This is The Hero’s Journey—a reading project where we’re tackling the biggest fantasy books on our to-read lists, nerding out about intricate world-building, compelling characters, and exciting adventures. For the next six months we’re reading the Crescent City books by Sarah J. Maas.
Welcome to Book Two, Week Seven of our read-along of Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City trilogy! I’m thrilled that you’re here as we prepare for the newest ACOTAR books publishing this fall (since these series connect!). I’ve included an audio voiceover for this entire piece, which may play best within your Substack app.
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Before we get into today’s newsletter: I’m excited to be collaborating on a new project and I would love your help with it. If you have a favorite fantasy or sci-fi book to recommend, reply to this email with the title and author, a short set up, and why you love it. More to be revealed about this soon!
Graphic by HollysLitMagic
Note that this newsletter will include spoilers for House of Sky and Breath pages 533 through 620, through the end of Chapter 56.
So far, the Hind hasn’t said a word about the group’s involvement with Ophion. We don’t know the Hind’s motive but do know that she killed Sofie Renast because of the dangerous intel Sofie had learned. Supposedly, Baxian the Helhound is himself a rebel sympathizer, but Bryce and Hunt haven’t yet decided whether to trust him. Meanwhile, we at last find where Emile Renast has been hiding—hidden with the Viper Queen by Bryce. Apparently he has no powers—only Sofie had the Thunderbird gift—so he’s given a new identity and shipped off to be adopted by Bryce’s parents.
Bryce meets the freed fire sprites and Ariadne the dragon, who have become official roommates with Ruhn and team. Poor Tharion is so miserable every time he reports to his River Queen and decides to drag out his current project versus share with her the truth of Emile’s lack of magic, in a desperate attempt to capitalize on his time Above. Bryce also gets another surprise visit from her father, the Autumn King, who informs her that she has accidentally accepted her official role as Fae Princess and must act accordingly.
Graphic by HollysLitMagic, Artwork left by Ruinandrising, right by QueenofDeath02
It’s been too long since we last saw Hypaxia, queen of the witches; this section reveals some interesting context about both her past and her present. She doesn’t trust her mother’s coven and is seeking outside protection, which Ruhn offers in the way of Ithan the wolf shifter and Ariadne the dragon woman.
Hypaxia shares that her mother isolated her from others as a child and educated her using…GHOSTS. Yes, “My only companions while growing up were the dead.” A woman after my own heart! “My mother summoned three ancient, wise spirits to teach me. One for battle and physical training, one for mathematics and sciences, and the other for history, reading, and languages. She oversaw my magical training herself—especially the healing.” We also learn later that these spirits lived long before the Asteri arrived and the Northern Rift was opened.
As far as her engagement to Ruhn, Hypaxia indicates to Bryce that she has feelings for someone else, but it will never be. The very friendly vibes later in the section between Hypaxia and Tharion made me wonder if it could be him, or if they really are just friends. Another theory based on literally nothing that I have is, maybe she and Celestina were secretly an item? And Celestina ended it when forced to marry Ephraim? We also learn more about her relationship—or lack thereof—with her half-sister, the Hind.
At the end of the section, Hypaxia and Bryce get attacked by two deathstalkers—demonic assassins straight from the Prince of the Pit in Hel. The group speculates about why they were sent and who was the target, Bryce or Hypaxia. Ithan is saved despite having his throat torn out; I admit I found it a bit unbelievable and insensitive for Bryce and the others to be cracking jokes immediately after this happened to him.
Here are a few other things I’m taking note of and watching as we continue reading:
Irithys: When the freed fire sprites meet Bryce, they mention their queen Irithys who had been sold to one of the Asteri. I find this EXTREMELY interesting—could this be Agent Daybright?! Access to high power, the Asteri themselves, and the constant fire and embers imagery Ruhn sees during their meetings…
Ariadne the Dragon: I hope to still see more of Ariadne, but in this section we learn from the sprites that Ariadne was gifted to the Astronomer by an Archangel. I feel like this is also worth noting; possible Archangels we know of living and dead include Sandriel, Shahar, Micah, Celestina, Ephraim…ALSO: Ariadne calls Hunt by his full name, Orion Athalar, and knows of him “by reputation.”
Avallen: The Autumn King explains to Bryce that Avallen, Cormac’s homeland, is a powerful safe hold: “Even the Asteri cannot pierce its mists without permission, so old is the magic that guards it.”
Palania: Hypaxia’s ghost tutor Palania taught at the academy in the ancient city of Parthos when alive—I don’t think we’ve heard the end of Parthos.
Dragon fire: On a related note—Bryce learns that dragon fire “is one of the few substances proven to harm the Princes of Hel. It can burn even the Prince of the Pit’s dark hide.” This absolutely sounds like it will be important later on.
Graphic by HollysLitMagic; Artwork left “Smaug” by J. R. R. Tolkien, right “Beowulf battles his nemesis the dragon” by J. R. Skelton
Under the influence: Many mythologies possess variations of fire-breathing monsters such as dragons. The first fictional appearance of what we would think of as a European dragon is commonly attributed to the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. This, in turn, is what influenced J. R. R. Tolkien to create Smaug the dragon as well as the Balrog in his books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
I’m continuing to keep an eye out for possible connections, or even just similarities, to the worlds of ACOTAR and TOG. The main thing that stood out to me this section was what we learned about the witches through Queen Hypaxia; their loyalty and violence, not to mention Hypaxia’s mother herself, definitely remind me of the witches and their matrons in TOG. Also, something about Avallen reminds me of ACOTAR, between the shadow magic and how ancient it is…I’d love to hear if there’s anything you feel I’ve missed! Let me know in the comments.
Next week we’ll read pages 621-709, through the end of Chapter 65.
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Announcing: Crescent City Read-Along
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Apr 25
This is The Hero’s Journey—a reading project where we’re tackling the biggest fantasy books on our to-read lists, with structure, context, and community. Follow along if you love to nerd out about intricate world-building, compelling characters, and magical adventures.
The Hero's Journey: Sarah J. Maas Reading Guide
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Mar 28
This is The Hero’s Journey, a newsletter in which I tackle the largest book series and author projects on my TBR. These newsletters are intended to be enjoyed whether you’ve read the books or not; I hope to provide context and pointers that make fantasy feel more accessible to more readers. No spoilers will be given without adequate warning; I will shar…
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