Hi all, it’s Mod R here. How’s my favourite Horde keeping up?
House Andrews are on a working vacation for the next two weeks. In order to sweeten the pill of mod posts, today I’m going to share most of the insider info I know about the books. Yes, I said most, a lady must keep some secrets (and so should I).
You guys are so smooth! There are always sneaky questions in the comments ready to trap an unsuspecting Mod, but I hate to tell you, I simply don’t know as many spoilers as you give me credit. Your best bet is still asking Gordon during Q&As hehe.
To lay a cunning rereading trap for the BDH, I can tell you that at least 3 of the Big Questions can be figured out from the books and free fiction made available so far: what Elara from Iron and Magic is, the chicken joke in Magic Triumphs and what’s going on with Derek in Blood Heir. That’s right, the answers are already there if you pick up the hints laid down! Mwa. Ha. Ha.
Now that I’ve put that cat amongst the Stymphalian pigeons…
In no particular order and mostly about the Kate Daniels World:
- Kate and Hugh are not brother and sister, half or otherwise.
- Roland and Erra were both buried in caves, asleep, before magic came back.
- In rare cases, some shifters were probably always able to change shape. There was a trickle of magic present in the world even in the eras where tech was dominant and it would have been enough for a select (very) few. But the vast majority of people woke up on the morning of the First Shift and found they were able to transform. And sadly a lot of them went loup right away.
- Because the manuscript of Magic Bites was 124k words and publishers wouldn’t accept it unless it was cut to 95k, we’re missing out on a Pack Thanksgiving scene ::sob::. It was a holiday different from US and Canadian Thanksgiving. (The cut bit also better explains why Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong. The collector edition of Magic Bites has a little bit more on that, but House Andrews can’t substantially rewrite it. They asked.)
- Derek has always been an exception throughout the KD series and if you go through the books, especially Magic Stars, you will see notes that he is unlike other shapeshifters. When Kate deeply cares about someone they miraculously keep living, she doesn’t have to actively do anything. Several people who should have died survive because of her, and we’ve been drawing the conclusion that’s what happened with Derek and his Midnight Games wounds, but it isn’t the whole picture. Derek lived because of his unique magic. (Mic: dropped, timbers: shivered)
- Ok, ok. I’m not just going to leave you like that. Here’s the Elara clue: you can find out what type of creature Elara is, but not her specific identity. It’s in the book where we find out about Christopher’s dual nature. There is a part where Teddy Jo straight up says what Elara is, but he isn’t talking about her, just in general. Elara does not assume animal form. The rest is up to you.
- Etymology: Roman is a Volhv, Russian plural pronounced “vol-h-vi”. It comes from an Old Slavonic word that means chant or mutter, because volhvi muttered spells under their breath. Volhv is also the root of Volshebstvo (magic) volshebnik (wizard) etc. Roman is also the connecting point of a lot of different sub plots in the KDverse, there’s more to our boy than Eeyeore pyjamas!
Bonus from Hidden Legacy:
- Michael (of the Record Keeper office) is neither prisoner, nor slave. His bond to the Keeper is one of both affection and appreciation. He is the Keeper’s apprentice and heir apparent. The Keeper is the very soul of courtesy, the velvet glove that holds the hammer.
- Arabella and other Metamorphosis mages do not transform into animals, they are not shifters. They transform into magical humanoid beasts.
Sweep of the Heart tease: there’s a foreshadowing in the two most recent chapters (Chapter 16 and Chapter 17) that no one has picked up on in comments or theories, and it’s to do with the female werewolf. It’s right there in front of our noses, but I didn’t see it either until Ilona told me. You can try and guess hehe.
Btw the female werewolf is the same one as before with the Sphinx- when Sean said he didn’t know her he meant from before she decided to attach herself to them and be a pain.
I also have an update for you regarding the Sweep of the Blade release from Graphic Audio- the new release date has been moved to the 16th of June instead of the 14th, due to some minor edit delays. I’ve listened to a few soundbites of the performance (because Mod Privilege) and I can tell you it absolutely matches the Fan Favourite status of the book. From Ilona: “Arland is clearly sex on a stick“.
That’s it, I’ve spoiled enough! I will now be cryptic for the rest of the day.
No way are Mod R posts a pill we have to swallow. They are great!
Awww ????
Nor are they flavoraide that must be choked down. This is fine wine and cheese!
1st?
I want to work with the BDH on this to reach a compromise, because there are complaints every week.
So I think the best way for now is to limit the “First” comments to the Innkeeper serial 🙂 .
That way there’s the competition for everyone, but all who don’t want to see it get a break as well.
Thanks for your understanding 🙂
As someone much more on the side of ‘don’t want to see it’, this seems like a great compromise.
+1
+1
I’ve never understood the fortitude some must have to scroll past the writing to be the first in the comments. I never could. Must read all the words first. Usually twice.
+many, I want the words!
+1
+1
Sounds good, thanks!
That’s fair! Another compromise might be deleting all ‘first’ comments past the, well, first. It’s only a problem when we have to scroll past a bunch of them to find the actual conversation.
Oh this is fun. Off to read for the day.
Gosh, so sad, I must re-read chapters 16 and 17 again very carefully to pick up the clues HA laid down.
Pretty sure I knew the Elara thing but will have to wait until a future book for confirmation. 🙂
The struggle is real! 😀
Ok, I think ModR’s clues were enough for me to figure out what Elara is if not who, but now I really want to know who. Sing it with me! “Who are you? Who? Who? WHo who?
Lol +1
She is an avatar of some Lovecraftian entity. “The cold that lives between the stars”. But I have not read enough Lovecraft to recognize that…
You know how to tease the BDH in the most delightful ways – off to read to see if my ideas find proof! *big grin*
Thought I knew all three answers, after the hints, not sure
I will just have to wait until someone figures it out and spells it out in plain language
+1
WOWZERS! A whole heck of a lot to ponder. Huzzah! Thanks, Mod R!
Love your posts, Mod R!!! Ohh…foreshadowing in Innkeeper…that female werewolf has been along the path of Wilmos the entire time and at every ad-hal encounter? – Shows up to tell Sean and Dina about Wilmos missing, shows up at the gate where the ad-hal took Wilmos, interferes with the ad-hal… Did she sell out Wilmos to get the corruptions to eliminate earth’s inns so she can “free” Sean of his earth’s obligations or something more than that? OMG! I am not good at figuring out mysteries, so i can’t wait to see what is revealed. ????
Maybe, I can’t say yes or no to that theory, but it doesn’t touch on the thing we all missed about her 😉
I’m wondering if she is Wilmos’s daughter……
+1
That’s what I was wondering too.
I second that wondering. Her interest in Sean didn’t strike me as ‘you can do better than an Innkeeper–date me.’ It was more like ‘after all Wilmos did for you, how dare you sit in an Inn!”
I suspect she followed the scent off Wilmos’ hair and lost her temper? Or we’re all wrong and she did it to cover up her part in the whole kidnapping.
I think you all are right. This might Wilmo’s daughter or relation.
Alpha strain. *nods*
Yep, Alpha strain. Thought that after the battle with the corruption…
+1
I am wondering if Seans sibling?
How about Wilmos’s mate…
Eh. The Innkeeper universe isn’t really a “werewolf mate” kind of place.
For which I am grateful.
+1
+1
Dang! I feel kinda dumb because I am drawing a complete blank for all three – and the Innkeeper is my favorite – the one I’ve reread the most, I feel like I should know these things or at least make plausible deductions.
I hope the renovations go smoothly for House Andrews. I hope the next two weeks are a soothing balm and they get in plenty of self-care. Dina is my favorite character but I am happy to reread things in hoping of rustling up some theories 🙂
I also feel dumb. I’ve reread both chapters and I’m still drawing a blank on the werewolf. I got nothin’. I am going to read all the comments to see if someone will hand it to me and then I’m going to reread SotH from the beginning.
Mod R Please fix my post.
Done! ????
And awww, don’t feel dumb, that was not the intent! I completely missed it too and got to see it in draft form as well!
You’re too late! I was already re-reading anyway! Hahaha!
Great minds 😀
I feel like I’m a weird one, I won’t hypothesize about who, what, when, where, why and how. I want to just read what comes from the delightful minds of Ilona and Gordon. I’m never disappointed and I trust their writing implicitly.
I’m the same! But I will be scouring the comments just in case, but I won’t spoil (heh) a reread by trying to do anything other than just enjoy the ride… again.
Me too. I am not even going to try to guess. I will just check everyone else’s guesses
I was just going to say I feel like a bad fan because I just get lost in the worlds and go with it. I guess I’m so busy watching in my head I don’t see mysteries!
Absolutely nothing “bad fan” about that!
I’m like that with SotH and I even asked to not know anything ahead. I just want to enjoy everything as it comes, I overthink enough on everything else!
+1
+1
EXACTLY!
but I do like when clues, explanations etc are played out in the comments..
The delayed AAaaaHhhhh! So that’s it/that’s why!
+1
+ 1
Me too
Aww, thanks for the tease. No need for sweeteners when you post! Have a grand rest of your day!
Ooh fun!! Thanks for the insider information.
I wish we could read that holiday scene because the thing with Crest always confused me!
+1 – I wonder if HA could get permission to hand it to us as a juicy snippet/cut-scene?
It was literally 1 million words ago! I don’t even know if they have it anymore, it’s been more than 14 years and who knows how many computers/hard drives.
I mean, yeah, fine, bring logic and reason into it. [stomps off in a {totally kidding} huff]
“…The cut bit also better explains why Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong.”
I remember feeling an ouch when reading that part in the novel. Can someone enlighten me about what’s the more detailed explanation is? Thank you!
Me, too! I thought it was pretty harsh the way Curran came down on Kate. I’m glad there was sort of an explanation somewhere. It may be lost in time, but I’m feeling more charitable toward Curran now.
Same here.
I re-read Magic Bites two days ago, and I remember being a bit irritated that Curran and the other Alphas pushed Kate into thinking of Crest as the Big Bad despite her reservations, only to later turn around and act like she’d been the one who made the biggest mistake.
Good to know there was something more to it.
@Mary Beth, I felt exactly the same! I actually disliked them when this happened. They were the ones with the suspicions. Then when he was proven innocent, they all turned against her as in blaming her.
I’m re-reading the series. In Magic Bites *updated* E-book, I read the part where Kate murmured, “What if it’s Max?” Curran then asked Jim, “Could it be Maximillian Crest?” … I was like huh? …
So, I went to grab my *paperback* copy with printing date April 2007. (Yes, this is my old original paperback copy before e-books were a thing, for me.) Curran said, “It has to be Crest.” … This is the version that’s kept in my mind forever. I did NOT even catch the change made on the updated E-book’s version! This is how they were able to close the confusions we had about why they were blaming Kate.
+1 But less charitable toward the publisher. That bit always sticks in my teeth. Multiple people reading the book on my recommendation have asked me about it. I’ve just said that it was their first book, and first books are rarely as polished as later efforts. Now I have more to add.
Thank you for the hints! It’s always fun to see what’s been foreshadowed. 🙂
Interesting about Elara. Had no idea we could figure out the chicken.
I’d picked up some of what Derek was about, knew it was him and not Kate. He’s still an idiot when it comes to Julie though…
Forests and Trees. Werewolves and Innkeepers. Innkeepers and Ad-hals… This just gets better and better.
Mod R, thanks for holding down the fort and sharing these tidbits. I find I am usually so absorbed in a story that I often miss the clues and foreshadowing. Thanks for giving me more to think about. I will enjoy the reveals all the more.
Any clues about Dina’s parents?
Only that I think we’re getting closer 😉
Pythia hath spoken!
That was glorious fun. Can’t wait for the reveals!
Interesting post, thanks!
I always assumed Michael was the Record Keeper’s apprentice. I haven’t re-read the KD series in a long long time, so I guess I’ll have to start. Or at least Magic Stars which I frankly don’t remember much about, heh. Always seemed like Derek was special, but never really thought that much about it. My bad
Definitely never thought Kate and Hugh were related by more than their dysfunctional relationships with Roland. I seem to recall a couple of times that Hugh was spoken of as being more or less the brother she didn’t have. I did wonder if they were related in a millenia distant fashion. Something said about Roland not believing that magic/genes? will hold true? After all, Hugh can make blood needles, or something to that effect, despite being torn off Roland’s control. Shows he’s related to Roland in some fashion? Yep gotta re-read.
Always figured Elara was some sort of god or demigod combo along the lines of Christopher or Teddy Jo. Just scarier and harder to control. As to which pantheon, no idea. So many out there down the ages and we never much touch on anything that’s not Greek, Norse, or Egyptian even in our college classes.
ok, I’ll find the time today to re-read Ch 16 and 17 at the least. Grrrr The only thing I picked up was Sean said he didn’t know her, so that seemed to mean to me it wasn’t the same female werewolf that had been picking on them previously, but why bring yet another werewolf into the mix. I suppose it could mean he didn’t have any idea of who the hell she is, despite having had several confrontations. Sigh, have to wait for the next installment which will undoubtedly pose more questions than it answers. I’m so enjoying this new Innkeeper!
She is the same female werewolf who came to notify them about Wilmos and had the close encounter with the Sphinx!
Dina meant whether he knew her from before she decided to be a pain in their backsides and attached herself to them- like from his time with Wilmos and adventuring around the Universe.
I always thought Kate and Hugh considered themselves siblings in the sense that they both had Roland’s blood… Kate by birth and Hugh when he became the Preceptor (?) (crap, blanking on the title) … leader of Roland’s army/Iron Dogs. He can still use Roland’s blood in one of the scenes when Roland had discarded him.
And I think also in the sense that Kate understood at a level maybe no one else could how much that blood relationship with Roland could overpower a person–that kind of magic and Roland’s charisma has even tempted Kate a time or two–Hugh wouldn’t have stood a chance against that as a child.
Exactly. And now that Julie has Kate/Roland’s blood, she is a relative as well. Erra knew that all along.
I know the truth about Hugh because it came up during one of the live Q&A’s (the one where they split it into two Q&A sessions). Someone asked the question and they answered and I almost missed it. As it was, I have no idea how the questioner came to the conclusion they did enough to ask the question.
I gotta say, I’m really proud of the BDH who was on that Q&A and haven’t spilled the beans yet. I keep waiting for it to come up somewhere.
Please BDH, continue to keep the secret secret and protect your friends! ????
Hugh had healer magic as a child. (Can’t remember the book.) Roland recognized it and knew that magic would be useful.
Dear lord I am very sad I missed that
Fun! I think that I have untangled one clue.
Mod R: ‘Here’s the Elara clue: you can find out what type of creature Elara is, but not her specific identity. It’s in the book where we find out about Christopher’s dual nature. There is a part where Teddy Jo straight up says what Elara is, but he isn’t talking about her, just in general. Elara does not assume animal form. The rest is up to you.’
OK, so in Magic Binds, Teddy Jo trying to work out what Christopher is says: ‘It’s not apotheosis. Apotheosis implies reaching the state of rapture and divinity through faith…..[Kate then adds] No. That would imply the deliberate voluntary descent of a deity to be reborn in a human body, and from what I understand there was nothing voluntary about [the process imposed on Christopher].’
Ronald left quickly when he came face to face with Elara’s manifestation. I think her manifestation was of a god of chaos and as Roland likes order, doesn’t like to deal with it.
I second that guess +1
I wonder if the female werewolf is related to Wilmos. Maybe a granddaughter or great niece that often did not feel like she measured up to the alpha strain awesomeness that Wilmos created. Now that Sean is around and perfect example she wants to know if she can measure up. She also knows that she needs help to find Wilmos but wants to prove that she is a better wolf than Sean. Just thoughts.
Yep, all of that is possible and heavily speculated on, but not the thing we’re missing out on 🙂
I’m going to reread, but already know I won’t figure it out. Very tantalizing info. This really is a fun Innkeeper. Thanks for the post.
I’m quietly speculating that Karat is acquainted and/or has worked with the female werewolf before. She seems to have fought w her before and seemed to have great interest in her recovery?
Added to that. I’m curious about the knives age uses. Which might be vampire blood weapons.
*knives she. Darned autocorrect.
Mod R – you’re brilliant!
And incredibly frustrating… I’ve got end of year exams to mark and yet now I want to re-read…. they won’t really want their marks back tomorrow will they? Next week will be soon enough… won’t it?
((Seriously though, thank you for all you do for the Horde, and for House Andrews!))
Spoilers 🙂
Schokolade for Mod R – or is it gummibears?
Thank you and I’m off to my books searching for answers
Anke
😀 Omg you said that and immediately I thought of Yogurette! Do they still make them? They were like chocolate “logs” filled with strawberry yogurt!
Oh yes, they still make them. Strawberry is regular, and this year they made buttermilk Lemon as a special edition. So great!
Need! Thanks for letting me know 😀
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B093C53D76/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=1YM11FEDOB05L&keywords=yogurette&qid=1655143167&sprefix=yogur%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-8
😉
Thank you! Ordered already ????, I don’t play around when it’s about chocolate hehe.
I think it’s best out of the fridge. At least if it is warm outside.
Yes! I remember it snaps so satisfyingly when it’s cold.
Love this post!
Thank you! This is so fun.
Great post, thank you! Especially interested in Elara’s background! I missed that clue. Time for a re-read. 🙂
I will have to scour the books once again. And Chapters 16 and 17.
I have also wondered about Derek. It must also have been the reason why they put in more than one shard of yellow diamond into him. One simply wasn’t enough to contain his beast.
Oooo. I hadn’t thought of that, just because of how Kate and folks interpreted it instead. What if instead of trying to declare something, they were honestly trying to get him down and it took way more than they had tried. Also thinking about how he is silver in Blood heir.
Speculations further, we know that Julie awakened her dormant magic, and that our favorite Volhv is being requested to get a particular ‘boy’ for the god who is seeking the shepherd of wolves…. Roman could have been holding off because that’s generally how he bargains for the lives of others. But GAH. Oh I’m so excited.
Yellow Diamond? Don’t remember that?
The Wolf Diamond which was the prize of the Midnight Games in Magic Strikes ????.
Shards of it were used to wound Derek and gave him his scars.
I get the feeling the werewolf woman is related to wilmos somehow, maybe a daughter.
Hi Mod R, now that I know there’s something to look for, I have a question about the werewolf woman. Usually with werewolves in combat scenes, we always have description on how they change form for the fight… But not for the mysterious werewolf woman ? Re-reading chapter 16 & 17, it looks like she always stays in human form. And not linked to Baha char since we had the fight scene in wilmos workshop before… So, is she not changing form? And if so, why ? Anyone else wondering about that ?
🙂
Ooooh?
Huh!?! Wow! I think this is it. Why isn’t she changing?
And what does that possibly have to do with Dina’s parents? Or Klaus? IS THIS A TEST? Like I wonder if Dina’s mother sent her to see what he’s made of… or something. OR maybe she’s involved with Klaus? Since he seems to be on the track of their parents?
!!!! Oh gah! That’s a big big big interesting problem!
I was wondering about that too. Since in other scenes with the werewolves fighting they change and charge into battle in there wet shape but she just has her armor. It makes me wonder if maybe she doesn’t have a werewolf shape to turn into? Were all the citizens of the planet modifed or did some get out before? I was thinking about if she could be an alpha werewolf but then I think she’d be shifting more not less.
Oooh!!!!
I wonder if the reason she’s so obsessed with Wilmos is the fact that he’s one of the scientists that modified the nanotechnology (possibly the only surviving one). If her Nanos are acting up, maybe she’s hoping for a fix.
I’m wondering if she’s Sun Horde. She seemed to know nothing about the werewolves courting Sean in the first couple chapters. She wouldn’t change shape since that would give her away.
That is what occurred to me after the awesome deduction by Sophie. I know the Sun Horde is their enemy but would they smell different from the wolves? If you can only tell them apart in their different forms then she could be checking to see the competition so to speak. Both the Sun Horde and the wolves would move similarly. Could she be an alpha strain sun horde cat? Interesting to consider.
The Sun Horde are cats, right? Sean said he smelled wolf when he came back home with the logs. Going by the comments here, maybe there was another group that was created. Human shape only but with the werewolf strength? Or one of her parents is human and she got their genetic with the inability to shift?
Brilliant and Machiavillian as now I have to reread KD and Innkeeper, yet again. Well it’ll keep my “avoiding tasks i don’t want to do” time occupied until Ruby Fever is released. This mission if you choose to accept it….
TBC referencing the TV show (one of my Mom’s faves) and not the other.
Thanks Mod R! Got stuck with COVID so now I have an excuse for not doing anything but rereading everything 🙂
As for the female werewolf, the only connection I see between the two chapters is her hardsuit. But I don’t know why that would be so important. I’m also on the train that she’s related to Wilmos because Gorvar doesn’t seem to be threatened by her.
One question that I have had about Arabella and metamorphosis mages is, do they benefit from amplification circles?
They can use them like other mages, but Arabella definitely doesn’t need them 🙂
Kind of scary to think of something that she would need a circle for…like godzilla scary.
On the re-read of chapters 16-17 just now, I am still not sure I pick up anything new. Or maybe I did but I am not putting pieces together. The red knives, the hard suit, the fact that she is too fast to follow. And she is pretty hard to kill. Maybe she is also Alpha strain or Alpha strain offspring like Sean.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
That my immediate thought.
I was wondering if it had anything to do with the fact that 1) Karat insisted on carrying her back, and 2) Karat took off her body armor in the infirmary. Sure, taking off the armor was a show of trust to Dina, but the werewolf woman was also there. Does that mean Karat considers the werewolf woman someone close? Also, Karat didn’t seem miss a beat when the werewolf woman suddenly jumped on the Ad Hal, literally falling out of the sky. They seemed to fight well together…. Do Karat and the werewolf know each other?
But that doesn’t really seem like foreshadowing; those are hints about the past. If this is foreshadowing, we see the corruption of the Ad Hal mentioned, along with Dina’s having brought the corruption into the inn. So, the other possibility is that the werewolf woman became corrupted during the fight, and Dina is shortly going to have a problem.
1/2 were, 1/2 vamp, maybe.
Possible spoiler re the female werewolf:
Could it be Maud in some sort of disguise? (Crazy long shot idea.) the way she fights and Karat’s insistence on bringing her back, and how comfortable she is taking off her armor with the werewolf in the room.
I thought it interesting that Karat’s med-bed diagnosed the beginning of sepsis, whereas the werewolf woman had none, despite the corrupted ad-Hal clawing into her chest (at least).
Oooooh, I wonder if Elara is a demi-god??? Or an avatar??? (I have a feeling the “doesn’t change into an animal” holds a clue but I don’t know enough about demi-gods or avatars, haha.)
Deophage like Christopher?
I looked up ‘stymphalian’ and I get Hercules killing the killer birds with metal feathers and caustic poop but I need extra explanations because Monday! Or maybe just weak brain. Please help me. Also, toxic poop my kids found that extra funny and so do I.
Stymphalian birds show up in Kate Daniels, in Magic…Burns I think.
And there’s also an English idiom about putting the cat amongst the pigeons. I merged the two into one reference because that’s the kind of chaos my mind produces, and it should be a badge of sanity if you don’t follow along heh.
That cat isn’t going to live long if any of those feathers start flying…
Derek made Julie’s rose out of one of the metal feathers. I know they both have knives made out of them. 🙂
They sat in Unicorn Lane to find them, if I remember correctly.
Derek made Julie’s rose out of a metal coffee can and some nails, but you’re right on the other stuff 🙂
I think he made the Rose out of a can. They were sitting at a table and he casually stripped the can apart to make the rose
That’s it 🙂 !
To get her mind off Red, the stinker rat who was ready to trade Julie for powers for himself.
My bet is that the female werewolf is Wilmos’s daughter or another type of family member.
Welp. Listening to the entire Kate daniels series is next up for summer gardening entertainment. Right now I’m in the middle of Mccaffrey’s Freedom series. I love to listen and prune and weed. It’s like being transported and makes the chores go faster.
Thank you for holding down the fort. I have a questions about Emerald Blaze. Cataline is worried that bad gramma was going to fry Alessandro with her power, but wouldn’t his antistasi powers protect him from her mind melting?
All powers have limits and La Tremaine is very dangerous. They are both Primes but she has several decades of practice on Alessandro. She can also harm people in other ways than directly, because she knows so many secrets and wields their influence.
Also, Catalina worries because that’s what Catalina does with her loved ones. You can see her anxiety manifest, and if you have experience with it, which I don’t wish on anyone, you know that intrusive thoughts are never far away.
Thank you <3
Yes, that’s pretty much what I always wondered, too.
Loved this post! So much to ponder on! I always wondered why Kate got the blame in Magic Bites when the Pack was wrong about Crest. They are the ones that insisted on barging into his apartment and when they are wrong, she’s shamed about it. It never made sense to me. Hopefully some day we can get a peek at some of those book cuts! Now on to some re-reading!
love Mod R posts! Makes me wonder if the female werewold if the assassin for the Sovereign. Or if she’s a liasion/spy sent from the corrupt ad hal.
That’s an interesting thought! She did manage to get into the inn (albeit via injury), I wonder if that was the goal all along. Or maybe she has some of the contamination on her from the fight. She hasn’t shifted forms at all, even during the fight, so there’s some question there.
I also wonder if she isn’t really interested in Sean but that’s just what Dina and Sean assumed since there have been so many others? That’s similar to the Edge series where Rose incorrectly thought the ML (I’m blanking on his name) was there because of her abilities.
This is wickedly fun! Thanks! Will be doing some rereading. Anticipating some mind blown moments.
So it has always driven me crazy the way Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong – so somewhere in that edited (boo publishers) 36k of writing is the explanation for how it went from Curran’s idea and the Pack agreeing to ALL KATE’s FAULT?!?!
Please share…pretty pretty please!!
As I said above, I don’t think the edited out content is still around 🙁 . It’s been so long!
Also, re: etymology, the old norse word Völva means female seeress or witch, along with seidhkona (or spaekona), according to sources like the Erik the Red Saga. So it could have some connection with Slavic origins as well.
The Norse and old pagan Slavic pantheons are very close, indeed 🙂
Not all that surprising when you think about PIE. What do a Hindu and Greek God have in common? Quite a lot actually.
I remember when the post about little Elara came out. This was the time COVID-19 started hitting the U.S., and Ilona said that she and Gordon were on pause with book 2 of the Iron Covenant series because it was so dark. She also said we didn’t need more dark during a dark time. Hopefully in the future when it’s not so dark, they can pick up the writing for the book. 🙂
I don’t want to give anything way, but if I remember correctly, the bit about Hugh saying to Elara eating the whole chicken while sitting in Kate’s driveway came from Iron and Magic. If you look at Kate’s books in order, Iron and Magic really comes before Magic Triumphs. If you don’t believe me, think of Neg’s troops coming to Kentucky before going to Atlanta.
As to Derek, Namtur also says something interesting about Derek when he freezes everyone in front of Julie’s house, and Derek breaks his hold. Also, I still wonder how Derek got into Julie’s secret part of the house? Did he pull a Connor and snuck in right before Julie put up the shields?
Thanks Mod R for all the inside scoop, as much as possible. 😀
I’ve been thinking about how Derek got in. I think he came through the balcony on the top. Then he could unlock the house from the inside. That or he has a key/career friend in lockpicking. He can sense magic so like… motivated enough, I it makes sense why he would be able to get in. Like Aurelia hurting when she thought something stole his body. Okay also just notice she always refers to him as Derek in her mind the entire time. Don’t mind me soaking in the angst.
Derek was trained in Pack Security. I suspect he has a really easy time with picking locks.
We know he realised from the start who Julie is. He was…especially motivated 😉
????????
But was he motivated enough to do it with out lasting damage to her house? 😀
That. That is very true!
Also, I knew Kate and Hugh were not brother and sister. Why would Hugh say all those things to Kate and trying to take Kate away from Curran when they were in Eastern Europe to get the panacea, if they were actually biological siblings?
Hugh also says this in Magic Triumphs when Dali came barging in on Kate, Curran, Elara, and Hugh “You barged into the house of the closest person I have to a sister and you interrupted my breakfast.” – Magic Triumphs Chapter 15 p. 236 (Nook book page number)
Iron and Magic is absolutely before Magic Triumphs in timeline, and the same will be the case for Iron Covenant 2!
Good to know! Thanks Mod R.
I thought the chicken comment came from one of Kate’s books. Hugh and Elara were sitting in the driveway, in the middle of having a married moment.
It is, from Chapter 15 of Magic Triumphs 🙂
I think Patricia is saying it’s linked to stuff from Iron and Magic.
Maybe it is, and yet maybe it isn’t… 😉
Thank you so much Mod R!!! I now need to re-read Chapters 16 & 17! I think I also need to re-read Magic Stars. I am Team Derek all the way.
Elara’s nature is something I’m pretty sure about but I am also excited for any future book for confirmation. I still don’t understand eating the whole chicken thing… The truth about Kate and Hugh’s relationship Gordon “spoiled,” in a prior Q&A, and I feel privileged to have that secret info, but nice hint!
This certainly has been a treat. Thank you again for the post!
Thank you Mod R for the exciting spread of spoilers to dig into! <3 and Hopefully the working vacation goes as smoothly and kindly as it can.
Always a pleasure to get a ModR post. Thank you for keeping the BDH simmering along. (Though in this heat – 102 F yesterday in Houston – what else would we be doing? Hope this is not something you are facing.)
Reading the speculations is a hoot. I sometimes figure things out, but, more often, HA is sneakier than many authors and doesn’t go for the obvious conclusion. I am such a sucker for that!
Thank you for the clues. I will reread and think on them…
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are with you about the heat and humidity. I said to one of my co-workers, “is the DFW area now considered north Houston?” She laughed.
Stay cool!
I live in Plano. Our AC went out three nights ago. I’m dying. The electrician thinks they found the needed part and will be here tomorrow. I work from home. If only I could work from the shower or the pool, but the laptop would fall in and there would follow many tears. And screaming.
I have given up on trying to predict HA storyline. And this is coming from a conspiracy theorist.
Ah, yes, Michael and Roman!! Two very interesting men with interesting abilities!
And of course, Derek the Boy Wonder, as Kate calls him on many occasions.
And current Innkeeper adventures!
And Ruby Fever publication!!
Yay!!!
I had a number of theories about the female werewolf. I thought she was related to Wilmos somehow. Then I considered that she was maybe another second generation GM Wolf like Sean since she stood toe to toe with the corrupted ad hal and survived having her sternum slashed.
Then I got stuck on the fact that the blades she attacks the corrupted ad hal with were red. Red is an unusal colour for knives. Are the blood blades? Is she mixed up with the Vampires?
Essentially, I have lots of thoughts and no clue at all what is actually going on. Just going to sit tight and wait for updates.
Groovy! Thank you!
Now I’m seeing Arabella as one of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things. This makes me very happy.
I LOVE THIS
Well, of course Derek survived because of his own magic – though Julie finding those five chips of the Wolf Diamond undoubtedly made it a lot easier.
I do wonder what he agreed to to untie all the knots he was in as an adolescent and young man. I think Pastor Haywood was seriously involved in whatever happened.
MOD RRRRRRRR – You can’t just leave us like this.
I mean, you can but ….
Why did Erra make comment about Hugh meeting his grandmother if there is no relation?
That’s not what I said ????
I thought Julie said that to Erra when they left Atlanta at the end of Magic Triumphs.
“Julie looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, ‘She’s his grandmother too. Should we tell him? Can we take him with us to Mishmar to visit her?’
‘Maybe’, I said.
The boy would need to meet his grandmother at some point. But right now he has is hands full and I doubted his wife would appreciate us dragging him off on family business.” Magic Triumphs, Epilogue, p. 289 (Nook book page number)
his not is. The joys of typing without proofreading. Sheesh.
Kate does consider Hugh her brother even though they are not biologically related. Family is family whether by blood or not. 🙂
+1 I remember that one, too.
After thinking on it a while, I don’t think it matters if Hugh is from Erra’s far flung descendants or not.
Semiramis taught Erra that ‘Family–blood or found–is their strength’. That’s why Julie is family–she was adopted, and later gifted with the family’s magic. Hugh could be the same. Roland found him and threw him away, but I doubt Semiramis would. Hugh’s part of the family’s future just as Julie is.
Just my thoughts as I hide from the heat today.
Huh. well that’s that. cousins then? I mean, Kate and hugh chose to be messy kind of siblings by the end, but there’s more than one way to have the same grandmother….
Exactly this. Kate and Hugh are related. At the end of Magic Triumphs:
“Julie looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “She’s his grandmother, too. Should we tell him? Can we take him with us to Mishmar to meet her?”
“Maybe,” I said.
The boy would need to meet his grandmother at some point. But right now, he had his hands full and I doubted his wife would appreciate us dragging him off on family business.”
Definitely referring to Hugh and Im and Erra’s mother, Semiramis. So they are some sort of cousins.
Plus, in the beginning of Iron and Magic, I think it implies that Roland was specifically looking for Hugh.
“I found him,” the man with dark eyes said (Voron.)
All of Kate’s relatives shine and as per Roland, “… you shine the brightest.”
Plus, Hugh can make blood swords and armor on his own.
Plus, nowhere does it say that Im and Erra were the only children of Semiramis. Maybe they have a sister.
Is she an alpha strain? Like Sean?
Mod R, is there anyway the pack Thanksgiving celebration could be written in a short story? I would love to read that!
Short story…deleted scene blog post….
This is going to turn out to be like the Sixth Sense. You watch it and then you read about how M. Night used red as clues and then you go back and rewatch and pick up on all the red items you missed before.
Can we get a “did you miss the clues” page on the site? After an answer is revealed, then a list of all the clues that showed the answer and where they came up. It would have to have a big “Spoilers Ahead!” alert at the top of the page, but I need a cheatsheet, because I’m apparently lousy at spotting clues.
Bruce Willis couldn’t open any doors! It was so obvious! ????
Didn’t he go into the basement all the time? It wasn’t until the end that you saw it was actually blocked and he couldn’t have been turning the handle like he thought he had been?
I am with you. I have no idea what the female werewolf related clues are. I went back and read the chapters again. I’m still clueless…
I love this idea, but I bet it would be a lot of work.
I second this! I totally miss the clues all the time. Had the same OMG moment re watching 6th sense.
Who will publish the collector’s edition of Magic Bites? I think I know, since one publisher lists the book on their website, but I’d like to make sure since so far it was another publisher that had special editions of Ilona Andrews’ work.
And it’s a real shame they didn’t go for a longer version.
The collector edition has been out for quite a while 🙂 , almost a decade- here for more info https://ilona-andrews.com/2012/magic-bites-special-edition-is-out/
Thank you!!!
Were Dina’s parents and Wilmos taken by the same person??
So the female werewolf is Wilmos’ daughter like I thought then?
Can neither confirm nor deny, as I do not know, but that is not the thing I am referring to in the post that we missed.
I have assumed Hugh was a relative of Roland’s since the prologue to Iron and Magic where Roland said that “Of all the people out there, you shine the brightest.” I was sure of it when he started using his blood. Comments in Blood Heir made me wonder if he was a descendant of Erra’s. I can’t figure out how he would be her actual son, unless he also slept for thousands of years until magic returned, and I feel like she would be much more focussed on him if he were, but possible.
Thank you, Mod R! I’m happily falling into your wily rereading trap!
She had a true love who died back before the shift to tech. Why not a child?
This made me realize I did not have Magic Stars in my library. I rectified my oversight. ????????
Omg! Will it be your first read?
It’s so good, I get goosebumps whenever I think about the Hunter scene!
Hope you enjoy!
I have read it before, via the library. Once I finished the series, I thought I had purchased each book (because I like to revisit the series) and this one was missing. I probably re-read the series once every 12 or 18 months because it is sooo good.
Thank you, mod R, for the post. I ROFLOL.
I understand and agree with your reasoning for only recognizing the first post after a new innkeeper snippet is released.
Plus I enjoyed your questions. I know my answers to them. Whether or not they are correctly inline with House Andrews stories— ????♀️. However I find all the comments to your questions show the diversity of BDH. ????.
Hi, is there a movie or series deal with KD??? I’d so like to see one. I am tired/ confused of surfing the OTTs searching for something good to watch.
I am already giddy with the thought of how marvelously long the series would be if we start with Magic Bites and one episode a week…
OK she isn’t a werewolf. She never changes form. She may be modified and wanted in the inn so she can take her shot at the assassin maybe she is modified like the person that gave them the information.
I don’t know. I’ll go reread everything just for fun now.
I’m finishing a re-read of all Kate Daniels+Hugh+Ryder books, and I’m so lost with all the comments here! (rofl)
I never thought Hugh and Kate were actually related so I don’t know where that came from. As I see it, they’re siblings because they share two father figures, Roland and Voron. Same as with uncle Nick “Stupidhead” Feldman, they share a father figure. But I guess something was said in one of the Q&A I can never attend?
Also, until Julie saw Derek as mint green it never ocurred to me he could have magic, and I don’t remember any example of him using magic other than the silver extraction on the poisoned hyena, so I’m not particularly curious… (shrug) Was there something I missed?
What it’s killing me is the thanksgiving scene that’s missing! When I read the first book, I felt that Kate said, “I don’t think Crest did it, but let’s go check it out if you insist,” and a few pages later everyone was blaming her for going to his place when it wasn’t even her idea! I bet that missing scene explains everything I’ve always wanted to know!! Grrr!!!
The Kate and Hugh thing–that was was revealed directly by Ilona and Gordon during a book release party I attended, I *think* it was for Blood Heir. That’s all I’ll say on that because it’s kind of a major spoiler. But no, I can also confirm they are not siblings.
I know we “discovered” that Kate’s magic could keep people she loved alive in Magic Breaks when she ends up in Mishmar with Ghastek but that was never super clear to me. Guess now I know why Curran managed to survive going wild when exposed to Erra’s magic in Magic Bleeds. It was Kate staying by his side for 2 weeks that brought him back? I learned something new today.
I was actually wondering if the female werewolf was Wilmos’s daughter or somehow related to Sean (maybe a cousin or aunt or something), it’s the only thing I can think of that would make her so single mindedly obsessive in tracking Sean and Dina everywhere.
I haven’t read Iron & Magic so anything about Hugh/Elara goes over my head lol. I have the book, I just need to sit down and read it!
I assume this “Kate and Hugh” spoiler some seem to have is something other than “they are not born siblings”, because that is something we all know from the books, so I don’t understand why this is even discussed? They choose to be family, and share bloom magic, just like with Julie (and someone above quoted Erras mum to show how this makes Erra see these magic bloom children as family too).
But as far as what we KNOW from the books, Hugh grew up orphaned in France. So we don’t know his lineage at all at this Point, because beither does he! If there is some plans for revealing that in the second or third Iron and Magic books, that will be interesting, and might I suggest that if this is the “spoiler” people who attended a Q and A has, that this spoiler is refered to as a spoiler about “Hugh’s parentage spoiler”! So we stop this mixing it up with “are they siblings” stuff, which at this point is answered in cannon.
If the “Hugh’s parentage spoiler” somehow turns out to lead to a genetik link with Kate (through her mother one presume), that will be canon only once it is written into an official story or confirmed as cannon and allowed to be known by the authors.
Right now I think it is unnecesarily confusing when posts are made about Hugh, since it seems some people seem to have believed Kate and Hugh was siblings because they misunderstood the books (which I’m sure is not the case, but it ready that way). I’m sure this is just a mix up because some of you know something about Hugh the rest of us don’t.
So for clarity and to spell it out really clearly: we all agree and know they (at this point) accept eachother as adopted family, not biological (as far as they know so far in the narrative), right?
And the spoiler is about something to do with Kate and Hugh, according to these in the know.
Hugh’s parentage is actually revealed in the blog. How he’s related to Kate besides her being the closest thing to a sister he has, I’m not really sure.
WHAT???
I totally missed this. Do you remember anything about that particular post?
Hugh’s paternal line can be gleaned from https://ilona-andrews.com/2021/dont-fight-with-fate/ ????
Thank you so much! You’re the BEST!
:0 Asklep, as in the son of Apollo and the god of healing???
Re-reading it…
Hugh Asklepisovich.
Hugh, son of Asklepios (Asclepius), the god of medicine!
… That makes a lot of sense, haha.
I love how his parentage came up in the context of explaining Russian patronymic naming to non-Russian BDH who jumped to conclusions about Roman’s family name.
Hi Vanessa, this is the 3rd time you post this comment, are you trying to make it on different threads or is it an error repeat?
Sorry. I meant to do two each on a different thread. Not sure how I managed the third.
♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️
Thanks Mod R!!
Mod R, you’re the best! We love having you as part of House Andrews! Thanks or everything you do, for us and for Ilona and Gordon!
Apotheosis
Is the word Teddy Joe used trying to describe Christoper, but rejected. I think that is what Elara is.
Unless she is exactly the same as Christopher, because she was forced to absorb a god qbd didn’t do it voluntary…
Werewolf is Wilmos daughter. She has deep father issues .
Is the werewolf a vampire hybrid – using blood weapons “She ripped into it, stabbing the robe in a frenzy with two blood-red knives” and wearing armour similar to Syn armour? Plus Karat insists on carrying her – can set sense they vampire part of her?
Probably way off ????
I mean, I also don’t quite think Dina with no magic outside of the Inn would be able to quickly carry an injured werewolf (even just in human form). Karat in broken armor would be able to deal with that part much easier. Also given how Karat and the werewolf got their asses handed to them when they are supposedly the fighters while Dina kicked ass, Karat likely wanted to help somehow..
Okay but also I do like the vampire/werewolf thought though! We haven’t seen one of those yet!
I haven’t read any of the new innkeeper since I’m waiting for it to be published, and then can devour it all at once. I just reread Sweep since the Natilie Nautis version was on sale a few weeks ago. Graphic audio are really pounding them out!
Well…that’s one way to guarantee some re-reads over the summer…. nicely done, Mod R, nicely done. (smile)
Yes, but i love that Roman wears Eyore pyjamas!!!
I’ve put off reading the latest Innkeeper stuff since I’ve been meaning to reread all of the other books first. However, I’m going to put out a (VERY far out) theory that the female werewolf is actually Sean and Dina’s daughter from the future. I honestly do not expect to be right—like at all. It’s just something I’m hypothesizing from the information I’ve seen in the comments.
TIME travel is a fun one to add to the mix! But wait. Doesn’t she make an awkward pass at Sean (including ‘so that’s what you look like’ from Chapter 2) before saying Wilmos is missing?
OMG if she does make a pass at Sean then my theory is definitely wrong, LOL! It’d be Luke and Leia all over again and House Andrews would NEVER do that. ????
Mod R or BDH – I need some help! In the Hidden Legacy series is Leon’s magic ever named? I can’t find it so I’m asking for indulgence (or pity) and help!
Thanks!
https://ilona-andrews.com/2021/baylor-family-tree/
He is a Notable Magnus Sagittarius
Arrgh! Apparently my autocorrect doesn’t think Magus is a real word.
The Notable was Leon Afram, Frida’s husband, and the grandfather our Leon is named after.
Leon’s level has not been tested, but speculation says he is at least an upper-range Significant Magus Saggitarius.
Personally, I think he’s a Prime. He’s incredible. I hope he gives up his romanticization of being a Dark Horse someday. People say it never works out well.
Yes to the name of the magic, no to the level. Leon is “untested”. Leon AFRAM, Leon’s grandfather was Notable Magnus Sagittarius.
And I think everyone considers him upper Significant if not Prime.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
I think Derek has Moon Magic. Partially because of stuff in his novella, but mainly because saying Moon Magic is super fun.
Saying “moon magic” IS super fun.
Also, Moloch recognized something in Derek, because he reacted when Derek appeared. Derek was part of the reason Moloch pulled back in the end. I am looking forward to the next one, and the next Innkeeper and I already bought Catalina’s new book. Basically anything IA writes. LOL
When Julie arrives to Atlanta and sees Sienna, she wonders why she took three days to mention that she should come back, since the Pastor had died three days before. I think (and I don’t know if anyone mentioned it) that it’s not the Pastor dying that made Sienna call her back but Derek’s arrival to the city (could it have taken him three days to get from Alaska?). Because the reason she could never defeat Moloch is that she needs whatever Derek is to do it.
YES
Oh, this is fantastic, & never occurred to me!! + she absolutely needed the experience of all these years against Moloch, additionally.
I need Derek’s interest in Julie spelled out for me. I live for their angst.
Anyone else kind of ship Karat/Female Werewolf? Just me?
This is great. Happy for story to unfold across the new books as hA chooses, but also enjoying the hints.
I remember Elena’s magic being described as really cold and really old, like primevally old. Interestingly, there are several mythologies that describe the beginning times (before earth’s creation) with a female emphasis.
OK – Rampant speculation about how Dina was able to defeat the corrupt ad hal when she away from her inn.
1. I remember reading but cannot find a theory that Baha-char was the source of the inn seeds, which is why it is almost always the first link they make. Maybe Dina tapped into that primal source when she rooted herself to the planet?
2. Connecting to the baby in that died somehow gave her something she didn’t have before. She is, in effect, a double inn keeper.
My theory was because Dina currently has a lot more guests and Gertrude Hunt is stronger as a result.
I think it is related to how Maud was able to stop time during the hunt. She realized that she should not have been able to do that as it was an Ad-hal power. Which has been stated comes from within them.
“The Keeper is the very soul of courtesy….”
I’m feeling better about my idea that he is Caesar.
I am thinking the female werewolf is also an Alpha strain like Sean. Or a half Alpha . There must other survivors like Sean’s parents that mated or Mated with humans or nonAlpha werewolves.
Ahhhhh! I wondered why the female werewolf was so heavily invested in Wilmos’ welfare. I suspected she was a relative of some sort: a long lost daughter or granddaughter? Perhaps a sibling? Or possibly a former wife who suddenly wants to reconnect? That child you didn’t know about suddenly needs medical help …?? It always seemed that she wouldn’t really go quietly … especially as she’s been ‘sighted’ on three different occasions… once outside the inn on earth, and now twice at Baha Char !!
The unnamed female werewolf does not shift when she fights. So can’t, won’t, not a werewolf? Can’t because it will corrupt her? Also the backstory on why she’s there – to court Sean – is all Dina’s assumptions. All the werewolf says is she want to talk to Sean, not Dina, and wait, etc. The Sphinx makes it so she can’t talk, now she’s injured and can’t talk. She knows something about Wilmos and was trying to tell Sean. Also she attacked the corrupted ad hal as soon as it appeared. Why?
I am thinking the female werewolf is a hybrid that cannot change or shift into wolf or werewolf form. In the battle with the ad-Hal she does not shift so I am thinking she can’t. She might be a human-werewolf mix, like how Helen is Vampire-Human.
Also she might be yet another assassin sent to kill the Sovereign. She finally gets into the Inn and in the middle of the Spousal Selection.
The kidnapping of Wilmos might be part the plan of the secret organization out to destroy the ad-hal’s , the Assembly and take over Earth! With the 12-point gate near Earth whoever controls Earth can control the gate and dominate the quadrant. Mwah..ahh ahh ahh
Leon, Nevada’s cousin, is likely a Significant Level Magnus Sagittarius.
The Leon from the link above refers to their Grandfather on the mom, Penelope, side. He is a Notable level Magnus Sagittarius.
Just so 🙂
He doesn’t want to get tested so we’re left with the suppositions that he’s likely at least upper-range Significant.
Hi Mod R **Waives**
Thanks for the fun activity challenge!
Also great news about Sweep of the Blade on Graphic Audio. Question though – are the other Sweep series books by Graphic Audio going to be also available through Audible? I have the first two and they’re awesome!
Thanks again for your filling in with fun bits while we wait for more Sweep.
Yes! ????
GA content will be exclusive on their app for the first month, but then it will show up on Audible and other retailers.
So One Fell Sweep is already on there https://tinyurl.com/bdh6zmfa
Sweep of the Blade will be on Audible on the 1st of August.
Sweep with Me will hit on 1st of September 🙂
Thanks for the timeline Mod R! You’re a great addition to the House Andrews Team.
Thanks…… You can take that many ways.
Thank yoooooo Mod R! 😀
I’m betting that Elara is an appearance avatar.
Teddy Jo shook his head. “It’s not apotheosis. Apotheosis implies reaching the state of rapture and divinity through faith. It’s not an appearance avatar.”
“No,” I said. “That would imply the deliberate voluntary descent of a deity to be reborn in a human body, and from what I understand there was nothing voluntary about the process. Deimos wasn’t reincarnated.”
-Magic Binds, chapter 9, p151-2 (ebook)
If whatever Elara contains volunteered to become part of her, that would fit with the above definition of appearance avatar.
Yeah, Teddy Jo mentions avatars 3 times in two chapters, 8 and 9, so I think it remains a possibility.
The problem is I can’t remember if the KD books said avatars can only manifest as gods during a flare; Elara manifests as her abominable other self to rescue/retrieve Hugh (not in a flare, but after sacrificing some cows).
Never mind, I reread it, and an appearance avatar is explained as different from an avatar that can only appear during a flare and would otherwise disappear: “the deliberate voluntary descent of a deity to be reborn in a human body.”
That’s my guess.
I just spent a lot more time today reading about Hinduism than I thought I would when I woke up. Interesting regardless.
A foreshadowing and the female werewolf? The plot thickens. I thought the female werewolf could be a relative of Wilmos because she knew that Sean will be at baha char for Wilmos, and then she also knew that Dina will be at baha char for the scaled lady. Wilmos sells weapons and devices, so maybe the female werewolf used something to track Sean and Dina (because where Dina is, it’s possible Sean will be at). But now… No, it couldn’t be. The female werewolf couldn’t be part of the kidnapping plot, because the evil adhal almost killed her in Chapter 16. Could it be about the hair? Does the female werewolf have the same hair as Wilmos? Will have to check that out tomorrow in the first chapters, I have to sleep. Thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Mod R! Now I have to go back and reread everything specified. Also, now that Ilona and Gordon are free agents and no longer under contracts, will we (as the BDH) see how Arabella’s story turns out? She is absolutely someone we want to know, especially given the little snippets. Thank you again, we love all of your hard work!
Nothing in that direction has been announced officially, but the possibility is always discussed and House Andrews are aware how much the fans want it to happen 🙂 . That always counts for a lot!
Thanks, ModR!
Although this does seem like the equivalent of the cool Aunt letting the kids have ALL THE SUGAR!!! while the parents are gone.
Not the the BDH is running in hyper-active excited circles . . .BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL THE COOL INSIDER ModR KNOWLEDGE!!! And we shall read ALL THE THINGS AGAIN!!!
I keep wondering how the female werewolf knows where to turn up. First with the sphinx and then at the weapons shop. If she were following them seems like Sean or Karat would smell her. Gaston saw her outside the inn portal on Baha char and they ran her off. How is she tracking the action?
I came for the picture (That cat’s face????) – but YUM! – that was some good stuff. Thanks!
Just wanted to say, the Webpage is looking particularly snazzy these days. Beautiful pictures. Well organized. Easy to get around and find stuff.
Good Job Mod R.
That’s all Ilona but I will pass on the compliments! ????
Maybe this is listed elsewhere, but in Sweep in Peace, Nuan Cee’s grandmother tells him that “We owe her [Dina] a great debt. We owe her parents a debt after everything they have done for us.” What debt did they owe Dina’s parents for? I’ve been relistening to the entire series. I have NOT been reading the current book in progress because I’d rather wait until it’s finished. Maybe it was never made clear in the currently published books? Or maybe I just keep missing it?
Well, of course Kate and Hugh aren’t brother and sister genetically! What they are are family by adoption…or as a friend of mine puts it, assimilation. (Resistance is futile, she says.)
The same person raised and trained them (Voron) and the same person wanted to run their lives for his own advantage (Roland) and screwed them over. Close enough. Hugh is also the one person Julie would know would understand how she felt when her bond with Kate dissolved…and could help her get past it.
And concerning Elara, the description of her manifestation, when she rescued Hugh in I&M and the other hints we get, reminds me of a Lovecraftian Elder God…
Or maybe I just read I&M and the last few of Sterling’s Change novels too close together.
Re Elara, the primordial godess Kaos is said to be the OG of mists and gave birth to the other elder Greek gods, including Nyx, etc. In ancient Persia, Anahita was the goddess of all the waters and gave birth to Mithra – who was eventually worshiped by the Romans in the form of a bovine sacrifice.
I am really hoping Dina got baby inn powers and they are expressing themselves. I cried when the baby inn died, so it would be really nice to think that something of the baby inn’s essence is going on.
Is the female werewolf thing we’re missing related to Karat? She seemed to be pretty invested in making sure she was okay after the fight with the corrupted ad-hal
Nope ????
I’ve wondered about the Record Keeper’s magic. When Victoria took the bullet for Nevada & Michael appeared to administer punishment for breaking the rules about interfering, the dark shadows that gathered on the walls ‘ate’ magic, as Nevada found out when she tried to intervene. So is this a version of antistasi magic, except it eats magic rather than negates it? Given that Victoria can’t be the only person to ever have tried to interfere in House formation, is this magic tied to the person – in other words, the Record Keeper just happens to have this magic naturally – or is it tied to the Office? So when Michael succeeds the current Keeper due to retirement or death he too will be able to wield this magic?
On this point:
Kate and Hugh are not brother and sister, half or otherwise.
One thing that always confused me a bit…. in Iron and Magic it’s kind of a big deal that Hugh kept his blood powers, especially with that end scene with Roland. There’s also that line “She’s his grandmother too”… referring to Semiramis? So I just kinda always assumed they were cousins or something.
But then in Blood Heir, Julie keeps her blood powers and it’s not a big deal at all.
Also crackpot theory: but what if Erra and Hugh are related in some form? They kinda have similar strengths with the army and all…. Dunno how long Erra was sleeping for, but I’m assuming that Hugh was found by sometime in early medieval France. Could be some sort of descendant? Or.. a more direct relation ? Anyway going to stop my crackpot musing from getting worse, lol
In regards to the werewolf. The original people were not shapeshifters, correct? So she hasn’t transformed in front of us yet, but she has the alpha armor. She’s fast though, & Shaun recognizes her as a werewolf. Could she be a descendant of the original Auul people? Was Wilmos helping to reproduce their species?
And if so could the sun horde be behind his kidnapping?
She has a hard suit, that is not the same as Alpha nano armor as far as we know ????
So that is not a no to the descendant thing? ????
It has always bugged the hell out of me that Kate got blamed for the Crest-as-bad-guy fiasco when she kept telling the lynch mob “no, you’re wrong!” It still bugs me.
I am apparently too dim too figure out anything in chapters 16 and 17 that might possibly be useful foretelling. I see she wears a hard suit and fights with two red knives. She must be watching the door to the Inn because she showed up when the corrupted ad hal attacked. She obviously isn’t on a mission to kill Dina or she could have done so and shown up at the Inn with her dead or damaged body to use as a bargaining chip. She didn’t change like many werewolves do: she is either unwilling or unable to. If she changed she would destroy her armor. She wasn’t one of werewolves at the mercenary convention in One Fell Sweep or Sean at least would remember her. She couldn’t have fought under him at Nexus for the same reason: I’ll bet Sean knew every one of his soldiers. Dina and Karat rescued her because it was the right thing to do. Whatever the clues are, they are too tiny or tricksy for me to discern. And I do love to try to figure things out. That’s one of the things I love about books by HA—I can rarely predict correctly.
Except about Caesar. I am 100% confident about my belief there.
You did actually figure out the foreshadowing, somewhere in there ????. Now we just have to be patient (dirty word, I know) and see how it develops.
Your posts are every bit as important as those from the AL!
Plus… you confirmed what I was thinking about Elara and sneaky mod that you are now I have to re-read Blood Heir for hints about Derek’s special magic.
I simply cannot wait for August to roll around for Ruby Fever. Is there any possibility of an Arabella trilogy? That would totally round it all up for us!
Mod R,
I can’t thank you enough for telling us about the Graphic Audio books. I have now “binged listened” to all the Innkeeper books (I now love sitting in traffic) and am trying really really hard not to listen to Sweep of the Blade, (there are no more IA books afterwards and you know how you savor the last bit of a particularly savory treat crumb by crumb?) (we’ll see how long I’ll last)….
Revisiting the books through GA is spectacular!
Are the other series going to be on GA? Can I beg for them to be?
“Roland and Erra were both buried in caves, asleep, before magic came back.”?
But Jim’s file on Roland mentions that he appears in pictures during the tech era, and there must have been times when the magic was powerful enough for him to move around when the “younger gods” like the Morrigan were created. Had he a better battery than Erra? Or had he claimed more land that fed him a greater than subsistence level of magic?
Thank you Mod R for these delightful insights. Still trying to figure out what they are though haha. I reread both SoH chapters and the only thing I could think of is that the werewolf didn’t change form when it attacked the corrupted ad hal ???? so there might be something there?
Curiouser and curiouser! Things that make me go hmmm….Maud buys three new medical beds for the inn. Maud who has been in contact with Klaus. THREE new beds. Perhaps one for Wilmos and two for missing Mama and Papa DeMille?
well, i’ve never commented on the internet before but, I was thinking that the werewoman has to be related to Wilmos or Sean.(apologies if this is too much, my family doesn’t like watchin’ movies with me ‘cuz i’m a spoiler guesser) p.s. to Ilona & Gordon-I Love your Books!!! Thank You!!!
Thank you, Mod R, for sharing these!
Regarding Elara, I’ve always assumed she is an avatar of some fearsome pagan god/goddess…. As for which specific deity, I don’t think we can determine it with 100% accuracy, also because e.g.many pagan goddesses across European pantheons had similar aspects as the religions influenced one another.
Hecate is the first to come to my mind when it comes to fearsome goddesses connected to darkness and magic. But I don’t think House Andrews would choose her, I think some Slavic or Germanic deity is more likely, such as Perchta or Holda.
Can’t wait for the Iron Covenant 2! <3
Is Elara an appearance avatar? A dirty that chose to be reincarnated as a human? maybe to save her people but now they can’t pray to her bc if they do she might disappear in a strong tech wave? That’s the best I got on the hint given.
I think that in Blood heir Julie’s “great uncle” Namtur alludes to what Derek may be when he called him the shepherd of the wolves. It sounds almost like a title. And if we know anything about the author lords they weave mythologies throughout their books. I think this title means something and it’s related to the changes Derek experienced and all these new powers he has. Can’t wait for the next installment from the series.