COMMUNITY READALONG PART 4: The Queen of Attolia, Chapters 8-13

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

Ladies, gentlemen, and reprobates, gather 'round for the next installment of the Community Read-Along! (And please remember: No spoilers for ACoK!)

Reading this week from: "Spring came earlier on the coast than it did in the mountains..." to "They would not risk a stop on the shore until it was time to disembark."

Favorite Lines:

- "He'd be stomping around in Attolia's grain fields right now if it weren't for you, and you know it.*" (pg 111)

- "Go on- without derogatory comments about people of my profession, please." (pg 119)

-"Oh, how inconspicuous I will be when next I am in Attolia, dressed in Eddisian formalwear with gold frogs on the front." (pg 153)

Favorite Scene: Honestly, I cannot choose, as this section is perhaps my favorite in the entire series. Curse this indecision!

Thoughts, Questions, Observations: There are more than two scribbled pages of these, believe it or not. So, I shall hide them in conveniently labeled cuts so that you can read or skip them at your leisure. Please chime in!

The War

This is the point at which we begin to see Gen's involvement in this lovely little war (we're rather thrown into it, actually). And how he does get involved: stealing the Magus, with the eternal line "the magus in question" (pg 106). This war, and the politics that surround it, is really one of the most interesting things, I think, in Queen. For one thing, it really shows Eddis off. And I so so love Eddis. Thoughts on the war? The Magus?

Eugenides

There's quite a lot going on here, so much that I can't but touch the surface. Firstly, there seems to be a new harshness to Gen (pg 112), yet he's also, as Eddis puts it, naïve (pg 119). But we get to see Gen being more than a thief, more than a sort of eminence grise, if you will. What do you see in the way he's changed? And, for that matter, how much has he changed?

Attolia

Wow. And we really begin to see more of Attolia here. Perhaps the most revealing (and amusing!) thing to me is all the different ways in which she's seen. We have Eddis calling her an "astute strategist" (pg 190) and yet also hinting that she's "edging towards insanity" (pg 186); Eddis (the country) cursing her name; Eugenides, well, doing his own thing; and Nahusaresh imagining her to be easily led. And we learn about her shadow princess past (pg 201). Thoughts about Attolia? How much of the Mede idea of her is her own mask, and how much is Nahusaresh's blindness?

Also of interest regarding Attolia are the glimpses we're given of just how alone she really is (pg 205, 219). Thoughts?

Next Week: The Queen of Attolia, chapters 14-21, led by jade_sabre_301.

*All quotes and references are from the paperback version with the lovely/terrifying hook on the cover.

Comments

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I haven't finished reading this selection, but I have FAILED at participating in these readalongs, so here's my first thoughts:

this section cements Attolia as one of my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE female characters--literary characters--of all time.

haters to the left, yo. :-b

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I should add that--re: glimpses of her loneliness--I think of Gen, talking about those stone walls around her in the next section.

and they're just so sad. because she is all alone.

eta: also, I need an Attolia icon. Suggestions?

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I think I need a better Attolia Icon. *contemplates*

And I've failed at participating in these discussions so far too--but its for a good cause! My friend has The Thief and my sister has QoA, so its not like I've just been not participating, my books are out being read and (hopefully) loved by others! :-D

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Allow me to pimp my post (http://community.livejournal.com/so_lovely_icons/12609.html#cutid1). Don't worry if you don't want to take any of them. I'm being totally shameless. And I admit that some of them are kinda crap, but I really like others. XP

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Haha. I actually stole Queen back from my friend who I'd lent it to so I could reread it now...yeah...not so much. I got a few chapters in, but haven't picked it up in a week or more.

Shiver me timbers! Here be a theory!

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

This one of my favorite sections. The interaction between Gen and Helen is just lovely here.

Favorite Line

Eddis had heard several people, out of the Thief's hearing, lamenting the loss of his acerbic comments on the court...

-p159

They miss Gen's wit. Ahhhh... Anyone would. He always makes you laugh. Even Relius appreciated it.

Now... Getting to the reason for my title.

"Piracy is continuing to grow at a rate that I am sure surprises no one here". There were a few chuckles from around the table they weren't surprised.

-p158 & p159

"She has the pirates".

-p242

Is that why the ministers of Eddis weren't surprised? Was Eddis already controlling the pirates to get supplies to her people?

Re: Shiver me timbers! Here be a theory!

[kitsune-rains.livejournal.com]

That's what I always took it to mean. And then later, when Eugenides steers the boat into a tiny cove that isn't on any map there's an allusion to Eddis's pirates.
I think.

But this line, when the ministers are discussing the neutral islands confuses me:

"They've been warned not to resist and we'll hope for the best."
-p.122 (2000 hardcover)

This seems to imply that the neutral islands are actually Eddisian in nature. Couple that with the stealthy pirates and the kicking army and I now think of Eddis as a country full of ninja.

Re: Shiver me timbers! Here be a theory!

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Ahha! So I'm not crazy. I don't know why I've never thought of it before. I assumed Gen meant Eddis would just start bribing the pirates into her service, but this time I finally wondered about why didn't she do that before. Then it hit me... SHE HAD! One would've thought I would've caught that over the course of thirty previous re-reads.

*head desk*

Hmm... Good point. That could mean the islands were Eddisian in loyalty (maybe that's where the pirates live). I've always taken that to mean Attolia was the one warning them not to resist because resisting was futile (sorry, bad joke), and the Eddisians where merely concerned about Attolia gaining more ground. But knowing theses books... You're probably right.

EDDISIAN NINJA RULE!

Re: Shiver me timbers! Here be a theory!

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

EDDISIAN NINJA RULE.

Yes. Yes, this, so much.

And I've always assumed that the pirates were, nominally, at least, under Eddisian control, or in Eddisian pay.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

May I save some of these for later use? I love 1, 9 & 10!

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Aw, sure! :)

Re: Shiver me timbers! Here be a theory!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

WE ARE THE ATTOLIANS. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. :)

Not only did she have the pirates all on board (haha...ok, not that funny) ahead of time, she bought up all the grain that she knew they'd need before declaring war. Talk about your astute strategist.

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

A few of my favorite things:

The entire scene where Gen steals the magus. So many things to love...

The story of Hespira and Horreon. ("I chose.")

The scene where Attolia destroys her dining room when she hears that the Thief of Eddis has resumed operations and is "close" to the queen. (167 the paperback boat-ride edition.) For one thing, she doesn't lose control like that very often, and usually only when Our Favorite Thief is involved. And for another, it reminds me of the scene in KoA where Gen destroys his bedroom. Once again, they are clearly made for each other.

This sentence: "Those in the rear struggled with block and tackle, roughly squared wooden beams, wooden carriages and cannon." (237) I'm not a big fan of grammar, but if I ever have to teach it, I will use this sentence as an example of Why Commas Matter. Many people (including me) would naturally put a comma at the end of the list ("wooden carriages, and cannon"). But this doesn't work here because...well, we find out in the next section why "wooden" has special significance here. MWT's brilliance extends even to punctuation.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Thankee!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Favorite lines:

"Steal peace, Eugenides. Steal me some time."

"I can steal anything," Eugenides corrected him. "Even with one hand."

pg. 150 where the King of Sounis says, "If you can't say that more clearly, I can find someone else who can."

The part on the roof about heroes and throwing up - <3

pg.179 -- "Was my father here?" "Until half an hour ago. It was like having a basilisk in the room." ..."I'm glad I missed him." The magus, taking note of his unsteadiness, agreed. "I'm glad you missed him, too."

Other musings:
In the story on pg. 142 -- "Meredite was much taken aback. Mortals do not challenge the gods. Only once had a mortal dared and he'd been driven insane for his insolence." I wonder who it was?

The part where Gen offers to fetch the magus's papers and in retaliation Eddis offers the library to the magus as a place to work. I love it that Gen lives in the library.

The scene where Attolia throws dishes and a chair when she hears that Gen is back at work. It's so out of character for her. She must know that he'll likely be coming for her, next.

Chapter 10 is a nice sort of bridge chapter; Gen with his father, more of how Gen blames himself for the war, and Attolia with her attendants.

Chapter 11 is really a fabulous chapter, so many details are included without it ever slowing the story down - Continual small hints of how much Gen is changing--his shoes don't fit, he visits the amputees, relearns how to sword fight, attends council meetings. He's always done things on his own but now is forced into the light, and into a position of more power. "I fell into Attolia's trap" on pg. 170--again, the imagery that thieves fall when their god forsakes them. Then on pg. 191, where Gen has returned from his 10 days of hiding and sits in on the meeting with Eddis and her council, begins the brilliant misdirection where it appears that Gen is going to go off and kill Attolia. I certainly was fooled.

Pg. 218 -- what did you all think this meant: "She pulled the bedclothes back up as far as they would go and suppressed a perverse wish to have her old nurse come to chase away the darkness, perverse because she didn't know if she wanted the shadows to be empty or not."

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

I have never noticed that before. OMH. Every time we discuss these books I learn something new. *is awefilled*

My thoughts on this.....

[(Anonymous)]

"perverse b/c she didn't know if she wanted the shadows to be empty or not"--When I 1st read that phrase, i almost died: I thought, she is finally being a GIRL, she is wishing for someone, (Gen?) to be there, chase away her fears, her hurt, and, I believe to erase her memories of Eugenides in her prison. YES ATTOLIA! (Sometimes it's easy to forget how human she is, isn't it?)

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Ooh. As for that last quote, it's always been one of my favorites. I definitely associate not-empty shadows with Eugenides, and I think, maybe not overtly but in the back of her head, she does, too. I'm not sure if she wants Gen to be there, but I get the feeling it's another instance of her regret for what she did to him and a combination of (1) fear that it will come back and haunt her, either physically as in Gen kidnapping/killing her or emotionally as in she'll never get over the guilt; and (2) a desire to see him again and have a kind of closure---apology, finally doing the sensible thing and hanging him, whatever she thinks she wants there or whatever she's not aware she wants in the back of her mind. It seems like one of the most layered and significance-heavy sentences in the second book, concerning Attolia's changing emotional attitude toward Gen.

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Um. What everyone said.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but I always feel, re that last quote about the shadows, that somehow Gen's clumsy, stalking attempt at courtship has gotten through to her a little -- that she senses that, at least when he was spying on her, she wasn't alone.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite bits in here is about the ruby earrings. "She never wore the rubies. They were kept in their own velvet case beside the one that held the headband."

I LOVE that the gift of the earrings may have precipitated this whole thing -- the hand-cutting, the war -- but does she throw them away? Give them to Chloe? No, she carries them around everywhere she goes and keeps them by her bedside! Ah, Attolia. So completely blind to her own feelings.

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

THE GRAMMAR.

!!!

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

It's always the earrings. =D

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Oh wow--that is so awesome.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Excellent point, Phillia!

I believe you are correct. She once said that she knew he had passed through her chambers as she slept. She seems to be pretty perceptive, and there is certainly a good chance she can sense him when he is near.

Hopefully, Gen didn't do the whole watching-her-while-she-is-sleeping-creepy-Twilight-thing. I don't know why that is commonly featured in books as being romantic. It would just irritate me, because come on... trying to sleep here.