More on A Conspiracy of Kings

Okay, now that I’ve gotten past my “ooooooh, more Megan Whelan Turner prose” and “ooooooh, Sophos” and “ooooooh, this book is just going down so easily reactions, I do have more thoughts about A Conspiracy of Kings, mostly about the ending.

SPOILERS AHEAD (AND IN COMMENTS)

A lot of readers were bothered by Sophos resorting to force and fear at the end of the book. And I felt like that should bug me, and it did in an objective way, but mostly, I could get past that, especially since Sophos himself was troubled by it.

What bothered me was: Eddis giving up her sovereignty (and doing so, all said, fairly easily), and Gen pretty much taking over all three kingdoms for the common good.

I know there’s always an invisible-to-the-reader plan for Gen, but I can’t help wondering a little: this character whom we’ve been loving for four books now? Are we sure he’s still the hero?

And, will it feel like a cheat, if it turns out that yes, he really is?

In a way it all comes down whether I felt troubled at the end of the book by the author’s design or in spite of it, something which won’t be entirely clear until the next book.

I should also say: I like Eddis and Sophos’ relationship. Aside from the giving up of sovereignty, I like it a lot. “We do not, all of us, need to be throwing inkwells. If we are comfortable with one another, is that not sufficient?”