episode 4

Alrighty, well, let's put a bookmark in it so I can welcome you to the Fiction Corner. I'm your host, Brenna, and with us again today is my co-host, my partner in crime, Marissa. Welcome back. So, this past week we've read The Assassin in the Underworld, so this is the fourth novella out of five in The Assassin's Blade, so we are almost all the way through. This one was hard to not kind of peek ahead, but let's get into it. So, our debate topic for today is what are your thoughts about marking in books? Me and Marissa have had this talk before. I basically think it's sacrilegious to mark in a book. I will say I did it for school. I marked in all of my school books to kind of help me with that kind of stuff, but now my own books, it's painful for me to see other people do it. Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't think I ever mark in any of my personal books. I was the same way in school. I always used to do it because when we would analyze different books and stuff, it was just easier, but now I never do. I also hold my pages, but I don't ever write in them, like highlight or underline or take notes in them. But yeah, you definitely see that a lot on Instagram and stuff, people highlighting quotes and stuff. But yeah, no. If anything, I would just use a little sticky note or something to mark something if I really liked a quote or something. Yeah, I commented that on someone else's post. I could not do that. Just like, oh no, use the little sticky notes. I'm like, maybe? I don't know. I'm weird. I'm so weird. So the quote that we have for this week is by Ernest Hemingway, best known for The Sun Also Rises. So I'm definitely on the trend of quotes from authors that you probably don't read anymore, but were forced to read them during school. So you're welcome. But I thought this quote was super fitting for this section of the book. And it says, the best way you can find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. I think this is absolutely true, that there is no way you can or cannot trust someone until you actually give them a shot and be proven right or wrong. And I think that is both fortunate and unfortunate, that it gives everyone a blank slate when initially meeting someone, but at the same time, if they prove you wrong, you're kind of screwed over. So like I said, I thought this was a good, good intro for this section. What are your thoughts, Marissa? Yeah, definitely very appropriate for this section. There's a lot of, like, trust and obviously, Selena and her friendship that was, you know, essentially destroyed in the last novella. So just the, you know, wanting to trust someone, not knowing how to trust someone again, kind of thing and having to deal with those consequences, if that kind of blows up in your face. So, yeah, I mean, there's no other way to do it. You just have to trust and hope that everything works out. Hopefully you don't get screwed over, yeah, fingers crossed. All right. So jumping into this, this novella. Yeah. So today we are talking about the Assassin and the Underworld. So in this section, so essentially, we're, we're back in the Assassin's Keep back with Erebin, Selena's, like, master, essentially. He gives her an assignment, take out a man named Donneville, and he kind of presents it in an appealing way to her to make her agree to it by saying she gets to keep all the profit from the assignment. And also that this assignment will protect a large list of people who are against slavery. And it does accept this assignment. And Sam then helps her. And essentially, they take out Donneville, but then they kind of learn some things along the way. Yeah. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Yeah. It's just going over kind of their, their time back in the Keep and, you know, like Marissa said that that initial assignment and, you know, the, the unfoldings that occur with that assignment and, and the repercussions with it. One of the big things that I noticed was the past couple sections were very straightforward in how they were titled. So, you know, Assassin and the Pirate Lord, Assassin and the Healer, Assassin and the Desert. You know, you didn't really have to dig too deep on, oh, I wonder what this is about. But this one I definitely thought was interesting. It's called the Assassin in the Underworld. And I took this very literally originally. I was like, is she somehow going to go to hell? You know, what's, what's going to happen here? So it was definitely, I was just waiting for that to happen, thankfully, but yeah, what, what did you kind of think when you first saw the title? Yeah, I agree. I thought it was going to be an actual physical place at first, but then, yeah, after reading the section, I was thinking maybe it had something to do with her time in the sewers, like physically, like underground, underworld, maybe, either that, or maybe like, it's like, underworld is like the world of the dead. So like, maybe it's like a metaphor for like, Rifthold and like, the Assassin's Keep in her home. It's just like not being like, a good place to live anymore. And that basically, she needs to find her freedom from that and get out of there. Yeah, no, I love both of those. I was kind of on that, that same thought process, like between the sewers, because she did almost die during, during that scene, and then going back down there. And then definitely, you know, this company that she's keeping, or who these people that she's working for, that I do think it kind of wears it, her soul and who she is as an individual and kind of takes these little bits away from her, from Sam, and makes them into someone different. And so that was, you know, like I said, a very interesting way to title it, and kind of piqued my interest for sure. But definitely a lot happened in this section. So I'm going to try and break it down as much as possible, so we can kind of cover everything. So the first initial part is, you know, her coming back from the desert, re-meeting Erebon, and re-meeting Sam, and those interactions. Marissa, take it off. Yeah, so I was really nervous for her at first, like, I was super anxious throughout this section. I was just like, oh man, how's it going to be when she, like, interacts with Erebon for the first time again, after, you know, the last time she saw him, she's like beaten unconscious by him. Like, will he still hold some sort of, like, like grudge against her and Sam? Will there be more repercussions? So I was super nervous about that first meeting. I'm also super nervous about, like, you know, Selena's first meeting with Sam, like, will he, like, resent her for everything that happened? Like, what was his punishment? So that was like, I was just very like, oh gosh, I was like, felt like I was reading through it really fast. I was like, what's going to happen? What's going to happen? It's like, I just felt like there's a lot of tension. So yeah, I thought that was pretty good. And then obviously when, you know, she first talks to Erebon, like, Erebon really plays this, like, part of being really, like, nice and, like, trying to win her over, make her feel like she has the upper hand, all this stuff. And I just, he's just so sneaky. I just like, I don't trust him. So. Yeah, he definitely acts very remorseful. And I think one of the big things that Sarah Moss is good at is making you feel a certain way about a character. And we won't get into the whole Tamlin debate, but, you know, for Erebon, we're like, okay, maybe he is really remorseful and he feels bad about all this stuff. Like, should I be forgiving him? Which is terrible. Like, he just beat the crap out of her and sent her away. And now she's back. And like I said, I was starting to feel like, oh, like, yeah, he's not that bad. Like, geez, no, he's a terrible person. So that, yeah, I could not trust myself for this, this section. And then her, you know, initial interaction with Sam, I was very surprised by that. I thought it would go a little bit of a different way. But it's definitely starting to show like, oh, she does have like these deeper feelings. She's jealous of Lissandra and their interactions. And you know, we're starting to see what Sam's punishment was that, you know, he was also abused severely, but that he was kind of put on this glorified bodyguard duty with Lissandra. So it's not exactly as what it first appears as. But then, you know, the next thing that Erebon does is gives this very kind of lucrative offer to Selena, which he does something very abnormal of, okay, I'm going to give you this brand new, very nice suit. And I'm giving you the full pay for going in and taking down Donabelle. And it seems almost too good to be true that he's, you know, this slave trader and all of this stuff that it's like, oh, again, he's trying to do all these wonderful things to have Selena forgive him. Yeah, yeah. I thought that was crazy, too. I was like, I did not trust him for this part. Because I was just like, just like you said, it seems too good to be true. I feel like he's too much of a powerful person. Like he's the head of all the assassins. And he had his two best assassins basically go against him in the first novella. And I think he's, you know, trying to basically reassert his dominance over them, essentially, in a way, and trying to put them back in their place. So I was just very wary of everything that he was doing and saying. I was like, oh, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just nervous. Yeah, and I don't think at this point, because we kind of talked about, you know, I don't think she's officially said she's leaving yet. Like she keeps saying, oh, I'm going to tell him, I'm going to tell him. And so I think part of her accepting this was, okay, I'm going to have a little bit more money when I do tell him. But I felt like that was still very back and forth throughout this whole section of, or at least like the first half, that I wasn't sure if she really was going to leave. That, you know, she was dead set on it up until, oh, she gets back. Oh, she is remembering the life she had. Oh, she had this, you know, nice clothes, nice living situation. So I was like, okay, is she going to kind of give up her morals again for that? So I was curious about that. Yeah, especially because obviously, like, he knows how to play her too. Like Erebin's like giving her all these gifts. And again, kind of play into that, like how much she like loves her, her things, right? Her lavish lifestyle. But yeah, I mean, one thing that she did like call him, like, and mentioned when she like first saw him again, was like that line saying brother, father, and lover. It's kind of how she described him, which is kind of creepy. And very, I mean, just like the idea that like, he's like such a big part of her life. And so like, she definitely struggles with the idea of leaving him, even though she knows she's like in an abusive relationship, essentially, like the difficulty of leaving. Yeah. And, you know, he's become all of those things to her in a, like you said, a very creepy way. So it's like he literally has inserted himself into every facet of her life that like, she is breaking a family bond and this weird emotional lover bond. And so, you know, for her to leave, it's a lot more emotionally damaging for her than anything else. So it's a big step for her. Yeah. And I think when obviously we find out later that he essentially betrays her, I think that was like the final push to be like, OK, now I'm leaving. Like, there's, you know, nothing else really keeping me. He's kind of breaking, like broken all those ties. So I think that was like the big push for her, which I think as bad as it was to see happen to her, I think it needed to happen. Yeah. And she literally got screwed over in every way because then he was like, oh, and you don't get the money and you don't get this. And it was like, dude, come on. So the two big, you know, kind of reveals, one, which I thought was a little bit lesser because we kind of assumed it was coming, was Sam's big reveal that, you know, he loves her and cares about her, which I loved his sheet music gift to her. I thought that was just so adorable, you know, that it showed, hey, he's really paying attention to these little details about her and going out of his way in a very busy day to, you know, do these little things for her. And so that was very sweet to see. And then the second super big, painful reveal was, you know, that Donald was actually trying to stop the slaves, right? That he was creating this network of people to keep the slaves safe and had a co-conspirator who killed himself to keep information safe. And like I said, I unfortunately kind of fell into the Arabian trap of, you know, I don't feel like I should trust him, but I'm like trusting him again with this and that it's going to be OK. And he's, you know, keeping to his word. When I realized it was the moment Philip, the bodyguard, was like, you're on the wrong side. You know nothing. Which I immediately thought of Game of Thrones. I was like, you know nothing, Selena. So, but I think, Marissa, you kind of said that you were suspicious the whole time. Yeah. So for me, I just, I just never trusted Arabian. I just think he's like too powerful and he wants to keep that power and doesn't like that people are going against him in anything. And I think he definitely has thought that he can control Selena and Sam since they were kids. And now that he's like kind of losing some of that control, I think he doesn't know what to do. And I think he's like freaking out about that. So he's trying to regain that as much as possible. But I definitely think like, you know, he's trying to screw them over as much as possible and kind of let them know who's still in charge. So like, I just didn't trust him from the start. And even when he was like presenting the information like of the new assignment, I just kept seeing he's like, oh, he's just presenting this in a super appealing way. Like, oh, look, Selena, there's like this guy, you can go kill him. And he's like bad. And he like wants slavery to happen and like is doing these dealings and has this list of people and he's going to exploit them. And I think it's too perfect. Yeah, I was like, okay, this is like, really trying to like set up and like, kind of, I don't know, like, like, it's just it's Yeah, you're like you said, it's just too good. And I just like, I was I just don't believe him. He's not he has some sort of ulterior motive. I guess like my thought was like that he was going to use this list of people for his own gain in some way. So that was like my thought, like that he was going to use it for himself. But not necessarily that, like Donneville was a great person. I didn't, I didn't really think I have an opinion. Yeah, I feel like they kept like bringing up small characteristics about him where I'm like, Oh, he's like sleazy, like the, you know, having the women all hang over him and his relationship with his ex wife. And then like, you know, taking Selena down to the sewers to kill her. I was like, Oh, this is not a nice guy. Like, yeah, just to find out like, Oh, well, yeah, I'm like, Oh, shoot. Yeah, like, oh, judge you wrong. And then poor Philip, like, oh, I know. But yeah, I was I was sad about that. So Irvin obviously, you know, betrayed her in that. And then the next kind of thought process was that the money that she got, he then takes that and uses it for his own purposes. Like that was another, definitely another dig specifically at her using it for Lisandra. Because throughout the whole section, she talks about how much she dislikes this girl and, you know, that she's very trying to climb that ladder. And that's just, you know, they don't see it the same way. So what were what were your kind of thoughts with him taking the money that was now his and using it kind of against Selena again? Yeah, I feel like that was just like, really petty. Like, he's just like pissed. And like, he just does it to like, make her more angry, I feel like. And like, because he could have still used it and just not told her that he used it for that. But he like, he specifically made sure that she would know. And it's just like another stab, another wound. Like, geez, this guy is spiteful. Like, it's crazy. I definitely noticed that, you know, obviously, in the first two sections, we don't really get to meet him at all. That we just know, hey, he beat the crap out of Selena and Sam. And that's really all we get to look into him, that we don't know much about his actual personality. Obviously, he hasn't really created this family-friendly environment, but he is meant to be this powerful guy who, if you cross him, bad things are going to happen. So, not to sound bad, I couldn't entirely blame him for kind of restating that. Obviously, I still think it's bad that he abused both Selena and Sam. But I understood it at the same time. But definitely from this section, I was like, oh my gosh, he is as self-serving as humanly possible. But he does not care what happens to anyone else. He's like taking it way too far. Like, he's like taking it so personally. Yeah. Like, it's all about him. He's literally using all of his resources just to torment other people who have crossed him. It was definitely interesting to start to see his personality come out more and more. But it was so conflicting because half the time he'd be like, here are these nice things. I'm such a nice person. I just care about you. And then be like, oh, by the way, literally screwed you over in every single way. So, I definitely thought that was interesting. What are your thoughts on Sam and Selena and their relationship and their newfound freedom? Yeah. So, I obviously love the love story. I'm a fan of a little romance. So, I thought that was really cute. Obviously, when he tells her she loves him and obviously she returns that. I thought obviously his love for her was definitely more forthcoming. Like he said, he gives her the sheet music, which is very cute. And then it's like she's like kind of back and forth with it. But like, you know she loves him, but like she just won't outspend it for a while. I know. Yeah, it's just like, oh, I know. I think they had a weird relationship, like very competitive growing up. But it's like, come on, you can do it. We know you like him. So, I definitely think that was sweet that they got together at the end. But definitely the ending was like too fairy tale for me. I was just like, this isn't real. Like, they're too happy. I'm glad they have their freedom. But like, I just don't think Erebin's going to let it go. I think he's just too spiteful for that. So, like, I just like I'm very nervous for the next section. No, I agree that like Sam throughout the whole thing, like she constantly says like how everyone likes him and how he's like this really nice person. So, like, you kind of already like them or like him prior to her, like, officially announcing her feelings and everything. And, you know, you saw his reactions to Colbet and everything that they went through together. So, I definitely really liked him and was happy that they finally got together. So, I thought that was very sweet. But I agree. I am so anxious already. I'm like, I don't feel comfortable with this. Something is not right. Like, like you said, it was way too fairy book kind of ending, especially since there is another novella. Like, maybe if this was the last one, I'd be like, oh, OK, yay. But there's another one. And so I already feel anxious. They're just like kissing and the sun is setting. And I'm like, oh, God, this is not going to be a good ending. I know. Yeah, Erwin is too. He's just he's just I don't think he's got a lot of go. I mean, clearly he didn't from the get go, like their initial punishments weren't enough that he had to like go and create this elaborate plan to like kind of punish them more. And now that they've left and declared freedom from him, I think that's going to set him off like over the edge. I think he's going to be like, nope, you you're not getting that. That's not going to happen. Yeah. I'm curious how he's going to kind of repay that. Like, I feel like my kind of thought process is how is he going to put them in debt to him that they like can't actually keep that freedom? Because what else are they going to do? Like there's outside of being assassins, there's no way for them to to make money. So, you know, are they going to continue to to work for him or be forced to work for him because of that? Yeah, that's true. Yeah. I mean, they don't have traditional jobs. So, like, I'm sure it'd be really hard for them to even like live without him because that's all they've known. And especially like he's given them all these he's given them a very nice living standard. And I think more so for Selena, like it's been mentioned a couple of times, like she's not good at roughing it. So I'm curious if like that life of luxury will be part of what like kind of brings her back in a way to him. But yeah, there's definitely more, I think, that's going to be happening, especially because you know, for this whole time that she's gone, how long has he been planning all this? Like, was it from when he found out what they did at Skull Bay or from when he punished them or from when he sent it? Like, this was a lot of stuff in the making. So, you know, it wasn't just he wakes up one morning and is going to be like, oh, yeah, you know, I'm going to be a dick. So, yeah, right. Yeah, no, this is definitely thoughtfully planned out. So, yeah, like you said, I don't think he's going to let it go that there's more boiling under that than what he's letting on. Like, he's very calculated on what he lets show, what he doesn't let show and how he brings stuff around. So it's very, very interesting. And I'm curious what is going to happen next with all of their relationships. Yeah, yeah, it should be really interesting. I'm really excited to move into the next one, but I'm also scared. No, I just I have that gut feeling of this isn't going to end well. Something's not going to happen. And it's really just how bad is it going to be? Yeah. I guess we will see. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So the last section is the Assassin in the Empire. I feel like that title is a little bit more straightforward. So we'll see. I don't know. Like both me and Marissa said, I don't know how you guys are feeling, but I'm not feeling hopeful. I am feeling horribly scared and queasy already. Yeah. Yes, I feel super anxious. Like, oh, my gosh, I'm stressed. Just just waiting. But with that being said, go read my little bookworms.