SFF Readalongs led by Kitty G discussion

This is for discussion of chapter 9 for The Thousand Names. Please ensure you do NOT post spoilers for any other part of the book! Thank you!

Okay so I am about to continue on with this book but obviously I've not updated until now. The reason I haven't updated until now is largely due to the fact that I just wanted to read this and not stop to update. I find Django Wexler's writing style incredibly easy and quick to get through and I have to say that's absolutely fabulous as usually battle-heavy books have to be brilliant to keep me interested.

What do I like about this book?
It's quick, it's easy and so far it's also been very exciting and engaging. I like our characters and I think there's a great amount of potential for our characters to grow and the story to broaden.

I love the character of Winter as I do tend to enjoy the typical 'girl-pretends-to-be-a-boy' troupe and I think it's being really well done here so I am never confused that she's a girl, but equally I see how she fits in with the other soldiers and they've not noticed.
I think her compassion and resolve are fabulous and seeing her hold the men of her regiment steady despite the 3,000 Redeemers who were attacking was great. I loved that she took the Square-Formation they'd made up and practised and that they employed it to protect themselves (plus I was pretty happy that their Lieutenant died and that Winter now has control).
I thought the section where Davis came and taunted and threatened Winter showed just how brutal the Army can be and the sad thing about not fitting in and doing all the low life things he did made her an enemy. I think that her friendship with Bobby which began and was solidified by the scene with Davis has only become stronger as the book has gone on, and I love that.

Marcus is our other main character and again his story is really interesting because I like how genuine he is and the fact that he's seen batt;e before and knows what he's doing is good. He's clearly a very caring character also and he has a strong sense of loyalty which we just saw in chap 9 when he volunteered to leave if Adrecht was arrested. Whilst I personally felt that Adrecht deserved what was coming to him like Mor and Val did, I get why he felt he had to do something and I admire his willingness to sacrifice his reputation and career just to save a friend. I have a strong feeling that Adrecht and Marcus have quite a history though and something big happened 18 years ago between them.

I also love the character of Janus even though we don't see inside his head because it's pretty interesting trying to guess what he's planning and if he's gambling away their lives or securing victory. He's a very young commander which is an interesting twist and he volunteered for the job which seems crazy, yet clearly he's got a good head on his shoulders and his ideas so far have helped. I think he's a character I can relate to and enjoy and appreciate reading about because he's fair and interesting and has a different perspective to some of the older soldiers.

Generally the conflict between the Vordani and the Khandarai is really well done because so far I have been able to stay on top of things and actually envision the ranks and forms they take. i think it's a very difficult thing to read a book about military scenes without knowing anything about it because often you do feel lost, whereas Wexler manages to make it seem fluid and easy and I enjoy reading the battles and the conversations.

We haven't seen a whole lot of the magic just yet so I look forward to seeing more of that especially since Winter helped the Khandarai girl and she appears to know some magic and suspect that there's a magical person among the Vordani. I wonder who that is and whether they will reveal themselves soon and I look forward to seeing what happens when magic is unleashed.

On the whole this book is certainly exceeding what I expected and I'm enjoying it a lot so far. I plan to read more of this today so hopefully I'll update a little more here too, although I don't know if I am the only one reading this or not :) Either way if anyone else is reading it let me know your thoughts too and I hope you're also enjoying it!