have. Like, I think we need more rules around these.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Instead of just being like, I don't know who has what and where they're from and who agreed.

[Anna]

And it's messy. I think that's the best. You described it perfectly.

[Kim]

Well, I didn't realize that you could have multiple small magics. Like, to me, that's not small, then.

[Christina]

Exactly.

[Kim]

If there's multiple smalls, that's just magic, then that's just math is what that is. And I'm great at math.

[Christina]

Multiple smalls add up to a big.

[Kim]

A big. And again, like you said, Christina, there's no rules or understanding of like. Okay, so Fisher used all of his small magic to heal onyx. But just that little small well is dry. He probably still has more small magic.

[Christina]

Oh, yeah. So in Fox Boots the Dress, he uses his gift of illusions, which. Now, Fox Boots the Dress is a tricky example because there is a specific typo in that that does say his shadows come from his mom and his gift of illusions, small magic, come from his dad, which we know is wrong, so it's hard to quote that one, but it's.

[Kim]

Wow, there's so much.

[Christina]

But if we're going off of the audiobook version of the bonus chapters in Fox the Boots, the Dress, we know that he has gift of illusion, which comes from his mom. He uses that gift of illusion to create a bathroom for Seras. Kelly Hart was asked in an interview, when creating that bathroom using the gift of illusion, was that small magic? Was that shadow magic? What was that? And she said that was a part of his small magics.

[Anna]

No, it doesn't feel small. When you can create an entire room.

[Kim]

An entire bathroom does not feel small.

[Anna]

And she actually bathes. If it's an illusion, how can you actually bathe?

[Christina]

Yeah, that's my question.

[Kim]

Don't get me started down that road. Don't do that. You know how this triggers me.

[Anna]

Sorry.

[Kim]

Yeah. The small Magic feels like a plot device. As we like to say, heavenly fire.

[Kerrygold Advertiser]

It just.

[Kim]

Yeah, like Christina, you said, it feels very messy and I. I need more regulations and rules around it.

[Christina]

Yes. And Adina mentions at some point there's a flashback of him healing his thumb when he was little and then talking about how he only has a little left and saying to his mom that he is upset that he doesn't have as much healing magic in his. Well, I guess. And his mom responds saying, oh, don't worry, sweetheart. You'll have just enough when you need them the most. Like it will be enough when you need them.

[Kim]

How so?

[Christina]

As in, like you have different amounts for each. Yeah.

[Kim]

No, I can't handle that. No.

[Christina]

Who's to say? Not us. Okay, okay. Let's move along with the story.

[Kim]

Oh, let's move along to the prologue, pacing, and Coronation Day. It's Coronation Day.

[Christina]

The window is open. So is that door. I didn't know we did that anymore.

[Kim]

Give us any kind of intro for a song and we will take it. Okay.

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[Christina]

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[Kim]

So overall, our opinion on the plot in Brimstone is that it moved at an absolute lightning speed. There was very little downtime, no rest, no recovery, barely a chance to breathe. Honestly, our only real pause moments were the spicy scenes, which kind of felt like the book was just tapping its brakes a little bit, just long enough for us to catch up. And I would say from the beginning of the book until the ending, I was very, very pleased with the pacing of the book. I thought it moved very quickly. There wasn't, like I said, a lot of downtime, a lot of lag. I'm curious what you guys thought of the pacing and did your opinion change after finishing the book?

[Anna]

I think for me, the plot was moving so fast and I was having so much fun because it was moving so fast. But then when I take a step back and look at it, I feel like we were on such a fast ride that I didn't notice all of the things that bothered me until I got to the end and I was like, wait a second, I have a lot highlighted that did not get brought up again and feels like plot holes.

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[Christina]

That's a great way to say it. I agreed tenfold.

[Kim]

I completely agree with you, Anna. I. Yeah. And don't you worry, friends, we will get to that ending. But for now, like I said, it's Coronation Day. Serris is going to be crowned Queen of the Vampires. Everyone is gathered, tensions are high, and one of the Lords of Midnight, Aerith, decides that Saris needs to, quote, prove herself as their queen by drinking from Fisher to satisfy her bloodlust. But a fun little caveat, though, that no one tells Saris is that before the actual blood drinking starts, there's this moment where the fangs just kind of puncture the skin and it releases this euphoric venom. And the venom doesn't just feel good, it is like an instant orgasm. It is an overwhelming sexual high. And this is apparently called dosing, which I've never heard of before.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Did Cali make this up or is this. I don't know.

[Anna]

I've read a lot of vampire books. I don't. I've never heard the term dosing.

[Kim]

Okay, Yeah, I didn't know. I was like, is this a thing? Is this like, nodding? I don't know.

[Anna]

Paranormal, paranormal girlies, let us know Paranormal.

[Kim]

Girlies, let us know Is dosing a thing? Okay. But sweet Fisher is just standing there as she's dosing him. Painfully turned on in Front of the entire Vampire Court, trying to survive the coronation with the hard on of a century. Meanwhile, Carrion is over here. Like she's. I'm gonna light up. That was hot. Does anybody have a light?

[Christina]

Anybody else?

[Anna]

I love the way he's like a third party in their acts. Sometimes he's just like a voyeur.

[Christina]

Oh, God, it's so good.

[Kim]

Okay, so anyway, after this unfortunate. Well, fortunate or unfortunate, depending on who you are. Dosing Seras is begrudgingly accepted as Queen of the Vampires. Although we are now down one Lord of Midnight. Because Aerith dies because he around and found out that Fisher does not play about Saris and he is now dead, which we thought was gonna be a throwaway detail. No, no, friends.

[Christina]

Turns out no, because by the end.

[Kim]

Of the book, we learn that Aerith was actually a spy for Hell. And Styx is definitely not thrilled about losing his foothold in the Vampire Court. So, TBD on if that's gonna get brought up again. But.

[Christina]

And that's a double whammy, losing your hold in the Vampire Court by way of your son. So, you know, there's a lot going on there.

[Anna]

All right, Christina, will you take us through some of these magical plot points that we get?

[Christina]

Oh, what a fun section. I would love to.

[Kim]

Good luck.

[Christina]

Thanks. Okay, here, everybody, buckle up. Let's touch on some important, albeit magical, elements that are introduced here. So specifically, Adina's little blue Book. Also brimstone, but let's start with the rot here. So Anna has already broken down what we know about the rot so far, but it's also important to remember that at the end of Quicksilver, when Serris visits Zarith, the God of Chaos, he tells her that there is a rot spreading throughout the realms and effectively killing the Tree of Life. End quote. Every possible future where the two of you are together ends with the vast majority of the tree dying. Cool. But he does also say that there are pathways that he cannot see, end quote. In all of these veiled futures where a chance still exists for life, there is one common factor. You and Kingfisher fought at each other's side and were God bound. So there's still some help there. But just very important to remember this conversation when we think about the rot in this book going forward, because it is going forward, because it's not resolved. Okay, so next up, the little blue Book.

[Kim]

Oh, y'. All. Oh, God.

[Christina]

We've got some feelings. But before we give you our thoughts, let's quickly break down exactly what this book is and how Serris gets it. So, tldr, long story short. Adina, Fisher's mother was a very powerful seer. And she pretty much foresaw every part of the sequence of events that Ceres and Fisher are about to encounter ahead of time, thousands of years ago. And so she wrote it all down specifically for Serris, and specifically in a one page at a time, really fun format, which we will get to. But first, how did Ceres get her hands on this little book? Well, I'm going to tell you, Everlane. Remember her? She is in fact in this book. And she is still alive. So barely. She somehow is still kicking. So poor sweet Everlane didn't speak in the whole book, except for when she was possessed, but still remains a character. And she's not doing well. She is still in that magical coma. And like I just said, occasionally she becomes possessed by random people who just want to pop in and give an ominous warning or cryptic message. Yeah, like our gal Adina, her mother.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Okay. So she takes over her daughter's body and essentially tells Saris where to find this blue book and to not tell Kingfisher about it. Okay. Which she then ignores and tells him. But turns out that was good because it was a test. Because she told Kingfisher she has to give you the book and then give it back.

[Anna]

You gotta love mother in laws, don't you?

[Kim]

Wow, I was like. I'm confused here. If the ultimate goal was to give Kingfisher the book, then just say give him the book.

[Anna]

I feel like you were setting me up for failure.

[Christina]

It's dairy mother in law coded. Like I'm helping, but are you? Are you helping?

[Kim]

Are you though?

[Christina]

Are you? I feel like you want me to say thank you, but this was way more complicated than if I had just done it.

[Kim]

Absolutely. It's giving Elena.

[Anna]

I was just about to say it's giving Elena.

[Kim]

Very triggering for us.

[Christina]

Okay, so, stargazer paper birds. Let's talk about these magical little creatures. So I actually loved these birds, guys. The visual of them.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Oh my God. And flying around with the star. Just gorgeous.

[Kim]

So good. Yeah.

[Christina]

I loved them. I loved. They exist. I am not sure how they would possibly mate a nest or what would be on those baby bird pages, considering the author of the journal died thousands of years ago. But it's fine. Who's to say? Not us. Okay, so Serris finds the book. And of course, it is not a straightforward manual. It's written like a little cryptic. Choose your own adventure from the beyond.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Each entry in this book had been written in service of a specific moment to come. For any of this to bear fruit, the dominoes must fall in order. With that said, I must acknowledge that there are many ways to approach what comes next, and nearly all of them will kill you.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

Thanks, mother in law. Appreciate it. I know. Again, but all that to say, this book does give us some answers and some guidance, finally. Which our bigger book of brimstone did need.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Quote. Hours later, my head was still buried in Idina's book. I had learned more from her in the span of an evening than I could have gleaned in a lifetime scouring the libraries of Evelia for scrap. So that is great. I love that for her. But if she could have just read the book through, wouldn't that have been more helpful? And I get it. Plot. But how did you guys feel about the little blue book?

[Anna]

I struggled. I struggled with it. Here's the reason. I feel like this was a very, very, very heavenly fire plot device that she used to basically be like, here's a guidebook. And now we don't need to work through anything else, because if you just flip the page, Idina literally says, turn the page after the ball. Turn the page after this. And to me, I just feel like free will. Like, then is Serris actually making these choices because the book is telling her what to do? It's like a really weird, convoluted, godlike thing. I don't know. I just didn't. I didn't love it.

[Christina]

Yes, yes. And I do get it. As a seer, you're like, all right, so I need her to ultimately get here and say his name and break this thing. But if I tell her that he's going to be taken and put into a tree, she's gonna save him, but he has to be taken and put into the tree for her to go into the thing. So, like, I do get some of those things, but I don't know.

[Kim]

Yeah. Well, it just also felt to me like any win that Serris had, not just with her magic, but with this book, it's like, well, that wasn't really you accomplishing anything. You were just following instructions in a book. So, like me as the reader, I can't even be like, wow, great job, Serris. Like, that was an awesome decision because it wasn't your decision. It was Adina's decision. And you're just. Literally, anybody could have done that. Like, a monkey could have just read the book.

[Christina]

Great point.

[Anna]

That's a much better way of saying it. What I Meant with free will. That's what I meant. That is exactly what bothered me is I was like, this is not her doing it. This is not the main female character. This is Idina orchestrating it.

[Kim]

I mean, it's just. Yeah, I love the birds. Really into the birds. Love that motif. Love them all becoming the pages of the book. Thought that was really well done. But the book itself felt very heavenly fire. And again, just took stakes away from Saris for me.

[Christina]

Yes. Also, my biggest question, and I guess hot take is, why was the book in Amon tra? Why was the book in the vampire kingdom? Shouldn't it have been in Kish? Yes, yes, exactly.

[Anna]

Because I was like, I guess she foresaw her being in a Montreal or whatever.

[Christina]

Right.

[Anna]

But at the same time, I'm like, how did you get it there? Did you mail it to Foley? Yes, because Foley's not receiving mail.

[Kim]

We know for a fact that Foley is not receiving mail. Who the hell else is receiving this? This book?

[Anna]

And the vampire witch makes it sound like these stargazer birds have been there for a very, very long time.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Also, she says they're mating and they have nests and they lay eggs. So I'm like, are there more pages? What hatches out of the eggs?

[Kim]

A page with a single letter on it. What? How.

[Christina]

How could there be new pages if the. They are the pages of a journal and that author died thousands of years ago. Correct.

[Anna]

I don't know.

[Kim]

Great point.

[Anna]

Okay.

[Christina]

Anyways, also, Brimstone. It's important. It's gonna be important. It's the only thing that'll kill the rot.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Christina]

I think the most important thing about Brimstone is Archer and how we all collectively almost lost our minds when we thought he was gonna die.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And we learned the fire sprites are completely made of brimstone.

[Kim]

Yeah, that's very interesting, but also, like.

[Christina]

Protect them at all costs. And Danya, you can take all the seats. Ma'.

[Anna]

Am.

[Kim]

Danya, you can fuck off. We are not hurting those fire sprites. Over my dead body will.

[Anna]

We heard a fire sprite.

[Kim]

Kim will not stand. I will riot in the streets before I allow that to happen. Danya.

[Christina]

Also, dragon. Dragons are important. We knew they were going to be important from the bonus chapters we called that. But not only do the dragons breathe fire, they also breathe Runestone. So pin that for the ending. All right, Anna, let's talk about Taladeus and the Vampire Court just a little bit.

[Anna]

Yes, let's chat about Taladeus. I feel like we are starting to Scratch the surface of his character in Quicksilver. He was this intriguing, morally gray side player. And while he does step into a larger role in Brimstone, I think still feel like we don't get a clear sense of his deeper motivations and where his arc is headed. I mean, we get little moments, but not the full picture. But we do know that Kingfisher trusts him and that Tal is one of his oldest friends. From childhood, I feel like says a lot. I mean, that reads to me like that came across on Paige. And we learned that he was engaged to Everling, which was kind of like the big nugget that was dropped in this book, only to BAAL the night before the wedding because he realizes he was in love with a vampire, the very creature that he was sworn to protect his people from. Yeah, this really. This was interesting. What did you guys think?

[Christina]

I think the only way this works is if Zovina was his mate.

[Anna]

Thank you.

[Christina]

And I think we got hints to that, but I need someone to say it on page. I'm confused why we haven't Kingfisher hinted to it with Ren.

[Anna]

I agree. And speaking of zovenia, let's chat a little bit about her and her relationship with Tal. And I would argue that it was all a fantasy in his head and that there was no relationship.

[Kim]

But I was about to say, was there even a relationship?

[Anna]

So here's the quote from Fisher. He says, Zovina was Lycian once. Like Tal, he loved her. For her part, I think she loved him too. But that was a long, long time ago, guys. We spent a fair amount of this book speculating on what the reasons were for Tao to essentially betray everyone who ever cared about him to go be with Zovina. And anytime they were on page together, I cannot stress enough that I feel like this woman hated him.

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[Christina]

Oh, yeah.

[Anna]

There was no love loss on her part.

[Christina]

No, no. It almost read to the point where she was, like, being possessed, like she used to be, kind, and slowly, like a rot took her over or something.

[Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Anna]

I texted Kim because we were ahead of Christina a little bit. And when I got to this part and I texted her and I said, kim, I need you to know that if you came to me and were like, I'm going to go change every molecular cell in my body and go chase after this vampire, I'd be like, no, we're gonna sit down and have an intervention because this bitch hates you and she's awful, and you're not gonna go betray all of your friends. And people.

[Kim]

And leave your fiance basically at the altar. It's the night before the wedding. Everything's done. You're just gonna run off and leave her?

[Christina]

Sweet Everlane, for what?

[Anna]

And that goes back to Christina. Your point of. If they were mates, this would read differently to me. And we talked about this in our chapter chats. We were like, oh, they're mates. Oh, they have to be mates. That's the only way this makes sense.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

And then she dies. Zoe Na dies. And what he says to Saris is, I feel like she enjoyed seeing me in pain. I said, okay, so we're not mates.

[Kim]

We can't be, because you just can't feel that way about your mate. It literally. He says, I think she derived a sick pleasure from seeing me in pain, and she enjoyed hurting me on some level. Okay, that's not. We can't be mates then.

[Anna]

That's a toxic form of love, truly.

[Christina]

But there has to have been a good enough reason for Tal to go to be with Zovina that Kingfisher found to be a good enough reason to still trust him after leaving his sister at the altar. He still trusts him and defends him to Rinfus.

[Anna]

He says to Rinfus, he alludes to them being mates.

[Christina]

Yeah. So he says, this is Kingfisher to Rinfus, I pray that when you find your mate and you fall in love, you'll know nothing but an everlasting peace with them. But for others, it isn't that simple. See, I think Sovina used to be kind. And I think maybe she was turned by one of them. And when she was turned, somehow she turned into this, like, awful person and forgot who she was. And he was like, I gotta go to be with her.

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[Christina]

Could that break a mating bond? Like, I don't understand here's.

[Anna]

Oh, like, I agree, Christina. Like, but here's. My issue is that I feel like we are doing a lot of rewriting things in our brain. And that's annoying.

[Kim]

Uh huh. It is.

[Anna]

You know? Yeah. Like, you could have had this moment with Sarris. It was a beautiful moment.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Sylvina is dead at his feet. And he tells Seras, I didn't want to be Fae. I wanted to die in that vampire court. But you guys forced that liquid down my throat. And I was.

[Kim]

You made me drink the Kool Aid. Sorry.

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[Christina]

Funny.

[Kim]

But he's like, but you guys help me down and shoved it down my throat. So here we are.

[Christina]

Talk about free will.

[Anna]

So he was like, I was ready to off myself on this battlefield. And then I felt the warmth of the sun. And he hasn't been able to feel direct sunlight in centuries because he's been a vampire.

[Christina]

How can I go back to the darkness when I've seen the light?

[Kim]

Oh, I think that's beautiful.

[Anna]

It was a beautiful moment.

[Kim]

It was.

[Anna]

And I feel like in that moment, there could have been a little back and forth of, why did you love her? What was it for? And he could have said, because she was my mate.

[Kim]

Literally.

[Anna]

We could have ended it there.

[Kim]

That's it. And I would have been like, okay, done.

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[Christina]

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[Kim]

Okay, let's move on to the even light ball, AKA the ball and dinner party from hell. So Tal poisoning and simultaneously curing the entire vampire court was definitely not on our bingo card. But honestly, I did feel like this was a fun plot twist. We talked about this during our chapter chats, but the second Tao mentioned wanting to sever the sire bond with Sarah. Something felt off to us. We were just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thank God he didn't go Full villain. Because I think this choice actually made his character way more layered and interesting.

[Christina]

This felt like a unexpected moment that was really fun and had those payoff little breadcrumbs.

[Anna]

Agree.

[Kim]

Absolutely. I thought the ball itself was executed so well. We get this really intense, dramatic moment where Tal breaks the bond and Seras is literally in a ball gown just vomiting into a bucket. He's like, all right, you ready? Here's your bucket. And she's like, what's this for? And Fisher's like, hold your hair back. Pull your.

[Anna]

Yeah, hair.

[Kim]

Hair needs to go back. Pull your hair over the shoulder. Yeah, get ready. She's like, okay.

[Christina]

At some point, Fisher's like, did he not tell you what has to happen?

[Anna]

And she's like, uh, the way this would not be okay with me.

[Kim]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Christina]

Also, I am dressed up. I am in a goddamn ball gown.

[Kim]

And I look hot. How dare you make me throw up.

[Christina]

So hot. Yeah.

[Kim]

So then we learn how calculated this whole plan was. Tal has been working with the witches behind the scenes. Sneaky, sneaky. Tal is working with Isha Ball to help cast the spell because they needed the blood of a powerful witch, which obviously Ishabel is, and she had to be close enough for the magic to land. And Tal had to perfectly time serving every higher vampire, the cure or the poison, depending on how you look at it. And, yeah, like we said, it made sense. It was fun. And then we get Lorath's whole situation with the witch clans. Fisher explains that Lorath's people and the witches don't exactly have a warm, fuzzy history. Okay, we're not sure yet if this is setting something up for book three, but it definitely feels like a detail worth flagging. And I just have to say, with all the respect in the world, Lorath's people are absolutely giving cult vibes. Okay, I'm just gonna say they are. Here's the quote about Lorath's people. This is Kingfisher. He rarely used his own innate magic. His people swore an oath not to use the magic they were born with. They considered their magic sacred, accidentally stolen from nature during the process of being born. To use their gifts was to flout that theft in front of the gods. For Lorath's family, it was a sin worse than murder to use magic, inherited, small or otherwise. I mean, guys, that's. That's cult.

[Anna]

It's very much giving culty a sin worse than murder.

[Christina]

And this is the basic part of them, his magic, it's in him.

[Kim]

I mean, my God, he must be so repressed. But I do have to say, we are somehow, inexplicably, but absolutely shipping Ishabel and Lorath. Okay, I don't care. It's enemies to lovers.

[Christina]

It's so happening.

[Anna]

When we were doing our chapter chats on Patreon, I was like, it's giving enemies to lovers. Me thinks thou dost protest too much. I absolutely loved this. And then Christina actually very excitingly, has some receipts that she found that might support this.

[Christina]

Oh, I went down the rabbit hole. Okay. God, I'm so excited. Okay, back in quicksilver, Lorath is talking about Ishabel and why he doesn't trust her and the witches in general he calls dragon lovers. And if it weren't for them, there wouldn't even be any vampires.

[Kim]

Wait, what?

[Christina]

So then she responds and says, come now, don't tell me you still believe that. And she says, we proved centuries ago that we had nothing to do with the curse that afflicted your kind.

[Rocket Money Advertiser (Alternate)]

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[Christina]

We were instru in breaking it. They were instrumental, working with the dianthesis to make the cure.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Right.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Okay, okay.

[Christina]

But dragon lovers.

[Anna]

So are these witches. Maybe they worship the dragons. I don't know. Because there's also a comment where I think Lorath or somebody mentions the gods that the witches worship and how it's different than the ones that they worship.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

And she's kind of like, we don't speak about them. Like, she really believes that they are powerful and scary.

[Christina]

Are they dragons? I don't know.

[Anna]

That's what I'm saying. Are they dragons? Are they, like, dragon lovers and dragons are in hell with sticks.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, that's interesting. Okay, so they could consider dragons gods. That's fascinating.

[Anna]

That's cool.

[Christina]

Okay, so here, listen to this. Pretty much, Ishabel is like anyone else would be grateful warrior that I'm here helping you. And then she squints at him. What was your name again? He responds, you know damned well what my name is. We've met before. Witch.

[Anna]

Okay, that's giving him a nice stand.

[Christina]

Oh, wait, listen to it. Listen to what her response is. Oh, Ishabel shot Laura, the female grin. Really? I must have forgotten.

[Kim]

Yes, 100%.

[Anna]

They got drunk at a pub.

[Christina]

I'm obsessed with this.

[Kim]

She doesn't remember. I love. He's like, you know damn well what my name is.

[Anna]

Do I? I don't recall.

[Kim]

I don't know. I don't recall.

[Christina]

I guess I must have forgotten.

[Anna]

It was so unimpressionable.

[Christina]

It's so good. Okay. And then at this point, Rin brings his fist down and he's like, enough. Just stop it. She came here to help us. Like she didn't have to. Get over yourself, Laura. And Lorath's eyes burned with surprising hatred, but he ducked his head and did the right thing. He only sounded slightly insincere when he said, I'm sorry. We're all very grateful for you coming. The redhead looked as if she enjoyed watching the warrior squirm. You could have cut the mounting tension in the room with a knife.

[Kim]

I mean, guys, done, done, done. They're going to be in love.

[Christina]

Okay, last receipt that I am so excited to tell you guys about. Do you remember when they go to the tavern to meet Taladeus, and he's at the entrance with a figure in a cloak? And Lorath steps toward the figure as if before he's even thinking. And Taladeus says, wait there, Lore. Like you're covered in blood. No, that hooded figure has to be Ishbal. She was working with Taladeus to do the spell to poison all the vampires.

[Kim]

Oh, my God.

[Anna]

We thought that was Foley at first, but this makes so much more sense.

[Kim]

They were working together.

[Anna]

They're working together because Lorath stumbled.

[Christina]

He says Lorath stiffened, a dark look forming on his face. He steps forward, and then Tal says, wait there, dude.

[Kim]

God.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Kim]

Wow. Well done, Christina.

[Christina]

Also, I don't know if witches have mates, but what if they're mates? And he's like, no, never. I can't be your mate. Never. No, I hate you. And so neither of them accepted it, but that's how he can sense her. And that's why he hates her.

[Anna]

He doesn't want to love her.

[Kim]

Well, it's like how Fisher was with Seris. Like, he was like, this is my mate. Really?

[Christina]

Really?

[Anna]

Her?

[Christina]

Oh, my God, yes. Can you imagine? You know, yes.

[Kim]

Oh, Christina, that's fascinating.

[Christina]

The cloaked figure I was really excited about.

[Anna]

I absolutely love this. This is canon now.

[Kim]

So fof canon, they're enemies to lovers. They're going to be together.

[Christina]

Thank you.

[Anna]

Thank you so much. We will not be taking questions at this time.

[Kim]

Love that.

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[Kim]

I love it.

[Christina]

Wow. Okay. All right. You know what else we love? Carrion. Karen, you know, amongst all the differing opinions, amongst all the discord, what we can all come together on is Karion, because he is just the star of the show. He's the brightest part of this book, and his character really is somehow feels like one of the more fully developed characters in the whole series.

[Anna]

Agree.

[Christina]

There's just this real duality to him that we really got to sit with in this book. He's witty and unassuming and the very like, reluctant heir to a throne. But he's also deeply human in moments. And getting to see that was so wonderful for his character. We see that, like loneliness and longing at the funeral. Oh my God. When Fisher hugs him and he sobs.

[Anna]

No, that was.

[Christina]

Stop it. I can't. So touching everything. And then in his bedroom in the human realm, it's covered in like the murals and the sketches of his mother and his father and the kingdom that he's never even stepped foot in before. And he's, you know, kind of embarrassed by them. It's just he spent his whole life outliving everyone he's ever cared about. As a pure blooded Fae, he's watched every caretaker and mother and anyone in his life eventually die. And all that trauma just has to leave its mark. Even on silly fun Carrion. And that brings us to this moment when Fisher confronts Carrion and asks him if he's in love with Sarris. Karen's response is this quote. I'm not in love with her, Fisher. I tried, but my heart was just too full of sorrow to make room for her. Which is exactly what we see in Karion's bonus chapter where we see him get his heart broken.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Carrion then asked Fisher to teach him how to not feel the pain anymore. And I love Fisher's response. He says, there's only one way to learn how to endure pain the way I have. You have to suffer through it again and again and again. It galvanizes you, tempers you like steel. But I wouldn't wish that kind of pain I lived through on anyone. I've borne it because I had to and for no other reason. Feel the pain you've been given, Carrion. Don't be fool enough to ask for more. It's a curse I would spare you from, believe me. Oh, wow.

[Kim]

So sweet.

[Christina]

Almost like big brotherly. I just. Their relationship with this book is amazing.

[Kim]

I loved it.

[Anna]

That's one of my favorite things for from this book is I feel like from the moment we get Fisher and Carrion on page, there's been this playful tension like from book one. And there's a little hint of jealousy. I feel like on Fisher's end, but for the most part, I don't feel like Fisher is ever anyone who has been insecure in his relationship with Saris. If anything, I feel like the dominant emotion between the two of them is pure annoyance. It's giving a very little brother poking the bear energy. With Carrion instigating and Fisher refusing to take the bait until he, like, inevitably does. Which is always. Leads then to the great banter that we love in these books.

[Christina]

Yeah, yeah.

[Anna]

But it's so satisfying to watch their dynamic evolve into a genuine mutual respect. And I feel like the trip to the human realm really served dual purpose here. I mean, obviously we're going to get Hayden back, which we'll get to Hayden in a minute. But Serris also needs silver for relics. But narratively speaking, and I think on a bigger scale, it's peak forced proximity. And forced proximity is one of the classic tropes used to escalate character relationships. And in this case, obviously it's platonic, not romantic, but the energy still applies. They are stuck together. They're learning each other's rhythms and figuring out how to function as a team. You know, Fisher has to trust Carrion because this is Carrion's world. This is where we finally see that sharp smuggler that ruled the underground that Serris is always talking about. And Carrion in turn has to trust that Fisher will protect him and not just leave him to die because Cerys isn't over his shoulder, you know, guilt tripping him. And we get this beautiful quote which was really a turning point for us. I mean, we had suspected that Caryon was an onion, you know, we love an onion. And that his bravado and sarcasm was. Was basically a masking mechanism for his true self. But this quote really solidified it for us. It's when they're in the sewers, running around, and Carrion has spent majority of the first part of being in the human realm just fumbling and Fish are having to kind of pick up the slack. And then all of a sudden Carrion just steps up to the plate and he's smart and he's cunning and he's taking charge. And Fisher seems taken aback by this. And what Karion tells him is, it's very simple, Fisher. If you treat me like I'm the court jester, I'll be the court jester. If I'm the laughingstock or the drunk or the idiot, then you're not thinking about who I really am, are you? I survived here for a thousand years. Do you really think I'd have been able to do that if I couldn't pull myself out of a fucking hole? If at any point you underestimate me, then I'd say that was your mistake. Rather Than mine.

[Christina]

Iconic. I love this.

[Anna]

Absolutely.

[Christina]

And this is what we're talking about when we get this character development from him in this book. That is exactly it. Yeah, it's kind of giving Riddick.

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[Kim]

Oh, he's so the Riddick of ridiculed.

[Anna]

Yeah, he's. He's basically. It's like if you underestimate me, then you don't get to see what I'm actually doing. And not only can I surprise you, but I have the upper hand.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

It's so. It's so funny. Well, speaking of, Riddick coded this Carrie and favorite moment. Oh, my God, you guys. This had us absolutely cackling.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

It had the entire Internet just dying laughing. So Carrion, obviously, like Anna said, is the reluctant leader who has secretly been studying up, though, on the history and the ways of the Court. So he's not an idiot. But if you remember from earlier in the book, Archer hints that the Dianthus line of rulers were fair and just and always fought for equality among all the creatures, not just what was best for the Fae. So it's not really a surprise that when the satyrs find out Carrion, the Dianthus heir, is in their presence, they all turn to him in his giant square and prostrate themselves to show deference. And then they ask him if he'll say a few words. Here's the quote. 30 seconds passed a minute. Well, you'd better say something. Lorath muttered. All right, all right. Give me a moment. I'm trying to come up with something pithy. Forget pithy. I hiss through my teeth. Aim for short and sweet. Great idea. Yes. Short and sweet. The Satyrs held their breath. When Carrion opened his mouth, he swung left, then right, eyebrows creeping higher and higher toward his hairline. My name is Carrion. Nice to meet you all. I really like your horns.

[Christina]

Incredible.

[Kim]

But this is the funniest. There were historians among the crowd. Someone would record this moment, the day the Seder community received the Dianthus heir. And when they documented the first thing their forgotten king had said to them, it would be this. I really like your horns.

[Anna]

I can't. I'm dead obsessed.

[Christina]

It's amazing.

[Kim]

I love him so much. Like I'm obsessed with him. I love him. I think he was. Was so needed in this series.

[Christina]

Agreed.

[Kim]

But like we've talked about, he isn't Onion. He's not just this one dimensional, one note character. There is depth and substance to him. And I think Callie has done an incredible job with Carrion's character. In Quicksilver and in Brimstone.

[Anna]

Yeah, I agree, I agree. All right listeners, we are going to end part one of our episode here on a high note and we will pick up in the next episode with our leading lady Seras and also some Kingfisher and of course the explosive ending.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

So stay tuned for that and cheers and happy reading.

[Kim]

Bye bye bye. Well friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy Podcast. Don't forget to join our book club community on Instagram and TikTok at flights of Fantasy Podcast where you can share your thoughts, theories and favorite moments with us and fellow listeners. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed today's episode. Please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us spread the magic of Roman Fantasy to even more book lovers. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep reading and remember, every good story deserves to take flight.

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