I actually read Cast in Peril before I started on The Night Circus. But since I got so engrossed in author Erin Morgensten's circus world and it was the week I binge-watched Stranger Things, writing a wrap-up post on my last foray in the world of the Chronicles of Elantra got delayed. Boo to me, yes.
I should clarify, however, that sharing my thoughts about Cast in Peril was any less important. I just got... well... distracted.
Private Kaylin Neya has begrudgingly settled into her new living conditions, wherein the last female dragon Bellusdeo has declared them to be roommates in Kaylin's single room apartment. While Bellusdeo catches up on Elantran life and figuring out her role in it, Kaylin is waiting for the time she has to leave for the West March. While the journey will get her out of her etiquette lessons with the dragon Diarmat, she doesn't look forward at having to travel as a mortal human in a Barrani party, a condition set by Lord Nightshade in exchange for information that can help the Hawk's embezzlement investigation of a high ranking human. All these events lead to many complications, such as unwanted attention and somebody attempting to kill her and/or Bellusdeo using an arcane bomb, destroying her apartment and forcing the strange egg she is fostering to hatch.
If you've read my post on previous volume Cast in Ruin, I mentioned its slow story progression. I am happy to say, however, that Cast in Peril was in no way impeded by the same shortcoming. It only took a few days to get through the volume, even with childminding, chores and the usual exhaustion that leads to earlier bedtimes than anticipated. Cast in Peril is evenly paced, moving along the story without feeling rushed. And author Michelle Sagara wrote the volume with enough twists and turns to keep you hooked and wanting for more.
When you're reading a Chronicles of Elantra volume, there's usually more than one major event that Kaylin finds herself embroiled in, with the reveal that they are all interconnected. To some extent, that is still the case for Cast in Peril, but this particular volume feels more contained and more linear in the narrative, likely attributed to the fact that Kaylin isn't running around from one place to another like in the previous installments. The journey to the West March is keeping Kaylin figuratively locked down, and instead of conducting an investigation, she's just mostly trying to navigate the complex politics of the Barrani caste system and survive it, especially since events in Cast in Chaos has led to a difference of opinions that has markedly lessened the Consort's regard of her.
Despite the fact that there are other races or caste systems that have yet to be explored in the series, or new personalities that Kaylin has yet to meet, I expected as much that Michelle Sagara would give her another adventure with the Barrani. Given her complicated relationship with Nightshade, her role as Lord of the High Court, her now troubled friendship with the Consort, her kinship and shared history with the Lord of the West March and the High Lord, and her closeness to Teela, she was bound to be embroiled in yet another politically layered and mortally dangerous event with the race. Her journey in Cast in Peril shares with readers a most closely guarded secret, the Barrani Recitation conducted at the West March. The recitation involves telling a story, but the story varies depending on who is involved in the telling. And in this particular telling, Kaylin has been chosen by the Hallione Sylvestre as the Harmoniste when she was given the blood of the green dress to don. To complicate matters further, Nightshade is exempt from execution because he has been chosen to accompany Kaylin and the Lord of the West March in the recitation as the Teller.
As if things aren't complicated enough, Severn is there on an assignment from the Wolves to track down the very Arcanist that might be responsible for the bombing of Kaylin's apartment and might also have ties to the embezzlement case. It definitely doesn't help when they are roomed together at some of the Hallione they stay in, especially since Severn has been clear about his feelings for Kaylin. And if traveling with Barrani and the added responsibility of being Harmoniste is worrisome enough, their party's journey is impeded by the appearance of Shadows. Oh, and did I mention that Kaylin is traveling with a glass dragon borne from the egg she used to warm in her bed? One that many are considering to be an actual sorcerer's familiar, which would make others consider it dangerous and worthy of stealing from her mere mortal hands?
If I were Kaylin experiencing the events in Cast in Peril, I'd be dropping dead from exhaustion from all the excitement. Aside from the dangers she faces, the novel is also noteworthy for its character interactions, further emphasizing Kaylin's different relationships with those she travels with. Even her exchange with the Arkon before the journey is one that I particularly enjoyed, given that their brief conversation touched on his concern over how the bombing had left her feeling. It's a rare display of empathy by an immortal towards a human, especially since scenes of Kaylin struggling to find answers among immortals who deem that a mortal would have too short a life to find value in the information they possess is oft a recurring event.
Among the many volumes of Chronicles of Elantra, it's hard to name a favorite, but given the meaty narrative and well paced storytelling I have enjoyed reading, Cast in Peril is a strong contender. And it does its job well at making a reader gleefully anticipate the events to come in Cast in Sorrow.
Happy reading!!Labels: Adventure, Book Series, Books, Cast in Peril, Chronicles of Elantra, Fantasy, Fiction, Michelle Sagara, Reading List
