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dark-night-star-light · 11 months

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Spirit Animals: Fire and Ice (Reread pt. 4)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES AND BOOKS ONE TO FOUR IN SECOND SERIES (AND VERY, VERY MINOR SPOILERS FOR BOOK FIVE IN THE SECOND SERIES).

Masterpost

Chapter 1

I remember Gerathon’s chapter only because of the excessive use of the word life, which is of course the point.

Also, is the youngish guy the same guy that freed her? I think so . . .

A lot of adjectives in this first chapter.

She killed a Niloan woman for no reason??? But the motive for Kovo and Geratthon was to stop the Wyrm??? I don’t really remember them doing anything else?

Chapter 2

“ . . . relentless pace through Zhong and now Northern Eura . . . ” (4). Wow, they didn’t even stop by Greenhaven.

“The Great Crocodile . . . ” (4). Didn’t Dinesh specifically say the crocodile wasn’t a Great Beast??? Plot hole???

“‘And I only tell you this story as a warning because, you know, you do have that unfortunate habit of licking lampposts’” (5). This book is the real beginning of Rollan and Meilin’s ~more than friends~ relationship.

“ . . . certain the girl had been disappointed in her spirit animal, as Meilin had been with her panda” (7). Didn’t Meilin begin to accept Jhi’s talents in the last book, though??? She’s regressed?

“‘ . . . there was any town between here and Arctica’” (8). I genuinely thought Samis was on Arctica. Did Suka swim across the ocean?

Ironic that Rollan stopped a robbery. (Yes, I know he has a code.)

MAYA TALKING TO HER SALAMANDER IS TOO ICONIC.

“‘I’m sorry, Rollan,’ said Meilin. ‘You probably think I’m bossy and pushy, and you could have handled him yourself, and I shouldn’t interfere all the time and-’” (14). This is so out of character for Meilin??? She doesn’t ramble like that???

“Meilin had never been so aware of the beating of her heart” (15). The Rollan-Meilin book.

Chapter 3

“Not forgotten or forgiven” (16). But??? They did??? They literally had a moment in the third book where they forgave him??? I thought this was over???

“ . . . Conor went on about sheep, the different breeds, asking in-depth questions about caribou eating and sleeping habits” (18). He’s so awkward . . . I imagine the caribou herders just staring at him like What is with this guy and sheep?

“‘Look,’ Meilin whispered. ‘The stones have names but not dates’” (21). I didn’t know Chinese people had tombstones, so I searched it up and apparently Chinese gravestones do have dates and other inscriptions. Guess you learn something new everyday.

THE FOUR! SWAPPING SONGS!

“‘Could you perhaps explain the “other end” bit? I find it confusing’” (22). I love how, despite the fact that they speak so formally, they show how they are really just eleven/twelve-year-olds with potty humor.

“‘The emperor’s daughter had such toys . . . ’” (23). Song and Meilin were confirmed to have met as far back as the fourth book???

“Briggan sniffed the air and sneezed” (23). I love how they managed to make that sound ominous.

Chapter 4

“Abeke thought it was unforgivably stupid of these villagers to risk their children by refusing to allow a Greencloak in the village” (25). Just in the last book we were introduced to the rhino riders, who never bonded to spirit animals??? How come Abeke didn’t feel weird about them?

“Something in Abeke warned that she shouldn’t be quite so trusting, but she just didn’t believe bright smiles could hide dark hearts” (26). I talked in my very first post about how Abeke and Rollan had opposite character developments. This is a perfect example. In Hunted, Rollan mentions he doesn’t trust people that smiled brightly, because smiles could hide wicked thoughts. Here, Abeke has the opposite philosophy.

Abeke and Rollan have opposite philosophies when it comes to respecting elders as well . . .

ABEKE AND ROLLAN FOILS???

Why did it take me so long to realize . . . they are literally foils . . .

“Now she allowed herself to soak in that title, to feel community with the water before her . . . ” (29). It’s still strange how Uraza’s appearance makes Abeke a Rain Dancer. Leopards don’t have anything to do with water, and Uraza even hates ships and water, so how???

I like that each of the four played a part in figuring out Pia’s lie. It really cements the theme of teamwork.

“He surprised her by meeting her halfway, his arms open” (35). Shane’s so manipulative, he’s the perfect example of a toxic friendship.

“‘Touch Abeke again and I’ll knock you flat on your stink-stained Conqueror behind!’” (35). I love how you can tell this line was said by Conor because of the awkwardness of the words. It’s not, like, smooth like Rollan? I’m not doing a very good job of explaining this-

“The panda sat calmly behind her, investigating the grass, looking entirely unthreatening, but Meilin smiled, lifted her fists . . . ” (36). Not even thirty pages ago, Meilin was complaining about how useless Jhi was? Meilin’s opinion of Jhi is so inconsistent in this book already.

“‘You imagined punching [Shane’s] face in over and over again.’ ‘Pretty much,’ said Conor” (38). Where exactly is Conor’s hatred for Shane coming from? I know that he’s a Conqueror and whatnot, but Conor’s anger seems almost . . . targeted toward him in particular? Like they’ve also seen Tahlia and Ana, but Conor’s anger doesn’t seem to be as much for them as it does for Shane. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like that Abeke still trusts him?

“‘[Shane] almost always keeps his spirit animal in passive state when he meets us’” (38). When have they ever met before this??? In the first book, they met during battle. “Shane’s” wolverine was out. Second book, Shane wasn’t even there. Third book, they meet during battle again? They have never met in a peaceful way before? Another plot hole?

“‘He. Is. The. Enemy’” (38). She’s . . . not wrong.

“Abeke began to question the sincerity of the smile” (40). Development.

Chapter 5

“‘I had no father, no family besides a mother who lived with a bottle in her hand . . . ’” (45). Aidana’s mother was an alcoholic???

“He thumbed a clash of old scars on his wrist and wondered if Wikerus had caused those as well” (47). Would’ve been cool if these scars had been mentioned before now as foreshadowing. Like if Rollan had a habit of tracing over them while he was worried or something, while he mentioned that he had no memory of how he had gotten them.

Aidana genuinely thought Rollan had grown up with a nice family? Huh . . .

“Something in her face made him think she was about to lie to him” (51). Rollan literally sniffed out the fake compass before she even gave it to him or mentioned it???

Oof, Rollan was literally so close to finding out Pia’s lie.

Rollan hugging his mom and Abeke hugging Shane parallels? More fodder for the foil theory.

Chapter 6

“The idea of a family - his own family, his mother - was a greater draw than any talisman in the world” (57). This is pretty much the equivalent of Rollan admitting he would do what Conor did at the end of Hunted, isn’t it? He values his mother over a talisman. Conor valued his family over a talisman, and Rollan judged him over it.

Oop, it was in fact foreshadowing: Rollan apologizes to Conor the very next paragraph.

“‘And that sheep joke you tell to everyone new we meet . . . ’” (57). I wonder if Conor told the sheep joke to the caribou herders.

“Certainly [the spy] wasn’t Rollan himself” (59). This feels like foreshadowing . . . the use of the words “certainly” and “himself”.

“ . . . only a narrow channel of the sea separated Eura from Arctica” (59). That’s not what it looks like on the map??? This is the second time the map has seemed inaccurate.

I’ll bet anyone that the creature that just tried to capsize the boat was a- *lowers voice* -walrus.

Huh, only Marked people can live up North? That’s a detail I don’t remember.

THEM THINKING A REGULAR POLAR BEAR WAS SUKA, I CAN’T-

“He turned, feeling surprisingly hurt . . . ” (66) and “He tended to keep Meilin in the corner of his eye a lot lately” (67). *obnoxiously* Ooooooooh.

Aw, Rollan-Essix brother-sister relationship! (Though that is somewhat creepy.)

With the way the four are describing food, they honestly could be writers.

“This was not a street crew, ready to abandon him at the first sign of trouble” (73). This book is very much a Rollan book, just like Hunted was a Conor book.

“Essix stayed on his shoulder for the rest of the day” (74). SLAY.

Rollan witnesses Aurora Borealis!

Chapter 7

“To Abeke, family meant a father and a sister who lived in the same house, ate with her, scolded her, wished her different” (77). Abeke’s clearly unreciprocated love for her family is so sob-worthy.

“In one way, a boy her own age was rubbing her foot and that made her want to dig a hole to crawl in and die” (78). Not one page ago, Abeke referred to Conor as like a “brother”.

Also, I still believe in Conor-Abeke queerplatonic supremacy.

“‘What camp? How?’ Rollan said. ‘We’re on the side of an ice mountain!’ Tarik handed him what looked like a nail used to build a house for a giant” (79). I think Conor should have been the one to suggest this, just like he was the one to suggest doing something similar during the first book.

“‘Rollan, use the Slate Elephant!’ . . . ‘It’s in my pack’” (81). That seems incredibly stupid, when you consider that during a crevasse fall, Meilin lost her pack. They could easily lose the talisman. Instead they should do what Abeke did in Blood Ties and knot it tightly around their necks.

I didn’t realize how treacherous the icy cliffs and crevasses were during my first read-through. It does make the compass reveal even more excruciating.

Chapter 8

Conor has the energy to sing a whole-ass song while he’s literally starving and freezing? Respect.

“And the morning they ate the last rations of food, someone began to cry” (87). This is actually so heartbreaking.

It’s funny how fast Conor thinks of the fox as food, then as a destination.

“So the four of them followed the hunters . . . ” (91). Four? Seems like a mistake. There should be six.

“‘Mine could take yours,’ Abeke whispered. ‘No way. Dog beats cat,’ said Conor” (91). Good to see them acting their age again.

“It might have sounded to her like he hated the task, but he really just didn’t want her to get frostbite again. He cringed behind his fur collar and waited” (92). Awkward Conor superiority.

“ . . . the violence of the hunting bothered him” (93). Didn’t he kill sheep as a shepherd, though?

LMFAO the seal-eating woman’s seal spirit animal.

Okay, so only four of them went? Meilin and Maya stayed back? Why?

Tarik singing about the seal brains makes me wonder if this is the first time that the authors had thought about a second series. We’ve already had two references to events that take place in the second series, which are Meilin’s reference to Song, and Tarik’s songs. Both appear in this book, which makes me think that the authors were hammering out their final plan for the second series while writing this book.

Chapter 9

This book definitely has longer chapters than the others.

Abeke using her wits to find the location of the hidden Ice City based on the location of the villages is honestly so cool of her.

“Besides, it would feel really great to be a hero for once, to run back to camp and let everyone know she’d found Suka!” (101). I usually hate characters that try to be the hero and take on a bigger burden than they can handle when no prior experience shows that they have any skill to back up their cockiness. But Abeke’s ability to find the location of the Ice City is test enough, so I feel this is an okay action.

“Abeke let the corner of her mouth rise a little. Meilin’s smile twitched in response” (103). Abeke and Meilin bonding without even a word is actually so slay of them.

The frozen city has frozen people??? I don’t remember this-

Chapter 10

“She believed in their mission” (113). Meilin has gone through so much development already. At the beginning she didn’t believe in the talisman hunt at all.

“‘I’ll carry your pack for three days if you lick it.’ ‘Boys,’ Meilin muttered” (114). Hey, that’s actually a solid deal. Also Rollan and Conor's relationship! Mended! Also also, they’re acting their age again!

Chapter 11

Great Beast Essix! Slay!

“Essix’s talons seized him again, this time by the coat on his shoulders” (120). Why doesn’t Essix just toss Rollan onto her back? That’s so much more stable and leaves her with two free talons.

“‘Jhi’s a panda!’ Meilin yelled. ‘A panda bear! . . . ’” (123). Honestly, the logic fits the age group.

“They ran in lockstep, side by side the whole way, her hand in his” (125). Awwwwwww.

Chapter 12

“My father’s death weakened me, she thought vaguely” (126). Not according to Abeke: “ . . . since her father’s death, Meilin seemed to be pure, quivering energy” (106).

Jhi-Suka bear bonding!

“‘When a healer joins a war, all should take notice . . . ’” (129). So true.

“‘We Great Beasts have a stewardship over Erdas . . . ’” (131). So Great Beasts are supposed to protect Erdas, not just be godlike figures? I badly want a fic of the Four Fallen returning to their original states and talking about their time being bonded to humans.

Meilin had a panda stuffed animal??? Why? First book Meilin seems like she’d have a tiger or ox stuffed animal instead?

“But when Rollan said ‘us,’ she heard ‘you and me’” (134). Rollan and Meilin are going strong without even being official.

“She bowed to him . . . ” (134). Something, something, this is symbolism for how Meilin sees Rollan as an equal instead of as underneath her now, something, something.

Chapter 13

ROLLAN THOUGHT A WALRUS WAS A DOG . . . *sounds of laughter* *sounds of choking* *sounds of heavy breathing*

“‘And how are we going to get supplies for our journey out of here?’” (139). I was literally thinking the same thing.

“‘If you two are done playing kissy-face’” (141). Real. Also, I imagine an eyebrow wiggle to accompany the statement.

Chapter 14

Chapters are getting shorter again.

“Maya flushed. ‘Thank you, but to me, what you do, what all of you do, is magic’” (142). I lowkey forgot Maya existed up until this point? Is that bad? She doesn’t contribute too much to conversations and I only remembered she existed during the fight with Suka.

This last minute attempt to build a connection with Maya feels like the writer is intentionally trying to prepare us for what happens to her next. I think a better way to execute this would’ve been to have Maya joke with them here and there during their journey, maybe save their lives a couple times and think of some ideas to get them out of tough situations as the four did. Spread out through the book, it would’ve felt more natural and emotional when Maya’s injuries take place. But it feels rushed trying to build a practically brand-new relationship just before the climax.

“‘I never really get too cold anymore . . . ’” (143). An example of this is how we’re just finding out more about Maya’s powers more than 80% into the book.

I wonder if Meilin could’ve sleepwalked out of the Great Bamboo Maze. Gerathon wouldn’t’ve let her spy die, would she? It would’ve been interesting, except for the fact that Gerathon probably had no idea how to navigate the maze, either.

“‘ . . . the sun rises everywhere on Erdas . . . ’” (145). Conor has two kinds of lines: awkward lines and banger lines.

CONOR’S DREAM. HA.

Chapter 15

“ . . . for fear of losing a finger to the thing’s inevitable teeth” (149). LOL. This book is definitely a relationship building one. There are so many silly scenes, like the otter attack and Conor’s dream.

“‘I’m sorry to take your life, friend. My . . . my family here needs your meat to survive. I took a shot I knew was true and would give the least amount of pain. Thank you; in your death you have saved our lives’” (152). THE PARALLELS. The parallels to first book-first chapter Abeke.

Huh. They successfully get off Arctica and make it to Northern Eura??? I don’t remember that . . .

“‘This is a bad idea,’ Conor growled. ‘That guy is a weasel’” (156). He’s not wrong . . . Shane is ridiculously manipulative.

“‘I want to punch that guy in the face’” (156). This is the second time Conor has expressed a specific desire to punch Shane in the face. I think he should go for it. It would be pretty satisfying. (Yes, Shane is still my favorite character, but I do think Conor deserves a chance to punch him in the face.)

“‘We will return Uraza, after we have cut her from the Niloan’s flesh. Perhaps the Greencloaks can bind the wound and make the union fresh, if you are quick about it’” (158). This is possible??? Also this talk of breaking and reunifying Abeke and Uraza . . . seems like foreshadowing. This is the third reference we’ve had to possible events in the second series.

“ . . . [Conor] rammed his shoulder into Shane’s middle, knocking him away from Abeke” (158). It’s not a punch in the face, but I guess it’ll do.

Rollan accidentally possibly killing Tahlia’s frog is hilarious. Like he didn’t even mean to, he just stepped on it and it went splat.

Chapter 16

“Shane had promised he could get the Conquerors to leave in peace if they traded him the Crystal Polar Bear for the Iron Boar” (161). It’s still unclear whether Shane truly meant to do this. Did he send Ana and Tahlia to receive the talisman to distract them? Was he actually holding Abeke’s arm to cut Uraza out of her? He did yell “Wait!” but it was unclear which side he was talking to. I don’t think Shane would’ve willingly hurt Abeke . . .

“‘Are you okay? You’re bleeding,’ he said, pointing to her right temple with a finger that looked like it had been bitten by a crocodile” (162). Realistically, I know Shane would never release his thirty-foot long crocodile in an open battle like this . . . but that seems to be what this is hinting at?

It’s unclear to me whether Shane is trying to stop the arrows . . . or giving the order to shoot them. Obviously, Abeke thinks he’s trying to stop them, but she sees him as good and pure, always.

“A great maned lion pounced” (165). So with Bile, you can bond to animals the same species as a Great Beast?

“The Zhongian . . . ” (166). The Zhonigan??? Thought it was Zhongese? Is this a typo?

“‘Louder!’ Tahlia spat” (166). Does Tahlia enjoy war or something?

“‘STOP IT!’ the voice shrieked . . . ” (168). I’m pretty sure it’s Maya, but I’m not sure?

Chapter 17

“‘FORM UP!’ [Shane] shouted” (171). So it is possible that Shane was giving orders to shoot arrows, not trying to stop them? (Still not sure, though.)

“‘Someone in your party told the Devourer you had Suka’s talisman and where you would cross back into Eura . . . ’” (172). She referred to the Devourer as the Devourer, not the Reptile King. Does that mean she left the Conquerors?

“‘Not with Shane, not with the Greencloaks, let’s just go somewhere and be a family . . . ’” (172). So she did leave the Conquerors. I wonder what she saw to make her leave?

Wow, Rollan actually goes with her? He actually abandons his friends for a hot minute?

I forgot Gerathon’s control turned the controlled’s eyes yellow.

Aidana asks Rollan to kill her??? I don’t remember this in the slightest.

The way the whole section after Aidana is written makes it so obvious Rollan is in shock. The style changes??? I don’t know how to describe it but it was great.

I kind of want a single Tarik perspective chapter. Just one.

Rollan and Meilin are kind of foils, too, in how they dealt with loss. Rollan just shut down, while Meilin let it fuel her.

Passive state Essix . . . yayyyyy . . .

Final thoughts and rating:

I think this is the best book yet. It’s definitely a relationship-building book, which are set up so perfectly to be torn apart in the next book with the knowledge that someone is working against them. Set in the middle, it’s also a turning point for the direction of the series. Rollan’s relationship to his mom being explored and almost convincing him to abandon the Greencloaks was a good choice, showing that everyone has a weak spot. The Bile’s healing power and consequences being revealed in the same book was also a good choice. The way the trek through Arctica is written to be this long, impossible, treacherous nightmare felt like it enhanced the story and the betrayal that came with it. Rollan’s shock after almost getting killed by his mother was written so well. Conor’s hatred for Shane almost reads like jealousy? I don’t know how else to describe it. He seems to hate Shane more than the other Conquerors and appears to want him dead more than the others. The kids acting their age was also a nice touch, which I enjoyed a lot.

I thought Maya was a good addition, but the way they used her was a waste, in my opinion. As I mentioned, I think it would’ve been better to have her try to form a bond with the team over several small moments rather than one long conversation with just Abeke right before the climax. That was definitely a cop-out and I didn’t like the way it was done. Meilin’s thoughts about Jhi are wildly inconsistent and feel manufactured, almost? I’d also thought that Rollan had forgiven Conor during Blood Ties when the four had their moment, but apparently they decided to scrap that for a whole other plotline, which was . . . questionable, in my opinion.

Rating: 9/10

P. S. Rollan and Abeke foils may be something I explore in a later post.

P. P. S. I think I'm getting better at this! Personally, I think I see an improvement in quality between my Blood Ties reread and this one.

#draeyem rereads spirit animals #fire and ice #spirit animals series #spirit animals books #sa spoiler #abeke #conor #meilin #rollan #shane #tarik #maya

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