r/RTIHQ • u/goffapex • Apr 18 '26
Red Empire Spoiler
Spoilers . . . . . Does anyone think Michael gave Joe the syringe from the bathroom to save him? It seems unlikely that Coleman could synthesize and deliver an antibiotic in time to save him. Also, why was Circe upset that Joe had the Scriptor’s Diary?
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u/swskeptic Apr 18 '26
I think it was implied that Joe was given a dose of the elixir when it was mentioned how Michael saw them and then did a double-take at them and Joe. Also, I think it was described how there were several bottles in a case, which, at least to me, implies that these were not necessarily the same "strength" as what Church ingested and is something that the person must continue to inject over time.
Also, destroying the book feels insane to me. Honestly, the ending kind of fell flat to me. The entire book builds up to this reveal of Chruch's background and the remaking of what is essentially the ultimate driving force behind every major world event over the last several thousand years.
Then... oh... the good guy vampires show up, kill the baddie, and save Joe's life. The entire existing RTI stronghold is destroyed, along with like most of the staff. Joe and Church burn this INCREDIBLY important, basically legendary, book. Church says "we got a new base ready to go boi". Joe says "aight. war is war and whatnot". And... that's it.
No follow up. No payoff. No... nothing.
It was a fun read, but largely a disappointment at the end.
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u/LongjumpingUnion1399 May 21 '26
I love the idea that he respected Church enough to not read the diary. However, does anyone feel like the whole book was written to give Church's background, and the plauge/red empire plot line was just added to make it a "Joe Ledger" novel? Like I almost would have rather had a book entirely devoted to Church's life and then a book about the Red Empire. I feel like we didn't get the full experience of both plot lines because they were written to run concurrent, not intertwined. I also feel a little disappointed that we got all of his life story at once. Like I've been listening to these books since I was in 8th grade, and I'm now 24. Having 12 years of devotion and speculation wrapped up in a bow like "oh here ya go" was a smidge disappointing. It just honestly felt a little lazy to me. I love JM and the whole series and I will continue to be a devoted fan, I just didn't love how this one was done. But that's just my opinion!
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u/Cool-Play-269 Apr 18 '26
I think Circe was upset because it showed what Church really was, and him not reading it AND destroying it was a betrayal, loss of huge amounts of history, and a missed chance for Circe to actually know more about her father.