The Characters You Love To Hate
We all know that typically in any novel, folklore, or myth, the antagonist is someone you love to hate. The main character and their comrades have all these reasons to persuade the reader to dislike the “bad guys” or villains. Though in this series, I am not so sure that the “obvious enemy” is so obvious.
To sum it up, the series so far pins the citizens of the North to be the villains. Which, granted, they have been the perpetrators of two assassination attempts and the murder of lovely side characters in the past two books. That’s the way that I view it, anyway. But – it is clear now that the main antagonist is closer to home. Unfortunately, that role falls to the Love Interest’s father and some other country leaders of Solaris. Now, this is not to say that it wasn’t visible at all – the Emperor despises Vhalla Yarl and makes it known since the minute in Air Awakens that they meet.
Fast forward now to book three here in Earth’s End and now you love to hate this guy. The Emperor’s machinations in hurting Vhalla and Aldrik as much as possible – physically, emotionally, and mentally – make it disgustingly easy to wish for this guy to meet a grizzly end. The schemes and the mental instability that the Emperor is showing makes me think that there may be someone who would mete out retribution…(cough) Aldrik (cough). I don’t know for certain as I am only staring at the cover of the next book, Water’s Wrath.
That Certainly Escalated Quickly…
Vhalla and Aldrik are meant to be together – that much is obvious. Every series after Air Awakens has made reference in the first few pages that it’s Emperor Aldrik and Empress Vhalla. But talk about building a paper tiger just to tear it down… These two seem to finally, finally tell each other how they feel, have a secret engagement, just to have it ripped away with the force of a nuclear bomb.
I know in the last post, I commented on how Aldrik and Baldair’s relationship appeared to have been inspired by a real set of brothers that are well-known. Well, I won’t continue to play coy – I had asked Elise Kova at a recent book signing if these two were inspired from Princes William and Harry. Elise had laughed and said that she never actually thought about it, and I am the first person to mention that to her. I was told that upon further reflection that they do seem to be similar to the two and it was completely unintentional. We shared some more thoughts on her characters in a short but sweet conversation.
The battle against the Northerners goes far too smoothly, I believe, but it was an epic battle scene. That is where the quote I used at the top of this blog comes from. Vhalla is so calm and coming into her power swimmingly. Everyone is celebrating, believing that the war is over, but in this case the reader has more information given that there are still two more books to go through. Vhalla’s saga has not yet run its course, and I am far from complaining.
Expectations For What Is To Come
Vhalla is on her own now, leaving the northern territory after her major blowout with Aldrik. She made a few jabs that were below the belt, even for me. Though from the very last line in Earth’s End, it is obvious that Aldrik is going to be absolutely miserable with how things ended between them.
“And by the time the crown prince learned of the Windwalker’s whirlwind departure, Vhalla Yarl was too far to hear his screams of anguish.” – Elise Kova, Earth’s End
If this isn’t a guy who suffers from a pathological need to protect and be with someone, I don’t know who is. But I give credit to the author for the self-awareness of the main character. She admits that after the break in the relationship after the fight, she admits to someone that she “isn’t healthy right now”.
All I wish for is for Vhalla to find some self-worth outside of her relationship with Aldrik and her reputation as a Windwalker. I have a feeling that this is what the next installment will do. Only time will tell.
If you wish to visit the reviews of the others in the series, they are in order below:
Currently Playing: “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey”
(As of May 24, 2024)
I received an overwhelming amount of votes for AC Odyssey that the other two titles might as well have not existed. But that does not mean that I will never play Bioshock or Spider-Man on my stream. They are just not going to be right now. I do plan to have a bunch of fun and many myth and literary shenanigans are to be had.
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