QoA Section One - Read-along Week One!

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This week we’re reading from, “He was asleep, but woke at the sound of the key turning in the lock.” To “‘He sighed inwardly.”

Chapters 1-8 of QoA.

These discussions are spoiler free for the new short stories, “The Wine Shop” and “The Knife Dance,” as well as the “Thick as Thieves” arc.

There may be spoilers for books 1-4, so if you haven’t read all the published books yet, proceed with caution.

The Empire Strikes Back

We often refer to a sequel that takes a darker tone as The Empire Strikes Back to X, and QoA definitely qualifies as such. Upon taking opening week, I didn’t, at first, realize I’d assigned myself what is probably the most controversial and hotly debated part of this series. Many objections and defenses have been written about QoA. Many people give up after this book with some abandoning it as soon as the blade falls, so to speak…

The realism of falling in love with a woman who maimed you, the questions of whether or not this is a romanization of violence, and even the controversial PoV change are all part of this debate.

I’ve often been on the defense side of many of these discussions and that is, in part, because of my head-cannons, which I feel are supported by the text. I'll go over some of those, and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Falling in Love with an Avalanche

The question has always been, who falls in love with the person who cut your hand off? Correction, Eugenides just happened to already be in love with the woman who had his hand cut off.

Just how did Eugenides get from, “You are more beautiful, but she is more kind.” to having such strong feelings for Irene? Here’s how I believe things went down.

There is at least a year between TT and QoA. Gen has been assigned by Eddis to do reconnaissance work in the Attolian palace to investigate whatever treaties she’s been making with the Mede. Now, I feel people make the mistake in assuming he hasn’t been back to
the palace since he escaped it in TT. That’s not the case.

His grandfather taught him how to enter the palace in secret when he was a child. He’s very comfortable coming and going, and he spent a lot of time there spying before this book starts. This would have been when he witnessed Dite confessing his love and realized he loved Irene as well.

When he saw her dancing under the orange trees as a child is not when he fell in love as he is now. He did feel a connection or empathy towards her at that moment, but either hadn’t reconciled that with who she’d become as an adult or didn’t understand how that affected his feelings for her.

I think his opinions on her changed as he observed her during this year of spying. He watched her running her court, watched her managing her unyielding barons, and saw that there was much more to Irene than the Ice Queen persona she was famous for.

He developed feelings for her without knowing it, and upon seeing Dite fail at confessing his love, realized “from one moment to the next” that he felt the same way. That’s why the earrings and the notes. To Irene that would’ve seemed to be an unspoken threat. I can poison you dinner, Your Majesty. I can slit your throat in your sleep, Your Majesty. In reality, this was his weird attempt at courting a woman he’d already made an enemy out of.

Now, Gen never found the treaty with the Mede, because it didn’t exist. So, that’s why he was there yet again, sneaking through her palace, no doubt wondering what the heck he was going to do about his feelings.

His falling in love wasn’t contrived or based on one sappy encounter in an orange tree grove. (Don’t get me wrong. The dancing under the orange trees scene will always be sweet, but this is not a Love at First Site trope.) It wasn’t feelings developed based on just an idea he had of her. Granted, he didn’t interact with her directly, but he knew her. By listening to her speak at court, watching how she treated her attendants, and from gleaning off the opinions of those who worked and lived at the palace. If he didn’t know her, he never would’ve seen beyond her queenly mask.

In closing, the point I’m trying to make is that he ALREADY loved her. He didn’t fall in love with her after the fact due to battered person syndrome or some form of Stockholm Syndrome or glorification of violence as romantic.

Defrosting the Ice Queen

Irene falls under the tropes of Defrosting the Ice Queen, the Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask, with a little Took a Level in Idealism. I would even argue that she, at least in part, is a villain in the structure of this story. A lot of the defrosting is done by making us see things as she does. We all know that the best villains are the ones that don’t see themselves as evil at all, and often have a good reason for what they’re doing.

Thus, I’ve always tried to see this part of the story from her POV. The gods appear to her (yikes!) and give her very specific instructions on how to catch the Thief. Now, at this point in the story, she doesn’t have any generous feelings for him. He’s an enemy. She’s even afraid of him after the notes and the earrings.

Attolia had seen the text of a message Eddis sent to Sounis the year before suggesting that no lock on window or door in his palace would save him if she had her Thief call on him again. P21

She catches him and now what does she do? The most obvious answer is the have him executed. He is a foreign spy and a potential assassin. She’s not just going to let him go. At the same time, Moira told her not to offend the gods. She clearly thinks executing Gen will do just that.

“Do not offend the gods,” he warned her.

“Hang him.”

“Remember that your gods are not mine. Nor will they be.” P23

Does she care about offending the gods? Seemingly not, however, she does know they’re real and offending them could have negative ramifications.

She doesn’t make the amputation decision out of anger. Revenge yes, but the decision to hang him was made in haste and out of anger. She thought long and hard on the decision to cut off his dominate hand.

“I will think a little more before I decide what to do with you.” P25

Amputation is a solution that will incapacitate him and remove him as a threat (at least, as an assassin, so she thinks) without taking his life. She spites Eddis, eliminates a threat to her life, and doesn’t offend the gods.

“Have I exceeded the restraint of tradition. Have I offended the gods?”

“No, Your Majesty.” P32

During this part of the story, she doesn’t love him. She’s feels guilty later on. She doesn’t take pleasure in violence, but I don’t think she falls in love with him till almost the end of the story. Those feelings aren’t developed to their full potential till KoA.

She has the wound cauterized, meaning she didn’t want him to die of infection.

“If I didn’t want him dead of one infection, why would I want him dead of another?” P35

She doesn’t give any orders to have him tortured for information. Relius does this on his own.

She does go down to check on him, and hears him praying to Hephestia. That moment of vulnerability is important, because that’s when she first feels a connection to him on a personal level.

She made a decision that was logical given her circumstances. Now, this is not a decision anyone ever wants to make. (Unless, you’re Nahuseresh, maybe…) However, I think that since this happened to the main character we know and love, we hold Irene to a different standard of accountability than we do Helen, Sophos, and Gen when they too have to make terrible decisions and hurt characters we haven’t been made to care about as much. (Gen let Relius be tortured. Sophos shot a man in cold blood. Helen started an unnecessary war. To name a few…) This isn’t the audience’s fault. It’s largely intended by the author as a distraction from the Tamoto Surprise at the end, and because Irene is the villain in this particular book. Megan is trying to make us hate her, at least at first.

This is not a romantic story. It’s a love story. This was not done for romantic effect or because violence is sexy. Violence is never portrayed as sexy in these book. This is a story about forgiveness.

Irene had to make a decision as a sovereign. It wasn’t the worst she could’ve done. It wasn’t the best or the most merciful. However, it was a decision that made sense, not just her getting petty revenge on Helen. Irene has never been one to engage in violence simply for personal gratification.

Now, let me explain that I don’t think I love Irene. I respect and admire the heck out of her, but I’ve always seen her as a defrosted villain. Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s not one of my favorite villains ever.

PS: Also, she would've never caught him if it weren’t for the gods, so it’s actually all their fault. Just saying… :)

What was your reaction to the chop-chop moment, and what do you think of Eugendies/Irene? Romantic or insane?

PoV Change

Moving on to a lighter subject, the switch from first person to third person limited has always been another point of contention. However, it makes more sense when you realize "The Thief" is an account written down by Gen and the italicized part at the end is the only real time event. It’s always amused me to think that "The Thief" is sitting somewhere in Eddis’s library! Just waiting for Sophos to pick it up and read that Gen thought Ambiades was better looking than him!

Authors don’t usually change POV in a series, however Megan intends for these books to be stand alone novels. In text, it’s explained that whenever something is in first person, this part of the story is being told or written down for another character. This allows first person narrators to reflect on a current event in retrospect. Other books do this as well, but it’s never usually explained how they are able to know the future during their own story.

Now, let me go over why I feel this change was necessary. TT benefited greatly from Gen’s perspective not only to hide the twist, but from his wit. When you really think about it, not a lot actually happens during the first half of the story. Gen keeps us entertained and laughing as the world is established. This was also an excellent way to get to know him.

Firstly, QoA is a very different book with a multitude more characters and much more ground to cover. Parts of the story are told from Helen’s and Irene’s perspective, and Irene is a particularly essential POV for the story to work.

If you’re wondering why Megan couldn’t have written Gen in first and the other characters in third like the "Enola Holmes Mysteries" do, I have a theory on that as well.

I don’t think QoA would’ve benefited from Gen’s PoV. He’s funny, but there wasn’t much for him to be funny about during the section we just read. Gen has to fight his depression, before he can accept what’s happened and start being himself again. The distance we have on him benefits the story.


What did you think ot the PoV change?

And with that! We’re to the final part of this extremely long post!

Stop Whining!

Now, a lot people don’t like the Winter of Whining, as I like to call it, but if whining is ever justified, amputation and learning to live with a disability, are good reasons. Now, this part of the story can be a downer. Gen is very depressed and rightly so. Once he’s physically able to get out of bed, he has to cope with a whole different future laid out before him. He can’t be the Thief as he was before, so he sits in his chair by the fire and practices his hand-writing all day. What else is there for him to do?

Until he realizes Eddis is at war then, and Gen realizes that he can still mastermind and play a leadership role (a position he’d wouldn’t have ever taken under normal circumstances), does he realize there is still purpose for him. He can still serve his country and his queen.

Now, humor me for just a moment and imagine the book without the Winter of Whining. Imagine that Gen heals up, jumps out of bed, and runs off to kidnap the Magus. Wouldn't you think that was a bit I odd? Shouldn’t he be at least a little traumatized?

The rule applies here, that if you hurt your character, you must allow them time to heal. So perhaps, it wasn’t so much a Winter of Whining as it was a Winter of Healing.

Was this part a big downer for you? Do think Gen is suffering from depression?

Favorite Lines

“Long-handled iron tools that looked like blacksmithing tools but weren't rested on the wall…” p28

This is absolutely terrifying.


”His grandfather would heap scorn on him like coals.” P28

Am I the only one who thinks it’s hilarious that Gen is so worried about his grandfather's disapproval in the afterlife? I'm guessing that he was a hard teacher to please.

“That necklace was hideous. It was the only way to keep you from wearing it.”

“My earrings?”

“What earrings?” P50

They’re such cute siblings.

“For me, alone among mortals, the gods send their messenger to tell me to stop whining. That'll teach me to go hide in the temple.” P79 And “I ate the ceremonial bread in the temple.” P80

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I’ve always loved how Gen is miffed he doesn’t ever get better worded, more articulate messages.

Eugenides stood and started to pace. The magus was reminded of a bear, chained in the pit, albeit a small bear. P84

Gen is a smol bear. Aww…

“You see how well planned this adventure is,” he said. “I arrange not only a cart but the chariot as well.” P110

He brought a cart. *IZ DEAD

Random Observations are Random

“Near the chair, dressed for dinner in a cool green gown the color of sage leaves was the queen of Attolia. Embroidered around the neck of the dress was flowers, white petals on the green ground, with delicate leaves a shade darker than the dress.” p29

For some reason, I have never before realized that the dress on the 2005 cover is described in the book, nor that it is drawn exactly as it is described.

“…once he'd slipped while making his way across an icy wall and had fallen to the ground with his leg twisted underneath him.” p50

Gen has fallen before! And he still does drunk handstands on the edge of a wall…

“I could run away and make myself a free man,” joked Kamet.

“Oh, I'd find you,” Nahuseresh smiled. P72

Foreshadowing?

“And she has the most appealing of feminine virtues, esspecially in a queen. She's easily lead,” said Nahuseresh, smiling.

“She's held the throne for some time,” the secretary said cautiously. P72

Kamet is smarter than Nahuseresh.



What are some of your favorite lines and what do you think of Kamet's bit in this section?

Next week we will continue with QoA chapters 9-14 lead by live_momma!