This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S DIVINE AND CONQUER ABOUT?
We know that Silver's Order has been trying to get him back to HQ for some time, and for reasons he's not been terribly clear about (as I recall, anyway), he's been reluctant to listen. So they force the issue by arranging a wedding between him and another Paladin. If he's going to break it off, he has to be there in the flesh.
But he's going to need more than a "I don't want to," so he enlists Ketayl in an undercover effort—they enter into a courtship relationship and he can say that he can't get married because he already has an intended. Ketayl has some misgivings, but goes along with it—primarily to help Silver, but she'll also get a chance to look through the Order's library and maybe find some info on necromancy that'll help.
Things start going wrong from the instant they arrive—the Order isn't crazy about Ketayl's presence (many of them aren't crazy about her existence, and a big prejudice against elves is on full display). Things between the Order and Silver start off contentious and get worse. And then Ketayl finds a whole new batch of trouble—TIO kind of trouble. Things go from bad to worse from there.
MARZENA AND AMANDA
There are a whole passel of new characters in this novel—one of the benefits of traveling to a new area and encountering a whole Order. But there are really two characters that we really get to focus on.
Amanda is the young paladin that has been selected as Silver's bride-to-be. She's driven and smart. She's not much when it comes to combat—and really not much of a candidate for the order, you get the idea that there's something not that impressive about her. But she's good at doing what she's told, and will do whatever she can to accomplish it—including going <i>through</i> Ketayl.
The other Paladin we really get to know is their Weapons Master, Marzena. She was a fantastic character—the way she quickly embraced Ketayl and resumed the old friendship with Silver in a heartbeat was great. We aren't used to people outside the TIO knowing Silver so seeing that he has at least one great friend in the world from years ago helps solidify his character. But beyond that, Marzena is exactly what the book needed for the plot, a bit of fun, and perspective on all the events surrounding Ketayl and Silver. She's definitely the MVP of <b>Divine and Conquer</b>, and I hope we see her again soon.
KETAYL'S SUPER POWER
Sure, we've known that Ketayl's a Mage with more power and potential than she realizes. But that's really not what makes her such an effective leader and agent—we've seen this since the beginning, but it's been emphasized in the last two books in particular.
Ketayl has this ability to take a rival, critic or outright enemy and turn them into an ally, if not a friend. <b>Divine and Conquer</b> surrounds her with plenty of antagonists—she doesn't turn them all around, by any means. She doesn't even try. But there's one person she does turn around, without really intending to.
I really appreciate this ability of hers, and am glad Jackson is letting it shine—sure, she's not the only character in the genre with the ability, but she goes about it in a different way than others do. She reminds me of Kitty Norville more than anyone else in that. Anyone that reminds me of Kitty is a winner.
THE ORDER OF THE PALADINS OF THE HOLY SON
So here's the problem I had with The Order—and therefore the book. It's a religious Order, sure. But there's no religion to it. There's a hierarchy, there are adherents, underlings, traditions—even a couple of group prejudices. But that's it—it's the shell of a religion with nothing at the core.
And if it was the case that the Order had drifted from their former orthodoxy and become an apostatized or agnostic group, that'd be one thing—people'd be talking about that. Silver's friend is one of the few that holds on to the old ways—but we're talking about training, loyalty, traditions, not beliefs.
Instead, for whatever reason, Jackson didn't allude to their departure from the faith while hanging onto the form, she didn't even point to a time when the Order stood for something. I get the impression (and I can't point to specifics to support this, but I still walk away with the impression) that Jackson has some ideas about what the Order used to believe (maybe still believes)—but I've got no idea what it is.
A religious order without a dogma is hard to get invested in—you can't fault them, you can't hope they reform for the characters you like to be okay—it's just a soulless bureaucracy making things difficult for those characters. And hey, that's a daunting organization to take on, sure.
But boy howdy, do they want Silver back in the fold and are pulling out quite a few stops to achieve that. Also, I'm not sure I get why that is, I mean, I like the guy, but their interest seems a bit extreme. But I can roll with it for the sake of the story.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT DIVINE AND CONQUER?
This is the book I've been waiting for—possibly for too long, but whatever—we needed the development and background for Silver and some overdue conversations were had. Plus, Ketayl's achievements with the Arcana Consortium were great to see (at some point, she's going to start accepting what everyone's saying about her magic abilities, right?)
I'm not sure I could buy how long the negotiations around Silver's marriage took—the sheer number and length of meetings seemed out of proportion. Maybe Jackson could've given us some other things for them to have been discussing. But they gave us what the novel needed—a way to get him off-screen so Ketayl could get to know Marzena and Amanda better, interact with others of the Order, and generally get into trouble.
This is one of my favorites in the series—because of the character arcs and development. Plot-wise, I think it stumbled a bit, but by the time I get my hands on Book 7, I won't remember that, I'll remember the character stuff.
I'm enjoying this series still and am looking forward to the next one. Apparently it'll be in June 2023, which gives you all plenty of time to read the series.
