Predictions for DEAD HAND RULE
We’re almost at the three month countdown for the release of Dead Hand Rule. There are some e-ARCs out in the world (please, please send me one Tor) so it seems like an ideal time to make some PREDICTIONS.
I’ve made predictions for the Craft Wars quartet before to varying degrees of success. The tl;dr is I missed the mark for Dead Country, but smashed it for Wicked Problems.
But where do we go from here? I’m carrying forward some ideas from last time, but I’ve got some new speculation and predictions for this book specifically. Previous predictions that I’m carrying forward will be listed at the end so we can get into the new stuff.
And a quick refresher of what we do know: there’s going to be a sort of Craft!Davos in Alt Coulumb, where Tara is bringing together all the great powers of the world (many of whom were trying to kill each other a few decades ago).
Let’s go.
Note: spoilers for Wicked Problems and Dead Country, but no future Craft Wars books because I know nothing. Wish I did.
1. Dawn will visit the Hidden Schools
The cover of Dead Hand Rule makes me think Hidden Schools, or another flying university. We’ve got clouds in the foreground, and potentially floating towers in the background; there’s also a rainbow in the circles behind Dawn, and we’ve previously been told the Hidden Schools have a rainbow bridge.
Whenever Tara spoke to Dawn about the Hidden Schools and the Craftsfolk who teach there, it was couched in negative language. She didn’t trust them anymore. She didn’t want to send Dawn there. She told Dawn about Denovo and his manipulations - and then, of course, Dawn merged with Sybil, who was tortured by Denovo. Dawn does not think highly of the Hidden Schools and will want to ensure they can’t be used to fight her.
More relevantly, we have also heard about ‘The Argent Library’ in the Craft Wars books, a library at the Hidden Schools that has never been mentioned previously.
“[Glyphs] reference long-form agreements on file in the Argent Library at the Hidden Schools.”
“Eventually you’d have to reckon with the Courts of Craft, lay siege to the Argent Library, which binds all lesser archives, rewrite the foundations of Craft.”
“She is small now. If she should grow, encompass the globe, capture the markets and the Courts of Craft and the Argent Library itself, then we would exist inside her. Our minds, our dreams would shape themselves to hers. Our souls would become her instruments. We might not even know.”
Does this not sound like it’s building up to Dawn doing precisely that? Will she rewrite the foundations of Craft? Capture every soul in the world?
Even if she doesn’t succeed at this attempt, the idea has been planted there by Tara and I reckon she’s going to go for it.
2. Vampires!
Vampires will be important, but in what way? Is vampire Clarity working alone, or does she represent some kind of wider vampire interest? If we’re back in Alt Coulumb, we will also see Raz Pelham again - and don’t forget he owes his soul to the community of vampires living under the sea. Something is going to happen here.
3. Heist to save Mal
We end Wicked Problems with Mal Kekapania in Kopil’s custody, and Dawn devastated by her loss. I reckon Mal is going to be imprisoned in Alt Coulumb during the big war conference that’s going on, and perhaps there will be some sort of trial against her. I can’t imagine the outcome of such a Craft trial will be pleasant - death would be an easy option.
Dawn is going to try and save Mal, and I think Caleb will go against his friends and allies to help (even if he doesn’t fully change sides).
4. What’s going on with the Badlands?
Dead Country largely took place in the Badlands, giving us lots of worldbuilding and context for what’s going on there. Then, at the end of Wicked Problems, “Dawn raised her arms. She called out to the wasteland. The wasteland heard her, and it woke.”
What this means specifically is as yet unclear but it’s evidently important. Perhaps the Badlands will become some sort of God Wastes like we had outside Alikand/Agdel Lex? Or perhaps Dawn’s consciousness will be spread throughout this vast area, and she can use its magics? Let me know if you have any cool ideas.
5. No skazzerai until the end (except Dawn)
We know the skazzerai are the Big Bad, and we’ve also learned that Dawn is some kind of baby skazzerai. I don’t think we’ll see non-Dawn skazzerai until the very end of the book, potentially not until the as yet unnamed Craft Wars #4.
6. Elayne’s secret plan
Elayne has been working behind the scenes for years, and she plays her cards close to her chest. She’s had an association with practically all our main characters, and is connected with the major players of the world of Craft. She’s demonstrated unique ways of using Craft to her own ends (see her protective shield of past selves), and we know she’s willing to put herself on the line. She visited Zack in his secret lair, and though she clearly hadn’t seen him in years she still had a way to get in touch.
I don’t think Elayne will have some kind of magic bullet to save the world, but I think she’s got plans and magics in the background that we’ll learn more about in Dead Hand Rule.
7. All our Alt Coulumb friends will be involved
We know at least part of the book takes place in Alt Coulumb, and thus I think we can be assured that all our AC friends will be back. This of course means Cat and Raz, who we haven’t seen in ages, but also the Rafferty sisters and Matt Adorne (referenced in Dead Country but not seen), Aev and the gargoyles, and Gabby Jones. I also want to see Tara’s mom, who was in AC last we heard. She also has a connection to the Badlands which, as explained above, will also be important.
8. Alikand gang will return
They’ve just got to. We’ve had brief references to Ley and Zeddig in Kai’s POV, but I want them to show up in person. Perhaps there needs to be a heist, so Tara and Kai call their old heist buddies? Maybe they’ll join the conference as representatives of Alikand? Or will they be able to delve somewhere other than Alikand - will there be several layers of reality in the Badlands they need to jump through?
I’m also including Izza here as we last saw her as the Women Who Swallowed the Wastes in Alikand and WHERE IS SHE??? She and the Blue Lady MUST have bigger roles to play, but they’ve been off-page for the two Craft Wars books we’ve had so far.
9. What will the title mean?
Dead hand rule is a legal term, which we went over in this essay, and Gladstone said recently on BlueSky that it has several meanings within the text that fans can try to identify. A little bit of speculation about some of these meanings:
Legal dead hand rule - inalienable land held by the ‘dead hand’ of a church or corporation, allowing control of property for indefinite periods extending far beyond the death of title holders. I’m no lawyer, but this sounds Crafty. I think it’ll refer to some specific property, but what that is I do not know.
Hands of the kind-of-dead - we’ve got a bunch of basically dead folks running the world, who have their hands in all sorts of metaphorical pies.
Dead hands of the living - we also have an unusual number of people who have lost hands Star Wars style. Off the top of my head, there’s Tara Abernathy, Raymet Haaz, and Mal Kekapania.
10. The end of the world and a time jump
I reckon we’re going to end with an end of the world - maybe Dawn does swallow up the world and everyone lives within her. Maybe an older skazzerai arrives, and take over the world. I think it’s going to be bad - and then we’ll time jump before Craft Wars #4 to really reinforce how bad things are.
Now I want to have a quick return to old Craft Wars predictions. If it’s already come true, I won’t include here to avoid too much repetition.
I am removing the prediction of Caleb being a dad. It would have been cool, but it doesn’t work with where the story has gone. Also taking out ‘cultural festival’, because the plot is getting so hardcore I think there’s less time for that kind of event.
11. These characters will return (and/or cameo)
We’ve seen a bunch of charactes return, but there are more I want to see! Ignoring the AC and Alikand characters mentioned above and combining several old predictions into one for this new version:
Give me Belladonna Albrecht! I enjoy references to her so much that I wrote a whole essay about her even though we’ve never seen her on page. It could be funny if we literally never see her, but I do want to see the legend in person (particularly her interactions with Elayne).
Temoc and Gal will meet. Originally I said: “Overpowered, black and white worldview, pretty literal paladins from different orders? I want to see Temoc and Gal meet up, bond and fight together, much to Raymet’s disgust.” I initially thought holy knight BFFS, however, I now wonder if they’ll be enemies rather than friends.
Raymet and Mina will bond over academia. I still want this. Bring Mina and Raymet to AC please!
And some cameos I’d like, even if super brief:
R’ok - demon artist previously seen in Choice of the Deathless and Ruin of Angels
David Cabot - previously seen in Three Parts Dead (where did he get to in Four Roads Cross, now I think of it?)
James Regulum, Deathless King - previusly seen in Three Parts Dead
Twilling, priest / salesman - previously seen in Full Fathom Five
Tan Batac, Teo’s father - previously seen in Last First Snow
More game characters - I mentioned Verity Chen, Alana Mezatchul, or Jess
Any of Tara’s schoolfriends - referenced but not seen in Four Roads Cross
Izaak - previously seen in Ruin of Angels
12. Elayne will sacrifice herself
I still see this as happening, but maybe in the final book rather than this one? Not sure.
13. We’ll see the demon world
I still think we might! Especially if the Domain goes screwy with Dawn or other skazzerai.
14. We’ll see new locations - specifically Alt Selene
We’ve seen some great new places (Shining Empire, Chartegnon, Spirecliffs) but I think we’ll see more. I also specifically want to see Alt Selene so adding that in by name.
15. Dragons will do battle
I stand by this original prediction from years ago: can dragons stay out of a galactic war? Will Craftsfolk let them? If dragons are as powerful as they seem, with hoards of soul, they sound like a skazzerai’s favourite appetiser. I don’t think dragons will have much of a choice; I think we’ll see them enter the fight.
16. And there will be more Craft horrors
We know there will be Craft horrors, but I’m bringing this in to reference something a reader (BravoLimaPoppa) mentioned on another essay: we’ll see the horrors of Craft that people do to themselves. Will some of our characters do something truly awful to themselves in order to save the world? I’d believe it of many of them, but especially Tara.
Aaaaand that’s that, at least for now. Anything I’ve missed that you think we’re going to see?
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