I did too; it was less complicated than Grace, but it was a nice contrast that Clara was if anything more formidable (if less experienced) than Istvan--and as it developed, substantially better at tactics that didn't involve hitting things/people. (also, I finished it, um, yesterday).
The Smooth Men resolution was problematic, but...I don't know whether it's better or worse (more tropey) that by my read, they didn't "not kill him" because they felt sorry for him or murder him because it was The Only Way (although it pretty clearly was). Instead, it felt to me like they didn't kill him because they weren't -sure- it would solve what really was a serious problem (the Smooth Men had gone viral, duplicating them and spreading throughout the lands, murdering as they went), but they didn't want to murder someone if there was another way, and couldn't be absolutely sure killing him would end the problem. And, of course, the end was very much The Trope, but a very half baked one; despite having said several times it would have been more expedient, they can't expunge their progagonism to commmit murder, forcing him to See the Horror and take it of their hands.
I'm not sure, given that she wanted a Sympathetic Cause (which was a contrast to the speculation that it was an evil cult in Grace) how it could have been made better. Having the potter NOT be suffering brain damage would help a lot; just have him be innocent and in love with/abused by his own creation, until he realizes the Awful Truth in act three. Making him more of a character would probably also make his tropey sacrifice mean something. We have a through-line here of him bringing galatea to life, then the increasing abuse cycles, then a half-formed attempt to end it followed by more abuse and near abandonment, and finally resolve and a final sacrifice, but the whole thing is made more muddy and hapless by the dementia.
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The Smooth Men resolution was problematic, but...I don't know whether it's better or worse (more tropey) that by my read, they didn't "not kill him" because they felt sorry for him or murder him because it was The Only Way (although it pretty clearly was). Instead, it felt to me like they didn't kill him because they weren't -sure- it would solve what really was a serious problem (the Smooth Men had gone viral, duplicating them and spreading throughout the lands, murdering as they went), but they didn't want to murder someone if there was another way, and couldn't be absolutely sure killing him would end the problem. And, of course, the end was very much The Trope, but a very half baked one; despite having said several times it would have been more expedient, they can't expunge their progagonism to commmit murder, forcing him to See the Horror and take it of their hands.
I'm not sure, given that she wanted a Sympathetic Cause (which was a contrast to the speculation that it was an evil cult in Grace) how it could have been made better. Having the potter NOT be suffering brain damage would help a lot; just have him be innocent and in love with/abused by his own creation, until he realizes the Awful Truth in act three. Making him more of a character would probably also make his tropey sacrifice mean something. We have a through-line here of him bringing galatea to life, then the increasing abuse cycles, then a half-formed attempt to end it followed by more abuse and near abandonment, and finally resolve and a final sacrifice, but the whole thing is made more muddy and hapless by the dementia.