Chills

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

One of the moments in the books that actually sent shivers running down my spine was in QoA:

"She gestured for the guard to pull the boat in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him drop obediently to one knee and reach over the water. The hook in place of his missing right hand thunked quietly into the wooden hull."

Brrrrrrrr!

And as I reread THE THIEF, every time I came across a mention of Gen's right hand - more chills. But that was in retrospect, of course, whereas the boat moment wasn't.

How 'bout the rest of you? Any chilling moments?

Leslie

Comments

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Yes, that chilled me too. Also because of the silence surrounding them and how in the past they have rarely come face to face! Another chilling moment: when Gen is not allowed on the roof because Eddis thinks he'll fall.

Reading about Sophos in The Thief is particularly saddening because he may be dead, though I really, really hope he's not.

[(Anonymous)]

This is kind of in retrospect, too (out of necessity, since we don't see it happen), but how chilling is it that Gen grabs the blade of a sword, risking his ONLY hand, during the assassination attempt?
-Philia

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

OMG yes!

!!!!!!!!!

[empmai.livejournal.com]

OMG 2 I never even thought of this!

[(Anonymous)]

For me, it was the part where Irene passes out...

~Feir Dearig

[willow-41z.livejournal.com]

I... never thought of that either.

WOW. O_O

[(Anonymous)]

The part right after that when Gen freaks out and Ornon shoves him back on the bed and yells, "The Queen is fine!"

-Case

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

When Teleus invokes Hephestia, and the following scene, when Attolia slaps the crap out of Eugenides.

But especially the invocation, and Attolia's immediate reaction.

[(Anonymous)]

Also, maybe Hephestia's reaction. Isn't there a sudden wind?
-Philia

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

second the fainting moment...
For myself, there were a few gut-sinkers; the "She cried" was hard.
The part when Eugenides turns up in Attolia's room, and Costis finally gets them, what's going on, made my stomache lurch.
Or how about the whole "I can do whatever I want" thing? When later we hear it's the Thief talking. Or the "My God" "Go to bed" exchange. Yikes.

[Hello. This is my first comment. My year was made when I found the King of Attolia existed!]

[willow-41z.livejournal.com]

I always thought she was afraid he'd jump, or try to fall. But if she thought the gods had betrayed him, she might have been afraid that he really would have an accident.

But wouldn't that be futile? In KoA Gen says if the gods will it it will happen, whether he were to fall from the roof of the third step of a stair. I suppose we often do futile things to protect the things we love.

Did Gen's grandfather fall, or did he commit suicide? And what about Gen's mom? I wonder why she fell at such a young age... maybe it was necessary so that Gen would become Thief?

[rain-ing.livejournal.com]

Or how about the part where the Eddisian soldier guarding Attolia in QoA got a crossbow fired through his throat by the Mede. That was pretty scary, I think.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Welcome, new folks!

Oh, yes, the "I can do anything I want!" and Eugenides's immediate reaction to what he nearly did was very chilling.

Also, many chills from QoA:
--When Gen says, "Please don't hurt me anymore" and Attolia recoils.
--Gen falls asleep and dreams of Attolia in her green dress watching the sword fall on his arm.
--Gen in the Magus's bedchamber after the ships burn, saying, "I can steal anything. Even with one hand."
--Gen saying, "If I could get into Ephrata, I could remove the queen," and everyone's discomfort in knowing he previously didn't kill people.
--Eddis, anguished, asking, "What would I have done if she'd caught you and cut you to pieces and sent the pieces back to me?"
--Attolia poisoning her first husband, and having his successor shot with a crossbow.
--And, one of my favorite scenes, when Attolia insists on speaking to Gen and stalks to his tent, only to come upon this: "The heavyset man...was just easing the cuff off his arm. Eugenides's eyes were closed. As the cuff came free, he shuddered and dropped his head to rest on the other man's shoulder." Talk about your gripped immobility.

[avian-xj.livejournal.com]

Welcome :)

[estarria.livejournal.com]

That freaked me out too. Poor little guy was just trying to be a good guard. :(

The part in KoA where Eugenides complains about how much he hates being king (right before the "Go to bed" exchange) was a little scary too, because, as he said, it's pretty dangerous to tell the gods you don't like the gift they've given you -- they might take it away just to teach you a lesson.

[rain-ing.livejournal.com]

And, one of my favorite scenes, when Attolia insists on speaking to Gen and stalks to his tent, only to come upon this: "The heavyset man...was just easing the cuff off his arm. Eugenides's eyes were closed. As the cuff came free, he shuddered and dropped his head to rest on the other man's shoulder." Talk about your gripped immobility.

YES. i was about to write that too, but i was too lazy to get the exact quote >

[rain-ing.livejournal.com]

Welcome!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I think she's afraid he'll jump.
I think, though, that Gen's acceptance of the gods and his faith that they will either protect him or not is something that comes to him only after his experience with the unnamed goddess, etc. Or maybe only after he's had enough wine...
-Philia

[empmai.livejournal.com]

In QoA, right before Gen goes down the mountain/river to get Attois; Eddis calls Gen back one last time, and he turns and says "My Queen" and she says something like "just that" because she wanted to her Gen call her My Queen one more time, since once he gets to ATtolia and kidnaps Att. then Att's now "his Queen" and not Eddis......

Actually it made me more sad then brrr, I don't want Gen to have to pick between Edd. and Att. in the next book.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

What about the part where Attolia tells Gen she listened outside his cell, and heard him cry in breathless, wracking sobs? That made me pause and imagine, for a minute, how much it must hurt to have a hand cut off with no anesthesia. I can't imagine the pain, then having the stump burned, then lying there alone for three days. OH.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Slowly catching up on old posts...I didn't think of that either! Very chilling.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

OH, indeed. and not just lying there, but lying there in a cold, wet, horribly unhealthy cell. It's a wonder he survived.

Leslie

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

That hadn't even occurred to me, that he was risking his only hand.

It does remind me of a somewhat related chilling moment. At the end, after Eugenides has disarmed Laecdomon using his grab-the-blade trick, and has told Teleus that he actually had won the contest because he can do it with a real blade though he practices with a wooden one; and Teleus says, "I see, now, why Ornon was so confident of your success."

And Eugenides says, "He knew that if Laecdomon had ever become a real threat, I would have disemboweled him.

Wow.

Leslie

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

Mariah pointed out the bloody hand that is frequently referred to following the assassination attempt would've been at least in part from the knife slice, as much or more so than from the sliced open abdomen. I totally missed that.

[(Anonymous)]

So did the Attolians.
-Philia