Ki and Vandien take what looks like an easy job: transporting a 14-year-old boy named Goat to his uncle for his apprenticeship. Unfortunately, there's a good reason why everyone wanted to get rid of Goat, and then another passenger shows up, and then there's politics...

I think my favorite of the Ki and Vandien books is still Harpy's Flight, but this one's second. It's got my favorite Ki and Vandien moments in the series; it's just my extreme hatred of Goat for most of the book made it very difficult to read. Seriously. I wanted to strangle him at the very least.

Spoilers!

So, I hated Goat. Haaaaated. Haaaaaaaaaated! And this wouldn't be a problem, except for his reformation. And part of me did feel bad for him in the end and believed his transformation, especially after he was finally helpful. And some of what he did was a bit justified (pushing Kellich), as I think Lindholm is saying we should take Goat's word on it, and that Kellich's blade was poisoned. Also, from the way Lindholm put it, it seemed like his neglect during childhood was basically abuse, even if his parents didn't realize.

On the other hand, he basically mindraped people and coerced women into having sex with him. At some point, I do not care what your upbringing is, that is just NOT OK. The mindrape thing is particularly a huge squick of mine; I do not like people tampering with my brain, kthxbye.

So while most of me was awww-ing over the ending, there was another part of me that was just hugely squicked out at how Ki only got Vandien back with Goat and his uncle in her mind, particularly after what Goat had done previously!

That said, I really did like the book. Vandien! Fencing! OMG! So hot!

Vandien basically going insane when he thinks Ki has died! (Er, I do realize I am a little hypocritical in liking Vandien coldly killing people, but mindrape = total squick, and at least Vandien realizes it is a bad thing to do.) Vandien killing the duke via eyeball was the Best Thing Ever. And then it was made even better by the Brurjan deciding that it was the Best Thing Ever and making Vandien go drinking with them!

And oh, Ki. This was more Vandien's book than Ki's, but I still loved her and oh, how she cracked when she thought Vandien was gone. I particularly love her thought that she would be ok if he had gone off by himself, because she would know the world still had him in it, but him being gone like that was just devastating.

I really love those two together; they work so well. And I love the final lines.