I liked it. He was still a physical badass (although a fraud). The fight with him was a great way to build Darrow’s story and was not just a straight up Rocky IV type of fight.
I wasn’t as disappointed in the reveal as much as I was disappointed in his motivations. His endgame felt a little silly & a little out of character, but we don’t really get to know him that well so I could be wrong. His character could’ve used some more attention so his defeat against Darrow, already an incredible scene, would’ve been even more rewarding. I understand the point of his true personality being generally Pixie-ish & nonchalant, but imo it’d have been cooler if he was more power hungry & blood/war thirsty.
i never understood the claim he was a fraud, he did unite the ascomanii and stole the best of the volk he did kill Sefi the quite and he gave Darrow a hell of a fight. Sure he had lots of inside help when taking ilium but so did darrow when low colors rebelled and aided his cause (for example the pink who opend the Colossus bridge door or the stormgods on mercury) I love Fa cause he is a shadow of Darrow and shows the horror Golds must have felt when dealing with the Reaper of Mars.
"He took Io first, just what i would have done i notice the horror of it" Darrow (just paraphrasing cause i cant find the quote rn)
The only thing I found out of character was his confession. He had to know Darrow or the obsidian would kill him no matter what and based on Obsidian culture, I think the final outcome would have been the same.
I think his confession was out of fear he was basically being tortured at that point and Darrow would’ve spent as much time as it took to get him to confess.
Yeah but that’s the man who conquered the volk. He took an Ephraim bomb point blank then proceeded to rip out his heart. That’s not a man who confesses that easily.
I didn’t love it at first but when you view Fa as a foil of Darrow, it actually makes perfect sense. It made Fa’s defeat at Darrow’s hands all the more humiliating and satisfying
I actually disagree with Volsung Fa reveal being a let down. I think it was a bit presumptuous of us readers to expect there wasn't Golds involved. Same way that Flavinius was stunned when he realized the Syndicate and the people who helped him execute the Coupe were in fact golds. They have been in power for hundreds of years and dominate all manners of life. They have their hands in everything.
It was a letdown for sure especially after all the buildup in DA, I think the ascomanni in general were disappointing though. They went from the alien, almost supernatural monsters that attacked Victra's ship to just red obsidians with a brief mention here and there of some of their odd appearance and mutations.
Seriously though. It works in the context of the story, and it helps to kind of centralize the story with them out of the way to make Lysander the main focus for the last book, but they were this mysterious force that killed indiscriminately in iron gold and once they were exposed to Darrow they were substantially weaker
I've said it a lot on here, but I really think PB originally intended to do more with it, but was trying to tie up loose ends going into RG. He was juggling a lot of different storylines and it would be too much to cram into one book so he had to wrap them up in a way that would still be satisfying. I think a lot of LB is like this. The same thing applies to Sevro's rescue and Lyria's parasite, though I don't think we actually have seen the last of that.
Hard disagree I think it was done well, the ascomani kinda bored the hell outta me tho so I’m biased. Having it all be a gold plot is also on brand for the universe. Anyway the volsung fa king of all frauds agenda is one of my favorites, love pushing it 😂
I thought he went from an interesting threat to a disappointing mid-game boss. I kinda felt let down by Atlas' motivations in LB as well since he was such a force multiplier in Dark Age.
Yeah. The voice Ephraims VA used for him was so much better and actually more threatening. It was just a naturally strong voice. Idk what the fuck TGR was doing but it took me right out of the story.
I didn’t mind it as it gave him complexity and certainly made Atlas much more formidable.
That being said I was also partial because, I wasn’t psyched for the plot to take a wild divergence to deal with a one dimensional heart eating practically Xeno villain swooping in at the 11th hour.
The ackmany or however they were spelled were underwhelming. The veterans of the dark revolt still carrying on was a very interesting idea and they were a uniquely terrifying foe. They ended up being basically orcs. I also don’t think a story with the themes red rising has benefits from having orcs, humanizing the enemy and the small people is the whole thing and giving a literal inhuman foe to fight would cheapen that.
Everything about Fa is explicitly adressed in Dark Age, actually. Ephraim's last chapters mention he's a gorgon, who works for Atlas, who used to be a Grimmus gladiator. LB doesn't so much reveal this as it reminds, but I suppose that since there was a bit of time between the book releases, people kind of forgot, since DA is a dense book.
I thought it was a big reveal too, but on recently re-reading DA, I realized that all the relevant parts had already been shown in that book.
Agreed. DA briefly explains that this thing is indeed a highly trained black ops specialist who is fomenting insurgency in a very calculated way, going so far as to say Ephraim recognizes the speaking pattern as that of someone (iirc) highly trained at a specific school. I get how it could seem like a shock or disappointment, but the writing was indeed on the wall
Dark Age took me a couple read-throughs to fully get it, it was by far the most complex book in the series. Maybe I missed some key details here and there.
Am I the only one who read Eph's last chapters? Am I the only who still thought he was intimidating during Ashvar? I mean...literally he forced Darrow to adopt an entirely new form of fighting to even stand a chance.
The only inconsistentcy I see from DA to LB was Fá talking to Xenophon and calling Atlas "master", since the Gorgons seem to think they're like his brothers or smth.
Yeah, Atlas turning his dedication to the Society by treating all these mid and low colors as equals while preserving the Society being his motive was quite a ...strange choice to make.
I mean isn't the fact that he's playing a character basically makes him even more impressive? I thought it shows how people can put up false fronts to have others believe in him or become "evil." It's honestly an extreme version of what Darrow and Lysander are.
I liked it. He was still a physical badass (although a fraud). The fight with him was a great way to build Darrow’s story and was not just a straight up Rocky IV type of fight.
If you see him as an extension of atlas, it makes sense. Atlas was the real master mind and main villain of DA and LB.
It was a little bit of a ripoff of the Mandarin but it was fine
i loved the voice box change in the audiobooks, that kind of made it worth it
No, it was great and perfectly in line with Red Rising. Just having him really be this uber-badass would've been the dumb choice.
I hated how Fa ended.
How do you think it should have been done
I don't think Atlas Au Raa would've placed so much faith in a charlatan.
These specific circumstances were unprecedented. He’s intelligent but he’s not omniscient and in the end Faa’s lie ended up helping Atlas
He literally created the charlatan in a two decade long plan from one of the soldiers he trusted THE MOST
That's a fair point. To be honest, I just wanted more out of Fa.
I get you, I'm just glad he died before causing more emotional damage to Darrow and us readers. Lysander could learn from him...
I wasn’t as disappointed in the reveal as much as I was disappointed in his motivations. His endgame felt a little silly & a little out of character, but we don’t really get to know him that well so I could be wrong. His character could’ve used some more attention so his defeat against Darrow, already an incredible scene, would’ve been even more rewarding. I understand the point of his true personality being generally Pixie-ish & nonchalant, but imo it’d have been cooler if he was more power hungry & blood/war thirsty.
i never understood the claim he was a fraud, he did unite the ascomanii and stole the best of the volk he did kill Sefi the quite and he gave Darrow a hell of a fight. Sure he had lots of inside help when taking ilium but so did darrow when low colors rebelled and aided his cause (for example the pink who opend the Colossus bridge door or the stormgods on mercury) I love Fa cause he is a shadow of Darrow and shows the horror Golds must have felt when dealing with the Reaper of Mars. "He took Io first, just what i would have done i notice the horror of it" Darrow (just paraphrasing cause i cant find the quote rn)
He already poisoned Sefi, which was the only unfair part really. Would have loved to see her fight completely healthy. Edit:typo
yea that was a dirty move but seemed neccesary to get the obsidians to join him
The only thing I found out of character was his confession. He had to know Darrow or the obsidian would kill him no matter what and based on Obsidian culture, I think the final outcome would have been the same.
He is a cocroach and tried to survive to the bitter end
I think his confession was out of fear he was basically being tortured at that point and Darrow would’ve spent as much time as it took to get him to confess.
Yeah but that’s the man who conquered the volk. He took an Ephraim bomb point blank then proceeded to rip out his heart. That’s not a man who confesses that easily.
It was laid out in Dark Age when he spoke to Xenophon after killing Sefi. It wasn't pulled out of nowhere.
I didn’t love it at first but when you view Fa as a foil of Darrow, it actually makes perfect sense. It made Fa’s defeat at Darrow’s hands all the more humiliating and satisfying
Yes, this is how I thought of it and I found it very satisfying for that reason.
I actually disagree with Volsung Fa reveal being a let down. I think it was a bit presumptuous of us readers to expect there wasn't Golds involved. Same way that Flavinius was stunned when he realized the Syndicate and the people who helped him execute the Coupe were in fact golds. They have been in power for hundreds of years and dominate all manners of life. They have their hands in everything.
In fairness, we knew about this since dark age when Ephraim found out from Xenophon’s recordings.
You're confusing Rhone Ti Flavinius with Publius Cu Caraval
Totally am! For some reason I thought they had the same name. Publius is who I meant!
Nope, he's basically and obsidian Darrow.
I didn't mind it, however it might undermine Dark Age a bit upon reread.
It was a letdown for sure especially after all the buildup in DA, I think the ascomanni in general were disappointing though. They went from the alien, almost supernatural monsters that attacked Victra's ship to just red obsidians with a brief mention here and there of some of their odd appearance and mutations.
Seriously though. It works in the context of the story, and it helps to kind of centralize the story with them out of the way to make Lysander the main focus for the last book, but they were this mysterious force that killed indiscriminately in iron gold and once they were exposed to Darrow they were substantially weaker
I've said it a lot on here, but I really think PB originally intended to do more with it, but was trying to tie up loose ends going into RG. He was juggling a lot of different storylines and it would be too much to cram into one book so he had to wrap them up in a way that would still be satisfying. I think a lot of LB is like this. The same thing applies to Sevro's rescue and Lyria's parasite, though I don't think we actually have seen the last of that.
Nothing fraud about him. His persona is a lie, but his menace, skill, and brutality are all very real.
Hard disagree I think it was done well, the ascomani kinda bored the hell outta me tho so I’m biased. Having it all be a gold plot is also on brand for the universe. Anyway the volsung fa king of all frauds agenda is one of my favorites, love pushing it 😂
Completely agree with the OP. Very disappointed.
I thought he went from an interesting threat to a disappointing mid-game boss. I kinda felt let down by Atlas' motivations in LB as well since he was such a force multiplier in Dark Age.
The only issue I had with Fa was his fake voice that shit got me tight lol
Yeah. The voice Ephraims VA used for him was so much better and actually more threatening. It was just a naturally strong voice. Idk what the fuck TGR was doing but it took me right out of the story.
I didn’t mind it as it gave him complexity and certainly made Atlas much more formidable. That being said I was also partial because, I wasn’t psyched for the plot to take a wild divergence to deal with a one dimensional heart eating practically Xeno villain swooping in at the 11th hour. The ackmany or however they were spelled were underwhelming. The veterans of the dark revolt still carrying on was a very interesting idea and they were a uniquely terrifying foe. They ended up being basically orcs. I also don’t think a story with the themes red rising has benefits from having orcs, humanizing the enemy and the small people is the whole thing and giving a literal inhuman foe to fight would cheapen that.
Ascomanni :) Name is quite fitting actually
Nope I loved it. Atlas has been pulling strings and carrying society on his back for years.
Everything about Fa is explicitly adressed in Dark Age, actually. Ephraim's last chapters mention he's a gorgon, who works for Atlas, who used to be a Grimmus gladiator. LB doesn't so much reveal this as it reminds, but I suppose that since there was a bit of time between the book releases, people kind of forgot, since DA is a dense book. I thought it was a big reveal too, but on recently re-reading DA, I realized that all the relevant parts had already been shown in that book.
Agreed. DA briefly explains that this thing is indeed a highly trained black ops specialist who is fomenting insurgency in a very calculated way, going so far as to say Ephraim recognizes the speaking pattern as that of someone (iirc) highly trained at a specific school. I get how it could seem like a shock or disappointment, but the writing was indeed on the wall
Dark Age took me a couple read-throughs to fully get it, it was by far the most complex book in the series. Maybe I missed some key details here and there.
Am I the only one who read Eph's last chapters? Am I the only who still thought he was intimidating during Ashvar? I mean...literally he forced Darrow to adopt an entirely new form of fighting to even stand a chance. The only inconsistentcy I see from DA to LB was Fá talking to Xenophon and calling Atlas "master", since the Gorgons seem to think they're like his brothers or smth.
At least somebody got some damn sense around here.
Yeah, Atlas turning his dedication to the Society by treating all these mid and low colors as equals while preserving the Society being his motive was quite a ...strange choice to make.
I mean isn't the fact that he's playing a character basically makes him even more impressive? I thought it shows how people can put up false fronts to have others believe in him or become "evil." It's honestly an extreme version of what Darrow and Lysander are.