Back to the Blender

So, the original goal was to do what I did previously with The Blending and WebMage, only with The Blending Enthroned and Age of Misrule, as both are trilogies. This will still be happening, even if the next October Daye showed up.

Anyway,  Intrigues by Sharon Green starts not long after The Blending ended, with the Chosen Six (Tamrissa, Lorand, Jovvi, Vallant, Rion, and Naran) awaiting the seating ceremony.

After much ado, including finding out about a faction of the Guild that wants to bring back the Nobility, people wanting to become the NEW Nobility, and just about everyone hates Naran, since her ability to see the future in glimpses makes people uncomfortable.

However, once they do get seated, we start into the subplots.

First, we meet the Nobility headed West into Astinda, as part of the reparations the Cshosen Six paid to keep the invading army from destroying the Empire. Some of the former nobles get it faster than others, as they see the destruction their poor life choices brought to Astinda. Others remain just as convinced of their inherent rightness by virtue of birth and don't get the point.

Then we meet the Nolls and what's left of the Ruhls, former nobility hiding in the countryside. Both have their own plots to take back the Empire, some of which falls apart as they head back to Gan Garee. The female Ruhl, a Spirit magic user, is busy manipulating everyone.

Then we have the training classes, which introduce people learning to live under the new system.

And of course, as the book progresses, and the army coming West from the invasion of Gracely comes into the picture, we meet Antri Lorimon, who is the fairly virtuous and noble woman in Gracely's assembly as she navigates several plots to take control of the assembly. Given the Six wind up in Gracely (which had more or less used magic to convince the army that they were succeeding in overrunning the country), it's going to be an interesting series.

Having read this before, I know how everything comes out, but I'd forgotten how much better the writing was this time around, other than GRRM levels of subplots.