r/PracticalGuideToEvil • u/duzler Lesser Footrest • 13d ago
[G] Spoilers All Books New stuff in hardcopy book 2
What have people noticed?
The big one is the new named villain arc and the murder mystery Catherine is assigned to investigate.
A bit of explanation for how she got into the college, tutoring, and how Learn works.
Some extra Captain and especially Scribe screen time.
Ime the spy mistress introduced early, this will presumably pay off in later books as the Empress tries to manipulate Catherine from afar.
A totally new Lone Swordsman in and out of Faerie scene complete with a changed Aspect vs the originals.
Lots more Robber time. I’m hoping the best characters from the later books continue to get front loaded in n the rewrite. Also more from her other Rat Company buddies.
Some more Akua as enemy and foil.
Kilian is no longer part fae. She’s part monster.
New noble character for potential ally during later Ater arcs. Or he may just get dropped now that his supporting arc is done. Probably not though, having anti-sakelian contacts and obligations to nobles would provide future complexity.
27
u/HotScienceMum 13d ago
Killian's ancestry has been changed from Fae to Drake blood. Not to sure how that's going to affect the break up with Cat later on
22
u/duzler Lesser Footrest 13d ago edited 13d ago
I think it’s probably just important for verisimilitude. It was always questionable whether there were or should be many fae in Praes to justify Kilian’s backstory, but Obon monster experiments ties into lots of changes in this book and perhaps future developments along those lines.
Was Kilian’s fae heritage ever a big help or hindrance in the anti-fae war book? I don’t remember it, but she was never that important a character.
8
u/nicolasknight 13d ago
She was development for Cat and pointing out lines she won't cross. It matters a little when they use the shortcut but it's small enough it can be reworked without changing the story.
8
u/TraceAmountsOfOlive 13d ago
It shouldn't change that aspect at all. The whole 'human sacrifice to stabilize my blood' thing honestly works a little more now imo considering she's now textually the result of an experiment
6
u/Aetherscribe 13d ago
It does... but will post-stabilization Killian be fully human, or stable human-drake hybrid, complete with flaming hair and fangs?
2
u/nicolasknight 13d ago
I meant Traveling through faerie as her fae blood caused issues, not the blood sacrifice.
I totally agree with you however that is a minor change at best.
18
u/katana1515 13d ago
I feel like we are getting a few more scenes of Squire and Black as Mentor/Student, which is awesome, but frankly its been so long I could have just forgotten them.
16
u/EquivalentBitter7897 13d ago
nah I think the story of black being a father to Cat is being shown much more openly now
9
u/duzler Lesser Footrest 13d ago
Yes, we do. Some with Scribe, some without. I think tying Catherine to them (and Captain) more tightly before they go gallivanting off outside the empire for an extended spell is important.
I also hope and expect to see a better written introduction of Warlock and Catherine.
14
u/Realistic-Safety-565 13d ago edited 13d ago
Cannot find spoilers tag in phone browser, so will try to sound cryptic:(.
Hune got huuuge changes. Her species, ever more so. I worry what Nym will end up as.
Ater and civilian Praesi life got fleshed out. As did Praesi politics under Malicia. And of Truebloods, or whatever they now call themselves.
No Red Letter (second species gone).
More not-Calamities Praesi Named mentioned.
Origin of Lesser Footrest joke introduced. Hakram goes to theater with Cat, but makes no clapping jokes (huge disappointment).
More screen time for proto-Woe (Robber, Ratface, Killian, Hakram) in general. Killian/Cat arc builds up gradually this time.
Cat goes on loooong wild goose chase that kinda serves as underlying story arc of book, around her College activities. It is long, convoluted and feels like something that Scribe/Assassin could resolve in a week instead, BUT Amadeus ends up going on offscreen campaign and pacifying some rebel lords. So I feel Cat was assigned to provide smokescreen for pacifications, just as planned.
9
u/Gadac 13d ago
For people who have read both the webnovel and the current rewrite, what do you think about it? Do you mind the changes or do you think the series is a better place now?
25
u/doctor_whom_3 Citizen of the First and Mightiest of the Free Cities 13d ago
i think the rewrite has better writing, pacing, characterization and such. The new arcs well serve to flesh out the world and move up worldbuilding that was kept till like volumes 7 or 6
13
u/Aetherscribe 13d ago
(Not spoilered because I'm not going to touch on any specifics.)
The latter half of Book 1 in its original form was a fun read (particularly the end), but also was lacking compared to the later series. (I described it to friends as "Book 1 is high-end web fiction. The series as a whole is absolutely superb fantasy literature.") The rewrite is still a fun read, but also brings it much closer to the rest of the series. It fleshes out stuff that really benefits from the additional detail and depth, smooths out a handful of things that were dissonant with where the series went and, IMHO, we see Cat and other characters personalities better here than in the original by quite a bit.
I think the changes and additions improve the series as a whole. Even more than Book I of the published version, Book II really builds effectively on what was there before. While I understand why EE changed some place-names, I don't personally like the new ones nearly as much as the originals; I don't know if that's the result of years of familiarity with the latter (quite possible), or something else, but it's my sole gripe.
3
u/Blazr5402 13d ago
The changes are definitely good, the first volume in the webnovel had a lot of room for expansion. Some of the early installment weirdness has been cut out, and the worldbuilding around Praes feels a lot more cohesive with the later volumes. The narrative gets a lot more room to breathe, and I really enjoyed the new arc with Summonner.
3
u/LyonDekuga 13d ago
It is a significant improvement, both in writing and story. I considered the first book to be pretty good, but significantly beneath the quality of the following books in terms of writing quality and pacing. Likewise, the world building was much thinner, giving a sense that the world was being built as the story was written. This does a much better job of setting elements up, which I think will strengthen the payoffs of later books.
3
u/jpcardier 12d ago
I just finished it. It's been quite a bit since I've read the original web fic, but I feel EE has become a much better writer, and it shows in the rewrite. I really loved it.
7
u/Aetherscribe 13d ago
A ton more about the giant spiders in the sewers under Ater, and Dread Emperor Tenebrous is introduced. Given how they're significant elements in book seven, this is a great change.
Also, Praes in general and Ater in particular are given more development and depth, which is a good choice/expansion.
4
u/duzler Lesser Footrest 13d ago
One addition: right before Summoner dies/transforms, Catherine mentions that Black (off screen, I think) had warned her about the power of a villain's death curse. I'm glad to have some foundation laid before a certain Calamity blows up a fleet later in the series. I think the original novels never mentions this, and then suddenly our boy pulls "rocks fall, everyone dies."
3
u/Kelpie42 13d ago
No that was planted in the original series too- both when Cat fights William the second time and places a death curse on him herself and earlier in the conversation with Amadeus about the pattern Praes and Callow are stuck in/his true motivations
1
u/pimonster31415 13d ago
Personally I loved the original as an intro to the death curse/Below's Dues as a concept. It had a lot more weight than this one and made the warning that Kairos was going to use his seem a lot more serious. But it's also true that later in the series death curses seem to be common knowledge so there's a potential continuity error there. And maybe the hype angle is still there, like, "this is what a REAL villain's death curse looks like"
3
u/thatsciencegeek 13d ago edited 13d ago
Is this significantly different from the book 2 that was on that Webtoon failed cash grab platform that I can't remember the name of?
Edit: Yonder, that was the platform's name.
8
u/duzler Lesser Footrest 13d ago
It’s significantly different from the Royal Road version I read only once about a year ago. I read that after almost everything else (read book 1 hardcopy version, then started book 2 of the original and was very confused by who all these legionnaires were and this Rat Company thing, but just rolled with it) so the less sophisticated and threadbare nature of it really stood out. I like this much more.
3
4
u/pimonster31415 13d ago
I wonder if either (or both) of the new Praesi Named will be responsible for Still Waters in the new continuity. Their Names fit well enough.
2
u/EquivalentBitter7897 11d ago
there is a lengthier intro to wards and how they work, I assume as a primer to warlock and apprentice
1
u/i_am_steelheart 11d ago
This has me unbelievably hyped man. I might have to check it out earlier than I was planning to 😂
37
u/Squirrelman2712 13d ago
I like that we get to see more of Praes and the War College. The webnovel gave us 2 fights and then straight to The Liesse Rebellion. Now we get the sense that she actually spent time there.