US and UK covers of the first book. For once, American Kirby Is Hardcore gets subverted.
Mia: To be honest, it sounds far more interesting to be the most wanted murderer in the Republic.
Mercurio: A noble goal for any lass to aspire to.
Mia: Well, you told me once I'd never be a hero.
Mercurio: I might have lied.
—Godsgrave
A fantasy trilogy by Jay Kristoff, author of the The Lotus War Trilogy. The first novel, Nevernight, was released in 2016 with Godsgrave released in 2017. The third book, Darkdawn, was released in 2019.
On a world with three suns making it nearly always day, the Itreyan Republic is miraculously saved from the Kingmaker Rebellion on the eve of battle. The leaders are hanged publicly, Mia Corvere's father amongst them. With the rest of her family imprisoned, Mia escapes an ignoble death with the help of a dark passenger (whom she names Mister Kindly) and the newfound powers of a darkin and ends in the refuge of retired assassin Mercurio. Swearing vengeance upon those who destroyed her family, she's raised by Mercurio so that she may join the order of assassins he once served.
Provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Tric's grandfather congratulated him completing his trials of manhood by mutilating him and then hanging him outside to rot and be scorned.
- Leona's father continuously attempts to destroy Leona.
- Yeah, remember that guy who ordered Mia to be drowned at the age of 10? Turns out he's Mia's father
- Anais was murdered by his father and cast down, head severed to destroy his disciples, his corpse used to be the foundation of a new Empire venerating said father.
- Action Girl: Many - when your main character is a Assassin who moonlights as a Gladiator, she is and runs into quite a few.
- Animal Nemesis: The creatures of the wasteland that was once the Ashkah Empire do not respond kindly when Mia pulls on the shadows
- Once upon a time there was a horse named Chivalry. Within a page Mia names him Bastard and is repeatedly reminded of why she named him so.
- Animals Hate Her: Mia has a difficult relationship with horses.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Above all else, Leona wants to beat her father
- #1 on Mia's list of people who need to die is actually her father
- Aa's stated reason for not wishing Niah to bear him a son. Ultimately a self-fulfilled prophecy
- Tsana, eldest daughter of Niah, despises her mother and made the hearth to prevent the souls of the dead from falling into her mother's abyss. Niah, for her part, gifted the Goddess of Fire unquenchable thirst.
- Tric's target is his maternal grandfather. Mia kills him after Tric's death
- As Mia's ultimate destiny becomes clear, the Goddesses of Fire, Storms and Seas do their utmost to assail Mia at every turn due in part to the risk that Mia might free their mother
- Archnemesis Dad: Aa will broke no challenger to his throne
- Mia's father is Scaeva. Niah eventually uses this to drive her own objectives
- Arranged Marriage: Leona to Justicus Remus. Leona notes how she never loved the man before his death.
- It is unclear whether Mia's parents were this or simply a political marriage. Regardless, it wasn't for love
- Mia's path is constantly contrasted with how she likely would've ended up with one of these "had the fates been kinder and crueler"
- The Atoner: Furian. Having lived a life of evil, he now seeks to win the Magni believing it would be symbolic of his redemption.
- Badass Boast: By Darkdawn, fueled by her stunningly lengthy resume, Mia starts to issue a few of these to normals caught up in her mission.Mia: I am a daughter of the dark between the stars. I am the thought that wakes the bastards of this world sweating in the nevernight. I am the vengeance of every orphaned daughter, ever murdered mother, every bastard son. I am the war you cannot win.
- The Beard: Mia's father is revealed to be gay and their marriage a sham. This is furthered when its revealed that Mia and Jonnen are actually Scaeva's children.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Mia was the only one who showed compassion to Hush after he was flogged. In return, he gives her Carlotta's notebook
- Berserk Button: One minute, Sidonius is lamenting the death of Ailenne Corvere, calling her a "stupid fucking whore". Next moment, a girl half his size is beating the snot out of him for insulting her mother. This button also bites Jonnen
- She also does not take well to being called "girl"
Mia: My name is Mia Corvere. Blade of the Red Church. Champion of the Venatus Magni. Chosen of the Dark Mother and Queen of Scoundrels. Never call me girl again- Adonai does not take well to those who harm his sister.
- Go ahead, call Tric "koffi" (translation: child of rape)
- Big Bad: Consul Scaeva.
- Body Double: Consul Scaeva employs one at the Magni as he knows Mia is trying to kill him
- Scaeva wanted a new double made, which provided an opportune time to attack him as his location would be known. Scaeva immediately uses that double to bluff Mia and escape the trap
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy: Mister Kindly is the shadow Right-Hand Cat to the conniving and inquisitive Mia compared to Eclipse who was companion to the simpler, more direct Lord Cassius.
- Combat Pragmatist: Almost every named character is an assassin, a gladiator, a pirate, or a politician. You can count the number of 'fair' fights on one hand.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Deconstructed. Mia worships her parents and seeks revenge for them. Befriending a man who knew them while they lived shatters her illusions by showing all the things she worshiped them for had a dark side. This eventually batters her resolve on her original mission until she's given brand new reasons to finish the job
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Mia regrets insulting Aa's daughters
- Domestic Abuse: Leona's father beat her mother to death and openly mused about how he did not beat Leona enough.
- Disagree with your God of a husband once, find yourself locked in a cage
- Jonnen and Livianna are terrified of Scaeva after he absorbs Anais's rage
- Dragon with an Agenda: A heroic example: Mia climbs to become the Champion of the Remus Collegium, but her plan is to use her position to assassinate the leaders of the two most important institutions of the nation, an action that would bring the nation's wrath right on top of the Collegium. She gives Leona just enough warning to escape with her life
- Another one from Mia: a Pirate Captain indebted to her declares her part of his crew for legal protection. Within minutes, she uses this to claim the title of Pirate Queen
- Enemy Civil War: Cardinal Duomo and Justicus Remus are attempting to take down Scaeva by attacking the Red Church whom Scaeva is a prime patron. In Godsgrave, the Red Church wants to retaliate but is honor bound not to
- Eternal Love: What Mia and Ashlinn are going for at the end of the series, with both of them being Back from the Dead and nobody knowing where they are.
- Evil All Along: The Red Church broke the Kingsmaker Rebellion and handed its leaders to Scaeva.
- Eye Scream: Anais pokes out Aa's other two eyes when claiming the throne of the heavens.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Itreyan Republic is very much the Roman Republic with Roman names, a mighty capital city with an impressive colliseum and notorious aqueduct, and a thriving Gladiator circuit.
- First Love: Tric is this to Mia, as she describes him as her first true lover, having lost her virginity to a young male prostitute at the start of the book.
- Financial Abuse: Leonidas buys all of Leona's debts in an attempt to bankrupt her and bring her to heel.
- Foil: Mia herself has many.
- Jess: a fellow orphan from the Kingmaker Rebellion, but she blames those who sought to rebel rather than those who put the rebellion down
- Furian: a fellow darkin who willingly sold himself into the gladiator ranks for the Magni. Mia muses how he seeks to win for his redemption while she seeks to win for her vengeance. Further, Furian rejects his darkin nature, actively fights Mia's use of her own powers, and seeks the blessing of Aa.
- Furian and Lord Cassius both frustrate Mia for how little either cared about their inner natures, Lord Cassius simply accepting while Furian renouncing and actively denying
- On the eve of the Magni, Furian and Leona's false romance is contrasted directly against the real love between Ash and Mia.
- Leona: a woman of status who shows many shades of shallowness and obliviousness to the plight of those below her. Mia sees what she might have been had her father not failed.
- Mister Kindly: mused at one point to be a dark reflection of Mia's nature and thoughts. Equally, Eclipse is suggested to be a similarly dark reflection of Cassius's nature
- Cleo: The former Chosen of Niah and claimer of most of the shards of souls, she ultimately refuses her mission, unable to find reason to finish it.
- Drusilla is one for Mercurio particularly once its known that they were once lovers. He is a loyal servant to Niah, one who intended to reject fatherhood (until Mia showed up) and working within the boundaries placed to disrupt Scaeva's rise. She is a faux servant to Niah, interested far more in gold and having a massive family that she wants to support with her expansive wealth. Her incessant need for wealth indebts her to Scaeva enabling his rise.
- Fragile Speedster: Mia's fighting abilities as a gladiator: she has lots of raw speed and agility but she is small and useless with a shield and instead goes for a purely dual wielding approach.
- Gladiator Revolt: After Leona tries to sell most of her Gladiators to stay afloat.
- Healing Hands: Maggot, a pre-teen, is an incredibly talented healer for a Gladiator Collegium.
- Heel Realization: Mia discovers that the Red Church was behind the collapse of the Kingmaker Rebellion, at the behest of Scaeva
- Heroic Sacrifice: Played With - To Resurrect a God, a Chosen must sacrifice themselves. Neither Cleo nor Mia see much need for it - until Niah ups the stakes
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Mercurio gives the speech to Ashlinn.
- I Have Your Mentor: The Red Church captures Mercurio and attempt to capture Ashlinn. Scaeva strongly suggests he'll be bartered for Jonnen
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: The opening chapter contrasts Mia's first kill and first lover, both happening on the same night.
- Iron Lady: Ailenne Corvere. One of the most powerful people in Godsgrave.
- Don't scheme behind Grandma Drusilla's back. She'll send 200 hands to scour an unnavigable library for a single book, rip the ears off your sister to ensure your compliance, or convince your father to order your death
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: It takes a while but Tric eventually accepts Mia's choice and sacrifices himself to give Ash a chance to return to Mia
- Killed Off for Real: Carlotta, Ailenne Corvere, Lord Cassius, Jess, Maggot, Bryn, Wavewaker, Butcher, Eclipse, Naev, Adonai ... the number of still living notable characters in a broad cast can be counted on two hands.
- Klingon Promotion: Vaanian pirates have a code and amongst them is Heritance - if Pirate A kills Pirate B, all of Pirate B's possessions are now Pirate A's. Kill a Captain, become a Captain. Mia goes straight for the King and becomes the QueenSigursson: Just who. The ''fuck''. Are you?Mia: Well, if I understand this Heritance thing correctly ... I think you can call me Your Majesty
- Lemony Narrator: The narrator snarks somewhat in the text but goes all out in the footnotes.Narrator: "She may have been the most feared killer in Itreya, murderess of legions, Lady of Blades, destroyer of the Republic, but look, she has good in her also. Mercy even for rapists and brutes. O, cue the swelling violiiiiiins!"
- Light Is Not Good: At least to Mia's perspective. Aa, the God of Light, stands opposed to the patron Goddess of darkin. Holy relics of Aa are blinding to all darkin and Mia feels burning hatred in their glare. When all three suns are up, Mia's powers are at their weakest and when all three are set, her powers are at their strongest. Strong shadows like the clouds of a powerful storm can also create sufficient darkness for Mia to act.
- Like a Daughter to Me: Mercurio feels this way towards Mia whom he raised since she was 10
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Consul Scaeva is revealed to be Mia's father, and his son is Jonnen, Mia's brother
- Much of Darkdawn involves Jonnen learning and coming to terms with Mia being his sister.
- Master Poisoner: Mia's specialty as an assassin. Her skillset extends to the ability to diagnose poisons administered to her or those around her, as well as to cures or medicinal alternatives
- Spiderkiller who trained Mia. She even leaves Mia a present for conquering the Red Church - ultimately gifted to Ashlinn - and then callously ensures that the various options for the antidote are all empty
- Carlotta was Mia's chief (friendly) rival in this field during training
- Mission from God: It is strongly implied that Mia's goddess has a mission for her. Confirmed in Darkdawn
- The Mole: The Järnheim siblings infiltrated the Red Church to bring it down
- Mia plays this role during the Gladiator Revolt. At least, that's how she presents herself to everyone
- Arkades is dismissed for being one. It's really Magistrae
- Mercurio gladly becomes one for Mia. He eventually recruits Chronographer Aelius, Speaker Adonai, Weaver Marielle and Hand Naev - though Aelius has actually been one for far longer
- Mugging the Monster: Three Pirates try to molest Ashlinn... then Mia. They go down in about 5 seconds. Then they cry to the Pirate King who starts looking for ways to sell them off. Mia claims the King's throne
- Not Quite Dead: Scaeva's double took the mortal blow.
- Offing the Offspring: Consul Scaeva ordered Mia's death at Age 10 despite knowing that she's actually his daughter
- According to scripture, Aa bade Niah to never bear him sons and when she violated his commandment, he slew the son and cast Niah down from the heavens.
- Pair the Spares: Sid and Bladesinger almost casually hook up after being the final survivors of the Falcons in Darkdawn
- Parental Substitute: Mercurio to Mia
- Pedophile Priest: Amongst the many other sins he committed, Cardinal Duomo has this to his list of reasons to die. Mia runs into the gratitude of the brother of one of Duomo's victims.
- Person of Mass Destruction: Mia during Truedark when her powers are at their peak. During the one while she was 14, she destroyed the Philosopher's Stone and attacked the Grand Bascilla, killing many - possibly hundreds - and was stopped only by Aa's holy symbols.
- During the next Truedark, Mia and Scaeva become such powerful beings that their battle demolishes all of Godsgrave
- The Rival: Jess in Nevernight and Furian in Godsgrave.
- Hush is always the most notable of Blades on their tail, in part due to his familiarity with Mia (and the audience), in part because he's effective.
- Of the Ministry, no more venom is mutually shared than between Mia and Solis. That he killed Mia's parents ensured the final outcome
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Mia's objective.
- The destruction of the Philosopher's Stone and the Truedark Massacre were Mia's reaction to losing her mother
- Mia didn't accept the invasion of the Red Church lightly and chased down the fleeing wagon train.
- Here's an idea: we have a girl so dangerous we send every single sword we have after her and we keep her mentor as our prisoner. Mia's anger is only diverted slightly when she's told who actually completed the murder of her parents
- Running Gag: Throughout Darkdawn, people on Corleone’s ship keep calling out to him to report what’s happening in the distance, leading him to complain than he has a perfectly functional spyglass and is well aware of what’s happening. Even a battle between gods laying waste to the city they’re docked at doesn’t stop the banter.
- Sacrificial Lion: Maggot's death in Godsgrave sets the tone of the third act.
- Second Love: Ashlinn is this to Mia, Tric was the first.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Spiderkiller's first lesson is to poison everyone's morning meal and see if one of them can figure out the antidote and her end-of-year challenge is to determine an antidote to a poison - with the stipulation that they must prove it works by testing it on themselves.
- Mercurio also set up a few of these puzzles, though his were grounded more on what he knew Mia to be capable of.
- So Proud of You: Mercurio to Mia on the eve of the Magni
- Spotting the Thread: Leona realizes that Mia's combat style had changed... which leads to her realization that Mia wasn't stabbing with her dagger... which leads to her realization that the dagger wasn't the one she'd given to Mia... which leads her to suspect the executions were faked. It was not enough to prevent Mia's plans, though.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Mister Kindly gets into this with Mia, Ashlinn and Eclipse at various times
- The Undead: The wraith appears to be this. Furthered by the fact that it's Tric who was definitely killed
- Chronicoler Aelius is the original founder of the Red Church, waiting to return it to the path he'd originally intended for it
- Ash and Mia each return after their deaths
- Unwitting Pawn: Mia, Mercurio and Ashlinn are playing right into Scaeva's hands throughout Godsgrave
- Never fuck with Librarians. they'll write a false book to make you put all your forces into bomb range
- World of Snark: Mia, Mister Kindly, Ashlinn and the Narrator are all full of snark.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Cardinal Duomo attempts to pull this on Ashlinn early in Godsgrave. Ashlinn was prepared, though.
- Leona is quick to sell her gladiators when she is desperate for cash to a flesh peddler - a death sentence as the rigorous battles in unregulated matches are guaranteed to end in death swiftly. This eventually leads to a rebellion
- You Owe Me: Mia collects a few debts in her travels
- Teardrinker owes Mia for saving her and her cargo at the start of Godsgrave. Mia even quotes the trope. It's repaid by purchasing the freedom of the Remus Falcons
- Aside from Kinship, the Remus Falcons point to this as their reason for joining Mia
- Cloud Corleone feels this for Mia due to Mia killing Cardinal Duomo
