Community Readalong, week 2: The Thief, chapters 8-12

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

Reminders: Please refer questions about leading discussions to Jade, and please keep all Conspiracy of Kings comments spoiler-free as a courtesy to us poor souls who haven't read it yet. Thanks!

(All page numbers in this post are from the hardcover Greenwillow edition, with the ugly statue of Hephestia on the front.)

First line: “ ‘We’ll have to wait until nearly midnight,’ said the magus. ‘We might as well get something to eat.’” (115)

Last line: “You’re welcome, my queen.” (219)

As Jade noted last week, the second half of this book is where the plot really takes off—objects are stolen, the Attolian Guard is evaded, prisons are escaped, and secrets are revealed.  We also witness Gen’s confrontation with the gods he didn’t believe in, learn of Ambiades’ treachery, and hear for the first time about the Mede Empire.  Furthermore, we are introduced to the queen of Attolia, the captain of her guard, the queen of Eddis, and Eddis’ minister of war.  And Pol dies.

One great thing about this book is that even with all the exciting plots, we get character development too.  Gen gains respect for his companions and risks his life to help the magus and Sophos escape from Attolia, while the magus comes to respect Gen in turn, believing he deserves to know about the Mede Empire, for instance, rather than treating him as a tool.  And we, the readers, get socked again and again by Gen’s brilliance.  (At least, I do.)

Lines I like:

“ ‘This way,’ I hissed, ‘when they hear us chatting like happy sparrows in our nest, they won’t immediately be able to find us.” (187) [Gen’s turns of phrase delight me.]

“A thief never makes a noise by accident.”  (194) [Another reminder that Gen is usually deliberate about his actions, even when he appears to be out of control.]

“Oh, I believe that Attolia sends best wishes that the Queen’s Thief is well and hopes that she will have a chance to entertain him for a longer period sometime in the future.” (208)  [Be careful what you wish for, Attolia!]

Let’s hear from you! What do you have to say about this week’s chapters?  Do you have favorite lines?  Plot moments that amaze you?  Moments that resonate either with this book’s ending or with the rest of the series?  What are/were your initial impressions of characters we met for the first time in this reading?  Any eulogies for Pol out there?  What about reactions to the reveal(s) of the ending in general—either from this read, or remembered from your first one?

Next week: The Queen of Attolia, chapters 1-7

Comments

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

I still find myself amazed to think that Gen is young in Thief. I mean, he's obviously not old, and yet he's mature... it's misleading. And compare him to Sophos at that point... *shrugs*

I think you're right about Gen underestimating his own worth, but I have to wonder if at least some of the outrage over his de-handing in Queen was generated by his feat with Hamiathes Gift. Obviously Eddis herself and his family would have felt the same regardless, but perhaps the feeling of the Court in general was warmer towards him after the fact of his essentially saving Eddis' sovereignty.

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

I agree with this - plus there was the bringing-Sounis-to-his-knees-assassination-hinting thing. And as Eddis says later, he "kept the entire population amused". I love the idea of people all over Eddis telling stories about what that crazy thief is up to now.

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's essentially what I was thinking. I got the feeling that Gen's retrieval of the Stone was a sort of reveal for most of Eddis- after that, he was the Golden Boy (I'm pretty sure there's a line to that effect in Queen.

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

While they're on the roof, Eddis says, "you aren't the boy hero anymore". Gen replies, "was I ever?" and she says, "definitely you were the golden boy. You kept the entire population amused, and after you brought Sounis to his knees, you've been the darling of the court as well."

The prose isn't accurate. I don't know about the dialogue, but that's what I remember.