The most recent scuttlebutt that I'm aware of on Book 5 is that the first draft was finished about six months ago. It then went into what Megan Whelan Turner calls the "resting phase" before she goes back to complete work on it, and I don't know what the status is now. Apparently this book took somewhat longer than she anticipated because she wanted to get Book 6 (which is the final book in the series) mapped out enough so that she could be sure that Book 5 was compatible with what she wants to do with Book 6. No publication date or title yet, so I think this year is unlikely, but it does seem likely that Book 5 will be out next year! And she says that Book 6 is already well underway, so hopefully there won't be such a long wait for it.
I have mixed feelings about The King of Attolia. I love some aspects of it (poor Costis!), but I also find the end unsatisfying. Partly it's because it strikes me as being a little too fawning in its love of Gen, who gets to show off being the best at everything. I think in A Conspiracy of Kings we see that he's still not necessarily accepted wholeheartedly by the barons, which seems real. But Teleus...I think I agree with you, I don't understand his coming around like that, so suddenly. For one thing, he already knows (or should know) how physically capable Gen is, despite appearances. So what is it that tips him, Gen's strategic victory?
I think Ion is a name, not a nickname, but I don't know if there's fan consensus. Megan Whelan Turner's main social media presence is on Tumblr, which I have never gotten the hang of, so a lot of her fan discourse is there.
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Date: 2016-06-24 01:10 am (UTC)I have mixed feelings about The King of Attolia. I love some aspects of it (poor Costis!), but I also find the end unsatisfying. Partly it's because it strikes me as being a little too fawning in its love of Gen, who gets to show off being the best at everything. I think in A Conspiracy of Kings we see that he's still not necessarily accepted wholeheartedly by the barons, which seems real. But Teleus...I think I agree with you, I don't understand his coming around like that, so suddenly. For one thing, he already knows (or should know) how physically capable Gen is, despite appearances. So what is it that tips him, Gen's strategic victory?
I think Ion is a name, not a nickname, but I don't know if there's fan consensus. Megan Whelan Turner's main social media presence is on Tumblr, which I have never gotten the hang of, so a lot of her fan discourse is there.
So glad you like it! It's a great series.