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

more discussion LOL

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

Gen's age: Yes, like most people I definitely thought he was a lot older, esp since I read a review which refered to Gen as "the man with a plan" going off that I thought he was about 20, it was around the end when I read the scene between Gen and MoW,
not sure exactly how it goes but "I thought I heard you laughing up your sleeve" I held up my sleeve to show him I only had my elbow in there.
Dawww, soo cute. Now, I go with le theory: Gen was about 15/16ish ?

When Gen gets sick at the end, he says he sees Eddis come in and offer him the stone, this was for it's healing power right? Because Gen declines and says that it's best to pass on when your time has come..(another line I found interesting and almost foreshadow-y except that no one else had died yet)

Hm..that's about all I can really remember
Can't wait to reread queen! LOVE reading the discussions!!

Re: more discussion LOL

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

Gen's age: In the Queen of Attolia he had his growth spurt: "He had grown, as all boys grow before they become men" (QoA, not sure which page, and I might have gotten a couple of words wrong.) That means Gen could be as young as twelve, but also as old as 16, or even older.

Re: more discussion LOL

[mortalasabee.livejournal.com]

I have a guy friend who is 20 who says that he is still growing, and he knows guys even a little older who are still growing. So that could open up the range even more.
Oh MWT, how you like to mess with us.

Journey vs/ Ride

[bookishbabe.livejournal.com]

For as much Gen-ish whining as I do (see stupid flashing icon), maybe I should shut my pie-hole. Because I do love that these books are a Journey, and not just a Ride. At our SoCal meet-up, we discussed the unanswered elements with Megan and she made a delicious point: Some books are a ride, you get on and follow where it goes, everything is explained. Others are a Journey, you walk along with the characters, it unfolds and lets you nibble on little bits of food-for-thought along the path, but what you take away from it largely depends on what you look at while you journey. And each journey down the path reveals new things to you. **this is all my interpretation and not to be taken as a quote from our beloved Minister of Written Tales (MWT). She also mentioned that if a reader is younger themselves when they first read TT, they think Gen is 12/13. Older teen readers will think he's about their age. First time adult readers will estimate him at 18/19/20. True for you guys? I figured he was 18/19, having read it first as an already grown up gal. All this Sounis dissection has made me cast doubt on my own age-discerning powers. **ArG** I'm back to cursing that "Not Telling" policy. Honestly, Megan, are you laughing at us right now, because it's not funny! **Do not offend the fans**

Re: Journey vs/ Ride

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, my, what a funny paragraph! I love MWT's (Minister of Written Tales, snerk!!) thoughts on books and the reading experience. And how very true! Especially for these books; every rereading has revealed new things to me. Hmm, the age thing. The first time I read TT, I had Gen at about 13/14 at the beginning, but quickly revised upward to 15/16. There I stayed on subsequent rereads until this time, when I considered revising upward again to 17 or even 18. I'm pretty sure he's not 52. But now, the Magus? Hmmm.

And the icon? Icon-love. Also I think we need Minister of Written Tales and Do Not Offend the Fans as official Sounisian icons!