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The Language of the Night: Saints of Steel wrap up [1]
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Date: 2025-07-14
Well, that was fun, revisiting the world of the White Rat! We’re set up for the next run of novels — I don’t know how many T. Kingfisher will write, but she promised one for each paladin. Seven paladins equals seven novels, which means at least three more, but we can hope for a delightful crossover mashup that solves the mystery of the Saint’s murder, as well as a few other hanging threads that have stuck in the net that is my mind and refuse to go away. Maybe they’ve stuck in yours as well. If I don’t name something that’s caught in your net, let us know. There is a rich bounty of hanging threads, and I know that, unlike Pokémon, I haven’t caught them all.
We can’t dismiss the Saints of Steel series as mere fluff because, despite being “light” entertainment, being Romantasy and all about happy endings, caught up with sex drives and crossed signals, it has some serious underpinnings and critiques — critiques of economics, human nature, depravity versus decency, the will to survive, and the unquenchable superpower of hope, of maybe not solving all the world’s problems, but of at least leaving the situation better than you found it.
So, here is what’s in my mental net:
The extremely important conversation between Lady Silver and Shane about the death of the Saint of Steel . Lady Silver is adamant that the Saint was murdered and it was a mysterious death. Another god didn’t kill the Saint, because that would have been a natural death and wouldn’t have left so much trauma in the Saint’s followers. “There are stories of heroes with weapons that could slay a god, but that sends a shockwave around the earth, and this did not" (Paladin’s Faith, 188).
Despite there not being a shockwave, something about the Saint’s death deeply destabilized the supernatural world, because Silver tells Shane that their god of the year, Second Waking, protected her people from the worst of it, although she calls it a hard year because of the Saint’s death (187). And it wasn’t a natural death at all, because gods aren’t subject to accidents like falling down stairs or choking on fish bones.
“Your god did not simply die, paladin, or none of you would be as you are. I have been the servant of a year, and when She died, She slipped out of my soul as kindly as She had come. She did not tear a bloody wound as your god did to you."
"Perhaps your god was less cruel," said Shane, and stopped, shocked by the bitterness in his voice.
"There are many gods that seem cruel to us, who cannot know what They know, and no doubt a few who truly are. But I cannot believe that a god who loved His followers as your Saint must have loved you would have chosen to leave you as He did. No, this was as shocking to Him as it was to you, I expect. (187)
Lacking a complete answer, Lady Silver entrusts a list of libraries to Shane where she thinks the paladins might find answers about who killed their god, and why and how. When Shane confides in Wren about the meeting and asks her what the paladins could possibly do, the two of them drive straight to the core of what I suspect will underpin the remaining novels:
“Do we need to do anything? Isn’t this all...I don’t know...god stuff?” His laugh wasn’t entirely humorless. “God stuff. I don’t know. Maybe. Wouldn’t we want revenge?” Wren was silent for so long that he wasn’t sure that she was going to answer at all. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “Are humans supposed to avenge gods? That seems like something a priest would know better than I would.” “All our priests are dead,” said Shane wearily, dropping his hands. “Maybe they’re the ones we need to avenge.” p. 191
I think the next novels are going to involve Library Road Trips!! And of course they’ll be perilous and there will be forces arrayed to disrupt, discourage, and/or murder the protagonists. (I also think the fact that the Saint was killed on the summer solstice is going to be important.)
Deep History . I’m less convinced, having reread the whole series, that the central mystery of this world is the past. As I wrote last week, Kingfisher is, in addition to being a writer, an anthropologist and has studied cultures that live in the ruins of ancient empires and don’t really question them. I don’t know how much of the deep history is setting and how much is plot material, but I expect at least some of the history to come to bear.
We know that in the deep past there was a culture that used magic — serious magic, sufficient to bind souls and produce Wonder Engines (although those two examples might not be from the same culture). Given that the Wonder Engine culture also produced a cigarette lighter in the form of a lizard and fabric that melts when burned, as nylon does, leads you to wonder whether this is Kingfisher pulling a Planet of the Apes move, and is the ivory-colored almost-impossible-to break material some kind of carbon-fused ceramic or something? It’s worth at least thinking about.
It’s also undeniable that in the past there was authentic magic, because it still resides in the Vagrant Hills, wherein dwell the rune along with all sorts of terrifying creatures: flying transparent gelatinous lampreys, rock-throwing squirrels, prophetic bunnies, stone fish, dancing dead rats, etc. And outside of the Vagrant Hills we have reports of golems being made in the past, an insane blacksmith who could bind soldiers’ souls into their weapons for eternity (and who is almost certainly on the road to godhood along with Wisdom, although Wisdom seems to be a far more decent sort than the smith), and the lingering presence of wonder workers, whose creations rarely outlive their lifespans, meaning that their life force fuels the magic that gives the creation its power.
Then there are the demons . They reside in hell. Therefore, there is a hell in this world. And the demons are trying to escape from it. At some point in the past, an escape route opened, and we don’t know where it is or how it happened. That will almost certainly come into play in the future. Wisdom gives us a fair amount of demonic information, the upshot being that, if a demon can survive in the world undetected long enough to learn how to pass from host to host, it can learn to do almost anything. The demon that rides first the rune shaman and then Brenner in The Wonder Engine has apparently been in the world as long time, is wise enough to lie low until it’s safe enough to pull a reveal.
That has me puzzled. If the demon’s motivation was to escape the Vagrant Hills it certainly succeeded. Why surface now, in the presence of a Dreaming God paladin who cannot be possessed? If its ambition was to survive in the world, it should have been an easy thing to wait for, to ride with Brenner long enough for the tattoo he bears to be removed and for Brenner to part company with Slate and Caliban.
Or was it fundamentally evil and took the first opportunity to express itself? Poor impulse control, inspired by Brenner’s jealousy of Caliban, maybe? One thing is certain: either was so isolated among the rune that it had no chance to grow into civility, as Wisdom has in Paladin’s Faith, or the beings the characters call demons are fundamentally evil.
Which brings us to Wisdom. Wisdom doesn’t seem evil. In fact, Wisdom genuinely has a conscience, and a kindly disposition toward its followers, and even some affection for Shane, who responds exactly as it expects. Wisdom subverts everything we think we know about demons, telling Shane that, unlike humans, given time, demons grow and learn.
“The difference, of course, is that your people stop growing. . . . Mine have no equivalent. Given the chance, we can continue to grow in power, and become more than we are. Give me enough worshippers, give me the power of their faith, and I will be what even a paladin would consider a god. . . . Several of what you consider gods began their lives as one of my kind.” (pp.400-401)
I’m sure Kingfisher has a few of them in mind, and the Hanged Mother is a prime candidate. The more I think about the priests of the Hanged Mother and the Archon the worse that whole arrangement smells.
After all, the previous Archon had (sensibly) surrendered when Anuket City was releasing Clockwork Boys into the world (and if you recall that episode, Anuket City citizens were living their best lives while carnage was being pounded out — somewhere else — and if that’s not a comment on modern warfare I don’t know my craft.
Anyway, the current Archon took power and promoted the cult of the Hanged Mother, whose priests are more Inquisitors/extortionist/thugs than anything else. I expect an exposure and restoration of a sensible leader. Or maybe it’s just what I dare to hope for, and dare to hope it’s reflected in the real world as well.
Why the paladins will stick with the Temple of the White Rat
Shane says it best. At bottom the paladins are not paragons of virtue, but god-touched berserkers who had their souls ripped apart, and there was only one group who took them in and tended their hurts. It’s central to the books, and it’s melancholy and moral, somber and utterly faithful:
"We owe them," said Shane. Marguerite turned to look back at him. "Beg pardon?” "We owe them," he repeated. "When the god died, they cared for us. Dozens of us fell into a stupor. Most didn't wake up again." Wren stared at her hands. Marguerite thought So much for skipping over the awkward bit. "They're good people," she said aloud. "And you can't tell me that Beartongue kept some kind of ledger for that." "God, no," said Wren, making a gesture as if to avert the evil eye. "She would never." "Still," said Shane quietly. "We owe them. For the living and the dead." p. 48
This passage pairs neatly with the one above, from page191, where Wren and Shane discuss whether the Saint or his followers should be avenged. The Saint’s murder made a lot of victims, and not all of them died.
Anyway, those are my major thought points. And because I tend to compile list for tracking purposes, here are some of the details to help you navigate the world of the White Rat:
Paladins and their partners
Caliban and Slate (Dreaming God)
Stephen and Grace (Saint of Steel)
Istvhan and Clara (Saint of Steel/St. Ursa)
Galen and Piper (Saint of Steel)
Shane and Marguerite (Saint of Steel/Dreaming God)
Wren — currently available (Saint of Steel)
Judith — currently unavailable (Saint of Steel)
Marcus — married but hiding out (Saint of Steel)
Sarkis and Halla — okay not a paladin but a victim of the Sainted Smith
Jorge (Dreaming God)
Mattias, aka Warhammer (Dreaming God)
Gods
The White Rat: lawyers and problem-solvers
The Many-Armed God: knowledge
The Hanged Mother: Inquisition
The Dreaming God: demon-hunters
The Forge God: Engineering, tithing
The Saint of Steel: battle god, now dead
The Four-Faced God: sermonizers
Lady of Grass: ?
St. Ursa: were-bears
God Wannabes
The Sainted Smith: the one who imprisoned Sarkis and has attracted followers
Wisdom: the demon with a shot better at godhood than the Smith
Cities, City-States, and Governments
Anuket City : the major power in the region. Ostensibly governed by a Senate but in reality run by a criminal consortium, the Grey Church, which operates a Shadow Market of unsavory types. A place of invention and works by artificers where cash talks, novelty is prized and law is negotiable.
: the major power in the region. Ostensibly governed by a Senate but in reality run by a criminal consortium, the Grey Church, which operates a Shadow Market of unsavory types. A place of invention and works by artificers where cash talks, novelty is prized and law is negotiable. The Dowager’s City : starting point for Clockwork Boys. The Dowager is the ruler and she’s an autocrat. The city has no other name, and there has to be a reason for that. It can’t be a good one — we just know it.
: starting point for Clockwork Boys. The Dowager is the ruler and she’s an autocrat. The city has no other name, and there has to be a reason for that. It can’t be a good one — we just know it. Archon’s Glory : Seat of the Temple of the White Rat. Run by the Archon (who, like the dowager, isn’t named) and a city of crime and deep corruption. Also the starting point for most of the adventures.
: Seat of the Temple of the White Rat. Run by the Archon (who, like the dowager, isn’t named) and a city of crime and deep corruption. Also the starting point for most of the adventures. Archenhold : sister city of Archon’s Glory? Possibly less corrupt, which is why Bishop Beartongue sets Ashes Magnus to build her salt-extraction contraption there — it’s safer, maybe?
: sister city of Archon’s Glory? Possibly less corrupt, which is why Bishop Beartongue sets Ashes Magnus to build her salt-extraction contraption there — it’s safer, maybe? Charlock : a monarchy with old warrior traditions. Figures in Paladin’s Grace.
: a monarchy with old warrior traditions. Figures in Paladin’s Grace. Morstone : an island city-state run by pirate Sealords (but not for long). Figures in Paladin’s Strength.
: an island city-state run by pirate Sealords (but not for long). Figures in Paladin’s Strength. Court of Smoke : a court run by the princes of Alta and rented out to oligarchs for branding purposes. Figures in Paladin’s Faith.
I’m sure I’ve missed some, but these were the elements that stood out to me.
I know you have thoughts and observations as well, as we wrap this up for now, so let’s share!
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