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.
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!!!