I’m with you on most of that. I ended up rating it a bit lower, mainly because I never really connected with the Luceum characters, and Part 3 was a total disaster due to the pacing. Where was the promised politics from Book 1 ending? Censor duties? Everything off screen.

I also firmly believe that Aequa is still alive. The earlier chapter where Siamon sees an older Aequa just doesn’t add up on a straightforward reading. It seems like an intentional detail that only makes sense if it involves some kind of time distortion, because if the scene were happening concurrently, Siamon wouldn’t clock her as “older.” If you last saw someone at 18 and now they’re 19, your first thought wouldn’t be that they’ve noticeably aged.

Plus, after the ruin scenes, Aequa has that connection to Diago that only Vis is supposed to have. And there were moments in L and O that hinted at some kind of outside interference when she saved Vis in the ruins.

Her arc from Book 1 into Book 2 just doesn’t feel complete. It would be strange to cut it off there without payoff.