I think the problem is that Annaig, ostensibly the main character, is less interesting than pretty much every other perspective character. I mean, it's not that she is totally pointless, she's the wide-eyed idealist who reads a few too many adventure tales, thinks she knows what she's doing and learns the hard way that, hey, adventures are difficult, almost always uncomfortable, and not always glorious. It's just that the other ones tend to be either more sympathetic or simply better-written.

And yes, I also enjoyed the places we'd seen or heard of before to Umbriel. Again, not that Umbriel was uninteresting, but I really like Tamriel as a world and enjoyed reading about it.

Hey, anyone else wonder if maybe the second book won't be released on paper, but instead is divided up and hidden piecemeal in TESV?

Good point about Annaig. Keyes wrote a similar but better character in his series "The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone", a princess forced to grow up when she has to flee for her life.

I think the second book will be released on paper, maybe in Fall. I wouldn't be surprised if TES V (assuming it's ever made) takes place generations after "The Infernal City", as rumored. Maybe the game will speak of the descendants of Attrebus and Annaig and their dynasty, though I don't think the Empire will be as extensive as it was under the Septims.

I've checked - numerous times, nothing.

I actually really liked what he did with Anne in those. Especially when you figure out her character solidly in that semi-mind screw sequence at the end of book four.

(it's a spoiler thread for IC, but I don't want to ruin KoT&B for people).


We'll see. I think maybe we shouldn't assume a happy ending. I'm starting to think that the survival of one may wind up being mutually exclusive to the survival of the other. If Umbriel is destroyed, then Annaig may well be killed. if it's not, Vuhon isn't going to let Attrebus live on as a threat to his designs.

My guess? Looking at how thin the book is, I'd say he wrote the whole book, and then the publishers split it in half to create more revenue. So very little will be improved, as he's already done.

I'm hoping annaig goes into villain mode and embraces the Umbriel life. It'd be interesting if in the second book Attrebus was forced to kill his love interest in the first book in order to earn his (happy for Tamriel) ending.

It's true that Keyes is unpredictable in who lives and who dies, as you find out quickly in "The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone". I have the feeling that in the end, Attrebus and Annaig will survive and possibly/probably marry. To me it's significant that Keyes shows the thoughts of Attrebus and Annaig, while only presenting Vuhon from the outside. I wouldn't be surprised if Vuhon dies, and it's 50/50 whether everyone else on Umbriel is going to die too; I can't predict at this point.

That would be kind of predctable, wouldn't it.
What Iliked about Infernal City is the fact that it was so fresh, not a fantasy book, more of a adventure book.

Predictability isn't a bad thing. What matters is how it's implemented, not whether you can predict the outcome at its basic level. Keyes, being human, can never escape his work having some level of predictability when it comes to conclusions.

Post limit.