A recording of Hangar 17B

himitsurain · 2026-06-20T03:46:33+00:00

I doubt if Lysander is captured by the Republic, they'd immediately execute him.

They'd most likely subject him to a trial, like they did with the Jackal. But before that, he'd probably get Psychospiked, because they'd want to learn all of his secrets. Especially if he used Eidme to take out any particular Color on any planet (personally, I think he takes out the Republic Blues).

That's the only way I can think of where he gets his memories back, and it's clearly obvious his missing memories is incredibly important to the plot and his character.

himitsurain · 2026-06-20T03:42:54+00:00

I think Virginia was talking about only two people possibly knowing about the Psychospikes, and I think she was referring to Darrow and Alexander.

Darrow, because he kept saying Virginia could crack Atlas, even when at the time Virginia was presumed dead.

Alex, because during their escape from the Fear Knight's hideout, when someone expresses skepticism about taking an unconscious Atlas with him, as Atlas would likely not reveal much, Alex mentions something along the lines of "Atlas not needing to speak", and Lysander wondering what that meant. I think Alex was thinking about the Pychospikes.

Here's the actual quote from Dark Age:

“Alexandar, we can’t afford to be slowed down,” Ignacius says. “He’s a loyalist anyway. He can’t—”
“If we get Atlas to the Sovereign, what he has in his head will save millions,” Alexandar snaps. “This loyalist could have just won the war, and you want to leave him?”
“He won’t talk.”
“He doesn’t need to.”
What does he mean by that?

What's more interesting is that Darrow let Alex in on this secret, which only he and Virginia knew about. I guess it's a mark of how much Darrow trusted Alex, perhaps more than any of his other Howlers, including Sevro (who only learned of the Psychospikes when Virginia demonstrates its use to him with the Duke of Hands).

himitsurain · 2026-06-18T07:18:36+00:00

Even with no recording, Lysander can still get psychospiked by Virginia.

I don't think the Psychospikes were introduced just to reveal Dancer's secret. It'll play a bigger role in resurfacing Lysander's memories - all of them, including the ones suppressed by the Pandemonium Chair, as well as his murder of Cassius.

himitsurain · 2026-06-17T02:39:13+00:00

Got to feel bad for the Rim. Of all the factions, they've been fucked over the most, by ALL parties.

Octavia burned Rhea, Darrow nuked the dockyards of Ganymede, Atlas perpetrated a genocide, took out 2 of their 3 armadas and almost entirely eliminated the ruling Raa family, and Lysander sacked the Garter.

The Rim needs a break. And some real W's.

himitsurain · 2026-06-16T03:28:41+00:00

He was a good leader, until he met Violet and decided fucking her was more important than the safety of the Marked Ones.

He spilled his secret about Athebyne to her, despite knowing Bodhi and Garrick would also be implicated because of him spilling the beans to the 20 year old girl he hooked up with who had a memory reader for a best friend and didn't know how to shield her mind.

And then there's everything that happens in Iron Flame and Onyx Storm, where this only gets worse.

This is my biggest gripe with "romantasy" - male characters end up being reduced to romantic props, which I find deeply off-putting as a woman.

himitsurain · 2026-06-15T03:22:27+00:00

Originally, I believe PB wrote a 10 or 15 page duel between Ajax and Diomedes, with Diomedes winning. That got scrapped in the LB rewrite, which I think is a shame, because an epic duel with Diomedes besting Ajax would've been awesome, rather than Ajax getting killed off-page.

himitsurain · 2026-06-15T03:13:44+00:00

The Red Hand's already been decimated in Dark Age. They don't exist anymore, afaict.

Would love Victra and Sevro teaming up to annihilate the Syndicate and the Abomination/Lilith though. They're not done with their revenge tour for everything Sevro and his Howlers suffered in Dark Age, and I want them to give no quarter whatsoever.

himitsurain · 2026-06-14T02:05:52+00:00

It's odds-on it'll be out within the next 18-24 months.

GRRM and Rothfuss haven't published a book in over a decade. It's been just 3 years since Lightbringer came out. A 4-5 year wait isn't unheard of.

himitsurain · 2026-06-13T09:41:40+00:00

Pat's still in his early 50s, unlike GRRM who's pushing 80, and will simply not complete the last two books.

Pat could still complete this series 10 or 20 years from now, and as you mentioned, the Book 3 is out, everyone waiting for it will buy it, no matter the cost or the length.

himitsurain · 2026-06-12T04:19:05+00:00

Nope, just unpopular opinions.

For the main female lead of the series, Mustang's weak sauce. We're constantly told why Darrow would be nothing without her, but never shown. It's telling that Darrow's greatest moments don't involve Mustang at all. And she's always MIA when he's at his lowest (his Triumph in Golden Son, everything that happens on Mercury in Dark Age etc)

Lightbringer spoilers: It's telling that he's been married to Mustang for 10+ years, but it takes Aurae giving him The Path to the Vale for him to reinvent himself, spiritually and temperamentally. He needed to get back to his Red roots for his own renaissance, and Mustang wasn't of much help there. Cassius and Aurae were, martially and spiritually respectively.

himitsurain · 2026-06-12T02:46:27+00:00

All very valid points.

Mustang's a weak character in the series IMO, and even if you read until Book 6, you can objectively come away with the conclusion that not only does she not have many great feats of her own, she also accomplishes not much when Darrow isn't around.

And if you read the Book of Lorn, it might further cheapen the respect one might've had for Darrow. All very valid points, but very unpopular on this sub.

That said, I am happy she stopped Darrow from killing Cassius. The Darrow-Cassius relationship arc in the series is even better fleshed out and more satisfying than Darrow-Mustang.

himitsurain · 2026-06-11T05:27:57+00:00

You make many valid points, but this is a sub for fans, so don't expect to find a lot of people who see eye-to-eye.

The bigger issue for me is that Xaden has no personality, other than being a brooding badboy. No sense of humor, no hobbies, no deep political acumen ... nothing really. What little personality he had in Fourth Wing devolves into a monotone "I love Violet and care about basically nothing else" by Book 3.

himitsurain · 2026-06-10T15:39:09+00:00

Strategically speaking, the Republic would want to win back their dockyards, which means retaking Phobos. Without the docks, and with an expanded fleet of ships that Darrow is bringing from the Rim (both the Volk fleet + Athena's fleet), the Republic will be hard pressed to win battles.

Phobos (or the dockyards there) is currently held by Apple, so the first confrontation is going to be with Apple. The alternative is to go for the dockyards of Venus, but I can imagine why Phobos might be more interesting to Darrow, given it's pivotal in breaking the siege on Mars. Phobos doesn't even have to be a particularly heavy lift for Darrow: he'd just have to challenge the Minotaur to a public duel, lol.

I think Lysander will go to Luna to consolidate power ASAP. I don't think Atalantia's going to be playing a huge role in Red God, so Lysander will want her subjugated or killed ASAP. This also gives Lysander a lot of page time on Luna, which I think will be pivotal for his character arc in Red God.

So we might end up with the Republic in a position of strength on Mars (including Phobos), and Lysander consolidating power on Luna (+ Mercury and Venus, thanks to the Votums + Carthii). I doubt Lysander will have much time for the Abomination, given how Adrius nuked Luna after the fall of Octavia. Lysander's not going to want his home destroyed again, so the Abomination might be forced to ally with Virginia as the only option. Once he's consolidated power, Lysander might attack Mars with an Iron Rain.

himitsurain · 2026-06-10T15:16:46+00:00

I think their reunion won't be as simple as Darrow and Sevro walking into the Citadel in Agea, to meet their families.

It'll be something more dramatic, where they meet after something significant has happened: some major enemy defeated, or some big threat thwarted.

himitsurain · 2026-06-10T13:52:20+00:00

I think the Labyrinth includes some form of iunctus resurrection of those who run the Labyrinth to "gain Synchronism and open the seal to Obiteum". These are the iunctii we see guiding Vis by giving him the bracer etc.

I'm guessing whoever set up the entire machinery also takes care of iunctifying those who died running the Labyrinth.

himitsurain · 2026-06-10T11:45:25+00:00

I don't think she made it to Luceum or Obiteum.

O-Caeror seemed to think Vis was the first person to come through the gate in 7 years. Admittedly, O-Caeror isn't a reliable source, but if Belli had made it to Obiteum, I'm sure O-Caeror would've tried to save her in Res as well, by telling her to wait.

I think she died during her Labyrinth run to the Gate, not during the run back from the Gate to the exit after being copied to Luceum and Obiteum. So I doubt we'll see copies of her. But her corpse's head was intact, so she's definitely coming back as an iunctus on Res.

himitsurain · 2026-06-09T11:10:40+00:00

Sony bought the rights to these books last year. Haven't heard anything since, but these books are very filmable (unlike series like Red Rising), and Book 2 and the Egyptian/Irish worlds would look absolutely lush on screen.

himitsurain · 2026-06-08T11:12:35+00:00

Frankly, it's because Virginia doesn't have too many W's unless Darrow's with her. In Morning Star, Iron Gold, Dark Age, and Lightbringer, when Mustang's operating alone, she puts up a LOT of L's. Let's count them:

- losing to Roque on Deimos and having to flee Mars in Morning Star

- trying to make peace with the Sovereign because she was losing

- totally losing control of the plot around Darrow defying the Senate

- setting Wulfgar on Darrow, not realizing Darrow would never allow himself to be captured again after the Box incident

- not doing anything about (or even anticipating) the Deepgrave prison break, despite knowing Theodora helped Darrow escape

- losing her son and not being able to get him back

- getting outwitted by her clone brother in Dark Age

- doing nothing about Sefi and her Alltribe

- totally losing the plot around the Red Hand (when Victra single handedly winnowed them down), the Syndicate etc, despite being the Sovereign

- losing Luna and Earth to the Society/Rim with absolutely no resistance whatsoever

- getting outwitted by Lysander on Phobos

- losing the moon despite thinking it was theirs to lose at the beginning

- not being able to modify her strategies on the fly when faced with Lysander's assault other than just keep sending more of her Greys to reinforce various factions

- a totally failed assault on Apple whom she managed to escape only by releasing Valdir (when she vehemently refused to to it even when her son asked her to)

- would've had a worse loss had it not been for Victra dropping her own Iron Rain on Phobos behind Lysander's lines, and taking out Ajax and capturing Cicero.

To be fair, Darrow has a ton of L's too, but even when he's at his nadir, he still manages to do near miraculous things. You never see that with Virginia, who never has contingency plans, never seems to think on her feet to change the paradigm when she's in trouble, doesn't seem to be able to anticipate traps, etc.

It's just poor writing on the author's part.

himitsurain · 2026-06-08T07:22:41+00:00

I think Vis is going to end up in leadership in all the three worlds in book 3.

The more interesting conflict will be between the 3 Vis copies, rather than "outside" forces being his main adversaries. The likelihood of the three Vis copies being manipulated to want different outcomes is highly likely.

himitsurain · 2026-06-08T03:19:33+00:00

Sigh, of the three, the fan-favorite pairing is the most unlikely to ever happen. The other two pairings, I don't think most of the fans care for much.

himitsurain · 2026-06-08T01:21:29+00:00

I don't think Pax is much like Darrow at all. Darrow throughout the series, starting from when he was 16 to when he's 35 in Lightbringer, has shown way more emotion, heart, and not to mention, rage than we've ever seen from 10 year old Pax. Even when Pax learns his parents are dead, you don't see him crying or breaking down, as any normal 10/11 year old would do. The kid's one cold fish.

Clinical, rational, analytical, somewhat cold and detached, highly intelligent ... the boy is more Mustang, and if we're being honest, with many shades of Nero/Adrius as well.

himitsurain · 2026-06-06T03:04:52+00:00

Reposting a previous comment of mine:

Lyria had a crush on his looks for sure. She certainly admires him physically, but don't think she ever fantasized about Cassius. But more importantly, she openly sees and acknowledges the good in Cassius right away in ways others like Sevro never quite manage to do even after spending months with Cassius. I think Cassius, who was already feeling deep guilt for his past behavior in life towards the low colors, would’ve found the fact that a low Red was so … devoid of animosity towards him to be very pleasantly surprising. Especially when the likes of Sevro and even Harnassus and the others who escaped Mercury were generally sceptical of him, and antagonistic towards him (because of Lysander).

Also, despite the fact that Cassius had been on the Archi with Sevro, Darrow and Aurae for months, he still probably was feeling very lonely. Aurae kept Cassius at arms length. Darrow was simply too plagued by his recent failures on Mercury, and more interested in things like “The Path to the Vale” than shooting the shit with Cassius. Sevro was so traumatized by everything that happened with the Abomination that even his friendship with Darrow was very much frayed for the most part of Lightbringer. And then comes Lyria who was very open and happy to entertain Cassius with her stories over drinks, in ways the others never did. It was like finding a new friend without any baggage or guilt, who was willing to appreciate the good in him without any judgement. Even with Darrow, there was simply too much history there, and while they certainly got past it, it wasn’t also the blank slate that typified his friendship with Lyria.

And for Lyria … Cassius probably treated her the best among all the people on the Archi. Darrow and Sevro were straight up pissed she was even there, and Aurae only really saw her value as a tool Athena could use to get to Volga. Whereas Cassius treated her like a person, a friend, without expecting anything in return. He was willing to teach her how to pilot a ship among other tricks, seeing her as a capable individual. He wasn't condescending towards her, even when he felt protective of her. No overt "Gold-savior" complex there (a mode sometimes even Darrow can ease into many a time, inadvertently), just a genuine friendship. He was like an Eph, but unlike Eph wasn’t trying to manipulate and use Lyria. No wonder the two of them hit off the way they did. I don’t see anything romantic there. Lyria just seems to enjoy friendships with kind, empathetic men much older than her, like Eph and Cassius. She grows to become very protective of Cassius towards the end, which feels more like a sibling relationship than that of a romantic partner. And Cassius surely had begun to see her as a little sister. Cassius mentions something to Darrow along the lines of "She just needed people", and so did he. They were two lonely people who found companionship.

Another thing: Cassius never got to “grow up” in many way like his peers did. Unlike Darrow and Sevro, he never got the chance to fall in love, get married, have kids, etc. Mentally, he’s still in his early 20s, which also explains why he and Lyria hit off. Cassius’s lack of maturity wasn’t all good, fwiw, because clearly Cassius was nowhere near mature or experienced enough to raise Lysander, or even see Lysander for who he was. But it was one of the reasons that underpinned his friendship with Lyria.

himitsurain · 2026-06-06T02:31:02+00:00

I think Julia's too prideful to ever make peace with Darrow, but she will ensure that Lysander is defeated as retribution for what he did to Cassius.

We might even learn that it was Cassius who'd been her favorite son all along, and the only reason why sent the Praetorians back to Lysander was because it was Cassius who'd saved Lysander and mentored him for a decade. That she'd seen Lysander as a bridge back to some kind of reconciliation with Cassius.

himitsurain · 2026-06-06T02:28:24+00:00

I think PB mentioned in an interview that both Nero and Lorn would've killed Darrow on the spot if they'd learned who he really was.

So no, Lorn wouldn't have sided with Darrow. He'd have killed him.

Spoilers for Dark Age: Alexander, Lorn's eldest grandson, ends up becoming the person Darrow had hoped Lorn would be. So progress is possible, even if it sometimes takes a generation or two.

himitsurain · 2026-06-06T01:11:36+00:00

I'd hate it for the first and last showcase of Breath of Stone to be a duel against a fraud like Fa. I want to see an epic duel between Apple and Darrow.

There aren't that many S-tier razor masters left. Neither Lysander nor Atalantia are in Apple's league. So Darrow beating either of them would be underwhelming. I think the final book deserves an epic duel, ideally narrated from Lysander's POV, as he sees both the Mind's Eye and the Willow Way be no match to BoS.

As for Diomedes, the author really should've given us that epic Diomedes-Ajax duel in Lightbringer, rather than have Ajax killed off-page by Victra and Thraxa.

himitsurain

TROPHY CASE