I just finished. I wrote a longer review on Goodreads, but I loved it. As always, the characters and their stories were a clear strength. Maaya is a favorite, and I did love Inga here, even before we saw her backstory, and after that I loved her even more. Hannah made me realize the gravity of Inga's statement and what it means.

I have a theory, too. Here's an explanation of why some people can see ghosts and use libris.

So, in the book it is this big mysterious thing that certain people only get tiny glimpses into, and there are so few people who can do it (and their abilities so negatively looked on) that there's very little research or knowledge about it. They know they can do these things, but not really why. But the more specific explanation is that there are these two worlds that are essentially right next to each other with some overlap (which is why ghosts can be in the living world and things like that). Because of that overlap, what happens is on very rare occasions someone will be born into both worlds at once. People like Maaya and Adelaide.

It's a very lopsided ratio; that is, only a very tiny sliver of them is in the other world. But the more a person is a part of the other world, the more they can do. People who are very powerful with libris, for example, are more a part of it than someone who only gets strange feelings when ghosts are around.

When I asked if there are any factors that might influence whether this happens to someone, I got this.

It's mostly chance, honestly. There's a small chance for it every time someone has a child, and nothing that really influences that chance. As for power, that's also *mostly* up to chance, but people born during certain times of year are more likely to be farther into that world because during certain times of year the worlds are closer to each other. Maaya's an October birthday, so that could have influenced her. Adelaide's a June birthday but... well, she's Adelaide, so. >_> If someone was born more even between the two, though... I honestly don't know, but I don't think they could survive in the living world. The closer you get to the other one, the more powerful you can be, but it also becomes more dangerous. At a point, the overlap would be too jarring and probably mess with that person's sense of reality and their ability to live at all.

That last part especially. We know that Adelaide is neurodivergent and that she struggles a lot with things, and I don't want to take away from this with a supernatural explanation, but we also know that she's one of the strongest libris elites in the entire country based on what Sanna says. That much power might imply that more of her is in the second world, which canonically seems to "mess with [a] person's sense of reality," which we know is something Adelaide sometimes experiences. So I wonder if these things are connected, even if it wouldn't explain everything about her.

Also, for those who got the paperback, did you see the design on the back? I really like it. I think it's supposed to be a libris design, but using elements of both Maaya's and Adelaide's card designs.

Wait where is that from?? I don't think I saw this before! If that's legit then yeah that could explain some things probably. Heck for Maaya too even. I wonder if that works in reverse too, since ghosts are in both worlds at once too. Maybe that could explain why they act... well, the way they do?

That aside though I just love Adelaide the way she is. Going through GW again I noticed how Adelaide would just DO stuff sometimes, like how she would make decisions on Maaya's behalf sometimes, or just decide things for both of them. Maaya was usually like "uh wtf" but Adelaide wasn't being malicious about it, she just honestly didn't know it was weird lol. I liked seeing all the instances where she would do stuff because that was how she had been taught but that she still didn't understand it, and that helps with GW too.

I noticed that too yeah! I was wondering if we'd have any more character art but this is cool too, that's what I thought, that it's like libris but with both suns and moons, part of it all jagged part of it smooth, and I was just like that's CLEVER.

I already want to read it again lmao, I've rambled a lot about Adelaide but Maaya gets a turn soon. There was so fuckin much in her chapters, WHEW.

Hannah wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:29 pm

And finally I just loved Adelaide's own protective streak. A lot of it seems to come from the way she was brought up as an elite, part of her training was literally to put herself in harm's way to save others. And she takes that on even maybe a little too much and too personally. When her crew is in danger she jumps over to multiple enemy ships by herself, she dives overboard during a storm to save someone, she confronts the dude being creepy to Annayet...

Yes! I actually saved a quote just about this.

"By all the power she had in her and all the strength she had at her disposal, whether it was engaging in a massive battle or making someone dinner, her first instinct was to do whatever she could to keep others safe and happy."

It's just so cute. And part of it is from her training but that's just... how she is, I think? That's just the vibe I get from her. She confident (even if she doesn't know it right away) and strong and capable and she's like yeah I'm going to take this on because I can. When she confronted that guy she didn't even hesitate, she's like yeah conflict makes me anxious, but also I'm 100% sure I can kick this guy's butt so let's go! It's just her first instinct every time, she's halfway through doing something before she's even thought about why. Honestly it's a REALLY attractive quality, though I'm like Annayet who basically said "don't do that, it's dangerous. very hot, yes, but dangerous."

Jade wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:52 am

Wait where is that from?? I don't think I saw this before! If that's legit then yeah that could explain some things probably. Heck for Maaya too even. I wonder if that works in reverse too, since ghosts are in both worlds at once too. Maybe that could explain why they act... well, the way they do?

On Goodreads, in response to a submitted question.

There were two other things I remembered and wanted to write down before I forgot lol. The first is that I didn't feel like David leaving the crew on purpose was a big surprise? It shows itself in the way he talks to the crew and even to Adelaide. He keeps them all somewhat distant and doesn't partake in any of the fun crew activities. And while the other officers all have some kind of respectful title for Adelaide (captain, cap'n, ma'am), David doesn't call her "captain" or by any title except for rare specific instances. I would assume that's on purpose, but it was something I noticed when the reveal came at the end.

The second thing was a line of Rahu's. We know he's terrible and there are too many good examples of his gaslighting and twisting words to count. But the one that got me was when Maaya confronts him after she realizes Rahu tricked her to frame Farid. And Rahu says something like, "I understand why you're upset, and I forgive you for it." It's a really good line. That's the most directly subtle way I've seen him say "your emotions are your fault" and it's so brilliantly disgusting I can't help but like it. Honestly the way you could see him slowly getting into Maaya's head, and how Saber could see it but couldn't convince Maaya about it was so well done. He's such a hateable villain and he does everything with a smile. I think Jade brought this up in the FA thread, but in GW when Maaya and Adelaide confront him at the end, he's so good at his gaslighting that we have to go back to the beginning to verify that yes he was twisting the situation and messing with Maaya's head. And the way he came in later to Maaya's house to basically say "I know where you live, that you have the kids with you, and that you can all see ghosts" was a terrifying power play, one that he didn't even need to do. But it was that one line in there, and really that whole conversation, that got me thinking about it. Maaya's so confused and now she knows something isn't right and she feels betrayed, but by the time she's finally figured it out, it's too late.

Edit: Oh, and another thing. I liked Saber and Maaya's moments together where Saber would brush Maaya's hair and they would both just have that moment together. And I remembered in GW that this is what Adelaide does for Maaya after the battle with the Selenthian navy. That must have been really helpful for Maaya and it was cute to see Adelaide kind of take over that calming ritual.

Rebekah wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 28, 2020 5:48 am

Edit: Oh, and another thing. I liked Saber and Maaya's moments together where Saber would brush Maaya's hair and they would both just have that moment together. And I remembered in GW that this is what Adelaide does for Maaya after the battle with the Selenthian navy. That must have been really helpful for Maaya and it was cute to see Adelaide kind of take over that calming ritual.

This is so cute, I love this. I didn't think about that. I did love their moments together but yeah now you mention it Adelaide kind of took that over, probably not even on purpose, but for Maaya that has to be so comforting. Ugh see I love little things like this, this is my jam.

I also made a thing starring... well, guess.

Lmao I love you Hannah please keep doing these. I would say it's uncanny but it's actually the person Adelaide was based off of so.

I'm late to the party and only just finished recently because this book is enormous but here's my highlights.

-Maaya is absolutely precious, I love this poor child to death. I hate Rahu so much more now, fucking despise this man and watching the way he slowly manipulated her over the years and preyed on all her hopes and dreams makes me think his punishment in GW wasn't enough. That scene with her getting the house and having a total breakdown broke my heart.
-Bindhiya and Malika and Hari were great additions to the story. Hari's death hurt (also hello police brutality mention) because they had gone from like being allies to survive to actually being friends and he was a good kid. Malika leaving hurt and her reason for leaving hurt more, but Bindhiya's death fucking destroyed me. It was the WORST way it could happen, she plays this big role in Maaya's life and gets closer and closer to her and Maaya adores her, and then for Maaya just to show up one day to visit her only for Bindhiya to have been dead for weeks and the apartment empty and the organization gone, like, fuck. I had to quit for the night, that broke me.
-The kids are adorable and I love them, and Saber's relationship with Maaya is precious too. I liked seeing a few mentions of Saber being bitter about not having her memories, I thought we didn't see enough of that in GW. Also I don't think I saw this mentioned yet, is Saber ace?? Is that what I saw? When she and Maaya were having a talk alone together near the end of the book?
-Reading Adelaide was a trip since I know Jade so well, it's so accurate to her personality. I loved it. I liked seeing how she didn't think she was confident but when she got to doing stuff she loved she really was, how protective she was of her loved ones and how easy that came to her, etc. Also she's a great captain?? Like, she's new and it shows, but like when it comes to delegating and knowing what to do in situations, like after the battle with the marauders where she's in shock and she's just firing out orders like it's nothing, she deserves the credit she gets for being really good.
-I also felt like there was a lot more sailing vocabulary in this book, which makes sense, but I understood like half of it lol. It made it seem more realistic I guess?
-INGA. I got the protective mom vibes really early on and I HOPED we would get to see more, and boy. Out of left field. I fucking ADORE this woman and that scene with her (you know the one) was 100% what the story needed. And that little line she had at the very end when she's like "good lies have some element of truth" I screamed a little.
-Sanna was cool too. She was totally the blunt and sarcastic older sister, she was great. (SO OF COURSE SHE DIES.) Her letter to Adelaide got me right in the heart too.
-Annayet is fucking adorable and I was afraid she was going to die but I love that she and Adelaide are still friends. I hope she shows up in future stuff if there is any. Them being rebels together was cute. The way she wrote and spoke made me feel like I was reading a victorian period piece or something.
-Vanhanen was an interesting character, like on one hand he was a veteran pirate but on the other hand he was so crazy that even Skarin was like "yeah nah he's too much for me." Even though you could tell Vanhanen kind of idolized him, I liked Skarin shutting him down like "Adelaide is my friend but I don't make a habit of making friends so no."
-Also, Skarin is 100% this guy, change my mind.

I notice that about a lot of the deaths in this series. It builds up characters and gets you attached to them and wishing the best for them, and then their deaths happen often off screen or some other minimal way. And that makes it hurt even more, because they don't even get the dignity of a "good" death. There's no chance for last words, they don't get to see each other, it's just swift and brutal and unfeeling, and it hurts because the characters deserve better. I think that might have been the reason, for me, that Hari's death hurt less, because we got to see it happen and Maaya got to be there for it. It was still awful, but in a different kind of way than, say, Sanna's or Bindhiya's deaths. Like with Bindhiya, she was built up over years and was so important to Maaya, and her story ends with an empty apartment and no one bothering to tell Maaya that she had passed weeks before. Death is particularly cruel in this series.

I had to go back to see what Saber said, but now that you mention it, it does look like she's saying she's asexual/aromantic. It's actually pretty explicit, so I'm not sure how I missed that the first time. That adds a really interesting element to her character, though I see it didn't stop her from being a flirt/tease with Maaya lol. I can't remember who said it before, but someone said Maaya might not be able to tell when a girl is into her because of the sheer amount of teasing/play flirting Saber does with her and I think that honestly might be at least partially true. They're really fun together.

Isabelle wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 6:36 pm

Hannah wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:29 pm

And finally I just loved Adelaide's own protective streak. A lot of it seems to come from the way she was brought up as an elite, part of her training was literally to put herself in harm's way to save others. And she takes that on even maybe a little too much and too personally. When her crew is in danger she jumps over to multiple enemy ships by herself, she dives overboard during a storm to save someone, she confronts the dude being creepy to Annayet...

Yes! I actually saved a quote just about this.

"By all the power she had in her and all the strength she had at her disposal, whether it was engaging in a massive battle or making someone dinner, her first instinct was to do whatever she could to keep others safe and happy."

It's just so cute. And part of it is from her training but that's just... how she is, I think? That's just the vibe I get from her. She confident (even if she doesn't know it right away) and strong and capable and she's like yeah I'm going to take this on because I can. When she confronted that guy she didn't even hesitate, she's like yeah conflict makes me anxious, but also I'm 100% sure I can kick this guy's butt so let's go! It's just her first instinct every time, she's halfway through doing something before she's even thought about why. Honestly it's a REALLY attractive quality, though I'm like Annayet who basically said "don't do that, it's dangerous. very hot, yes, but dangerous."

It's training and being a good person I think but also tbh it's just ADHD impulsivity LOL. Sometimes analyzing the pros and cons and all that other stuff is just hard so we just DO. It's not always confidence sometimes it's just reflex. "Crewman is drowning, I don't like that, I'll fix it!" And before you know it you've yeeted yourself off the ship during a bad storm while everyone on board is doing mathlady.gif

Rebekah wrote:I can't remember who said it before, but someone said Maaya might not be able to tell when a girl is into her because of the sheer amount of teasing/play flirting Saber does with her and I think that honestly might be at least partially true. They're really fun together.

That could be why Saber was so impatient in GW, she even said as much in MAF when she said "if we find a girl you like who can see ghosts I'm gonna tell her for you." And there was so much Maaya held in out of uncertainty to the point where she lost her chance because people fucking died that Saber was probably just like YOU USELESS LESBIAN YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO CONFESS YOUR UNDYING LOVE TO THIS PIRATE CAPTAIN OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY

Ok, hot damn, I finally finished. Don't judge me, it's a big book.

So like, goddamn, for real though. This was an epic book I have to say. I think I remembered most of the important stuff from Ghost Walk, though I probably missed a lot too, I wouldn't have thought of a lot of stuff in this thread. The biggest thing I took away from this was that finally getting Adelaide's side of things was just really cool. She's a really fucking cool character, just downright awesome. It was neat getting to see in her head and the way she thinks and stuff, her parents, her crew, her first attempt with the machine, all that stuff. And it was nice to see that the reason MY character got left behind wasn't because he was a dumbass but because he stayed on purpose and didn't tell anyone.

Maaya's side was cool too, but like, fuck, this girl gets tortured. Adelaide saw a lot of hardship too with her family, some of her crew dying, Sanna, etc. but Maaya's was just brutal. Not just the deaths, even if there were a lot of those, because this is Ghost Walk, of course a lot of people are gonna die, we're trying to be Game of Thrones in here. But just like, that very last scene with her where it just shows that she has no power, no privacy, no dignity, and it just breaks her down. And then the thing with Farid too, there was that whole long thing of Maaya and Saber terrifying this dude and finally getting some kinda revenge, and then Rahu takes it from her and turns that against her too because the whole thing was a lie. Maaya's a great character, I think a good example of a really strong character.

I remember reading Ghost Walk after coming from the Dream Sanctum books and being just surprised by how much bigger everything felt, not just because the book was longer but the scale of everything was just so much bigger and more epic, and man, this was that feeling all over again. TDS had like four or five characters to focus on during small adventures, this was a small army of people who all had a lot of depth to them, and then you have the ghosts and the magic and the technology and crossing the world and a bunch of different subplots, and I thought it was going to be overhwleming but it's just... not. I don't read a whole lot of books so I can't speak as like a serious reader but these books were just fucking good. There's so much in them and the characters are just awesome and strong and I would love to see this as a movie or two or a series like the Witcher. I'm just really impressed and even though it took me a long time to finish I had a damn good time. I kinda feel like I enjoyed Adelaide's chapters more because we didn't get to see her side at all in Ghost Walk but I liked it all. It has me thinking about re reading Ghost Walk so I can see how much I remember.

Also one more thing, if there's any more Ghost Walk stuff coming out, can we get more Cymreiges? She just has the coolest stories and I want to learn more about her.

Yeah seeing Maaya's parts were amazing because it adds so much more weight to why she's so bitter and defeated but why she keeps going anyway. I think it's totally ok that she's not a super optimist or anything and that literally the only reason she tries anymore is because the only other option is death and she doesn't want that. And man, you saw how she was to start, she didn't try to change anything about her life, because the more she gained, the more she could lose, and I get that so much. She hurts enough, why bother trying to get nice things when she's just going to feel the pain of their loss later. And that's why I hate Rahu SO MUCH. Because he comes along and acts like the person who can change everything for her, and after all her doubt she finally decides to give it a shot, aaaand he turns out to be just like all the others. And he knew that about her and capitalized on it and oh my fuck what a piece of shit.

I feel the same about Adelaide's chapters I THINK, like as great as Maaya's were I felt like I was already familiar with how they worked? Where with Adelaide it was ALL new to me, from page one I was just like omgomg we're seeing in HER head now. In terms of how good each chapter was and the stuff that happened in them, both of their perspectives were amazing, but it was a real treat to see into Adelaide's side. They really are both just such GREAT characters, some of my favorite characters ever. I said character development and complexity and stuff was great in GW and that came back like tenfold in MAF.

I WOULD like to see more of Cymreiges, what I really wonder is, is she telling all TRUE stories? She's so old they COULD all be true, we don't know. But if they are true, then this world has a LOT more magic in it and most of it seems to want to kill everyone lol.

For real, getting equal time with Adelaide and her ship and crew and family and everything was awesome. Meeting her tutor was cool too, except, go figure, she gets killed. That's why i was pleasantly surprised with Annayet. I really liked how that went. There was no "what if" romance and no horrible sad death, it was just two girls who decided to plot some mischief together and it all worked out. Kinda wish she showed up in GW but can't win them all I guess. Not too surprised since that was just Maaya's POV.

There were a few characters I wish got more time, Cymreiges was one but Emil was another. Not surprised we didn't see him in MAF because Maaya hadn't met him yet but like... who IS he. How did he get a GOLDPIN when even Adelaide's family had none, and getting one from Vanhanen was a huge deal? He must have known a lot more than he let on to just give his goldpin to this random girl he just met. I really don't think he could have known far enough ahead that she'd run into Adelaide and get her favor returned so the whole damn fleet would come in, but also he was PREPARED for that by the time the army GOT there. I'd love to know more about him in general, dude was fucking weird but he was super interesting and he backed up everything he said lol.

Do you think we missed any secrets? We found the one about the Sanctum ship, we already know David travels infinite universes... I wonder if there was anything else.

If you want my theory it's that Emil was a top ranking Blackfin across the whole continent. He was in a small town, sure, but probably better for him to stay hidden. Whatever he did when he was alive was enough to get him killed, so whatever got him the death penalty had to be serious. Plus there was a lot more to the town if you knew what you were looking for. But I mean, he didn't just know what was going on in his town, he knew what was going on in Sark, too, and that's no short trip. Dude probably has informants everywhere. He knew about the ghosts, he knew there were people after Maaya and why, and I mean he had to know what was up with her. He knew what she wanted before she did, which is why he took so much interest in her. A girl who can see the dead who knows libris who's on the run? And she even talked about her plans with Svante with him so he knew that too. And plus he had personal motivation too, he wanted his town back to the way things used to be. So put it all together and he probably thinks Maaya is the perfect chance for everything he wants, he's never going to have a better shot. Maybe some of it is desperation and betting on her success rather than being like, all knowing, but he was smart enough to figure out a lot of things all at once and in advance.

I think he knew enough about Sark, and even about Maaya, to know that yeah, once she was successful, she was going to come back for justice somehow, and that when she did, he was going to help her be ready. At the very LEAST because he knew what kind of person she was. If she's the kind of person who would put on a light show to help boost people's morale even if it could hurt her, of course she would go back to Sark once she learned that Rahu had basically taken over and made himself dictator. Even if it's the last thing she wanted to do, she would do it anyway, because that's how she is, and he saw that.

Right. I think Emil was a lot more important than he let on, which is saying something because he talked himself up a lot. But he also demonstrated that he knows a lot about things in other places and that he was killed for what he did, so he wasn't hiding it; I think he just didn't want to distract Maaya. Knowing more about him would be really cool, but if we keep saying that, Kay will have to write another giant book.

One reason I liked reading Adelaide's side of things was because of the two lessons she was learning at the same time that ran kind of parallel. In her lessons with Sanna she had to learn that she can't save everyone no matter how good she is, and seeing death traumatized her (as it would most people), so this was a hard lesson to learn. At the same time, when she frees herself from her family, she has to decide who and what she wants to be. Libris elite? Blackfin captain? Stay at home or travel the world? Etc, etc. She was learning that she couldn't save everyone, and that she couldn't be everything. And we saw how hard these struggles were for her, but I do think that when it resulted in her coming to a conclusion on her own (rather than having it decided for her by family), it made everything she did more impactful. I thought it was neat how it was kind of the same lesson, just in a different way, so that even after she got the freedom she wanted she realized so much of the old stuff still applied. There was a lot she couldn't escape in the end. And she embraced that eventually and it made her who she is by the end of the book.

And I say this because Maaya has some phenomenal character development, but Adelaide's is amazing in its own right, especially since it happens in so many ways. I mention this in my reviews but the strongest parts of these books by far are the characters, imo.

Yeah Emil had to be some kind of big shot. I almost wonder if he was so important that Adelaide's family went to Anorath (I think?) to do some kinda business with him. Why the heck else would a really rich and powerful family go to a backwater town like Anorath? Emil told Maaya it was like this big hub where lots of supernatural shit happened and there was a whole second world there so I'm thinking he was so powerful that Adelaide's family went to deal with him when they were on "vacation." And sure Adelaide met him once but it was apparently such an important meeting to her that she remembered him instantly by name ten years later. Learning more about him would be so cool.

I also remembered that in Ghost Walk Inga tells Maaya when they first meet that the coat she gives her belongs to her daughter, but it didn't register to me. I think it was because they were so focused on coming up with lies to keep Maaya safe that I thought it was another lie. I had to skim stuff from Ghost Walk again, didn't do a whole readthrough because the book is a brick, but it was cool to read over old things I remember and see that they were tiny references to stuff from MAF that we learn more about there. I'm just impressed at the character building and stuff, like MAF wasn't an afterthought, it was already all there. (Which makes me wonder how much planning goes into a book.) I also didn't expect Inga of all characters to have that kind of time in the spotlight but I can see why everyone loves her so much. This book really did a good job with her.

This is mostly for fun but... what if Emil told Vanhanen to give a goldpin to Adelaide? Since he's so well connected he probably heard about the Blackfins vs marauders war, and he probably heard that this girl he met years before was now a Blackfin captain, and he already knew she was a libris elite in her home country. So maybe he thought, she's going to need all the resources she can get, so the next time you see her, give her the ultimate favor to help her save the world. And then when Maaya comes along later and she's basically like "I can see ghosts, I know libris, my dead best friend is with me who has THE magical gem, and I'm traveling to Krethus to save the world" he's like WELL THEN. So he had her give that demonstration to test her and once he saw what she could do he was like yep absolutely, take this. He HAD to have known that she would meet Adelaide right? There are only a few dozen elites in Krethus if I remember right and Adelaide is the only one who traveled back and forth between the countries. Heck he probably assumed Adelaide was in Levien when he met Maaya, and if he really wanted to know for sure he could have just sent someone to double check.

Maybe he didn't know that Adelaide would save the goldpin for after they took down the machine, but maybe that's why he was ready when she brought the fleet. He knew Maaya would come back, probably knew Adelaide would be with her, he saw what was happening in Sark, put all those things together and got ready. (If someone didn't just tell him they were coming, he'd probably know in advance. Like, five Blackfins ships and the Nocte Cadenza all show up in Levien? He'd 100% know why.)

Though this also means that Vanhanen and Skarin were together at the battle of Sark and I'm sure Skarin just loved that.