A word of advice before digging deeper into the characters and their importance in The Mercy of Gods.
We have tried our best not to spoil too much and to let you decide how much you want to know in advance. That precaution is not always a given, and if you want to keep your foreknowledge of the story at a minimum, we advise you to avoid reading the very well written Wikipedia page dedicated to The Mercy of Gods before you finish the book. Ye be warn’d
Human characters in The Mercy of Gods
Else Annalise Yannin
It all started with Else Yannin, therefore presenting the characters of The Mercy of Gods should start with her. Else Yannin is second leader in Tonner Freis’ research team, and also his lover. She is the subject of an infatuation from Dafyd Alkhor.
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During the travel to the planet of the Carryx, Else Yannin gets romantically involved with Dafyd Alkhor, only to be confused for a while when she is reunited with Tonner Freis after arriving. After the second half of the book, the reader discovers that Else Yannin is parasitised by entities called “The Swarm”, the ever-long enemies of the Carryx. She dies when The Swarm leaves her body, leading to the beginning of a vengeance thirst from Dafyd Alkhor.
He’d remember how it all started with Else Yannin’s hand on his arm and his need to give her a reason to keep it there.
James S.A. Corey
Dafyd Alkhor
Dafyd Alkhor feels like the main character of the novel, and also like a wild card proficient in territories he doesn’t even suspect. Originally, he is a research assistant in Tonner Freis’ team, and nephew to Dorinda Alkhor, one of the funding members of the Irvian Research Medrey. It is never said if Freis enrolled Dafyd for academic politics or for his scientific contribution.
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Dafyd Alkhor becomes the central piece of the human-Carryx “diplomatic” relations. The young research assistant, more observant than the others, gets to understand and communicate with the aliens, especially Tkson-Malkal, and most probably Ekur-Tkalal in future books. Dafyd Alkhor is the first trying to understand the bigger picture and to establish connections (albeit failed) with other enslaved species. At the end of The Mercy of Gods, Alkhor becomes the official liaison between The Carryx and the humans, while pledging to destroy them.
Tonner Freis
Tonner Freis is the leader of the research team. Extremely intelligent, most probably neuroatypical and obnoxious, he spends the biggest part of the story in complete denial of the situation, focusing only on the research task given by the Carryx.
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Tonner Freis witnesses his relationship with Else Yannin coming to an end while losing grasp on his research team. Towards the end of the book, albeit having accomplished the task given by the Carryx, he is completely broken by the situation and the death of Else Yannin. In a last ditch effort, he tries to publicly confort Ekur-Tkalal, only to be saved by Dafyd Alkhor.
Campar
Campar is a member of Tonner Feris’s team and the safety valve of that human group. Treating everything with humour, he often manages to disarm a situation. Big, strong, and rough around the edges, he is also seen as a protective figure in case of physical violence.
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Campar takes part in the expeditions aiming to push back against the attacks from the Night Drinkers.
Jessyn Kaul
Jessyn Kaul is another member of Tonner Freis’ team. Discrete and maybe inconspicuous at the beginning, she plays a huge part in parts of the story. She suffers from mental issues and manages everyday life with the help of medication, which is not provided by the Carryx, or by being close to her brother Jellit.
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Running short on medicine, Jessy becomes more violent, aggressive, and dark, especially after the vindication against the Night Drinkers. Her situation improves after Tonner Freis manages to synthesise the drug she needs to feel better, and moreover after her being reunited with her brother Jellit.
Jellit Kaul
Jellit is a member of another research team focused on astrophysics. Absent for the majority of the novel, he is reunited with his sister Jessyn in the latter part of the book.
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Jellit Kaul plays an immense role in the story. Member of the resistance led by Ostencour, he is used by Else Yannin, Dafyd Alkhor, and ultimately the Swarm, to avoid a dangerous confrontation with the Carryx.
Irinna
The youngest researcher of the team, Irinna plays a secondary role in the story, though her character is used to build up emotional turmoil.
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Irinna is killed by the Night Drinkers in the attack of the humans lab. Her death leads to the group realising they are not protected by the Carryx and have to resort to violence in order to survive.
Synnia
An older research assistant married with Nöl. After the Carryx kill Nöl on the day of their arrival, she becomes emotionally detached and drained. It takes some radical events for her to wake up from her slumber.
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Synnia takes a liking to the resistance movement started by Urrys Ostencour during the trip to the Carryx world. After reuniting with Ostencour at the end of the book, she becomes a fully servant of the resistance, pushing for a show of force. She is killed towards the end of the book when the Carryx wipes the resistance.
Nöl
Nöl is husband to Synnia and research assistant in Tonner’s team.
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He is among the one-eight to be killed by the Carryx at the beginning of the story, as a mere show of force.
Rickar Daumatin
Rickar Daumatin is a former member of the Dyan Academy. At the very beginning of the book, he betrays the group to offer an edge to Dyan Academy.
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Rickar is forced back into the group by the Carryx. Trying his best to remain unseen and unheard, he nonetheless becomes an important member of the human group.
Urrys Ostencour
Former security force, Urrys Ostencour tries to get a rebellion started during the trip to the Carryx world, ending only in human deaths and afflictions.
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Ostencour reunites with the human group towards the end of the book. He is still trying, with more success, to build up a resistance movement. He asks Tonner Freis to create bioweapons in his lab in order to show force and start a fully fledged rebellion.
Alien characters in The Captive’s War
Tkson-Malkal
This Carryx individual (if only that word can be employed for that species) is the main Carryx supervisor, keeper-librarian, for humans. While being neutral in his relationship with humans, his entity is quite reluctant to let humans get close to him.
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Tkson-Malkal wipes out Ostencour rebellion and is honoured for that. At the end of The Mercy of Gods, the Sovran crushes the skull of Tkson-Malkal, because an animal, being a human, helped them.
Ekur-Tkalal
Ekur of the cohort Tkalal is a librarian for the Carryx, first subjugator-librarian, then interrogator-librarian, and finally keeper-librarian.
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The writings of Ekur-Tkalal introduce each of the 6 parts of the book from a future point of view. These little introductions give precious information on what is bound to happen without spoiling everything.
The Sovran
The Sovran is the female leader of the Carryx. The Sovran is described as having a hundred eyes, as being coloured silver and emerald, and as being far bigger than any of the Carryx ever seen by the human group.