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Movies & TV House of the Dragon A Surprising and Divisive Season Finale: Breaking Down House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8 Was the finale slow and underwhelming, or the perfect, tragic twist in this increasingly nuanced tale? By Tyler Dean | Published on August 6, 2024 Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO I’m not gonna lie—the finale was an odd one, and apparently deeply divisive. Upon first watching I was left feeling very unmoored by a few of their choices—particularly the choice to give their prophecy-cursed dreamer, Helaena (Phia Saban) some fairly direct predictions that reveal some major plot points down the line. Ultimately, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit and its final montage is one of the best sequences either House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones has produced. It’s a quiet, sorrowful end to a season whose greatest strengths lay in taking the time to complicate its characters. There are spoilers below, of course; let’s get started… The Title The title of this Season 2 finale is the intriguing, “The Queen Who Ever Was.” Obviously, it plays off of Rhaenys’ sobriquet, “the Queen Who Never Was,” which Corlys reclaimed and honored in renaming his ship after his late wife. This episode seemingly reverses the name: Rhaenyra was always the intended, perhaps even fated Queen on this show. Now that she is fighting for it, the episode asks us to remember that fact. But there’s a cruel irony underlying the title. In invoking the Queen Who Never Was, the show reminds us that Rhaenys Targaryen was likely the best potential monarch of this time period—stoic, brave, kind, prudent, and deeply aware of precisely how much she would be overlooked and underestimated. Her death halfway through the season is meant to be a gut punch—the ultimate indignity in a life filled with them, and the silencing of the last real voice of reason who might have been able to stop the war and broker a lasting peace. It is a cruel little trick, then, that she is remembered as the Queen Who Never Was. The name acknowledges what she should have been while simultaneously failing to imagine that it was truly possible. It makes her Queen and strips her of the title in the same breath. It’s a kind of tokenism.  Here at the end of season 2, the show asks us to remember that Rhaenys is not the only Queen Who Never Was—exalted only in her absence. Rhaenyra and Alicent are also queens who never were. The latter ruled ably as regent during her husband’s illness only to be stripped of all real power and responsibilities as soon as a younger man was installed as king. Rhaenyra, whatever might befall her, is also a Queen who never was; all the promise of her reign, whatever it will be, has already been maimed and stained by the fire and blood she needed to use to claim her throne. Unraveling the Opening Titles We get our (presumably) final look at the tapestry-themed opening credits this episode. There is one new panel now, representing the Sowing of the Seeds with all seven of Rhaenyra’s dragons—Vermithor, Silverwing, Syrax, Caraxes, Moondancer, Seasmoke, and Vermax—rising up from Dragonstone to confront Vhagar. It’s been a delight to watch this set of credits unfold each week and I’m excited to see what motif they go with for the next season.  The Triarchy Credit: Theo Whiteman/HBO We finally get a look at the state of the Triarchy of 130 AC—or, at least, we get a look at its military. In Fire & Blood, the Triarchy is an alliance also called the Kingdom of the Three Daughters made up of three of the so-called Free Cities—the nine city states that were former colonies of (or, in the case of Braavos, a refuge from) the Freehold of Valyria. The Triarchy is made up of what The World of Ice and Fire’s in-world writer, Maester Yandel, refers to as “the Quarrelsome Daughters”—Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh. Myr — Myr is located on the fertile headlands of the bay known as the Sea of Myrth. It is characterized as a city of artisans and inventors with many technologically advanced materials originating there—Myrish lenses, Myrish lace, and Myrish crossbows are all considered to be the finest specimens available. Myrish characters include the Red Priest, Thoros (played by Paul Kaye in GoT), and the Crabfeeder, Prince Craghas Drahar (Daniel Scott-Smith). Lys — An island city-state off the Southern coast of Essos, Lys was considered a paradise by the Valyrians—the rough equivalent of Capri in our world. Post-Doom, Lys is one of major centers of the Essosi slave trade and specializes in sex slavery, with especially famous brothels. Characters from Lys include Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) and Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) as well as original show alums Varys (Conleth Hill) and the pirate, Salladhor Saan (Lucien Msamati). Tyrosh — The only one of the Quarrelsome Daughters to actually be located next to the Stepstones, Tyrosh is an old Valyrian fortress city built to guard the passage between the Narrow Sea and Summer Sea. It’s known for its flamboyant, piratical navy with most Tyroshi dyeing their hair bright, unnatural colors. The only major character from Tyrosh who has been featured in a GoT show thus far is Daario Naharis, Daenerys’ mercenary paramour (who played first by Ed Skrein and then by Michael Huisman in the original show). The show portrayed Daario as relatively bland in presentation so it’s nice to get a little bit of that Tyroshi costume design and makeup in this episode. The Triarchy is not quite a polity on its own—Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh all remain independently ruled—but the “eternal alliance” does offer a council of thirty-three magisters, eleven from each city, who make military and foreign policy decisions. This means that the Admiral of the Fleet is a sort of de facto ruler by virtue of being a singular voice among a famously fractious and often deadlocked ruling body. The previous Admiral, the Crabfeeder, was a Myrish Prince, Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) is Lysene so there are no obvious biases when it comes to which citizens of which cities are placed in power. While Tyland Lannister does court the Triarchy to lend naval assistance to the Greens in F&B, there is no mud-wrestling, singing at swordpoint, or offers to father children in the book. In the show’s version of events, the whole sequence is pretty fun and Jefferson Hall is a consistently great source of humor on a series that can be pretty grim. We will definitely see more of the Triarchy next season.  Daemon the Dreamer Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO We obviously have to spend some time delving into the finale’s absolutely insane sequence of prophetic visions. No such moment exists in the book and I feel like I should reiterate that Daemon’s entire plot this season is almost entirely cut from whole cloth, not based in the source material. That said, the end result of it might be in the service of squaring Daemon’s portrayal in Fire & Blood—that of a fundamentally selfish man who has a couple of bewildering changes of heart—with Archmaester Gyldayn’s assertion that he was “light and dark in equal measure.”  So let’s get to the vision. The images come pretty fast and a few are potentially more symbolic than factual but we see: The image of a man (Joshua Ben-Tovim) with a port-wine stain birthmark, entombed in the branches of a Weirwood tree. A three-eyed raven flies past the birthmark. This is clearly Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven, the Targaryen bastard, spymaster, and eventual Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch about a hundred years after Daemon’s era who eventually becomes a greenseer and makes himself known to Bran Stark as the “three-eyed raven,” played by Struan Rodger and Max von Sydow in the original show.  A white walker (what the books call “the Others”) leading a horde of wights through the forests beyond the wall. Daemon marching through a field of the dead, including the corpse of a dead dragon. Try as I might I couldn’t be completely sure of the dragon’s identity or even if it was a specific dragon but the form, coloration, and general context of the dream imply that it might be Viserion—Daenerys’ dragon who is killed and raised by the Night King. A shot of Daemon sinking into dark water.  The red comet from the end of A Game of Thrones and present in most of A Clash of Kings which is said to be an omen about the return of fire magic to the world. The original show placed the comet in the premiere of season 2 but the books stick with it for much longer. Martin has always been cagey about confirming magical portents in his book but the comet likely heralded the birth of Dany’s dragons. Clearly that is what it’s intended to do here, with a shot of Daenerys’ fossilized eggs in the flames. The behind-the-scenes featurettes for this episode heavily implied that these eggs are the ones that Daemon harvested from the Dragonmont in the season 1 finale and which have been sent along with Aegon the Younger and Viserys the Younger towards Pentos.  We get a shot of Daenerys herself, on the edge of the Great Dothraki Sea, cradling her hatchling dragons—Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion  Daemon approaches the Iron Throne to find Rhaenyra (now an adult) crowned and seated on it. Because it’s her as an adult, we can assume this is a vision of the future, or at least a possible future, and Daemon is facing the fact that she is actually the one destined to rule.  Finally, Helaena appears to tell Daemon that it’s all a story and that he knows his part in it.  I’m of two minds about the visions. Obviously, I love that HotD is delving deeper into Martin’s creepy magical mythology. When Benioff and Weiss made a rule for themselves (later broken) that they would have no visions or flashbacks in the original series, they cut themselves off from a lot of what makes ASoIaF a fantasy series rather than historical fiction set in a fictional world. Condal and his writers’ room are not only setting that omission right, they are doing so in a way that captures the uncanny horror of how Martin views magic.  On the other hand, as a friend pointed out, the original series, in ignoring all of that prophecy and treating Martin’s ultimate conflict between ice and fire as secondary to its political struggle, makes for an unsatisfying end to what HotD is proposing. Daemon’s vision implies that Daenerys is the Prince That Was Promised and while ASoIaF certainly makes that out to be a strong possibility, GoT completely dropped the importance of this aspect of the books, in the end: Dany and Jon are the show’s two best candidates but the one who fulfills the prophecy of ending the long night is Arya…who has nothing to do with Daemon, Valyria, or the Targaryens in general.  Where I am more hopeful and interested in HotD’s focus on prophecy is the way in which it is using it to provide an emotional infrastructure for its characters. Daemon’s vision is an existential horror—proof positive that he only matters insofar as his line will give birth to a real savior, centuries from now. It’s not just the confirmation that he will never be king, it’s the confirmation that, king or no, he fundamentally will not have mattered. He’s not Caraxes’ only rider. He’s not Dark Sister’s only wielder. He’s just one more body on the road to greatness and madness.  That vision is placed back to back with a similar prophecy in which Helaena tells Aemond that he will not outlive his brother and will similarly be gone before Aegon sees any rise to power. A humbled Daemon, resigned to his fate, is one thing but an Aemond raging against the death that has been foretold for him is quite another. I think it’s a great decision to have the show open up a little window on Aemond’s endpoint in order to give its audience a front row seat to his doomed fury.  Moreover, in having Helaena’s prophecy be so stark and legible—this is not a cryptic, “beast beneath the boards” situation—it does open up the possibility that HotD will change things. After all, Martin uses prophecies like Athenian tragedians used them, as puzzle-boxes to torment and surprise both characters and the audience. If Helaena tells Aemond that he’ll be swallowed up in the God’s Eye and never seen again, is the show signaling its intent to both make good on those words while fundamentally altering the events of Fire & Blood? It’s both a worrying and thrilling possibility.  DragonWatch Two new dragons were shown this episode, though we were only given a brief glimpse of each.  Tessarion — Prince Daeron’s dragon, Tessarion, makes the briefest of appearances in the show’s final montage. Called the “Blue Queen” for her color and potentially in reference to Meleys, the Red Queen, Tessarion is described in the books as beautiful with dark cobalt scales and membranes, and horns the color of beaten copper. The show has lightened the membranes to a sort of peach, but otherwise kept the coloration. She has a blockier, more obviously muscular body than either Moondancer or Vermax, with tiny legs that make her look a little like she hasn’t fully grown into her adult body. She is younger than Vermax, potentially between ten and sixteen years old, making her the youngest dragon currently being fielded in the war. She is, of course, not battle-tested and has only been ridden for a few weeks (the show mentioned that Daeron first rode Tessarion in episode 6 of this season). I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of her along with her rider, Daeron Targaryen, in season 3.  Sheepstealer — The final montage also shows us the wild dragon known as Sheepstealer for the first time. Described in the books as large but skinny and an ugly mud-brown color, Sheepstealer is characterized as a sort of lovable (but dangerous) stray. The show has kept the mud-brown coloring but also given the dragon what appears to be vitiligo with patches of paler skin where melanin is being insufficiently produced. In addition to the coloration, the show has given him massively untrimmed wingtips that look like hoary, overgrown cat’s claws, and a short, porcine muzzle. It’s a charmingly off-kilter design. We may not have gotten any more CheeseDog this season, but if it’s possible for a dragon to have CheeseDog vibes, it’s this guy. Being a feral resident of Dragonstone in the book, Sheepstealer’s age is unrecorded, but Gyldayn has a source that estimates it to be about fifty by the time of the Dance. Again, we only have two shots of him, but it’s going to be a delight to see him in action next season.  Rhaenyra the Cruel Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO Fire & Blood’s characterization of Rhaenyra, especially during the Dance, is of an increasingly paranoid and spiteful person—one whose grief has curdled into a drive for vengeance. The second episode of this season went out of its way to say that her nickname (“Rhaenyra the Cruel” in the show, “Maegor with teats” in the book) is undeserved, part of a campaign of calculated character assassination on the part of Otto Hightower. But we are circling back to a Rhaenyra that might have the same capacity for monstrousness. Her season arc has taken her, not from grief to paranoia like the book, but from a pacifist desire to make the realm better to a kind of dragoncentric fanaticism where smallfolk can be sacrificed and the gods seemingly ordain her actions.  Rhaenyra is not the Queen Who Ever Was. She’s not on the Iron Throne and her kingdom is in the midst of civil war. But she believes she must be Queen and that she never had a choice to relinquish her claim. The issue is not that she should do so, but that she sees her claim as unavoidable destiny and not a conscious choice. It’s the seed of something unpleasant and far more interesting than Gyldayn’s vision of a queen made monstrous by hysterical grief over her children.  The final scene before the ending montage lays that journey bare. She knows she has to kill Aegon but she still makes Alicent choose it. She becomes, in that moment, the monster Alicent has been terrified of for twenty years, who was at the start only a fiction created by Otto Hightower as a means of controlling his daughter. That scene is incredible for so many reasons, but perhaps it’s made most poignant by hiding the birth of Rhaenyra the Cruel, ushering this fictional horror into reality. Odds & Ends Credit: Theo Whiteman/HBO Sharako Lohar asks if Tyland is a philosopher early on in the episode. It might be a reference to Lohar’s actor, Abigail Thorn, who is the founder of Philosophy Tube, a YouTube channel that offers free lessons in philosophy, sociology, and gender studies.  Condal clarified on the post-show podcast that the show’s version of Lohar is a queer cisgender woman who uses male pronouns in a professional capacity as a way of co-opting masculine power. Martin himself only ever gestures vaguely to trans and non-binary people in his books and the show’s version of Lohar is borrowing a lot of his personality from Racallio Ryndoon, an eccentric, bisexual Tyroshi captain who wears dresses, has a dozen wives, and speaks numerous dialects of Valyrian.  Aemond and Vhagar burn the town of Sharp Point, the seat of Black loyalist House Bar Emmon. It’s located on a peninsula that forms the Southern boundary of the Gullet in which both Dragonstone and Driftmark sit. Sharp Point doesn’t really matter throughout ASoIaF so having it destroyed doesn’t really change the strategy or overall arc of the war. That’s said, it’s a bit odd to have the event occur entirely offscreen. It’s decent characterization for Aemond, maybe not the best storytelling practice. Still, the show’s design includes the large stone lighthouse which is the only notable feature Martin gives it—so good on the art team for continuing to bring even the most minor parts of Westeros to life.  When Aegon reverently whispers “Aegon the Realm’s Delight” as his desired sobriquet, it’s a callback to Rhaenyra’s childhood appellation. The show never much used it but it’s an important name in the book as it serves as a distinction between Rhaenyra’s promise as a child and her disappointment as an adult. So when Aegon imagines himself having the same name, it’s an expression of his desire to have what he’s always wanted: the love of his father and the adoration of a kingdom that thinks of him as a beloved child.  Speaking of tragic turns from increasingly pitiable villains, the season’s final beat for the the man the internet loves to hate, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), is one of despondent misery. The show does a good job of reminding us that, for all the incel misogyny that corrupts the chivalric code (and Cole himself), it’s still based in motivations that are potentially valuable and honorable. Cole loves Alicent because she saved his life, plucking him from the depths of despair where he was ready to end it, but he also is facing down a world where knights are irrelevant. He’s Westeros’ own Robert Oppenheimer, having unleashed a nuclear option and now despondent that the genie cannot be put back in the bottle We see a Green Man out by Harrenhal’s heart tree. The Green Men were the order of Druidic humans who learned greenseeing magic from the Children of the Forest. They supposedly have antlers and green skin though this is often thought to be a misinterpretation of their wearing green clothes and wearing antlered headdresses. The show makes it clear that, though this Green Man is likely a weirwood hallucination, they do indeed have bestial features.  Brynden Rivers famously has only one eye in the books—leading to the riddle referring to his spy network, “how many eyes does Bloodraven have? A thousand eyes and one.” He definitely has a single eye by the time he’s entombed in the tree beyond the wall and his GoT actors both reflected that aspect of the characters’ appearance. I assume they did not add this detail, here, just to make absolutely sure that he did not read as Aemond for the brief moment he was on screen.  Simon Strong’s bewildered clapping at Daemon choosing to serve Rhaenyra, is one last delightful little affectation from the show’s most delightful character.   Where is Otto Hightower? In the book he is never taken prisoner before his return to King’s Landing. My guess is that he is a prisoner of the Beesburys who are now in open Rebellion against the Hightowers and Tyrells. But the show may also have something more devious and interesting to show us, perhaps something wildly off-book. At this point, I trust Condal to deviate far more from the source material than I ever trusted Benioff and Weiss. Season 2 in Review Credit: Liam Daniel/HBO Every prequel is, in some ways, a tragedy. If you’re watching or reading something written with Melpomene as its muse, you engage with the understanding that you will not get what you want. Any connection made with a character, any desire for a happy ending is done with anticipated sorrow right around the corner. And when you know the ending, as you must in a prequel, every interesting moment is predicated on the dramatic irony of knowing that it cannot turn out any differently. House of the Dragon is not just a prequel to Game of Thrones, the end of the story is literally spoiled by Joffrey in Season 3, episode 4 of the original series. Even non-book readers with sufficiently good memories know one of the most important and potentially spoilable things about the show. So all you really have is how you get to the end, and whether or not you can find enough catharsis in the difference between what was and what could have been. I think HotD is a spectacular success in that regard. I’ve seen complaints that this season was slow. And, certainly, it did not get to either of the two events that seemed like shoo-ins for a big season finale (though both have been clearly set up to take place early next season—I won’t spoil them here but you can probably guess even if you haven’t read the book). But I would characterize the pace of the show as deliberate. It is taking its time to say what it needs to say and make sure that we fully buy in to the humanity of its major players…all the better to twist the knife when it delivers their inevitable fates.  And, speaking of those fates, HotD manages to be eminently watchable and affecting without somehow being fatiguing. Let’s not forget that Martin’s world has always been a cruel one. It’s a place where people only get what they want if they pay unreasonable prices. Daemon can be a great leader of men, but only if he gives up his lifelong ambition for the throne and accepts that he will only ever be a pawn in a larger game. Aemond can make himself into the perfect vessel to dispense revenge for his childhood slights but he can’t change the fate that Helaena dreamed. Alicent can be freed of the humiliation of the patriarchy but only if she agrees to let her son die. Rhaena can finally have her dragon but only if she wanders, filthy, half-mad, and dying of thirst, across the Vale. Perhaps Rhaenyra can even be the Queen Who Ever Was, but only if she gives up her last chance to walk away and be happy and unremarkable with the woman a part of her still clearly still loves.  This season is better than the first. I think it might be better than any season of Game of Thrones. Condal and his team have proven that they both care deeply about the tone and intricacies of Martin’s source material while taking every opportunity to elevate it, sanding away the rough edges and imbuing the story with a power and significance that makes it feel like so much more than the cynical prequel to a bankable hit show (which it easily could have been).  The season ends with Alicent, the saddest woman in Westeros, having let go of almost everything she holds dear and having agreed to sacrifice her son in the name of peace, staring out at the impossibly vast horizon. It may be an image that evokes freedom but, for a woman who has spent her life following the narrow path set out for her, it is a vision of overwhelming sublimity, unwieldy in its terrible multitude of possibilities. Alicent is dwarfed by what life might hold in store for her. In some ways, it’s the same moment that Daemon has—realizing just how insignificant you are up against the vastness of a story in which you are not the protagonist. The Black Queen has never been more powerful. She has the literal firepower to take on Vhagar, and has the armies of the North and Riverlands at her disposal. She has a backdoor to King’s Landing and the hard-won blessing of the Queen Dowager to kill her rival for the throne. Alicent tells Rhaenyra that she has always envied her ability to know what she wants and flaunt convention in taking it. But in her final shot of the season, Rhaenyra is framed by the scroll cases of Targaryen history, staring at the shattered skull of Meraxes. She’s now bound to that history, to the prophecy of the Prince That Was Promised, to the responsibilities and compromises of winning and keeping the throne. The Queen Who Ever Was has never been more trapped.  The show has always been Alicent and Rhaenyra’s story, first and foremost—Martin got it right when he titled his first pass at writing about the Dance of the Dragons “The Princess and The Queen.” At the end of last season, I characterized the show as a tragedy about the dissolution of their friendship. But I think I was wrong. It’s a show about how their love for one another endures. It endures without the possibility of fulfillment. It endures to the detriment of their children. But it is the inescapable heart of the Dance and this second season has made it clearer than ever that, even if you know the end, that tragic friendship is more than worth watching.  What did you think of the finale—and of Daemon’s visions, Helaena’s prophecies, and that final conversation? What are you looking forward to seeing in the next two seasons (given the news that the series will end with Season 4)? Please share your thoughts, and thanks for reading and chiming in![end-mark] The post A Surprising and Divisive Season Finale: Breaking Down <i>House of the Dragon</i> Season 2, Episode 8 appeared first on Reactor.

Books new releases All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in August 2024 Assassins, sorceresses, and deathspeakers feature in this month’s new releases! By Reactor | Published on August 6, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share Here’s the full list of the fantasy titles heading your way in August! Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change. August 6 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins — P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories―have only three unbreakable vows. First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade. Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark. The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget. A Sorceress Comes to Call — T. Kingfisher (Tor Books)Cordelia knows her mother is… unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers. When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother’s next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother’s plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family. Storm Furies — Wen Spencer (Baen)The oni have invaded Pittsburgh on Elfhome. And, so far, it looks like they are winning. All this is according to prophecy. But the prophecy is big on symbols and light on specifics. Tinker and her allies are doing the best they can to defend the city and the civilians caught in the crossfire of a war between elves that’s been brewing for centuries. But the enemy has no hesitation whatsoever in involving innocents. All the pieces in this deadly game are in place—and everyone trusts Tinker will save them. All she needs is a plan. And then the lights go out, and the storm begins to rage. The Sunforge (Dawnhounds #2) — Sascha Stronach (Saga Press)The steel city of Radovan is consumed by fire between. Stranded in its harbor is the crew of the Kopek, the survivors of a bioterror attack overseas. But they bear scars: their captain, Sibbi, has gone missing; Yat, their newest Weaver, is fighting for control of her own mind; and their Weaving powers are in a badly weakened state. To disable the technology that prevents the group from escaping, Sen and Kiada must plot their way through the ruins of the foreign capital, which is patrolled by a hostile militia, using wits alone. But to navigate through Radovan, Kiada will have to rely on her own history with the city—one she shares with a band of misfits dubbed Fort Tomorrow and their leader, Ari, a charismatic thief. Ari may hold the key not only to saving Radovan from complete annihilation, but the history of their world, which will come into play as the gods begin to unleash destruction on humanity and one another. Dragons of Eternity (Dragonlance Destinies #3) — Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (Random House Worlds)When Destina Rosethorn and her companions were transported to a time centuries before their birth—to the days of the Third Dragon War—the Graygem of Gargath brought chaos to the battlefield and changed the course of history. Upon returning to the Inn of the Last Home, where their journey began, Destina’s party discovered a world completely changed. The forces of evil now hold sway over their land. The River of Time is rising, flowing inexorably toward the present day. Destina and her friends must make one last, desperate attempt to restore time’s river to its proper channel. If they do not succeed, the altered past will sweep over the present until no trace of their old world remains. August 13 The Dollmakers — Lynn Buchanan (Harper Voyager)In the country called One, dollmakers are vital members of the community. An artisan’s doll is the height of society’s accomplishments, while a guard’s doll is the only thing standing between the people of One and the Shod: vicious, cobbled monstrosities that will tear apart any structure—living or dead, inanimate or otherwise—to add to their horde. Apprentice Shean of Pearl is a brilliant dollmaker. With her clever dolls, she intends to outsmart and destroy the Shod, once and for all—a destiny she’s worked her whole life toward accomplishing. But when the time comes for her dolls to be licensed, she’s told her work is too beautiful and delicate to fight. A statement that wounds and infuriates her; the Shod killed everyone she loved. How could her fate be anything but fighting them? In an attempt to help her see a new path for herself, Shean’s mentor sends her on a journey to the remote village called Web, urging her to glean some wisdom from Ikiisa, a reclusive and well-respected guard dollmaker. But Shean has another plan: if she can convince the village of Web of her talents, the Licensor Guild will have to reconsider and grant her a guard’s license. And what better way to convince them than challenging Ikiisa and instating herself as the official dollmaker of Web? Once she’s done that, proving her dolls’ worth in the fight against the Shod will be simple. As simple, that is, as calling the Shod to Web. Mistress of Lies (Age of Blood #1) — K. M. Enright (Orbit)The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge. Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he’s drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he’s worked so hard to avoid – and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king. Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Blood Worker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan’s plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul. Lady Macbeth — Ava Reid (Del Rey)The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men. The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed. The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive. But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world. She does not know this yet. But she will. The Doors of Midnight (Tremaine #2) — R.R. Virdi (Tor Books)Some stories are hidden for a reason. All tales have a price. And every debt must be paid. I killed three men as a child and earned the name Bloodletter. Then I set fire to the fabled Ashram. I’ve been a bird and robbed a merchant king of a ransom of gold. And I have crossed desert sands and cutthroat alleys to repay my debt. I’ve stood before the eyes of god, faced his judgement, and cast aside the thousand arrows that came with it. And I have passed through the Doors of Midnight and lived to tell the tale. I have traded one hundred and one stories with a creature as old as time, and survived with only my cleverness, a candle, and a broken promise. And most recently of all, I have killed a prince, though the stories say I have killed more than one. My name is Ari. These are my legends. And these are my lies. August 20 Bad Witches — H. B. Akumiah (Blackstone)The Witch Sphere is in turmoil. In the years since a stunning betrayal sent shockwaves through society, the Sphere was hit with a crisis: witches are giving birth to more typics (non-witches) and their numbers are diminishing. Nadia is determined to help but finds her efforts at the Witch Health Organization entangled with the political machinations of her powerful mother. A public relations assistant, a teacher, and a former child star walk into a bar bathroom… On what happens to be all of their twenty-second birthday and, like many twentysomethings, become fast tipsy friends. But unlike most twentysomethings, their night of partying ends with an accidental act of magic. Suddenly, Maya, Gabbie, and Delali find themselves thrust into a world of spells and potions with only a mysterious mentor as a guide. As the girls learn to harness their new power, Nadia starts to notice spikes in the magic baseline and suspects an unknown cadre of witches may be the key to solving the Typic Crisis. Can this unlikely coven come together and save the Sphere or are there darker forces at play? Either way these Bad Witches are going to find a way to have some fun. A Darkness Returns (Dragonwar #1)— Raymond E. Feist (Harper Voyager)Hatushaly, last scion of the Firemane dynasty; his beloved Hava, and their dubious friend Donte have been transported across space and time from their war-torn world of Garn to the relative peace of Midkemia. There, on Sorcerer’s Isle, under the guidance of the great magician Magnus and his reincarnated father Pug, Hatu will explore and expand his unique magical abilities: for if Garn is to be saved, they will be needed. With the evil Pride Lords defeated, the Church of the One has risen to bring death and destruction to Hatu’s home world. The kingdom of Ilcomen has fallen, and now the Church is sending forces to Marquensas, where Daylon Dumarch has declared himself king, and master swordsmith Declan Smith finds himself suddenly raised to the status of prince and war commander. But there are even greater menaces than the Church of the One waiting in the wings, beings from the Void, creatures born of Darkness. Asunder — Kerstin Hall (Tordotcom Publishing)Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended. Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts. And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due. Blackheart Man — Nalo Hopkinson (Saga Press)Veycosi, in training as a griot (an historian and musician), hopes to sail off to examine the rare Alamat Book of Light and thus secure a spot for himself on Chynchin’s Colloquium of scholars. However, unexpected events prevent that from happening. Fifteen Ymisen galleons arrive in the harbor to force a trade agreement on Chynchin. Veycosi tries to help, hoping to prove himself with a bold move, but quickly finds himself in way over his head. Bad turns to worse when malign forces start stirring. Pickens (children) are disappearing and an ancient invading army, long frozen into piche (tar) statues by island witches is stirring to life—led by the fearsome demon known as the Blackheart Man. Veycosi has problems in his polyamorous personal life, too. How much trouble can a poor student take? Or cause all by himself as the line between myth and history blends in this delightfully sly tale by one of greatest novelists. The Full Moon Coffee Shop — Mai Mochizuki, tr. Jesse Kirkwood (Ballantine)In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and it seemingly appears at random. It’s also run by talking cats. While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes and coffees and teas, the cats also consult their star charts, offering cryptic wisdom, and letting them know where their lives veered off course. Every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. For a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the coffee shop’s feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. For there is a very special reason the shop appeared to each of them Voyage of the Damned — Frances White (Mira Books)For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor’s ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess’s Mountain. Aboard are the twelve heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing. All except one: Ganymedes Piscero—class clown, slacker and all-around disappointment. When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes’s odds of survival are slim. But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia Or will the empire as he knows it fall? August 27 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) — Sarah Rees Brennan (Orbit)When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page. Dungeon Crawler Carl — Matt Dinniman (Ace)You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what. Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game-like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show. Between Dragons and Their Wrath (Shattered Kingdom #1) — Devin Madson (Orbit)Conquest built the Celes Basin, now enemies once more threaten its borders. But when the Lord Reacher declares himself supreme ruler to enforce unity, old angers erupt, threatening to tear the basin apart from within. Tesha, a glassblower’s apprentice with a talent for poisonwork, becomes a false tribute bride as part of a desperate political plot. In the Reacher’s court, she’s perfectly placed to sabotage him, but her heart has other plans. Naili is laundress to an eccentric alchemist, a job that has left her with strange new abilities that are slowly consuming her—and attracting the notice of the city’s underground rulers. With time running out, she’ll have to gain power by any means just to survive, let alone change the world.  And in the desolate Shield Mountains, sharp-shooting dragon rider Ashadi protects the basin from the monsters of The Sands beyond, but when an impossible shot pierces his dragon’s glass scales, he becomes the hunted one. As chaos sweeps across the land, Tesha, Naili, and Ashadi must fight to survive political enemies, long-buried secrets, and monsters both within and without.    The Crimson Crown (Crimson Crown #1) — Heather Walter (Del Rey)Legends tell of a witch who became a queen—the heartless villain in the story of Snow White. But now the wicked queen is stepping out of Snow White’s shadow to become the heroine of her own legend. Her real “once upon a time” begins when she is just Ayleth, a young witch who lives in the forest with her coven. The witches practice their magic in secret, hiding from the White King and his brutal war against witchcraft. Ayleth, however, faces a war of her own. Her magical gifts have yet to reveal themselves, and as the threat of the Royal Huntsmen intensifies, Ayleth fears she will never become the witch her coven needs. To prove herself, Ayleth sets out on a perilous quest that sends her to the White Palace, a decadent world of drama and deceit. There, Ayleth encounters an unlikely figure from her past: Jacquetta, a witch who once held Ayleth’s heart—and betrayed her. As events at the palace escalate, Ayleth finds herself caught in the web of the White King, whose dark charisma is as dangerous as the sinister force that seems to be haunting the palace—and perhaps even Ayleth herself. With the threat of discovery looming, Ayleth and Jacquetta must set aside the wounds of their past and work together to survive. As she uncovers the secrets of the White Court—and those of her own heart—Ayleth must find the strength to transform into someone she never imagined she could be. A powerful witch, the very wickedest of them all. The post All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in August 2024 appeared first on Reactor.

Whether the drag queens on display in Paris were intentionally mocking the Last Supper or celebrating the pagan god of indulgence, one thing is certain: The spectacle was French. The same ceremony depicted Marie Antoinette holding her severed head while singing a revolutionary anthem.The revolution in France in 1789 was as much a rejection of the church as it was of the monarchy. As the French writer and forerunner of the revolution Denis Diderot declared: “Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” The political revolution in France ended in bloody failure and a return to tyranny under Napoleon. Yet the cultural revolution survived and was on full display in Paris just a few nights ago.Although symbolic gestures like the opening ceremony of the Olympics often garner the most attention, real-world policy initiatives springing from the same ideological roots can go overlooked by comparison. Currently, in Switzerland, parents of a teenage girl who expressed “gender confusion” find themselves in court for declining puberty blockers and explicitly rejecting the local school’s attempt to “socially transition” their daughter.For seeking to protect the health and well-being of their daughter, 16, these parents now face a legal standoff over their fundamental right to care for their child who, after being removed from her parents’ home, resides in a government shelter. She is being encouraged to pursue dangerous, life-altering, and irreversible medical procedures to “transition.” Alliance Defending Freedom International is supporting her parents’ legal defense.By contrast, in the United Kingdom, the High Court has declared the government’s ban on so-called puberty blockers to be lawful. The National Health Service in Great Britain, once on the forefront of Orwellian “gender-affirming care,” wisely has reversed course and returned to evidence-based medicine. This turn reflects the wisdom of English author and theologian C.S. Lewis, who declared: “If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”Here in the U.S., there are more examples of the politicization of health care and the prioritization of ideology over science, medical ethics, and common sense. Unsurprisingly, California provides one of the most recent. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed into law AB 1955, a bill banning schools from ensuring that parents are notified if a child “identifies” as the opposite sex. The message is clear: The state of California will usurp parental authority under the guise of “compassion” if parents don’t agree with the state’s preferred viewpoint.Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration continues its attack on the privacy, safety, and equality of educational opportunity for women and girls by attempting to eviscerate Title IX. Thankfully, all five federal district courts where Alliance Defending Freedom challenged the attempt to convert the word “sex” to “gender identity” have ruled against the government. The Biden-Harris administration has appealed two of these injunctions to higher courts, where they await emergency rulings at the U.S. Supreme Court.As the legal battles play out in courts around the U.S. and the world, the court of public opinion will be in session again daily in the media and the broader culture. That court is never in recess.So, all eyes will be on the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics to see whether any lessons have been learned. Those responsible for the opening ceremony of the Games did eventually apologize, once it became clear that efforts to gaslight the world into believing it was merely a misunderstanding by oversensitive, uneducated Christians had fallen flat.The controversy surrounding the opening ceremony is a microcosm of the global divide over trans ideology. Too many cultural elites have chosen the side of revolution against objective truth and the created order. But every revolution against reality is doomed to fail. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Olympic Opening Ceremony a Microcosm of Global Divide Over Trans Ideology appeared first on The Daily Signal.

New Trump Ad: 'Chief Weirdo Tim Walz'

By Thursday, May 28, 2020, riots had plagued the city of Minneapolis for over three days. The Black Lives Matter rioters focused much of their attention on the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct as officer Derek Chauvin, who was later convicted of killing George Floyd, had been assigned to that station.The day after the video of George Floyd being arrested by Chauvin went viral, May 25, rioters attacked the 3rd Precinct and would continue to do so until the thinly stretched officers were ordered to evacuate the building on Thursday. As scenes of their retreat and the fire that consumed the front of the station were blasted across the American media, many people were asking: Where is the Minnesota National Guard? — (@) While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) received much-deserved criticism for how his administration handled the widespread riots, the decision to deploy a state's National Guard rests on either the president or the governor.'The fall of the 3rd Precinct, and damage to surrounding areas, had set the tone for the rest of country during that turbulent period.'In 2020, Frey told the Star Tribune that Governor Tim Walz (D) and his administration had dithered as the situation across from St. Paul continued to deteriorate. "We expressed the seriousness of the situation. The urgency was clear," Frey said about a phone call he had with Walz on Wednesday, May 27. "[Walz] did not say yes. He said he would consider it."Frey said he had asked the governor's office whether his verbal request for National Guard troops was considered a formal request. Walz's office said it was but then later walked that back, saying the state needed a plan on how soldiers were to be used.A group chat with staffers from Frey's office said Walz was "hesitating" about deploying the Guard."Walz was not only complicit, but many at MPD believe he was one of main reasons they had to watch one of their precincts burn in 2020, while being forced to abandon it," a Minneapolis police officer who served during the BLM riots told Blaze Media.Members of Minnesota's National Guard were fully deployed on Friday, the May 29, the day after the 3rd Precinct was evacuated and burned. However, it was clear they were given orders to engage with rioters as little as possible. This was exemplified when a curfew was announced to people who had gathered at the National Guard and police perimeter near the 3rd Precinct. The curfew's announcement caused the crowd to start attacking the security perimeter. Instead of holding their ground, the guardsmen and officers withdrew from the area entirely, using tear gas to cover their retreat. — (@) The rioters were once again in control of the area around the 3rd Precinct and followed law enforcement down Lake Avenue in an attempt to burn down the 5th Precinct, but they were unsuccessful. Instead, rioters turned their attention to looting and burning buildings on the rest of Lake Street.The fall of the 3rd Precinct and the damage to surrounding areas had set the tone for the rest of country during that turbulent period. It signaled to those on the far-left that if they put enough pressure and had the numbers, they could get U.S. police officers to abandon their stations. That strategy was nearly replicated in Seattle a few days later, when then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) ordered Seattle police to leave the East Precinct after days of rioting outside. The order led to the creation of the infamous "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone," also known as the "Capitol Hill Occupy Protest." "If there’s a silver lining to this [Walz] nomination," a Minneapolis police officer told Blaze Media, "it’s that the rest of the county, and world, will finally get to hear the truth of his complete failure of leadership, and abandonment of his LEOs during the 2020 riots."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Human remains that were set on fire and — according to sources close to the investigation — at least partially dismembered were found in a shopping cart Monday morning in Yonkers, New York.That led investigators to a gruesome scene at a kitchen in the Bronx, according to officials. 'We want to make sure we're doing everything right.'Yonkers Police said officers were called about a fire underneath the Oak Street Bridge over the Bronx River Parkway just before 2 a.m. When firefighters with the Mount Vernon Fire Department responded, they put out the fire and then discovered the human remains in a shopping cart.Yonkers police determined the body “had been placed in a shopping cart and apparently set on fire at that location," News12 Westchester reported.Sources close to the investigation told WABC-TV the body was at least partially dismembered, but the station added that a Yonkers Police spokesperson refused to confirm that information.Police told News12 Westchester that media reports regarding the body having been dismembered were premature and that information couldn’t be determined because of the fire.Officials also said the condition of the remains makes it extremely difficult to determine the cause of death. They also said it was unclear whether the person had been killed at the scene or killed somewhere else and brought to the scene.Investigators said Tuesday that they found human remains in a kitchen of a residence on Rogers Place in the Bronx and indicated they believe those remains are related to those found burning in Yonkers. The two locations are about eight miles apart. Authorities also reported finding drug paraphernalia and a gun in the bedroom of the Bronx residence. WNBC reported that a high-ranking NYPD source said investigators obtained video of a man pushing a shopping cart onto a Metro-North train in the Bronx that appeared to match the shopping cart later found burning in Yonkers.That same official told WNBC that the body found burning had its teeth knocked out and its hands missing, implying that someone was trying to prevent identification of the victim. Police said they had not yet ascertained the victim's identity, gender, or age. The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the victim's cause of death."This is at the border of a couple of jurisdictions here, so we want to make sure we're doing everything right, collecting all the evidence possible," said Detective Sergeant Frank Didomizio.Police said their investigation was ongoing and no one had yet been arrested. They were seeking witnesses and reviewing security video from the area.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!