Author's Notes
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Chapter 35 - Interlude
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Chapter 35
The chapter quote brings out a point that's worth noting about healing. At this stage of their technological development, they don't really have a grasp of germs and bacteria, or cancer, or any number of other diseases and sicknesses that can afflict people. Paladins can heal injuries because they have a pretty solid understanding of bones, muscles, and even blood vessels, and they're getting an idea about nerves and other anatomical bits and pieces. Sheer power can override some of these limitations (which will be seen in the beginning of Book 3) but it takes a lot out of a person, because they're essentially blindly pouring healing into a wound so it gets fixed, rather than deliberately looking for a specific, known problem to repair. If that doesn't make much sense, don't worry, it's not that important a point, I just thought I'd bring it up in case anyone was wondering what is and isn't possible via the semi-nebulous concept of healing in Lokka.
In case you were wondering what happened to the trainees who didn't make the cut and become paladins at the same time as Danner and the others, here's your fill-in. It seems it's not just the protagonist group of youths who can catch surreptitious conversations and investigate what's going on, something that's always struck me as odd in a lot of books, that everyone else seems mostly oblivious to what's going on and/or have no interest in helping or trying to make things right themselves.
The term "Cthonic" is from Greek mythology and relates to the underworld. It seemed an apt root for the name of the unholy symbol: the Cthonis.
I think the abominations originally went by the name "conglomerates" instead in my early notes, which is just a singularly unimpressive and non-scary name. I'm pretty sure the idea for them came from a villain in the Castlevania "Symphony of the Night" game who is basically a big clump of bodies you have to hack through to reach the actual enemy inside. The idea stuck with me, though the execution was quite different - it's just that idea of people melted together to create the flesh of a larger entity. It's a little squeam-inducing if you really try and picture what these things look like.
Speaking of squeam, if you vividly picture the things you read and if you have a weak stomach, I'd like to forewarn you about the rest of the book. It rides the line of some fantasy/horror I've read, but come on, these are books about demons, not vicious bunny rabbits (Vorpal Bunny of Caerbannog excluded). A certain amount of horror is called for, I think, and if you're reading this book I assume you already made it through the Den-Furral section of Book 1. Nothing in this series should ever cross over into outright gore or grossness, however. Den-Furral and the scene here with Janice should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about, and if you're okay with that, then we're cool.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I don't know if you remember Janice's name and recognize her here. You're not really meant to, but it's not a big secret. The scene here is brief so you don't spend too much time thinking about that tunnel in the wall or the broader implications, but when it comes up later, you might have thought back to this with an "oh yeah" moment. Or not.
In case you were wondering what happened to the trainees who didn't make the cut and become paladins at the same time as Danner and the others, here's your fill-in. It seems it's not just the protagonist group of youths who can catch surreptitious conversations and investigate what's going on, something that's always struck me as odd in a lot of books, that everyone else seems mostly oblivious to what's going on and/or have no interest in helping or trying to make things right themselves.
The term "Cthonic" is from Greek mythology and relates to the underworld. It seemed an apt root for the name of the unholy symbol: the Cthonis.
I think the abominations originally went by the name "conglomerates" instead in my early notes, which is just a singularly unimpressive and non-scary name. I'm pretty sure the idea for them came from a villain in the Castlevania "Symphony of the Night" game who is basically a big clump of bodies you have to hack through to reach the actual enemy inside. The idea stuck with me, though the execution was quite different - it's just that idea of people melted together to create the flesh of a larger entity. It's a little squeam-inducing if you really try and picture what these things look like.
Speaking of squeam, if you vividly picture the things you read and if you have a weak stomach, I'd like to forewarn you about the rest of the book. It rides the line of some fantasy/horror I've read, but come on, these are books about demons, not vicious bunny rabbits (Vorpal Bunny of Caerbannog excluded). A certain amount of horror is called for, I think, and if you're reading this book I assume you already made it through the Den-Furral section of Book 1. Nothing in this series should ever cross over into outright gore or grossness, however. Den-Furral and the scene here with Janice should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about, and if you're okay with that, then we're cool.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I don't know if you remember Janice's name and recognize her here. You're not really meant to, but it's not a big secret. The scene here is brief so you don't spend too much time thinking about that tunnel in the wall or the broader implications, but when it comes up later, you might have thought back to this with an "oh yeah" moment. Or not.
Chapter 36
Garnet makes a pretty damn good commander of Shadow Company, I think. He's still inexperienced, of course, but given enough time, he'll probably hold true to form and end up being a better commander than Gerard. Hopefully Garnet's explanation of why they're attacking the abominations via catapult makes sense, because it's too fun to pass up. Part of the reason this team works well together is they're young, innovative, they trust each other completely, and they were all trained with a certain way of thinking that older paladins just don't have. Most older paladins, for example, wouldn't think of leaping off their dakkans and speeding down to attack the abominations, which is probably what should have happened. Using the catapults is efficient in terms of speed and availability (and it's just cool, okay?). I think it's important, though, that they only have limited success. My first attempts at writing full-length books relied a little too much on super characters with few if any flaws (hey, I was 18 and didn't understand that sort of thing yet), and ever since then I find it's important to have the good guys fail every now and then, sometimes even in ways that aren't central to plot development.
If you remember back to Gerard's musings about his paladin officers, Marc's problem is thinking too much. He still suffers from that, and it basically costs another paladin his life because Marc is stuck in his own head.
Now I didn't make a big deal of trying to hide who the traitor was in Book 1, but in this book at least, you never get a clear idea of who it might be (though you probably narrowed it down to Bart Shivrey or this Blue paladin). As I said before, I don't always like that device in books, but here it works because there was never a reason for it not to. You're rarely around the Prismatic Council, and when you do see them, they're busy being jerks. I don't have to go out of my way to hide who it is and go through convoluted scenes keeping an identity hidden, since you never even knew who this guy was beyond his unnamed presence and generic description. Bart was his red herring, both for the characters in the story and for you the reader. The dybbuk is so adept at hiding its identity and presence that you never even learn his name until it's too late (and it was set that way deliberately).
Marc was chosen to be the one who confronts the dybbuk because of his relationship with Vander. True, they only met each other once, but they made an impression on each other, and they would have grown to have a strong mentor-mentee relationship had Vander not been slain. Of course it's Malith who actually kills the dybbuk, harkening back to his thoughts earlier and his method of eliminating the inherently cowardly creature.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The chapter quote at the very beginning of this book was a spoiler in and of itself, and the dybbuk pretty much says the exact same thing to Marc in its final seconds of life. The war was never about imposing Hell-on-earth, it was about removing the obstacle (the Barrier) keeping them from their true goal.
If you remember back to Gerard's musings about his paladin officers, Marc's problem is thinking too much. He still suffers from that, and it basically costs another paladin his life because Marc is stuck in his own head.
Now I didn't make a big deal of trying to hide who the traitor was in Book 1, but in this book at least, you never get a clear idea of who it might be (though you probably narrowed it down to Bart Shivrey or this Blue paladin). As I said before, I don't always like that device in books, but here it works because there was never a reason for it not to. You're rarely around the Prismatic Council, and when you do see them, they're busy being jerks. I don't have to go out of my way to hide who it is and go through convoluted scenes keeping an identity hidden, since you never even knew who this guy was beyond his unnamed presence and generic description. Bart was his red herring, both for the characters in the story and for you the reader. The dybbuk is so adept at hiding its identity and presence that you never even learn his name until it's too late (and it was set that way deliberately).
Marc was chosen to be the one who confronts the dybbuk because of his relationship with Vander. True, they only met each other once, but they made an impression on each other, and they would have grown to have a strong mentor-mentee relationship had Vander not been slain. Of course it's Malith who actually kills the dybbuk, harkening back to his thoughts earlier and his method of eliminating the inherently cowardly creature.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The chapter quote at the very beginning of this book was a spoiler in and of itself, and the dybbuk pretty much says the exact same thing to Marc in its final seconds of life. The war was never about imposing Hell-on-earth, it was about removing the obstacle (the Barrier) keeping them from their true goal.
Chapter 37
Shelly's little maneuver here to save Michael should be technically possible, though difficult beyond belief. It should also indicate she's extremely intelligent for a dakkan - she's almost as smart as Selti, who is hands-down the smartest dakkan the world has ever seen.
I don't really feel sorry for Bart Shivrey, do you? If you're wondering, no, he wasn't under any demonic influence, he's just a power-hungry ass with a pro-human chip on his shoulder. The dybbuk was able to exploit his weaknesses and use him to hamstring the Prismatic Council almost as effectively as when the corrupted men still retained their positions there. So Bart doesn't get a moment of redemption, he doesn't go out in a blaze of glory, he's torn apart in a betrayal and dies ignominiously like a spent pawn.
So yeah. Jeremy Jorgins. I'm not sure when I decided this would be his fate, but I know once it was set, I went back and added the line about him being the polar opposite of a Red paladin of courage, should he ever make it. The point of his character is that he stuck with it. Yes, he was afraid (Gerard in particular terrified him), but he stayed in spite of his fear, and that's courage as sure as anything Gerard ever showed. He gave his life protecting Alicia's, and even now, no matter how many times I've read this book, my eyes sting a little bit when I read this page.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Long-Term Spoiler: I'm currently working under the idea that Marc will one day end up on the Prismatic Council, so his interactions with them here are even more important than they appear, and his offhand line to Jorgins a couple chapters ago ("You can call me 'sir' when I'm a member of the Prismatic Council, but not before.") is a little nod to this plan, which won't happen for at least 2 more books.
I don't really feel sorry for Bart Shivrey, do you? If you're wondering, no, he wasn't under any demonic influence, he's just a power-hungry ass with a pro-human chip on his shoulder. The dybbuk was able to exploit his weaknesses and use him to hamstring the Prismatic Council almost as effectively as when the corrupted men still retained their positions there. So Bart doesn't get a moment of redemption, he doesn't go out in a blaze of glory, he's torn apart in a betrayal and dies ignominiously like a spent pawn.
So yeah. Jeremy Jorgins. I'm not sure when I decided this would be his fate, but I know once it was set, I went back and added the line about him being the polar opposite of a Red paladin of courage, should he ever make it. The point of his character is that he stuck with it. Yes, he was afraid (Gerard in particular terrified him), but he stayed in spite of his fear, and that's courage as sure as anything Gerard ever showed. He gave his life protecting Alicia's, and even now, no matter how many times I've read this book, my eyes sting a little bit when I read this page.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Long-Term Spoiler: I'm currently working under the idea that Marc will one day end up on the Prismatic Council, so his interactions with them here are even more important than they appear, and his offhand line to Jorgins a couple chapters ago ("You can call me 'sir' when I'm a member of the Prismatic Council, but not before.") is a little nod to this plan, which won't happen for at least 2 more books.
Chapter 38
I've pointed it out a couple times, but it bears repeating here (especially given recent changes in our military's policies) - the characters are reflecting the social mores of their world, and Marc's slightly sexist attitude regarding women on the battlefield is perfectly in keeping with this world. It doesn't necessarily reflect well on him under our modern "Western values" but then he doesn't live in the United States, now does he?
There's something particularly desolate and disheartening about Jon's final thought in the second section, where he "told himself he had faith." He's not really even trying to convince himself, it's a half-hearted attempt at best because deep down, he really doesn't believe they're going to win. Not many people do, but the only alternative to fighting is to die, and evolution has conditioned people against that sort of thing.
I was writing the scene with Marc leading the other paladins and suddenly they were attacked. I hadn't planned it, I just started writing it, and just as suddenly Daevis was missing an arm. The idea had never even occurred to me before, and he's such a minor character overall that it shouldn't make a big difference, but something about it just felt appropriate to me, so it stayed in, and it ended up being a functional moment for Marc's epiphany regarding the tunnels in Nocka.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Garet is a Red paladin of courage, no doubt, but a pretty close second for him is the virtue of piety (maybe tied with temperance). This aspect of his character gets played out a bit more in Book 3 and leads to some interesting and unexpected (to me) development in other characters.
There's something particularly desolate and disheartening about Jon's final thought in the second section, where he "told himself he had faith." He's not really even trying to convince himself, it's a half-hearted attempt at best because deep down, he really doesn't believe they're going to win. Not many people do, but the only alternative to fighting is to die, and evolution has conditioned people against that sort of thing.
I was writing the scene with Marc leading the other paladins and suddenly they were attacked. I hadn't planned it, I just started writing it, and just as suddenly Daevis was missing an arm. The idea had never even occurred to me before, and he's such a minor character overall that it shouldn't make a big difference, but something about it just felt appropriate to me, so it stayed in, and it ended up being a functional moment for Marc's epiphany regarding the tunnels in Nocka.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Garet is a Red paladin of courage, no doubt, but a pretty close second for him is the virtue of piety (maybe tied with temperance). This aspect of his character gets played out a bit more in Book 3 and leads to some interesting and unexpected (to me) development in other characters.
Chapter 39
Trebor was always going to get his cloak and his dream: he was always going to be the world's first denarae paladin. His scene here is only a little behind Jorgins's death for me sometimes, in the emotional punch it carries.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Birch doesn't know (and at the moment I don't have any definite plans to reveal it outside of this commentary), but his decision not to act yet, to sit there and watch, is thanks to Satan's influence on him. He was essentially subliminally programmed to hold back until a certain point. Without that, given his feelings on being a part of things and at the forefront in everything that's going on, you know Birch would be up to his knees in slain demons and damned souls, and he'd miss the opportunity he's supposed to be waiting for.
Malith's final conversation with Mephistopheles offers a few final hints along the lines of the dybbuk's "not what you think it's about" comment, and while you're not expected to catch it the first time through, when/if you re-read the book, Mephistopheles's end of the conversation takes on a bit more meaning.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Birch doesn't know (and at the moment I don't have any definite plans to reveal it outside of this commentary), but his decision not to act yet, to sit there and watch, is thanks to Satan's influence on him. He was essentially subliminally programmed to hold back until a certain point. Without that, given his feelings on being a part of things and at the forefront in everything that's going on, you know Birch would be up to his knees in slain demons and damned souls, and he'd miss the opportunity he's supposed to be waiting for.
Malith's final conversation with Mephistopheles offers a few final hints along the lines of the dybbuk's "not what you think it's about" comment, and while you're not expected to catch it the first time through, when/if you re-read the book, Mephistopheles's end of the conversation takes on a bit more meaning.
Chapter 40
Garnet has a crappy call here - not that he makes a crappy call, it's just a crappy call to have to make. Had he not received visual images of what was going on in the city, he'd have been able to ignore it as a more abstract concept. Seeing it happening, however, overrode his previous inclinations. I'm not sure if it's his emotions overwhelming his rational decision or if they're undermining it.
As I said, Trebor was always going to achieve his dream. Unfortunately, he was also always going to die within moments of that victory. Oddly enough, I don't feel any particular sorrow or misty-eyes encroaching when I read this part. Oh, and for those still keeping score, the slate now stands back at "Friends killed by Danner's irresponsibility and thrill-seeking = 1". This scene doesn't necessarily qualify under "thrill-seeking" but the other word certainly applies, and it's ultimately still because Danner hasn't learned self-control. (There's a very good reason I never even considered Danner would be a Yellow paladin.)
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Lest you get too upset with me over Trebor's death, remember that the next major part of the story will be taking place in Heaven - where good guys go when they die, so you can pretty much count that Trebor's not out of the series just yet. Maybe he and Gerard can swap recipes until we catch up with them later in the story.
As I said, Trebor was always going to achieve his dream. Unfortunately, he was also always going to die within moments of that victory. Oddly enough, I don't feel any particular sorrow or misty-eyes encroaching when I read this part. Oh, and for those still keeping score, the slate now stands back at "Friends killed by Danner's irresponsibility and thrill-seeking = 1". This scene doesn't necessarily qualify under "thrill-seeking" but the other word certainly applies, and it's ultimately still because Danner hasn't learned self-control. (There's a very good reason I never even considered Danner would be a Yellow paladin.)
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Lest you get too upset with me over Trebor's death, remember that the next major part of the story will be taking place in Heaven - where good guys go when they die, so you can pretty much count that Trebor's not out of the series just yet. Maybe he and Gerard can swap recipes until we catch up with them later in the story.
Chapter 41
Just a note, based on Danner's thoughts. It's unlikely that turning to a Black paladin is a "permanent" thing, but I'm sure those of an evil persuasion would like you to believe that (keep that in mind if it ever happens to you). One theme I come back to every now and then is the idea that you are who you are NOW, not who you used to be. I can easily foresee a character sometime in the future who was perhaps one of the Black Viscia who returns to his faith and being a "good guy". I mean come on, even Darth Vader was redeemed.
Siran and some of the elven culture were inspired by Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings". It's a fascinating book if you're into that sort of thing. The book and Musashi's style also inspired Garnet's training and fighting style, which you'll see in the next chapter. I currently have two different translations of the book on my shelf in the "Philosophy and Religion" section of my library. (Please note that these are adaptations of the ideas expressed there, not necessarily true representations.) Originally this section with Siran was the only place I really went into their concept of the "Way" of living, and eventually I decided that to fully flesh it out and make sense, I had to go back and add more to the chapters that take place on the elven island. The explanation Moreen receives while eavesdropping is the result, and it helps this scene tie together a bit better, I think. Which is good, because Siran is too much of a bad-ass to have his scene weakened in any way.
Remember the name Farnes Derard? He was the narrator of the prologue to Book 1. From the footnotes on that section you know he dies in this war, but it's not shown.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
One of the reasons Trebor had to die was to make Birch's supposed death believable. Trebor's death is irrevocable - his head was torn off, and there's not much coming back from that. Sure Vander died earlier, but he was always sort of on the sidelines anyway. Gerard died, but given his role in the story, you almost get the feeling he HAD to die for his character to make sense. Trebor is the first of really MAIN characters to die, and if I'm willing to kill him off, there's nothing to say I'm not willing to kill of Birch as well, since it happens right on the heels of Trebor's demise. But never fear, Birch's time hasn't come... yet...
Siran and some of the elven culture were inspired by Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings". It's a fascinating book if you're into that sort of thing. The book and Musashi's style also inspired Garnet's training and fighting style, which you'll see in the next chapter. I currently have two different translations of the book on my shelf in the "Philosophy and Religion" section of my library. (Please note that these are adaptations of the ideas expressed there, not necessarily true representations.) Originally this section with Siran was the only place I really went into their concept of the "Way" of living, and eventually I decided that to fully flesh it out and make sense, I had to go back and add more to the chapters that take place on the elven island. The explanation Moreen receives while eavesdropping is the result, and it helps this scene tie together a bit better, I think. Which is good, because Siran is too much of a bad-ass to have his scene weakened in any way.
Remember the name Farnes Derard? He was the narrator of the prologue to Book 1. From the footnotes on that section you know he dies in this war, but it's not shown.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
One of the reasons Trebor had to die was to make Birch's supposed death believable. Trebor's death is irrevocable - his head was torn off, and there's not much coming back from that. Sure Vander died earlier, but he was always sort of on the sidelines anyway. Gerard died, but given his role in the story, you almost get the feeling he HAD to die for his character to make sense. Trebor is the first of really MAIN characters to die, and if I'm willing to kill him off, there's nothing to say I'm not willing to kill of Birch as well, since it happens right on the heels of Trebor's demise. But never fear, Birch's time hasn't come... yet...
Chapter 42
Garnet's sparring session with Gerard back in the woods was added later to help this scene. It gave a little context to Gerard's fighting and teaching technique, which you see come to full realization here. Barring some unforeseen circumstances or an absurdly powerful enemy, Garnet is essentially unbeatable.
Siran's last hurrah here is pretty much an analogy for this whole section of the story. Even if he'd succeeded in stopping the childris, someone else would have finished the job. There really was no hope they were going to win this battle.
Yes, I'm aware that a sword through your heart is almost instantly fatal. Keep reading.
The Dena-Fol (Fury), Dena-Kan (Pain), and Dena-Tel (Despair) are inspired by various classical interpretations of Hell, most notably Dante's "Inferno". I opted for only three rivers (rather than four or five as classical literature usually includes) because I already had my plans for three rivers in Heaven, and I wanted the numbers to be balanced. The Dena-Fol is inspired by the Phlegethon and the Dena-Kan by the Acheron, but the Dena-Tel isn't really taken from any particular source. None of them is taken as-is (none of my references to real-world history/mythology/literature are), but I still enjoy the fact that they're there.
I think I already mentioned in previous commentary that the city of Hell was taken from Dante's work as well ("the city whose name is Dis"), as were a few of the general characteristics and structure of that part of Hell. You'll see them again in Book 3, so I won't go into that any further now.
A very late change in word choice (as in I just made the change 5 minutes ago on an updated version being pushed out to Amazon two weeks after first publication - if you don't see this word, you're not using the updated version, sorry), I swapped in "discomfiture" for "wrongness" as Michael's gut feeling. First of all, the sentence/paragraph ends with something going "terribly, terribly wrong" so it was a bit redundant. But I chose the new word, discomfiture, specifically for its more archaic definition: defeat in battle. He's not just feeling disconcerted, he's feeling like they just lost, which fits perfectly with that final section.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Spoiler: Siran is not dead. He still has a role to play in the next book that can't happen if he was, even if he were to reappear in Heaven.
Siran's last hurrah here is pretty much an analogy for this whole section of the story. Even if he'd succeeded in stopping the childris, someone else would have finished the job. There really was no hope they were going to win this battle.
Yes, I'm aware that a sword through your heart is almost instantly fatal. Keep reading.
The Dena-Fol (Fury), Dena-Kan (Pain), and Dena-Tel (Despair) are inspired by various classical interpretations of Hell, most notably Dante's "Inferno". I opted for only three rivers (rather than four or five as classical literature usually includes) because I already had my plans for three rivers in Heaven, and I wanted the numbers to be balanced. The Dena-Fol is inspired by the Phlegethon and the Dena-Kan by the Acheron, but the Dena-Tel isn't really taken from any particular source. None of them is taken as-is (none of my references to real-world history/mythology/literature are), but I still enjoy the fact that they're there.
I think I already mentioned in previous commentary that the city of Hell was taken from Dante's work as well ("the city whose name is Dis"), as were a few of the general characteristics and structure of that part of Hell. You'll see them again in Book 3, so I won't go into that any further now.
A very late change in word choice (as in I just made the change 5 minutes ago on an updated version being pushed out to Amazon two weeks after first publication - if you don't see this word, you're not using the updated version, sorry), I swapped in "discomfiture" for "wrongness" as Michael's gut feeling. First of all, the sentence/paragraph ends with something going "terribly, terribly wrong" so it was a bit redundant. But I chose the new word, discomfiture, specifically for its more archaic definition: defeat in battle. He's not just feeling disconcerted, he's feeling like they just lost, which fits perfectly with that final section.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Spoiler: Siran is not dead. He still has a role to play in the next book that can't happen if he was, even if he were to reappear in Heaven.
Interlude
I can't remember a book I've read with as downer of an ending as this book has. Heck, even "The Empire Strikes Back" had a happier ending than this book does. I guess you'll just have to keep reading into Book 3 to find out if there's a happy ending, huh?
Trebor really was special. On my first pass through the book, there was no funeral scene for him, and I felt he was sort of cheated in that respect. I think what's here is simple and heart-felt, which fits him perfectly. His passing is what finally breaks through to Danner, and over time you'll see him finally making a real effort to control himself.
And now we learn the consequences and meaning of much of what's gone before. You probably wouldn't be too far off if you just assumed that everything that's happened has gone according to someone's plan. The kicker in any foreseen plan, however, is the ability for someone to do something unforeseen. Free will is about as important to the Pandemonium War series as air is for breathing, and as Birch describes, when it's combined with the powers of an immortal something special happens. The immortals are bound by who and what they are, mortals are not. Mortals are vested with near limitless potential because of their ability to do and be virtually anything.
As mentioned before, Birch's final line here regarding the "immortal game" is a nod to my original working title for this series, "The Divine Game". The idea still holds, because everything that happens in this entire series has something to do with the will and desire of God and/or Satan, and thinking of it as a kind of game is actually pretty close to the mark.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Things to look foward to in Book 3:
Brican will be taking over Trebor's platoon in Book 3, and his feelings towards humans will continue to evolve. He's a peripheral character here, but he takes a larger role in things as he's promoted.
We find out what happened to Danner's mother.
Trebor and Gerard return in all their glory.
Angels and demons will take the forefront of the war, which brings all sorts of new fun into the mix.
More people die.
Garnet gets a girlfriend.
Trebor really was special. On my first pass through the book, there was no funeral scene for him, and I felt he was sort of cheated in that respect. I think what's here is simple and heart-felt, which fits him perfectly. His passing is what finally breaks through to Danner, and over time you'll see him finally making a real effort to control himself.
And now we learn the consequences and meaning of much of what's gone before. You probably wouldn't be too far off if you just assumed that everything that's happened has gone according to someone's plan. The kicker in any foreseen plan, however, is the ability for someone to do something unforeseen. Free will is about as important to the Pandemonium War series as air is for breathing, and as Birch describes, when it's combined with the powers of an immortal something special happens. The immortals are bound by who and what they are, mortals are not. Mortals are vested with near limitless potential because of their ability to do and be virtually anything.
As mentioned before, Birch's final line here regarding the "immortal game" is a nod to my original working title for this series, "The Divine Game". The idea still holds, because everything that happens in this entire series has something to do with the will and desire of God and/or Satan, and thinking of it as a kind of game is actually pretty close to the mark.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Things to look foward to in Book 3:
Brican will be taking over Trebor's platoon in Book 3, and his feelings towards humans will continue to evolve. He's a peripheral character here, but he takes a larger role in things as he's promoted.
We find out what happened to Danner's mother.
Trebor and Gerard return in all their glory.
Angels and demons will take the forefront of the war, which brings all sorts of new fun into the mix.
More people die.
Garnet gets a girlfriend.
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Chapter 35 - Interlude
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