This is The Hero’s Journey—a reading project where we’re tackling the biggest fantasy books on our to-read lists. Here, we nerd out about intricate world-building, compelling characters, and exciting adventures. We’re currently reading the Crescent City books by Sarah J. Maas.
Welcome to Book Two, Week Four 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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Graphic by HollysLitMagic
Note that this newsletter will include spoilers for House of Sky and Breath pages 274 through 357, through the end of Chapter 32.
Tensions continue to grow between Tharion and his River Queen. Declan is scraping video footage to try and see what Danika had been up to visiting the Gallery in years past. I do struggle with some of the writing in the group scenes; the rapid fluctuation between serious action to juvenile sex jokes is definitely not my favorite part about reading SJM.
We meet Mordoc, the dreadwolf who works for the Hind and who is apparently Danika’s father and, like her, also a bloodhound. He almost catches Cormac, Ruhn, and Ithan as they drop information to Ophion. Afterwards, they try to play it cool in a bar when who shows up but the Hind and the Harpy. Finally, we ended up in the Bone Quarter where the Under-King reveals what really happens to the dead souls and we get to see a fantastic stand-off between Bryce and Hunt and the Under-King’s demon dog who can split into three, the Shepherd.
Artwork: Cerberus by William Blake, 1824
Under the influence: Cerberus is the name of the famous three-headed dog guarding the Underworld in Greek mythology. It belongs to Hades, the god of the Underworld, and is also what the term “hellhound” commonly refers to. Other similar hellhounds in other mythologies include Gamr from Norse mythology, fairy hounds of Celtic mythology, and the black dogs of English folklore (yes, referenced by the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). The three-headed dog Fluffy in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is another reference to Cerberus.
We are discovering more about the powers of the Starsword, between seeing it destroy the Reapers in the previous section and now, how Bryce was able to use it to channel Hunt’s powers to destroy the Shepherd demon.
Earlier in the section, the Autumn King shares more about the sword’s origins:
“It’s an ancient sword,” the Autumn King said…“from another world. Made from the metal of a fallen star—a meteorite. This sword exists beyond our planet’s laws.”
Under the influence: There are real ancient weapons that have been made from meteorites from across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Examples include King Tut’s dagger found in his tomb and currently on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo; two Japanese katanas named Ryuseito or Meteor Swords; and various tools and weapon heads forged from the Cape York meteorite by the Inuit.
AS I PREDICTED there was a callback to one of the statues at the ballet from the start of the book, as Bryce watches Hunt battle the Shepherd in the Bone Quarter:
“She’d never seen anything of the sort—Hunt was the heart of a storm personified. The lightning around him turned blue, like the hottest part of a flame. An image blasted through her mind. She had seen this before, carved in stone in the lobby of the CCB. A Fae male posed like an avenging god, hammer raised to the sky, a channel for his power.”
Inspired by this, she decides to jump in front of Hunt’s lightning blast with the Starsword, enabling Hunt’s power to blast into it and inflict maximum damage on the Shepherd. I’m very curious about where these revelations about channeling powers will lead—between Hunt, Bryce, Sofie and Emile, this is something they all have in common with their abilities although it’s also slightly different for each. I need more time and explanation to understand what exactly this means.
“Life is a beautiful ring of growth and decay,” the Under-King said, the words echoing through the Sleeping City around them. “No part left to waste. What we receive upon birth, we give back in death. What is granted to you mortals in the Eternal Lands is merely another step in the cycle. A waypoint along your journey toward the Void.”
I’m still not sure who Agent Daybright may be but I’m gathering clues:
Based on a comment she makes to Ruhn, he concludes: “She had to be old, then. One of the Vanir who’d lived for so long that modern lingo was like a foreign language. Or, gods, if she was an Asteri…”
Twice when she leaves her meetings with Ruhn, she’s described as leaving embers behind. This made me think of Bryce’s mom whose name is Ember Quinlan—but she’s a human and I definitely don’t think there would be these possibly-romantic vibes with Ruhn if that’s who it was.
My best guesses are still Queen Hypaxia or Celestina…but I’m honestly not sold on either. It must be someone we’ve already met, most likely in this book. I even wondered if it could secretly be the Hind or the Harpy but I don’t think so—or Baxian, but this person is female. Someone associated with fire who is in a high-up position…
“This is what the Asteri do. This is Midgard’s true reality. We believe we are free, we are powerful, we are near-immortals. But when it comes down to it, we’re all the Asteri’s slaves. And the illusion can be shattered this quickly.”
Here are a few other things I’m taking note of and watching as we continue reading:
River Queens: I’m not sure if this will become more relevant but I enjoyed this world-building detail: “The queens of Valbara’s four great rivers, the Istros, the Melanthos, the Niveus, and the Rubellus—the Blue, the Black, the White, and the Red, respectively—had long been rivals: all mighty and gifted with magic. All vain and ancient and bored.”
Seven Planets: “Ruhn spied their own solar system in the center of it all. Seven planets around a massive star. Seven Asteri—technically six now—to rule Midgard. Seven Princes of Hel to challenge them. Seven Gates in this city through which Hel had tried to invade this spring. Seven and seven and seven and seven—always that holy number.” As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, the number 7 has significance across religions and cultures.
“Anyone can be bought.” Hunt says this to Cormac about Agent Daybright and I just appreciated the callback to Book One when the Viper Queen says to Hunt, “Everyone, General, is for sale. You just have to figure out the asking price.”
Baxian is creeping around Bryce and Hunt—I truly don’t know where to land with him yet. I still think he’s actually good but we shall see.
I’m continuing to keep an eye out for possible connections, or even just similarities, to the worlds of ACOTAR and TOG. Nothing new stood out to me this section. 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 358-445, through the end of Chapter 41.
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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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