Lindholm, Megan - Luck of the Wheels

[oyceter]

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.

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Now you see why I love this one so much! Vandien fences! While suicidally insane! Because he thinks Ki is dead and so he has nothing left to lose! The way he kills the Duke! (Via eye trauma, like a manga!) The Brurjans adopting him as a pet and taking him drinking! The rebels who would have been romanticized heroes in every other fantasy ever being incompetent assholes!

I could not stand Goat for most of the book and still basically disliked him at the end, but I cold see why he was so awful, and believe that he learned better and was trying to make up for it as best he could. I actually liked the way his ultra-squicky talent finally got used for good rather than evil.

Kellich's blade was definitely poisoned; Vandien could barely use his arm, and almost died of it. So yeah, Goat was right and legitimately trying to save Vandien's life, even though he made a hash of it.

Oh, and I loved the different ways that Ki and Vandien reacted to thinking that the other was dead: Ki being absolutely devastated, but making plans to continue her life as if it mattered even though she didn't feel like it did any more; and Vandien completely losing it and going off to kill everyone responsible or even connected.

[oyceter]

Oh, oops, did figure out the blade was poisoned, though didn't express that clearly!

OMG! Vandien! Fencing! Suicidally insane! Trying to get himself killed because he doesn't care about anything any more!

I totally didn't catch the rebels being a flip of the normal fantasy trope, but of course they are! Awesome.

I'm still of two minds about Goat... like, I think Lindholm pushed the redemption aspect too far in the last chapter, when we hear that Vandien has basically been going "And Goat said this, and Goat said that" for days and thinks of Goat as his surrogate son. That was the bit that made me go "Ehhhh... okaaaaaaay."

OMG. I love Ki just going numb and deciding she would plod on regardless; it is so her, just as Vandien going off his rocker is very him. Although I didn't really anticipate that he would go that insane! Still! Awesome! And I just love that he even bothers to get the rules of the duel straight before he goes against them; he's honorable even in his dishonor!

I love the Brurjan SO MUCH.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I kind of wrote off Vandien's thing about Goat as being a sort of clutching after what he imagined to be a normal healthy life given that he'd recently gone crazy and almost died. I bet it mostly wears off, but he still pops off to visit Goat every couple years, and Ki always has some job to do at the opposite end of the country around then.

"I've never seen a Human do anything funny before."

[oyceter]

Your fanwank makes me feel much better! Hopefully it is Vandien still being pretty nuts and easily influenced.

[larryhammer]

I really ought to reread these books. Been too long.

Someone should set up a Morgaine versus Ki&Vandien smackdown.

---L.

[oyceter]

My bet's on Morgaine, just because of the whole undying goddess of time sort of thing she's got going ;). Though I think Ki and Vandien would give her a good run.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

I am pretty sure I know why I hated this book, now. Authors presenting a character's horrible deeds as acceptable or excusable because they were traumatized/abused/whatever is one of my personal stabby things which will ruin an otherwise-perfectly-good story for me. Especially if the horrible deeds are done to characters I like.

Mystery solved!

[oyceter]

I totally see why! I was reading it and thinking, "desdenova probably hated Goat's arc." It was really hard for me to take too and made the ending much less cool than it would have been. I do give some slack for Goat because he's 14, as opposed to 35 or so, like most alpha bastard romance novel heroes, and I generally think some slack should be given for age, but the basic mindrape of women and Goat using his powers to trick people into having sex with him... EW.