Full of Briars

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I'm pretty torn about this one, to tell you the truth. Toby's squire, Quentin, is our narrator this time out – and it's worth reading just to see Toby, May, and Tybalt from his perspective. His parents have come to make everything official with the new Queen of the Mists – and while they're around, they might as well check in on him and maybe bring him home.

There's no action, no violence, Toby doesn't come close to dying – it was so weird. There was a lot of talking – which was fun. Toby was Toby, being irreverent and nigh-disrespectful to Quentin's parents, as she argued for them to leave him where he is. Tybalt was more Tybalt-y than usual, making sure that Quentin's folks knew how little he cared about their status. Quentin's growth as a character, as a person – his maturation, thanks to age and his service to Toby – is what's on display here.

It was fun to read, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from it – but I'm not sure it added a lot to my understanding of Toby or anyone else (including the central character). This is the first non-full length story I've read in this universe, and it doesn't really make me think about trying another one. Still, it was entertaining enough – and had one killer line (and a few that were really good) – so I might.