Chapter 28 & Epilogue: Worst Birthday Ever & Unloved
Hello, and welcome back to our irregularly scheduled nonsense!
Last time, we got to read a summary of stuff we've already read, and learned why Ren's been acting so strangely--he has amnesia!
You know, only the worst dramatic trope I can think of! This is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but I absolutely cannot stand it when a character gets amnesia. It just feels like the author couldn't think of what to do with the character next, so instead of developing their character or making them do anything interesting, we end up just wasting a whole bunch of time trying to get their memories back instead of doing anything actually productive. It's one of the reasons I couldn't really get into Heroes of Olympus--the main character had amnesia.
Part of my feelings towards the whole amnesia trope is a me thing, but part of it is completely justified, I think. Like I said above, it wastes time retreading things the audience already knows, and you all have already seen how much I hate reading summaries of stuff that's already happened in real time in the story. More importantly, if the amnesia pops up at any time other than the very beginning of a story as an inciting incident (which is possible to squeak by as good, as is the case in Heroes of Olympus), it completely obliterates any of the earned character development we've seen up until then. The character backslides completely, which makes all of their hard work and successes basically worthless. Which just isn't satisfying to read.
That being said, I think amnesia at the end of a story (as in, the end of a series and not the end of one of the books in the middle) can be effective if done correctly. Spoilers for Gravity Falls below.
I recently watched Gravity Falls, which is honestly just a really good show. And, yeah, it has amnesia in it, but it's used sparingly and very well. There's literally an amnesia gun, which is comedic when it shows up (and also explains why Gravity Falls is so weird, but no one has noticed!) but eventually becomes important to the actual Plot. The reason why I'm okay with how it's used in the last episode is that it's an integral part of Stan's character development, rather than a reset to a clean slate. It's important that Stan chose to give himself amnesia in order to protect his family and save the world from Bill. Bonus points for the fact that it doesn't even stick in the first place, which means my other complaints don't apply!
Spoilers over.
Ren did choose to do it to himself, but it's not character development that way. We already know that he'd sacrifice himself to save Kelsey, because that's how he got in the situation in the first place. So now we just get to waste time until the inevitable "my memory has been jogged and now I remember everything!" scene, which takes until...*checks book three*...oof, we're gonna have to wait a while.
Anyway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Worst Birthday Ever
Look forward to a whole chapter of Kelsey whining!
We pick up immediately after Ren asks Kelsey who she is. Despite the fact that it's been pretty obvious that he has no idea who she is, Kelsey still takes a while to get what Ren's saying.
"How can you express love for me when I've never laid eyes on you before?"
Guess Ren's amnesia also makes him unable to talk normally.
I touched his forehead. "Are you feverish? Is something wrong? Did you get hit in the head?"
Kelsey, however, does not have amnesia, and does not have the same excuse for not talking normally. No one talks like this.
Kelsey has a minor panic attack (which is rendered as the word "no" appearing six times in a row, and that's it, because writing emotions and feelings is hard). She says that Lokesh must have done something to him and calls for Mr. Kadam and Kishan.
Hey, Kelsey? Remember when you had that dream, and you told Ren to make that deal with Durga, which he didn't want to do? And then immediately after that you made it very clear that your ~connection~ with him disappeared and you were so afraid you died you were basically catatonic? You think maybe it has something to do with that?
Nah.
Turns out Mr. Kadam and Kishan have known about the amnesia for a while now, and just haven't told Kelsey for Reasons. Because they suck. Seriously, why was this their plan? They couldn't have pulled Kelsey aside and said, "Hey, your boyfriend doesn't remember who you are, keep that in mind when you go talk to him?" Dumb.
Kelsey tries to remind Ren about their history by telling him (and therefore me, by extention--goodie) about how she rescued him from the circus. He says he remembers escaping from the circus himself, to which Kelsey points out that he could have done that centuries ago if he could do it himself.
He also doesn't remember going with Kelsey to see Phet, but he does remember arguing with Mr. Kadam about going to see Phet. He also remembers going to Kishkindha alone, and all the stuff he did in Oregon--fighting Li, going to Tillamook, college, etc.--but not Kelsey at all.
Mr. Kadam comforts Kelsey by saying that it's possible it's temporary, but Kelsey is pretty convinced it was Lokesh. Mr. Kadam says he'll contact Phet to see if he knows an "herbal remedy" that can cure Plot Amnesia.
Ren peaces out, and Kelsey decides to go up to her room. Kishan catches up to her on the stairs, and she cries into his shoulder (a very romantic scene for all the Kishan fangirls, I'm sure), who gets her into bed and comforts her for a bit. Eventually Nilima takes his place, because she remembered that she was a character in this novel, and tries to get Kelsey to eat something. Kelsey refuses, and Nilima brushes her hair.
It comforted me and reminded me of my mother.
Real subtle.
Nilima says that even if he doesn't get his memory back, he'll probably fall in love with her again anyway. I guess Houck wanted to write book one again. Ugh.
Kelsey gets out of bed and goes downstairs, where she runs into Kishan. He says that he'll help her to work with Ren to get his memory back, which Kelsey notes must have been hard for him to say. Not that she's grateful or anything. Kishan hugs her, and then Ren walks into the room! But he doesn't care, which makes Kelsey sad. So she and Kishan go to watch Indiana Jones. Yeah, it's that sudden and random in the actual book.
Later that night, Kelsey finds Ren up in the veranda by her room. Don't worry, he's starting to look hot again:
His bruises were almost gone, and his hair had been washed and cut. He dressed in casual designer clothes, but his feet were bare.
Always remember that Ren is rich.
Even though he's looking comparatively hotter, he still looks pretty beat up despite his Wolverine healing factor. His feet look bruised because Lokesh liked to break them over and over again, and he has a large cut on his arm that's healing from when Lokesh decided to see if he'd survive without any blood.
This is supposed to shock us with how Evul Lokesh is, but it's just making me question what Lokesh actually wanted. I thought Lokesh captured Ren so that he could get information out of him, and the torture was a way to get him to talk. But no, I guess Lokesh just really likes torturing people. But then why try to lure Kishan in with the Baiga? Which had no guarantee of working because they only knew the Baiga were involved because Kelsey had a vision that Lokesh couldn't predict could happen?
I think I've confused myself in trying to figure this one out.
Pro-tip: make sure your villains have actual concrete plans when you write them. You don't even have to spell out what they are for the audience, but just make sure they act consistently. Otherwise it turns into a mess that makes your villain look like an idiot.
Anyway, Ren says that Kishan filled him in on who Kelsey is and how Ren sacrificed himself so that she and Kishan could get away. Kelsey says that he was very "chivalrous," which he dismisses. Kelsey asks what Lokesh did to him, and Ren says that she's too "fragile," which annoys Kelsey, so he amends it to "pure" and "innocent," which to me doesn't seem much better.
Isn't all this really exciting and not boring at all?
Anyway, it's time for the Clip Show, where Kelsey tries to jog his memory. It's not terribly subtle, either:
"Do you feel well enough to revisit some memories?"
Ughhhhhh
Anyway, we get a short summary of how Kelsey took care of him as a tiger in the circus, and how she used to read to him. He remembers the cat poem she read, and he asks to see her journal, as that might help him more than just talking about it. She warns him that there's lots of icky girly emotions in it, because their relationship wasn't exactly smooth at the beginning. He quotes Midsummer Night's Dream at her:
He smiled. "'The course of true love never did run smooth.'"
"When did you read Midsummer Night's Dream?"
"I haven't. I studied a book of famous Shakespeare quotes in school."
Is this Houck admitting that she just picks quotes that sound cool instead of trying to tie the reference into something going on thematically? I think it might be!
Ren randomly says that Mr. Kadam told him her parents are dead, and compares their situation to that. He says it would be natural for her to be uncomfortable if people told her that people she didn't know had high hopes and expectations for her, which is the same situation between Ren and Kelsey now. Hey, Houck, stop trying to make me see Ren and Kelsey's relationship as parental, it's weird!!!
He apologizes for making her feel bad, but it's just that there's a lot for him to think over, and that he'll try his best to remember who she is.
Over the next week, Kelsey makes some cookies for him, which he enjoys until she tells him why they're special. Don't worry, because Kishan eats the rest of them, hurr hurr.
The next day, everyone surprises Kelsey with a birthday cake, because she's completely forgotten it's her birthday! She's nineteen now, yay! Kishan calls her a "baby," which is more creepy than charming. Thanks, Houck!
They all use the Golden Fruit to make dinner for themselves, because using it to help starving people is Lame. Hey, are you at all invested in what Kelsey's birthday presents are? No? Too bad! Nilima gets her some perfume, and Kishan says she smells better without it, because he's a weirdo. Ren says it smells nice, which makes Kelsey sad. Mr. Kadam got her a new car, and Kelsey spends an entire page trying to get him to tell her how expensive it was so she knows how angry she has to get at him for spending money on her. It's about $450,000, so Kelsey refuses to drive it. They eventually compromise and agree to share it. Comedy?
Kelsey really likes Kishan's present--he used the Scarf to make a replica of her fairy dress, and even though the flowers aren't real it looks almost identical to the real thing.
Ren got her socks. This was funny, until I remembered that there was a line earlier in the book when Kelsey said Ren should have gotten her socks instead of the expensive gift he actually got her, so this is some Very Subtle Dramatic Irony.
Time for cake! It's peach-flavored, and it turns out Mr. Kadam and Nilima made it from scratch instead of using the Golden Fruit for Reasons. They also have some peaches-and-cream ice cream from Tillamook, because that's the closest thing we have to symbolism in this book. Ice cream.
Mr. Kadam said that it wasn't his idea and that they'd been planning it for a while, obviously referring to plans he'd made with Ren before the whole Lokesh/amnesia incident. Hilariously, Mr. Kadam tries to distract her by lecturing her about peach symbolism in China. Oh God, he's become self-aware!
Ren says he doesn't like the peaches-and-cream ice cream, and asks to get some more of the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.
Yeah, this is the big dramatic sting of the chapter--Ren doesn't like the ice cream that symbolizes their relationship, Oh Noes!!!
This is officially Too Much for Kelsey, so she runs out of the dining room in tears.
In the midst of what should have been heaven, surrounded by the people I loved, celebrating the day of my birth, I was experiencing my own private hell.
BOOO HOOO HOOOOO LIFE IS SO HAAAAARD
As I went upstairs, I heard Kishan threatening Ren. Suspiciously, he asked, "What did you do?"
I heard Ren's soft reply, "I don't know."
That's the end of the chapter. Again, I'm combining this with the short epilogue because nothing really...happens in it. Also, I really, really want to just finish up this dang book.
Epilogue: Unloved
Lmaoooo that's a really funny title.
Again, like the epilogue in Tiger's Curse, I'm not really sure why this is separated out into an epilogue. It's just a shorter version of a regular chapter, so it could have easily been added onto the end of Chapter 28, which was also pretty short. But I guess having an epilogue is more ~impressive~ or something, so here we are.
Kelsey thinks about how dumb she's being, getting upset over little things like socks and ice cream. But now she's the only one who knows how significant those are, so she's sad.
I despaired.
See, I told you.
Last time, we got to read a summary of stuff we've already read, and learned why Ren's been acting so strangely--he has amnesia!
You know, only the worst dramatic trope I can think of! This is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but I absolutely cannot stand it when a character gets amnesia. It just feels like the author couldn't think of what to do with the character next, so instead of developing their character or making them do anything interesting, we end up just wasting a whole bunch of time trying to get their memories back instead of doing anything actually productive. It's one of the reasons I couldn't really get into Heroes of Olympus--the main character had amnesia.
Part of my feelings towards the whole amnesia trope is a me thing, but part of it is completely justified, I think. Like I said above, it wastes time retreading things the audience already knows, and you all have already seen how much I hate reading summaries of stuff that's already happened in real time in the story. More importantly, if the amnesia pops up at any time other than the very beginning of a story as an inciting incident (which is possible to squeak by as good, as is the case in Heroes of Olympus), it completely obliterates any of the earned character development we've seen up until then. The character backslides completely, which makes all of their hard work and successes basically worthless. Which just isn't satisfying to read.
That being said, I think amnesia at the end of a story (as in, the end of a series and not the end of one of the books in the middle) can be effective if done correctly. Spoilers for Gravity Falls below.
I recently watched Gravity Falls, which is honestly just a really good show. And, yeah, it has amnesia in it, but it's used sparingly and very well. There's literally an amnesia gun, which is comedic when it shows up (and also explains why Gravity Falls is so weird, but no one has noticed!) but eventually becomes important to the actual Plot. The reason why I'm okay with how it's used in the last episode is that it's an integral part of Stan's character development, rather than a reset to a clean slate. It's important that Stan chose to give himself amnesia in order to protect his family and save the world from Bill. Bonus points for the fact that it doesn't even stick in the first place, which means my other complaints don't apply!
Spoilers over.
Ren did choose to do it to himself, but it's not character development that way. We already know that he'd sacrifice himself to save Kelsey, because that's how he got in the situation in the first place. So now we just get to waste time until the inevitable "my memory has been jogged and now I remember everything!" scene, which takes until...*checks book three*...oof, we're gonna have to wait a while.
Anyway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Worst Birthday Ever
Look forward to a whole chapter of Kelsey whining!
We pick up immediately after Ren asks Kelsey who she is. Despite the fact that it's been pretty obvious that he has no idea who she is, Kelsey still takes a while to get what Ren's saying.
"How can you express love for me when I've never laid eyes on you before?"
Guess Ren's amnesia also makes him unable to talk normally.
I touched his forehead. "Are you feverish? Is something wrong? Did you get hit in the head?"
Kelsey, however, does not have amnesia, and does not have the same excuse for not talking normally. No one talks like this.
Kelsey has a minor panic attack (which is rendered as the word "no" appearing six times in a row, and that's it, because writing emotions and feelings is hard). She says that Lokesh must have done something to him and calls for Mr. Kadam and Kishan.
Hey, Kelsey? Remember when you had that dream, and you told Ren to make that deal with Durga, which he didn't want to do? And then immediately after that you made it very clear that your ~connection~ with him disappeared and you were so afraid you died you were basically catatonic? You think maybe it has something to do with that?
Nah.
Turns out Mr. Kadam and Kishan have known about the amnesia for a while now, and just haven't told Kelsey for Reasons. Because they suck. Seriously, why was this their plan? They couldn't have pulled Kelsey aside and said, "Hey, your boyfriend doesn't remember who you are, keep that in mind when you go talk to him?" Dumb.
Kelsey tries to remind Ren about their history by telling him (and therefore me, by extention--goodie) about how she rescued him from the circus. He says he remembers escaping from the circus himself, to which Kelsey points out that he could have done that centuries ago if he could do it himself.
He also doesn't remember going with Kelsey to see Phet, but he does remember arguing with Mr. Kadam about going to see Phet. He also remembers going to Kishkindha alone, and all the stuff he did in Oregon--fighting Li, going to Tillamook, college, etc.--but not Kelsey at all.
Mr. Kadam comforts Kelsey by saying that it's possible it's temporary, but Kelsey is pretty convinced it was Lokesh. Mr. Kadam says he'll contact Phet to see if he knows an "herbal remedy" that can cure Plot Amnesia.
Ren peaces out, and Kelsey decides to go up to her room. Kishan catches up to her on the stairs, and she cries into his shoulder (a very romantic scene for all the Kishan fangirls, I'm sure), who gets her into bed and comforts her for a bit. Eventually Nilima takes his place, because she remembered that she was a character in this novel, and tries to get Kelsey to eat something. Kelsey refuses, and Nilima brushes her hair.
It comforted me and reminded me of my mother.
Real subtle.
Nilima says that even if he doesn't get his memory back, he'll probably fall in love with her again anyway. I guess Houck wanted to write book one again. Ugh.
Kelsey gets out of bed and goes downstairs, where she runs into Kishan. He says that he'll help her to work with Ren to get his memory back, which Kelsey notes must have been hard for him to say. Not that she's grateful or anything. Kishan hugs her, and then Ren walks into the room! But he doesn't care, which makes Kelsey sad. So she and Kishan go to watch Indiana Jones. Yeah, it's that sudden and random in the actual book.
Later that night, Kelsey finds Ren up in the veranda by her room. Don't worry, he's starting to look hot again:
His bruises were almost gone, and his hair had been washed and cut. He dressed in casual designer clothes, but his feet were bare.
Always remember that Ren is rich.
Even though he's looking comparatively hotter, he still looks pretty beat up despite his Wolverine healing factor. His feet look bruised because Lokesh liked to break them over and over again, and he has a large cut on his arm that's healing from when Lokesh decided to see if he'd survive without any blood.
This is supposed to shock us with how Evul Lokesh is, but it's just making me question what Lokesh actually wanted. I thought Lokesh captured Ren so that he could get information out of him, and the torture was a way to get him to talk. But no, I guess Lokesh just really likes torturing people. But then why try to lure Kishan in with the Baiga? Which had no guarantee of working because they only knew the Baiga were involved because Kelsey had a vision that Lokesh couldn't predict could happen?
I think I've confused myself in trying to figure this one out.
Pro-tip: make sure your villains have actual concrete plans when you write them. You don't even have to spell out what they are for the audience, but just make sure they act consistently. Otherwise it turns into a mess that makes your villain look like an idiot.
Anyway, Ren says that Kishan filled him in on who Kelsey is and how Ren sacrificed himself so that she and Kishan could get away. Kelsey says that he was very "chivalrous," which he dismisses. Kelsey asks what Lokesh did to him, and Ren says that she's too "fragile," which annoys Kelsey, so he amends it to "pure" and "innocent," which to me doesn't seem much better.
Isn't all this really exciting and not boring at all?
Anyway, it's time for the Clip Show, where Kelsey tries to jog his memory. It's not terribly subtle, either:
"Do you feel well enough to revisit some memories?"
Ughhhhhh
Anyway, we get a short summary of how Kelsey took care of him as a tiger in the circus, and how she used to read to him. He remembers the cat poem she read, and he asks to see her journal, as that might help him more than just talking about it. She warns him that there's lots of icky girly emotions in it, because their relationship wasn't exactly smooth at the beginning. He quotes Midsummer Night's Dream at her:
He smiled. "'The course of true love never did run smooth.'"
"When did you read Midsummer Night's Dream?"
"I haven't. I studied a book of famous Shakespeare quotes in school."
Is this Houck admitting that she just picks quotes that sound cool instead of trying to tie the reference into something going on thematically? I think it might be!
Ren randomly says that Mr. Kadam told him her parents are dead, and compares their situation to that. He says it would be natural for her to be uncomfortable if people told her that people she didn't know had high hopes and expectations for her, which is the same situation between Ren and Kelsey now. Hey, Houck, stop trying to make me see Ren and Kelsey's relationship as parental, it's weird!!!
He apologizes for making her feel bad, but it's just that there's a lot for him to think over, and that he'll try his best to remember who she is.
Over the next week, Kelsey makes some cookies for him, which he enjoys until she tells him why they're special. Don't worry, because Kishan eats the rest of them, hurr hurr.
The next day, everyone surprises Kelsey with a birthday cake, because she's completely forgotten it's her birthday! She's nineteen now, yay! Kishan calls her a "baby," which is more creepy than charming. Thanks, Houck!
They all use the Golden Fruit to make dinner for themselves, because using it to help starving people is Lame. Hey, are you at all invested in what Kelsey's birthday presents are? No? Too bad! Nilima gets her some perfume, and Kishan says she smells better without it, because he's a weirdo. Ren says it smells nice, which makes Kelsey sad. Mr. Kadam got her a new car, and Kelsey spends an entire page trying to get him to tell her how expensive it was so she knows how angry she has to get at him for spending money on her. It's about $450,000, so Kelsey refuses to drive it. They eventually compromise and agree to share it. Comedy?
Kelsey really likes Kishan's present--he used the Scarf to make a replica of her fairy dress, and even though the flowers aren't real it looks almost identical to the real thing.
Ren got her socks. This was funny, until I remembered that there was a line earlier in the book when Kelsey said Ren should have gotten her socks instead of the expensive gift he actually got her, so this is some Very Subtle Dramatic Irony.
Time for cake! It's peach-flavored, and it turns out Mr. Kadam and Nilima made it from scratch instead of using the Golden Fruit for Reasons. They also have some peaches-and-cream ice cream from Tillamook, because that's the closest thing we have to symbolism in this book. Ice cream.
Mr. Kadam said that it wasn't his idea and that they'd been planning it for a while, obviously referring to plans he'd made with Ren before the whole Lokesh/amnesia incident. Hilariously, Mr. Kadam tries to distract her by lecturing her about peach symbolism in China. Oh God, he's become self-aware!
Ren says he doesn't like the peaches-and-cream ice cream, and asks to get some more of the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.
Yeah, this is the big dramatic sting of the chapter--Ren doesn't like the ice cream that symbolizes their relationship, Oh Noes!!!
This is officially Too Much for Kelsey, so she runs out of the dining room in tears.
In the midst of what should have been heaven, surrounded by the people I loved, celebrating the day of my birth, I was experiencing my own private hell.
BOOO HOOO HOOOOO LIFE IS SO HAAAAARD
As I went upstairs, I heard Kishan threatening Ren. Suspiciously, he asked, "What did you do?"
I heard Ren's soft reply, "I don't know."
That's the end of the chapter. Again, I'm combining this with the short epilogue because nothing really...happens in it. Also, I really, really want to just finish up this dang book.
Epilogue: Unloved
Lmaoooo that's a really funny title.
Again, like the epilogue in Tiger's Curse, I'm not really sure why this is separated out into an epilogue. It's just a shorter version of a regular chapter, so it could have easily been added onto the end of Chapter 28, which was also pretty short. But I guess having an epilogue is more ~impressive~ or something, so here we are.
Kelsey thinks about how dumb she's being, getting upset over little things like socks and ice cream. But now she's the only one who knows how significant those are, so she's sad.
I despaired.
See, I told you.
She decides to go train in the dojo to get her mind off of things, but she overhears Kishan and Ren talking about her. Kishan tells Ren that he's hurting her, and that he's not trying hard enough. Ren says that there's something about her that's "off-putting."
"I can't really describe it. It's just that when I'm near her . . . I can't wait to get away. It's a relief when she's not around."
I'm glad Ren feels the same way I do.
Kishan says that he was in love with her before, and Ren says he can't see why. He does say that he would have preferred if it were Nilima he was in love with before, which makes Kishan angry because she's like their sister.
This epilogue is weird, guys.
Kishan gushes about how great Kelsey is for two whole paragraphs, which makes Ren realize that Kishan is in love with her.
"No man in his right mind wouldn't, which proves you aren't in your right mind,"
I know it's kind of late in the spork to ask this question again, but seriously, why is Kelsey so great??? Every single male character throws himself at her, and I have yet to see a single aspect of her personality that would justify this. They all talk about how kind and sweet she is, but she's constantly butting heads with them, insulting them, and pushing them away. I guess she's also just that Hawt.
Ren says that it's possible he led her on before, which Kishan argues against. This shows more about Ren than Houck lets on--he thinks it's perfectly likely that he would have led a girl on for months, because he's a massive dick. A far cry from the ~perfect gentleman~ that is constantly shoved down our throats.
He also says that he's read through all the poems he wrote for her while he was pining, and he doesn't understand why he wrote them. He also thinks it has to do with Lokesh, because every time he sees her he expects to be in pain. Kishan says he doesn't deserve Kelsey, and Ren agrees.
This makes Kelsey start crying again, and they notice that she's listening in.
Kelsey waxes poetic for two paragraphs about how her metaphorical love flowers for Ren have withered up and died. It's very overdramatic and overdone, and I hate it.
That night, Kelsey drives her new car to a nearby hill and goes stargazing. She thinks about how Ren used to be her North Star, but now he's gone and she feels lost. Some of her mom's advice comes back to her, about how even if you can't see the North Star doesn't mean it's not there, and that it's still shining somewhere. So Kelsey decides to hold onto some hope that they can get Ren's memories back.
I'd experienced loss.
Yeah, Kelsey decides to spell out that she's experiencing loss in the middle of her experiencing that loss. This is just plain bad writing, guys. We know. WE'RE READING IT.
She also thinks back to the Ocean Teacher's advice, to trust in Durga's plans even when they don't look like they suit what you want. So she resolves to be patient and just see what happens, even if she's unhappy about it.
I once told Ren that our story was't over.
And it's not.
Not yet.
And with that dramatic pronouncement, Tiger's Quest is officially over!
Closing Thoughts
I hate this book.
Tiger's Curse isn't good, and I think I've made some good arguments showing how it's actually pretty bad, but it doesn't make me angry. The pacing is bad, the writing is bad, the characters are bad, and the editing is bad, but it still tells a story, and even though I'm not a fan of this excuse, it was Houck's first novel. That's a huge accomplishment, so even if it's not good, the stuff that isn't good can just be chalked up to Houck being relatively inexperienced.
So you'd expect the second book to improve on those flaws, right? Well, every single thing that was bad about the first book is worse in this one.
The pacing is worse than in the first book, somehow. We waste so much time in Oregon for no reason. The climax keeps getting pushed off in favor of rehashing the same conversations over and over again, which kills any tension the book had managed to build up until that point.
The writing is worse than in the first book. We're treated to so many page-long, purple descriptions that boil down to one sentiment that just gets repeated in different ways, which is neither interesting nor insightful. The worldbuilding goes completely off the rails once they get to Shangri-la, and never really recovers. The prose swings back and forth between ultraviolet and beige like oatmeal, with little in between.
The characters are worse than in the first book. Ren isn't in most of it, but from what we saw of him in Oregon he's possessive and violent. Kishan is maybe the worst, and sends a lot of really bad messages about consent to the core demographic of impressionable teenage girls. I don't like to be all "think of the children!" but this book is egregious enough that it's forcing me to. Lokesh is in more of this book, at least, but Houck can't decide what kind of villain she wants him to be, so he's a weird combination of "cold and calculating" and "chaotic and crazy," which doesn't mesh well at all. The only thing he's really consistent about is that he just really likes torturing people.
The editing is still bad. Oh, it's slightly better than the first book in that there aren't any incoherent sentences or as many misspelled words, but there's still a ton of conflicting information, characters not remembering things that they said on the previous page, and a whole lot of little inaccuracies that just make me mad. There's no excuse.
So yeah. I had some positive things to say about Tiger's Curse when I finished that one up last time. I don't have anything positive to say about Tiger's Quest. I genuinely hate this book.
So anyway, I hope the people who have stuck with this spork so far enjoyed reading it! I'm looking forward to starting Tiger's Voyage, but it'll probably be a little while before I start. I'm still going through it and taking notes, which will probably take a bit of time to do. I also have finals coming up in the next month, so anything I post will be very sporadic.
That being said, I'm still planning on updating the blog between this and the start of Tiger's Voyage! I've started working on my review of Pestilence (which, uh, has been sitting in my drafts since about September, whoops), and I have some plans for a bit of an intermission. I'm diving into some fan content of the Tiger's Curse series, which I think could be pretty funny, and I have some thoughts about how to improve the series that I might post up here if I have the time.
Thanks for reading!
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