I am not sure how to rate this book. I hated parts of it with all my heart because of the unfairness of it all, but this was intended I guess. Nevare has survived the Speck plague, but the magic makes him gain more and more weight (he becomes more powerful magically), so when he returns home to his family as a somewhat fat person, his entire family is ashamed, his family hides him away and his father starves him, mistreats him, tortures him. It is absolutely disgusting, hard to read, and so unfair. Becuase Nevare cannot lose weight, even if he does not eat for days. In the end, he has to leave his home after he has also lost his career as a soldier, and seeks to travel far away and try to lead a meaningful life there. The fatphobia that fat people encounter on a daily basis was made tangible and understandable in this book.

As a fat person who has been made fun off when going to the gym, when jogging, when eating salad, when eating pasta, or whatnot, I could really feel Nevare's struggles. I still don't like how he links being thin to getting everything he wants and that he now is entirely unlovable. It was really really hard to read at times and I also hate how it was all resolved in the last book of the series tbh.

Body size does not determine your lovability or capability in any way and yet this is the message that the novel gives you. If you're that fat, you cannot have a love life, you can just live as a hermit.

I don't know. So far I've disregarded the entire magic / fantasy aspect of the story, but it also did not really convince me. The magic does not seem to know what it wants, Nevare is just the victim who just tries to be a good person but falls prey to plots against him. Hard to read.

3.5 stars