COMMUNITY READALONG WEEK SEVEN: Chapters 6-10.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

Time is ticking on, and there are already less than three weeks until CofK - the anticipation is killing me! And there's nothing, short of inventing time-travel, I can do except to patiently wait... and read. 

And so we come to the fabulous middle section of KoA! I was very excited to get to do the post on such an action-packed section of the book, AND so was the lovely pigrescuer. As it really wasn't fair to ask Jade to ignore puppy eyes from one or both of us, we made the preparation for this section a joint effort! And just so you know - most of the good ideas and observations are PR's. I just took notes and spouted crazy theories a lot, during our nearly six hours of going over the chapters together (we rambled a lot).  We spent most of that time reading out/reciting favourite lines, gibbering excitedly at each other, and saying "poor Costis" and "Gen's an absolute genius" at five-second intervals. Despite all this, we did manage to get some points ready for discussion.  

I apologise that this read-along is a day late. LJ crashed on me last night and I lost most of what I'd written, which... set me back a bit :( Also, my apologies for the strange variations in the typeface! I'm not sure how to fix that; I've tried a coupla times...

So this week, for our spoiler-free discussion:
Reading from line: The stool hit the wall with a satisfying crash.
Ending at line: Weaving with fatigue, dismissed by Teleus when they were halfway to the infirmary, Costis returned to his room, freed himself of belt and breastplate, and fell, otherwise fully dressed, onto the bed. 

Sounisian shout-outs (and Eddisian 'woot's) in this section: To philia_fan  and tencups_i_swear, both of whom take their names from a passage in chapter seven, and how could I forget pigrescuer , whose name comes from my...

Favourite Lines: (tearoha) Trying to choose one line from this section is like... trying to do a very hard thing. But for a crowning moment of funny, it must be this one: "Ah. They [the attendants] have seen me in my nightshirt." He looked down at his sleeve, embroidered with white flowers. "Not in your nightshirt, though."
He was fully awake and himself again.

This week's read-along is laid out in a somewhat English class-y manner (I'm sorry!) by chapter, with a short synopsis of events,with notes and questions, and then at the end are some general comments, ideas and discussions. Please bear with me - there's so much to talk about that we tried to do it all. There are a lot of notes. Read more under the handily-labelled cuts! All page numbers are from the paperback edition.



Chapter Six:
Synopsis: Costis throws his bedroom furniture around, upset that he's been tricked into betraying the king's confidence twice in half-an-hour, and tells Aris that he doesn't want the king to come to harm through his inaction, although his death by asphyxiation would be acceptable. Gen begins a habit of walking in the gardens. Relius has fallen (dramatically, in the last chapter), and the king's refusal to act like one or even interact with his court or queen worries Ornon. Eugenides visits the temple and is thrown off by the Oracle, who nevertheless relays an unwelcome message. Costis, who was only trying to clear his conscience about his unintentional tale-bearing, walks in on the King's private weep afterwards, and is gently dismissed. He realises Eugenides is lonely and homesick.

• Costis prizes his personal code of honour highly, and few things upset him more than feeling that he's betrayed that code. He risks a lot to regain his honour and self-respect in this chapter. Why does Costis care so much about honour? Is this a typical attitude?
• We think Aris is awesome.
• I like how MWT often shows the passage of time by including short snippets of information between more detailed scenes. These are often really important to our understanding of what happens in the scenes, such as the two over pp136-7, and I think they're an excellent broad-brush way to show us a wider state of affairs than what Costis sees. Thoughts?
• In the snippet I mentioned on p137 (Ornon also waited...a proprietary kiss at breakfast.) we see a picture of Eugenides failing in his public role as king, putting the country of Attolia in jeopardy; and in his relationship with his queen. To what extent do you think Eugenides is truly struggling here?
• Also, 'proprietary kiss'. Hah, little does he know!
• Although the Oracle tells Eugenides that he may not ask his question of Hephestia, she does deliver an answer. Does this scene tell us anything about the Eddisian gods?
• By the way, what do people think of this divine Q&A session? My interpretation goes something like this:

Gen: Dear gods, I miss my mountains. Could I possibly go home now, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened?
Gods: Not on your nelly. We've put a lot of work into keeping you alive for this party. Stay put and shape up, you're a *drumroll* ATTOLIS now.
Gen: NOOOOOOOO! *heelfaceturn*

Are there any other interpretations out there? I'd love to hear them if so.

• When Costis tells Eugenides that he was asked for, and gave, information to Susa, Eugenides immediately dismisses him. Why? Is this a cruel or a kind thing to do?

 

Chapter Seven:
Synopsis: Costis and Aris commiserate/celebrate their dismissal/promotion, and discuss the king and queen's relationship and how the king can't possibly want to be married to their terrifying queen. Eugenides is shown not getting along with Teleus. Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Eddis, the queen shares her most private Attolian report about Gen's bridge-building with her 'prisoner' the Magus. Sejanus and his father meet for a spot of not-so-private treachery in the Conspiracy Room, Eugenides dances with Heiro and receives names of other 'pretty girls' from her, and poor Costis' annual leave is disrupted by his sovereign's thoughtlessness in being almost assassinated. Eugenides manages some gob-smacking self-defence, and he and Costis do some bonding over the walk back through the gardens. Eugenides and Attolia startle scare the hell out of each other on the stairs, and have their first and very public on-page kiss, to all the readers' delight and court's crogglement. Gen fails to convince anyone with his OTT complaints that he's at death's door. Fortunately.

•  Aristogiton (p.149): "She is brilliant and beautiful and terrifying. ... There isn't one womanly bone in her body, and you cannot believe any man in his right mind would want to marry her.". Aris, who claims to speak for the entire guard, sees Attolia as a distant, awe-inspiring figure, rather than a person - the idea that she is able to show affection is totally foreign to him. Attolia has spent years fostering this image; how do you think it's working for/against her now?
• Also from Aris, about Eddis: "I hear men dismiss her as just a woman, and I think we of all people should know better." Hah, and which character can we think of who made exactly this mistake about Attolia? Seriously though, this passage juxtaposes two views of powerful women, either 'just a woman' or 'brilliant and beautiful and terrifying'. How do Eddis and Attolia deal with such perceptions?
• Why does Eugenides seem to be trying so hard to get up Teleus' nose? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be trying to win Teleus over? So why the deliberate provocation?
• Why on EARTH is Eddis sharing the most sensitive Attolian reports with her (nominal) political prisoner, a man who is willing to put personal allegiances aside for political gain to such an extent that he advised Sounis to wage war against her country?
• PR would like to add that the content of this report (Gen commanded a bridge be built across a gorge in Attolia) is a really important point, because it's the first demonstration of Gen's strategic genius; that he can come up with a seemingly off-hand instruction that not only keeps his cover as a complete idiot, but also solves the problem of garrisoning troops AND solves a long-running provincial spat. For a first-time reader, beginning at KoA, might this be the first clue to Gen's real capabilities?
• When meeting with his father in the Conspiracy Room, why does Sejanus lie about his progress with the king? He tells his father "The king and I are becoming allies and better friends every day". (p154) Why lie, when it risks his position, his life, and the success of the plot?
• I (TA) would like to point out the way the room is described, almost from the top-down, is as if you are observing it from a seat in the ceiling. Which, surprise! Someone is in fact doing.
• I know we've discussed it before, but why does Heiro give the king the names of other pretty girls? What does 'pretty girl' actually mean? Also, hands up who thinks Heiro has a crush on Gen. "Maybe because I have eyes in my head, your Majesty." (p155)
• When Costis receives the message about the dogs being loose, he immediately takes action, gathering men and organising a plan to contain the dogs. You can see his leadership, and why Teleus had his eye on Costis as maybe a future successor. Dontchathink?
• As he runs towards the king in the maze, Costis prays that he won't be too late. The very next sentence (p162) begins like this: Blood on the flowers, blood on the green grass, blood blossoming like a rose in the still waters of a fountain. [Dramatic pause] In his mind Costis saw it all. And then, just a couple of pages later, Costis is numb, staring at blood spreading through a fountain from a body floating there. NOT ONCE BUT TWICE does MWT make us think that Gen is dead, TWICE. I'm sure i'm not the only reader who had to put the book down for a little hyperventilation there, especially as MWT's proven she's willing to do horrible things to characters. Is this a nasty authorial trick to play on us? Or is it a brilliant piece of obfuscation*, using pre-conceptions and expectations to blindside readers? I'm leaning towards both.
• Throughout this chapter, Eugenides repeatedly reveals his true capabilities, to larger and larger groups of onlookers. In his 'build a bridge' solution, in the fight with the assassins, and in the kiss on the stairs, his hand is forced and he shows what he can really do when so inclined. To what extent is this section about revelation, and hidden identity?
• When Gen turns around to face Teleus and Costis after the fight, he's green with pallor. Earlier in the book, this was called fear, but now Costis identifies it with rage. We reckon that being afraid makes Gen absolutely spitting mad. How much of his pallor in both this incident and the earlier one with the dogs due to fear and/or rage? Thoughts?
• While Costis is following the king back though the garden, we get that awesome little interlude where Costis obsesses over the ten gold cups that he now owes the goddess Philia. I've always found it hilarious that, at such a time, he's doing his accounting. on a more serious note though, what does it tell us about the role of the gods in the lives of Attolians? Costis obviously sees the goddess' displeasure as a very real threat. And while we're at it, any thoughts on Gen's offer of addressing the debt from the royal treasury? Considerate, isn't it?
• PR brought up an interesting point here: someone as badly injured as Eugenides is at this point would likely be going into shock, and wouldn't be able to feel the full pain of their injury. Note that Gen at first refuses a doctor (p168), and it's only when he lifts his hand to his face and sees the blood on it that he agrees Aris can fetch a doctor. It may be that Gen doesn't realise how badly he's hurt. Thoughts?
• While we're on this moment, I'd like to mention the description of Gen's injury here. The passage The king's coat was light gold...its bright stain spread in a messy spiderweb across the back of his hand (p168) is a very nice piece of description. At no point does MWT come out and say "He has a massive gaping wound in his side", thus, you know, leaving us to draw the conclusion that he's badly hurt, but completely miss the cut hand. It's cannons and commas all over again, really. Sneaky.
• And and and that lovely line about Eugenides' reaction to pain (p172): No one on the verge of death has the strength to pile one foul word on top of another like a man compiling a layered pastry of obscene language.
• I think it's in this chapter that Eugenides and Costis' relationship really changes. Costis has realised that he cares for his king, and Eugenides has begun to rely on Costis. They're even bantering!
• Attolia arrives incredibly quickly after Eugenides is injured; and it must be a strange moment. In this crisis, she has to somehow reconcile her public and private relationships with her husband. What does it cost her to make such a gesture of intimacy in front of the entire court? And with such a disastrous reaction? Her descent down the stairs interests me, actually. Walking stiffly, she came silently down the stairs. (p175) Why doesn't she say anything to let him know she's there? And why the funny walk? Am I reading too much into this?
• We think, although Eugenides knows consciously that Attolia loves him and would never hurt him, he can't prevent himself from subconsciously fearing her touch, and when taken by surprise, especially with the pain he's in, she still frightens him, and so he shies away. 
• We talked some about Gen's fear of Attolia's touch. Obviously, it stems from his very reasonable association of her touch with pain, and the choppity-chop. I wanted to draw attention to how Megan illustraes this, though, because there's a very clear, anvil-icious divide here. In QoA, when Attolia has her prisoner the Thief called into her throne room in chapter two, she touches him. He swallowed convulsively, but met her eyes without flinching even as she cupped her hand under his chin. Note that she's just hit him round the face, here. Now, in chapter three, he shudders at her touch when she cups his face, and whenever Attolia touches his face again, which she does an awful lot in QoA! - he shudders, or flinches, and our attention is drawn to his fear of her touch. This is before the actual chopping, but after he realises what's going to happen to him. This isn't a remarkable reaction - I just wanted to point out the shift, since it's relevant here.
• We were wondering about the "taking each other by surprise" bits in KoA, actually. Earlier in the book, it specifically mentions that when Eugenides enters Attolia's room he makes some kind of deliberate noise, in order not to startle her. We wondered if he does this specifically because he's so wary of being surprised himself. Thoughts?
• We also talked about how the monarchs interact in this scene. I think this is one of the few moments in the book, and the first, in which Gen and Attolia are not acting according to an internal script or playing any role, but behaving naturally, for once. Also, importantly, neither of them know what to do for a second, as if they're aghast at what's happened.
• Eugenides protects his squad from Attolia's retribution that they dared let the king be hurt, by trying to tell her that they were just behind, cleaning up the bodies he left in the garden. It doesn't work, of course, but it was good of him to try.

*I've always wanted an excuse to use this word.

 

 

Chapter Eight: Synopsis

The king is eventually escorted back to his room, where the discovery is made that he's actually quite badly wounded. He tries to conceal this to stop his queen from worrying, but just ends up freaking everyone out. The timid physician begins to stitch the king up, which he takes as a cue for more antics until persuaded to behave by Ornon. However, when he stops playing the fool and begins to act as if he's actually in pain, the Queen faints dramatically. Eugenides fights like a wild animal to get to her until he is reassured. He then decides to stick to upsetting his physician, not his queen, a resolution which he promptly breaks in the next chapter.

• First off - a nice, short, one-shot chapter. Relief!
• I like the line at the begininng of this chapter (p179) in which The quen was near the door speaking to her attendant, who was wiping the king's bloody fingerprints off her cheek. It's such a vivid image, yes?
• We wonder about the cloak-pin incident. Ornon says he's seen Eugenides get deeper scratches with a cloak-pin. What the what? Is he being serious? When did someone impale Gen with a pin? We know Costis considered suicide-by-brooch earlier in the book, but seriously? Or was Gen maybe using the pin on someone else? It's weird. Any thoughts?
• Note that Attolia doesn't faint until Eugenides breathes again. The passage goes like this (p184) As Petrus pulled his first stitches tight, the king took a deeper breath and didn't let it go. After a long count of ten, he softly released the breath and took another. At this point the Queen faints. I went back and compared this section with the choppity-chop in QoA. As I'm sure we all remember, there, Gen holds his breath when the cauterising iron is applied to his stump, and faints, at which point the Queen leans over him to check that he breathes again. If what was going through her head in this chapter reminded her of that time, no wonder she fainted. I like how neat the parallels are - the injury, the blood, the breath, and then the faint. Thoughts?
• This chapter is another in a series of revelations - to everyone's surprise, the king really does care very much about his queen (ripping out stitches is *painful*, or so I hear). Also, our dear Costis suddenly realises that his terrifying queen is very human - she actually has a name, and someone close enough to her to use it, and oh, physical form - a female one. Compare with Aris' 'not a womanly bone in her body' in the last chapter.
• There's a theory that another factor in Attolia fainting here is that she's pregnant. PR points out timescale; at the very most, Attolia can only be three months pregnant. Would she really be fainting all over the carpet? We don't know. On the other hand, we think being viscerally reminded of the episode where you cut off your husband's hand is probably quite enough to make anyone faint. What do others think?
• Ornon's obviously got better at Thief-control since the Sheep incident (baaaa).

Chapter Nine:
Synopsis: Costis wakes Eugenides to ask him to intercede on the condemned squad's behalf. He delivers the king's incomprehensible fail-safe mantra to Teleus, who very nearly balks at taking the king's help when he has failed, but, when it comes to the crunch, recites it to Attolia, who reacts badly, to say the least. Costis flees, and only later is the dramatic!fight between the king and the queen relayed to him. The attendants and the guards conclude that they don't love each other after all, and that if the fight continues, Baron Erondites will seize his chance for the throne. Costis is ordered to guard the king's door, night and day, which he does, while Ornon, Heiro, Dite and several others visit his sickbed.

• After a very long continuous scene (running almost from Costis sunning himself outside the guard hall to the moment the Queen is carried out of the chamber at the end of Ch.7), in Chapter nine time has elapsed since we last saw our heroes, and eventful events have happened while, so to speak, the curtains were closed. What effect does this compression of time have on our reading of the book?
• Speaking of more book-wide issues, we were thinking about books standing on their own, and to what extent they are comprehensible read out of order. Chapter nine is, I think, almost incomprehensible if you haven't read QoA, as almost every event in it relies on an understanding of the early chapters of QoA to make sense. Do you agree? How important is it for books to stand on their own? Which other sections do you think are difficult to understand without prior knowledge?
• Costis goes to Eugenides for help here. Is it significant that Costis' relationship with the king has changed to the point where he will do this? Also, the guards at the king's door know Costis' intentions, and let him through. Is it a change in attitude for this assembly to be asking the king's help?
• Teleus almost refuses to accept the king's help and hope for salvation at his hand, repeating that he has failed and deserves his punishment, as do the men he promoted. His sense of integrity and adherence to his own moral code reminds me of Costis' here, and it almost costs him his stiff neck. However, he does accept it. This is a departure from the beginning of the book, when Teleus was perfectly willing to let Costis be killed instead of betray his honour. What does it cost Teleus to subvert his own principle and accept the king's help? What changes his mind?
• Also, what does Teleus think of the invocation? Does he speak Archaic? He's told the demotic, and must realise it is an invocation to the Eddisian goddess. Teleus may have been around at the beginning of QoA, when Attolia first heard this invocation. Does he guess at its significance? What do you think?
• The dramatic reaction to the invocation is interesting. A draft sweeps through the room - Hephestia's doing? The queen, on her throne, is furious, but examine carefully how she is described. It's very evocative (I think) of Hephestia on her throne in TT, even down to the quite god-like description of Attolia as 'simultaneously motionless and ceaselessly moving', and the focus on the fabric of her dress pulling tight, as compared to the rise and fall of Hephestia's gown as she breathed in TT. What effect (if any) does this have on the portrayal of Attolia?
• Another parallel in this line (p194): Costis drew a breath, sucking at air that seemed too solid to inhale. When was the last time a character described the air as solid? How about here? QoA chapter three:  Seeing the sword in the jailer's hand, he looked again at the queen and felt the whole world turned to stone. The air around him was solid, and he was suffocating. My conclusion: Attolia is still terrifying. But this time, Costis takes Gen's place as the frightened young man. Any other thoughts?
• After Attolia leaves the throne room, the narration follows Costis as he goes like a badger to its hole, and we are only shown the slap scene later, whn a guard tells Costis. What effect does this change in momentum/focus have on the story? It puts us in Costis' head, for one, by not allowing us to see beyond his experience here. Why do you think MWT chose to show this scene this way?
• Speaking of Attolia being terrifying - the slap. I see this as Gen and Irene's second out-of-kilter with each other moment, the first having been on the stairs. Once again, they've departed from their set roles and are very publicly at odds.
• Gen's bravery here (insane courage at facing Attolia in a rage) impresses me. He's half sliced open, and waiting at the door because he knows his terrifying wife is going to come along in a raging temper, and, well, rightly so - he's done something quite cruel to her by letting her be ambushed like that. And then she hits him. Don't you reckon she would have absolutely tortured herself for doing that, afterwards?
• PR and I agree that the description of Eugenides waiting in the doorway rumpled and pale, but resolute makes him sound about eight years old. We would also like to add: awww.
• Maybe this would be a good time to bring up names, and naming. Throughout this section, ok, and the whole book and series, really, the names people take are very significant. And they're closely linked to roles and public/private identities. It'd take forever to go through all the names given to characters and their significance, so just in this chapter, Gen is called "My Lord Attolis" by Attolia, his title as king and one she's never addressed him by before. What does this signify, both to him and to others? Also, when the attendants are discussing this episode, Hilarion slips up and refers to Eugenides as a king, but nobody notices. What does this signify about the attendants’ attitudes, both past and present? Likewise, Attolia's name as queen has come to almost replace her personality as Irene. How does the use of her name humanise her? And last but not least, a massive deal is made out of Attolia's court being able to call her 'My Queen' - as a privilege only competency and closeness can convey. What do you think 'My Queen' signifies? Teleus defends his use of the term at his trial, stating "Relius was right and I was wrong". His failure does not change the way he feels about Attolia, although it certainly changes her feelings for him. Is Teleus right or wrong? Any more thoughts on names, roles, and identity? I kinda feel like I shouldn't mention it in the middle of such a complicated post, to do the subject justice. We'll see.
• What do Ornon and Eugenides fall out about, when Ornon visits the sickbed?

Chapter Ten:
Synopsis: Costis wakes in the middle of the night to hear the king screaming, inaccessible on the door's far side. He immediately goes into action-man mode and shoots the lock off the door, to find the King having a nightmare. The Queen turns up and orders everyone out of the room while she and Eugenides have a 'how embarrassing' moment, then make it up and sneak off through a passageway to the Queen's suite. Costis stolidly guards the empty room, until Phresine rescues him and he is set on guard outside the Queen's chamber, where they King and Queen actually are. Costis sits on guard all day, only interrupted by Phresine kissing the king, and Ileia sneaking in to check on him. The king has another nightmare, in which Attolia cuts out his tongue and ears and puts out his eyes. When Costis wakes him, he sees Attolia coming in at the door and promptly throws up - also embarrassing. She reassures him. Petrus is cleared putting quinalums in the king's lethium, and the king deals with his attendants for once, destroying Sejanus and his house by framing him for the quinalums. The king explains himself to Dite, and the Queen realises that Dite was in love with her. The king, instead of going back to sleep after this, drags himself down to the prison, where he has a traumatic (for both of them) interview with Relius, and pardons him almost against his will. After this, he climbs to the top of a tower to brood, Costis is sent to bed, and we finish our section.
 

• At fifty pages in the paperback edition, this is one whopping long chapter. It covers an awful lot of important developments, though.
• When Costis finally breaks into the bedchamber, the king is staring down into his blood-covered hand. His nightshirt was spotted red. (p207) I take this to mean that it's not his side that's bleeding, but his hand - if it was the side, surely his nightshirt would be more than spotted. I'm quoting a wise Sounisian who commented some time ago on how terrifying it must have been to reach for an assassin's blade with your only remaining hand; and I think it was that fear, combined with the pain from his cut palm, that caused this first nightmare.
• While we're on the subject, why ON EARTH did no-one notice Gen's cut hand? What species of medical care is that? Maybe Petrus really has spent too long working for people who don't pay him. Did anyone dress it? If not, maybe Gen's fever and infection came from this cut. Or maybe Ornon helped Gen clean it, and that sparked their argument. Any ideas?
• Once again, Attolia arrives promptly on the scene. What must she be expecting as she arrives in the doorway? She's heard screaming, and then two gunshots and the attendants babbling. She must be terrified.
• We'd like to put in this lovely line, from p208. The queen was settling on the edge of the bed, ungainly with hesitation and at the same time exquisite in her grace, like a heron landing in a treetop. Isn't that just beautiful? I thought so. PR, though, says herons aren't actually all that graceful. What do y'all think? Is the simile effective?
• Poor Costis, guarding an empty room. It's another one of those recurring revelations, by the way, when he goes to the Queen's room and realises they can move between the two rooms whenever they like, whatever palace gossip thinks.
• Attolia's room reminds me (and Costis) of the inside of a honeycomb, silent and covered in gold. Bees are also an ancient symbol of the Attolian monarchy, and there are the golden bee earrings that Attolia wears. Anyone want to pick up on the symbolisms here?
• Costis looks around the room while Eugenides is sleeping, noting all the beads and tiny amphoras on Attolia's desk. Why so many? We talked about this at some length, and eventually decided that they are all wedding gifts from her barons. I mean, what do you, a formerly insurrectionist baron who was vying for the queen'shand yourself, give Attolia as a wedding present? Soap on a rope?
• Attolia keeps a knife under her pillow (the one Gen whips out when Costis wakes him from his nightmare). She also had a basin standing ready by the bed for Eugenides to throw up into. Her motto seems to be 'Be prepared'. Maybe she was a Girl Guide?
• I'm quite obsessed with the connection between the two episodes, one after each nightmare, in which Gen and Attolia mention being embarrassed. I like how, in the first, Attolia just says coolly "How embarrassing"  when Gen confesses his nightmare, and he immediately takes it in the spirit intended - if it was embarrassing to wake like a child screaming from a nightmare, how much more embarrassing to be the reason your husband woke screaming (p208). Indeed. Later, after the second nightmare, Gen throws up, and as he lies back down, says "My god, how humiliating is that." ... "Survivably so," said the queen. "Easy for you to say," said the king. "You weren't throwing up."  (p218). At first reading, it looks as if Gen is remarking on how embarrassing it is to throw up after a nightmare, and Attolia is being less than sympathetic. I like to look at it the other way around, that is; Gen remarking on the fact that it must be absolutely humiliating for Attolia to realise that she scared her husband so much he vomited, and her reassuring him that she'll live with the insult. Then Gen promptly  turns his meaning on its head and says she's not the one throwing up and he should be embarrassed. He's making an oblique reference to both of their feelings. I love the communication between them here. They seem to pick up on what the other leaves unsaid almost uncannily, and look, they're even having a joke about it. Or, well, Gen tries to joke about it, but Attolia's having none of that. She wants to know what she can do to make it better. And he tells her. And she does.
• Nightshirts. XD
• When told to punish his attendants, Eugenides tells them to pick up their heads, they've been punished enough. Costis winces, thinking, The king mishandled his atendants. And right up to this point in the book, Costis is right - Eugenides can never seem to gain the upper hand (ah-ha-ha! Sorry. Unintentional, I swear.) with his attendants. Why do you think this is? Is he truly unable to manage them? Is he biding his time, to preserve his inept pose? Can he not be bothered to reign them in? My opinion (TA) is that Gen is unwilling to assert authority over his attendants, as that would be the act of a king. And in this passage, when he finally does assert himself, the change is startling - Costis thinks he is like a god revealed. (Another revelation!) What do y'all think? Why does he do it?
• Costis destroys Sejanus, by framing him for the quinalums in the lethium rather than his actual crime of conspiracy with his father. Sejanus is framed as the villain of this piece, but he is not wholly unsympathetic. He is motivated at least in part by brotherly love - he wants Dite to have a chance with the queen. What does this mean for his status as a villain? Does it mean there is no absolute villainy in this book, with all characters having flaws and benefits, or does it leave something of a space in the cast? Who, if anyone, is the real villain of KoA?
• Sejanus has carefully manicured hands. They could hear Sejanus' breathing, baffled by his carefully manicured hands. (p231) We thought this was hilarious, seeing as he was a soldier, a lieutenant in the guard, and still hangs out with his soldier buddies. I suggested that all the attendants were required to get manicures before coming to serve the king, in case their callouses snagged on the king's fine silk sashes, or something like that. This set us off for quite a long time about an Attendants' finishing school for young men, somewhere out in the hinterlands, at which they learn wine-burning, manucurist skills, sash-folding, court etiquette, and pick up the general attitude of shallow teenaged schoolgirls. It could be in the Modrea. Well, where else would all these trained attendants have come from, when there hadn't ben a king in so long? It had to be the Chalet School  finishing school! Um. Ok, moving on...
• We really liked the analogy of a temple falling used to describe the fall of the house of Erondites, as the king hammers out the enormity of thedisaster Sejanus had precipitated upon his house. We also thought it was very similar to the simile later on, of a crack in a dam widening as Teleus gets more and more angry at the king when they have their shouting match in the temple. That's nice description.
• On the subject of names again, Sejanus calls Eugenides 'Basileus', the first time anyone uses the term to refer to him. Significance? The attendants' changing perceptions? Eugenides' journey from Gen to Thief to Eugenides to King to Basileus? Anything else?
• When Attolia comes into the room, she congratulates the king on getting rid of the house of Erondites in 98 days. Was she counting up the days on her fingers with her ear pressed to the door? Or has she been crossing days off on a calendar? Or is she just freaky-good at numbers?
• When Dite comes in to plead for his brother, the first thing the king says to him is "I warned you... and I told you to warn you brother."   Why did Eugenides send Sejanus a warning? I like to think it's because he's kind, and he didn't want to, as he puts it, destroy a man to destroy a house  unless it couldn't be helped. Or perhaps he wanted to avoid the grand reveal of his power which occurs in this scene. What might Eugenides' warning have been? And how might it have changed things if it had been heeded?
• Once the queen leaves him, Eugenides gets dressed, and goes down "to the palace prison to indulge myself. I think I deserve it." Note firstly that the attendants behave themelves perfectly now, with others stepping into and sharing the lead role Sejanus left empty. Secondly, that's a very ambigous way for Gen to express what he's actually going to do in the prison. Is he just having a dig at the attendants' expense, or is he trying to gauge their reactions?
• The prisons, and the cell Relius lies in, are described in understated but vivid terms: The chains were a superfluous security. The cell stank of cess and vomit, and the prisoner hadn't moved...the bruises covered the rest of his face. His arms lay across his chest, one hand swollen and black. The fingers were like grotesque sausages.  (p243-4). First off, Relius is lying without a blanket on his back, arms crossed on his chest, motionless. He resembles an effigy, or a corpse laid out for burial, and that's not so far from the truth. It's a stark reduction of his former poise.  Secondly, his hand. Attolia was here for the torture; she observed and oversaw his interrogation, and targetted his hands. We think his fingers are broken. That Attolia decided to mutilate the hands of another of the few people close to her gives me the chills on so many levels. That's awful. Surely it's too near the bone of what she did to Eugenides? It's very, very cold-blooded and sick, and I wonder why, and how, she did it. No wonder Eugenides looked sick when Relius was captured. I wonder if he guessed? And how he felt when he saw Relius in the cell? Anyone, any thoughts?
  The more you look at this scene , the grimmer it gets.  Although, as is MWT's usual style, very little of the graphic stuff is explicitly described or even dirctly referred to, but enough is revelaed to show a stark contrast to the palace overhead. The world of courtly intrigue, lies and conspiracy operates with these cells of cess as its underside and consequence, as the threat hanging over the heads of all who are in it. The prisons aren't often shown, but I'm glad MWT put them in, in a way, because they shadow the glamour of the court.
• The conversation between Eugenides and Relius is similarly chilling, specially beginning, as it does, with Eugenides pointing out the elephant in the room. Relius was his torturer, or at least oversaw his torture, yet in the course of this conversation Gen forgave Attolia for torturing him, but he's in love with her.  And I get the feeling that Relius was more hands-on (Sorry!) with the torture than Attolia was. Eugenides should hate him - why doesn't he?
• You could see this scene as Eugenides trying to gain Relius' trust. He tests him, asking him if he hates the queen, and when satisfied of Relius' loyalty, he pardons him. And he does it very, very gently. On the other hand, he's also poking Relius, as he does everyone, to see which way he jumps. There's a lot going on, anyone want to pick up on something else?
• Relius uses Gen's own words, from when he was in the prisons, to beg for mercy (p246). "Did you come to hear me beg? I will. I have. You know the words. ... Please don't hurt me anymore. Please. Please, no more." The king turned his face away. We always knew that was an echo from that time, but I never realised where before. Those words were on the page in QoA, at the end of chapter three when Attolia bends over Eugenides in his cell. Did other people realise that? Also, when do others think the torture happened? I used to think it was in the three days inbetween the amputation and that episode, and the marks Attolia points out of Gen's body are from the torture. But Eugenides asks "Does she know you came back to question me after she left?". This might mean that Relius came to him after that visit.
• Any ideas for what was in the note Teleus brought Eugenides from Attolia? I reckon it was threatening him with more bodily harm if he didn't go back to bed.
• Eugenides tells Teleus to "finish what I have begun here", and Teleus, taking Eugenides at the obvious meaning, agrees to torture Relius. Do you think he would have done so? I do. Teleus, although he has accepted the king's mercy, is still clinging to his code of justice; that failure merits punishment. He doesn't want to accept any more, not ven to save his friend. How sustainable do you think Teleus' view is?
• Whether he wants to or no, Eugenides has committed himself as king now. "I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT." 
• Costis goes to bed. Is anyone else picking up on a theme of beds here? There are a LOT of beds, people being sent to bed, people refusing to go to bed, etc. in this section.

And I think that's about it!
Every time I read this passage I end up in awe of it. it's so very jam-packed with events, subtle understatement, and misdirection. I like the themes, some of which we picked up on here: Revelations, Names, Identity, Public/Private roles, Kindness, and Bed. I think I've said enough though, so for anyone else who wants to pick up on one of these ideas and run with it, please do.


Next week: Chapters 11-14 KoA.

Comments

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

And one more thing I wanted to say, but probably shouldn't in the main post. That kiss on the stairs, when Gen rests his head on Attolia's shoulder like a man seeking respite, reaching home at the end of the day, reminds me so much of a moment in Busman's Honeymoon, but I have neither my copy of BH or my little list of cross-over similarities with me, so I can't check! Does it ring a bell for anyone else familiar with the Wimsey books?

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh! That DOES ring a very distant bell. If I had a copy of either book available to me, I'd look into it...

[spellcoats.livejournal.com]

There's a line near the end of QoA about how the Attolian's don't believe in their gods, which makes me think Costis's faith is singular and uncommon, perhaps because he's from the country.

I think if anything, chapter nine is the turning point in the book. Costis finally realizes he does, in fact, care about the king, because the king is a person just like everyone else. And it gives Gen the opening he needs to set up Sejanus and drag Erondites down.

Also I think Costis's conversation with Aris about whether the Thief wanted to be King is significant because it allows Costis to relate to Eugenides as someone who was profusely loyal to his own queen, the way Costis is to his.

[spellcoats.livejournal.com]

Also, hands up who thinks Heiro has a crush on Gen.

/keeps her hand down :|

Heiro's line seemed nothing more than an echo of Phresine's after the dance scene earlier in the book. (Elia: "Well, that was revealing." Phresine: "Only to those with eyes to see.")

Interesting that thus far the most insightful members of Attolia's court seem to be the women.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

Spellcoats, what line is that? You've reminded me of the line in chapter 3 of QoA where Attolia observes that she thought "believers were as rare in Eddis as they were in Attolia"; is that the line? You're right, that would make Costis rather unusual in his belief.
Yes, I think chapter nine is a turning point as well, 'specially for Eugenides. But I think it could be a difficult one to understand for someone who hadn't read QoA, because many of the events in it are following on from events in QoA.

Yes - like someone else said, I like that the different characters' views give us insights into different ideas about Eugenides, and that works in-story, too.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

When Costis tells Eugenides that he was asked for, and gave, information to Susa, Eugenides immediately dismisses him. Why? Is this a cruel or a kind thing to do?

I interpreted it as Gen accepting both the information and the implied apology from Costis, and then dismissing the matter. Or, Costis's involvement in the matter anyway. An instance in which we get to see Gen's hidden kingliness.

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Ahh. I took it as Gen being kind. He wants to save Costis from being used as a "spy" {unwittingly) because of his closeness to the King. He also saves him from being a target of those who wish to harm the King (easier to harm the King if his pet bodyguard is out of the way). Otoh, it's cruel because he doesn't tell Costis why he is being dismissed.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

I think it was a formal dismissal, not just a momentary one - Costis is detached from his position as special lieutenant and may be sent elsewhere for service.
I agree with TG though - Gen did this to save Costis from becoming further entangled in court intrigue, and keep him safe, but because he didn't explain any of this to Costis, it was a bit cruel. It's a very Gen way to solve the problem :)

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

If you're doing a shout-out to those of us whose names are from these chapters, don't forget in_my_niteshirt :-).

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks! I did quickly go through the embers, but I'm sure I missed some. Will do! :-)

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I went through the questions in order, but I skipped a whole bunch.

Ch. 6: I read Gen's dismissal as a kindish thing. He knows he's put Costis in an impossible situation, but at the same time he can't have him leaking information all over the place. Maybe?
Favorite line ever #1: "It wasn't what the king saw that was important, it was what he couldn't see when he sat at the window with his face turned toward Eddis." I get all choked up EVERY TIME I read this line.

Ch. 7: Oh, I totally think Heiro has a crush on him!
I just saw your comment about Busman's Honeymoon--the description of the blood during the assasination scene actually always makes me think of the opening of Secret Poison for some reason. And there's a major echo of Gaudy Night in Queen of Attolia.
Costis/Gen banter: one of the delights of my life.
Favorite line ever #2: The man seeking respite one. *swoon*

Ch. 8: I love the moment when Costis holds Attolia and thinks of her as a person, and specifically a woman, for the first time. So awesome!

Ch. 9: I think for the guards, they're desperate and if Gen can save their fellow guards, great. For Costis, it's actually a knowledge that he would (or at least a suspicion).
I think Teleus might guess at the meaning of the invocation, but I'm not sure he knows it. OTOH, would Attolia really go down to the dungeons without him?
The slap scene--I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but whenever I see the scene with Costis there, it just feels wrong.
I know! Door Gen=love.
I have more thoughts about names, but they're a little long so I'll put them together later.

Ch. 10: Favorite Simile of all time (and I'm not kidding): The queen was settling on the edge of the bed, ungainly with hesitation and at the same time exquisite in her grace, like a heron landing in a treetop. *writing swoon*
Bees make honey, which is wonderful and useful for food and medicine and all sorts of other things, but they also have a stinger. And they're ruled by a queen.
The amphoras--I saw them as a) a way to set the scene (I assume a real women of the period would have used a lot of them) and b) an echo of the amphora bit in QoA.
I think the real villain (off scene at this point) might be Nahuseresh. Or maybe Baron Erondites. Both of them are motivated by greed and desire for power--arguably that's present in Sejanus as well, but he does also have the affection for Dite.
Oh, now I feel even worse for Relius. And Attolia (because however cruel and heartless it was, she had to have been upset). And Gen.
I think Gen also knows that there's no other way to make Relius believe him. He has to pretend to be who Relius thinks he is (out of control, angry, and revengeful) before he can reveal his awesomeness.
I didn't read the "finish what I have begun" as torture, but as execution. Maybe I'm misreading though.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Secret Poison... you mean Strong Poison?

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

Skipping questions is absolutely fine/expected :)
Hey, you're right, Strong poison opens with "There were red roses on the bench, they looked like splashes of blood", or something along those lines - blood and flowers. And Gaudy Night - QoA, ooh, I'd love to think so. Is it in the whole "letting yourself trust each other" thing both couples have going on?
I always thought Costis was dismissed to save him from being targeted by the king's enemies. I just wondered to what extent Gen's methods were kind to poor Costis, who's pretty upset about it.
The man seeking respite - yep, me too. I must have read that line about ten times before moving on the first time I read KoA.
Ch. 8: Ah, our dear naive Costis.
Attolia sent all her guards away while listening to Gen, but as someone else pointd out, someone is with her holding a lantern. And Teleus isn't just a guard, so maybe he was. Maybe both Relius and Teleus were there.
The other thing about bees (I just thought of this) is that there's no place in their hive hierarchy for a strong male leader. Nice thoughts on the amphoras - I was really just being silly when I suggested they were wedding gifts XD
I find it interesting tht there are a few people who could be the 'big bad', but none of the real contenders are major players in the story, they're unseen threats. I think mayb the Mede Empire? Their threat informs a lot of what goes on.
I thought interrogation/torture, which if it ended in the death of the prisoner would be fine. The phrase "Finish what I've started" makes m think something with a definite end in mind, but whether that might be information or death (or, fortunately, release!), is pretty ambigous. Ah, Gen and his constant poking people to see their reactions. No wonder everyone wants to kill him.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Wow. So now I've read through your whole post and there is just too much stuff there for me to try to comment on, at least not just now. *brain overload*

This is why I love you guys, and why I love this novel more than any other.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry Rosie! I know this is ridiculously long, and I absolutely am not asking for answers or responses to everything I said. This passage was just so awesome I couldn't leave anything out :)

[twelfthfantasy.livejournal.com]

"When Attolia comes into the room, she congratulates the king on getting rid of the house of Erondites in 98 days. Was she counting up the days on her fingers with her ear pressed to the door? Or has she been crossing days off on a calendar? Or is she just freaky-good at numbers?"

I like to think that he promised he would eradicate the house of Erondites on their wedding night, or at least very near to it. It just seems like something that they would talk about, being who they are. So in that case, I also like to think that she has been keeping track of how long they've been married. Which I think is very...sweet, though I hesitate to apply the word to Irene. And since most of this is conjecture. Do we know how long they've been married at that point?

Will be back with more responses later.

-C

[twelfthfantasy.livejournal.com]

Couple more thoughts:

"# I know we've discussed it before, but why does Heiro give the king the names of other pretty girls? What does 'pretty girl' actually mean? Also, hands up who thinks Heiro has a crush on Gen. "Maybe because I have eyes in my head, your Majesty." (p155)"

I assumed she meant other girls who could be trusted. And who also think Gen is worth saving. Also, people he can dance with safely without worring about them trying to manipulate him.

"# When Costis receives the message about the dogs being loose, he immediately takes action, gathering men and organising a plan to contain the dogs. You can see his leadership, and why Teleus had his eye on Costis as maybe a future successor. Dontchathink?"
Yes. Also, the fact that he not only kept his head and managed this situation, but that he was the first to see the set-up and the danger to the king.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

We always tend to say they've been married three months here, but maybe we're just taking that figure from the 98 days. I always assumed that he made this promise on their wedding night too, but (duh!) never thought that she might be keeping track of how long they've been married. Nice catch :)

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

I love the heron line as well. I think it fits herons exactly. They are so long-legged and thin, with big wings which flap slowly as they land. They do look quite ungainly. And yet they land light as a feather.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I agree. And the reason I think it's so perfect is that it describes Irene/Attolia so exactly as well.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

So, at the risk of seeming obsessed, I'd say another important theme is mercy. Note that, after Costis prays to Philia and after Gen agrees to provide the ten cups, Gen proceeds to show mercy throughout the rest of the book. I'm not saying it's "kindness" -- but a very practical kind of mercy which furthers his own ends and also manages to spare the most lives and fortunes. Gen seems to owe just as much to Philia, or someone very like her, as he does to his namesake god.

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

Well, you did name yourself after this goddess; I'd say seeming obsessed is a moot point now :-P
Yes, I agree! Mercy is an important theme. It's probably a better way to explain Gen's actions than 'kindness', although I don't agree that he's not kind. 'Considerate' might be another good word.
I like the idea that Philia is influencing/informing Gen's actions in the rest of the book. I never thought of that before.

BED

[magicsandwiches.livejournal.com]

Let's talk about bed.

How often does Gen have nightmares? Often enough that he can count on having one when he needs to accuse someone of giving him poison). Right? So it's interesting when Costis has to blow open the door of Gen's bedroom because everyone's freaking out about his nightmare screams. Why are they freaking out? Because they've never heard the screams before. So it's even more interesting when Costis is sitting in the queens rooms watching over Gen and noticing how very, very quiet it is, and how he can't even hear what's going on outside.

You may draw your own conclusions about beds and who sleeps where and how often.

Re: BED

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's brilliant. I've never made that connection before. You're right, of course, that it's very coincidental that he would have a nightmare *right when he needed it*---unless he's been having them nightly. Or at least nightly since the assassination and his re-hurting which might have activated them again. And, as TA and PR noted, the queen seems *very* well-prepared for his nightmares---the basin, and whatnot. I like this idea! :)

Longest Comment EVER! Part 1

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I LOVE <3 you, TA and PR, for being so smart!

(1)By the way, what do people think of this divine Q&A session?

Excellent point on Gen's message to the gods. I love your little parody, but I'm curious now what Gen could have written. He wouldn't have so openly said he did not want the god's "reward" (with rewards like that who needs punishment?), and he already knows that the gods can not return his hand. So what did Gen write? And why was the Oracle so against letting him in?

This scene is pretty serious, but who else was smiling the whole time because of this line: Costis wondered if the two would come to blows, and if they did, what was he suppose to do? Help the king violate a temple? Watch while the king was chucked off the temple foundation by the priestesses? This line not only observes how angry Gen is, but also adds some humor. Because... I mean... It's really hard to take anything seriously when I have images of either Gen running through the temple like mad men waving his hook around or of Gen getting his butt kicked by a bunch of girls while Costis watches. BWHAAA!

(2)When Costis tells Eugenides that he was asked for, and gave, information to Susa, Eugenides immediately dismisses him. Why? Is this a cruel or a kind thing to do?

I think this scene makes more sense in the light of some information that I (like an idiot) only noted now.

Just as Aris had been hesitant to cross Sejanus, Costis would be very careful not to offend Susa. As landowners, Costis's family was not as vulnerable as Aris's. -p130

"The second son of the man my father pays his taxes to." -p33

So... Susa is the baron in possession of the Gede valley. Gen knows where Costis is from, and he would know who the baron of that land is. Costis would technically also have to be loyal to his province's baron. Gen sees that Costis is falling all over himself trying to stay loyal to the monarchy, but also wants to protect his family and his life. It's an impossible situation for Costis, and Gen decides to distances himself from him at this point. So... Yes, I believe Gen is being kind.

It also amuses me that Costis found himself in the same position as Aris; and essentially, did the same thing, even after he said he wouldn't. Poor Costis. So frustrated with himself.

I also see how Costis has changed when he pushes a baron out of his way and says he doesn't care about his status. He's decided he is going to protect his king and nothing is going to stop him. GO COSTIS! *\o/*

(3)Note that Gen at first refuses a doctor (p168), and it's only when he lifts his hand to his face and sees the blood on it that he agrees Aris can fetch a doctor. It may be that Gen doesn't realize how badly he's hurt. Thoughts?

I think... that at first, Gen thought he might be able to hide the injury from the queen, but when he saw the people watching him from the wall and saw how much he was bleeding, he realized that it was useless. There would be no hiding this injury, and the queen was already being alerted.

Shock is a another possibility. Once I dislocated my finger from the middle joint while ice skating, and at first the nerves where pinched, so I couldn't feel anything. When I pulled it back into place, it stung, but it wasn't until it started to swell that it hurt. What was more distressing, was seeing my finger bent forward out of the joint, and not being able to feel it or move it. I sent my mind into a whirl.

I can also add to the fact that grabbing the sword was indeed a very brave thing for him to do in light of that it was his only hand, because even several days after my injury, I felt much more fragile and very self-conscience of how I treated my body. Nothing like getting your bones knocked out of place to remind you of your mortality.

Continued Below

Re: Longest Comment EVER! Part 2

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

(4)Earlier in the book, it specifically mentions that when Eugenides enters Attolia's room he makes some kind of deliberate noise, in order not to startle her.

Gen is very kind, even if he pretends he is not, and he may have gotten used to alerting people of his presence, since his footsteps do not make enough noise to do so.

A second option, is that Attolia packs HEAT. She carries three daggers on her person and has more weapons in her rooms. She has lived with the constant threat of assassination, and would not react kindly to someone sneaking through her rooms. Not to mention in my experience, I would get defensive to someone constantly sneaking up on me, when I am relaxed, even if I knew they meant me no harm.

(5)Or was Gen maybe using the pin on someone else? It's weird. Any thoughts?

I think this may have something to do with Gen's oath to never take a sword by the hilt. He may have used a cloak pin as a sword in a brawl with his cousins once. Costis did say it could be as affective as a sword, but either way, I'm sure Gen wasn't using the pin on himself as he clarified.

(6)What do Ornon and Eugenides fall out about, when Ornon visits the sickbed?

Good question. I thought Ornon was asking Gen to make up with the queen, or perhaps assert that his power was superior to hers and say he was within his rights to remake her decision. I'm sure that would have ticked Gen off.

(7)Did anyone dress it? If not, maybe Gen's fever and infection came from this cut.

We leave that scene in the middle of Gen's treatment, so I think it's possible it was treated by the doctor, but it's hard to say, since it was not in the gossip how Gen got the sword away. Obviously, Gen could not have wrapped it himself. The queen? Phresine? I don't think it was his attendants. They would still have gossiped about it at this point.

Continued Below

Theme song for the assassine scene?

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Every time I read that scene I have Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim (awful name) running through me head.

Go listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSrTmnrURuw

Re: Theme song for the assassine scene?

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes. And yes. It's like the trademark ninja-attack spy-movie song. Which, of course, is perfect.

Why only 4300 characters?

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

~~~~In the snippet I mentioned on p137 (Ornon also waited...a proprietary kiss at breakfast.) we see a picture of Eugenides failing in his public role as king, putting the country of Attolia in jeopardy; and in his relationship with his queen. To what extent do you think Eugenides is truly struggling here?

I’ve always felt that it was a bit of an overstatement to say that Gen’s unkingly attitude during the first part of the book is entirely due to his calculating and scheming. I got the impression he’s truly having difficulty forcing himself to play the part of king when it’s such an abrupt, shocking change from the reclusive, self-sufficient life he led in Eddis. Especially after his hand was cut off. He sits and stares out the window, longing for home; he refuses to dance with the “right” women at dinner, which prompts Ornon to note that he might just be avoiding “one more politically motivated performance.” Those feel pretty self-explanatory to me, but I also feel that he wanders the palace at night and locks his attendants out of his room so he can sneak off in privacy (perhaps to visit the queen) not only because it’s useful to him to do so, but because it makes him feel more free. He’s lost a lot of the liberty he had in Eddis to do “whatever he wants,” and he misses it. Maybe he even feels a little lost without his old responsibilities as the Thief.

So not only is he scheming by keeping the court in the dark, which undoubtedly has its benefits to his Master Plan, but I think he’s genuinely both a) homesick and struggling to overcome that, and b) resentful of the sudden new responsibilities he has and old freedoms that he has lost. He has to sort of talk himself into doing his duty as king, and it takes him the length of the book to do that. (And, much though the ending of KoA is wonderful, I personally don’t think we’ve seen the last of Gen’s antics. He’s not going to flip a switch and suddenly be a little clone of Attolia. Just my opinion, though.)

~~~~~Why does Eugenides seem to be trying so hard to get up Teleus' nose? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be trying to win Teleus over? So why the deliberate provocation?

I’ve always wondered about this. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to me. The only thing I can think is that either Eugenides really has just taken an instant dislike to Teleus, which sometimes happens, or he thinks bullying him will be a better setup for the sudden revelation and change of opinion he needs to enact later in the book. Although that seems like faulty logic to me. Possibly Gen thinks it won’t matter one way or the other what Teleus thinks now, only later will matter, so for the moment he decides to do what he wants (as usual). Maybe he’s picking on Teleus to get back at him for the dogs in QoA. Or all of the other shared history they have of Teleus and his soldiers trying to capture Gen/end his life.

~~~~Why on EARTH is Eddis sharing the most sensitive Attolian reports with her (nominal) political prisoner, a man who is willing to put personal allegiances aside for political gain to such an extent that he advised Sounis to wage war against her country?

Because the Magus is a good guy, duh! (Actually, this is a really good question too.) I always just took it as exposition that the magus has become more of a very good friend to Eddis, more than before, maybe setting up a possible situation for later books where the magus has to make a choice of allegiance? Who knows.

Re: Why only 4300 characters?

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

~~~~While we're on this moment, I'd like to mention the description of Gen's injury here. ... At no point does MWT come out and say "He has a massive gaping wound in his side", thus, you know, leaving us to draw the conclusion that he's badly hurt, but completely miss the cut hand. It's cannons and commas all over again, really. Sneaky.

You know, I’ve never really gone back and looked for clues to the hand cut earlier in the book before. It’s an interesting thought. Personally, I think a wound like the one in his side would bleed profusely, and that’s why there’s blood running across the back of his hand; but the bit later, where TA, I think it is, points out that there should be more blood on his nightgown if he’s reopened the larger wound, is an excellent example of MWT sneakiness. And of course the fact that his hip injury bleeds so much in the garden certainly does a very good job of hiding the hand wound in the first place. Who’d notice, with all that blood splashing around anyway? It might be that Eugenides kept his hand clenched while the physician was cleaning the larger wound and, who knows, Petrus might have been called back to treat it later when there weren’t a few dozen people looking on. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person particularly prone to gossip, to me.

Plus, has anyone ever noticed his name before? Petrus, like petrified. I just figured that out right now.

~~~~Note that Attolia doesn't faint until Eugenides breathes again. ... If what was going through her head in this chapter reminded her of that time, no wonder she fainted. I like how neat the parallels are - the injury, the blood, the breath, and then the faint. Thoughts?

This is one of my favorite scenes. Ever.

Definitely, definitely, definitely an intentional mirror of the off-with-his-hand scene. I remember noticing the repetition of the fainting the very first time I read this scene, one of the few things I did notice the first time through King, but even then I didn’t fully appreciate the parallels until I had a chance to compare with Queen. It’s very exciting.

~~~~The dramatic reaction to the invocation is interesting. ... It's very evocative (I think) of Hephestia on her throne in TT, even down to the quite god-like description of Attolia as 'simultaneously motionless and ceaselessly moving', and the focus on the fabric of her dress pulling tight, as compared to the rise and fall of Hephestia's gown as she breathed in TT. What effect (if any) does this have on the portrayal of Attolia?

I went back and reread that scene in Thief, which goes like this: “Then, with my hand extended, I stopped, and was perfectly still as I watched the pattern of light on the velvet robe shift with the movement of a breath. My heart was like stone inside my chest.”

Then, later, there’s the quote where Costis feels as if the air around him is suffocating him, which TA and PR also noted: Another parallel in this line (p194): Costis drew a breath, sucking at air that seemed too solid to inhale. When was the last time a character described the air as solid? ...

What connects these scenes is the scene in Queen, chapter three: “Eugenides had been frightened before, so frightened that he’d felt as if his heart had turned to stone in his chest. Seeing the sword in the jailer’s hand, he looked again at the queen and felt the whole world turned to stone. The air around him was solid, and he was suffocating.”

So, in fact, not only is there a comparison between Attolia and the goddess Hephestia in the throne room scene, but there is also the same comparison in the original scene recalled by Costis’s difficulty breathing. Both times, Attolia causes a reaction in Gen (or his stand-in) similar to the reaction Gen felt in the temple in the dystopia. So it’s like an allusion-triangle.

~~~~Costis destroys Sejanus, by framing him for the quinalums in the lethium rather than his actual crime of conspiracy with his father. ...

Haha, this made me laugh. I think Eugenides was actually the one who did it :P

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't think of any more to say here, except that I love--LOVE--you two for all the insight and deliciousness of reliving this whole section of KoA.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Ditto.