Community Read-along: A Conspiracy of Kings section 1

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

Welcome back to the community read-along of all the books (so far!). This week, we’re starting A Conspiracy of Kings, reading from the start of the Prologue “The king of Attolia was passing....” to the end of Chapter 12 “...You came in. And you laughed.” Thirteen chapters sounds like a lot, but some of them are actually very short, so please keep reading and don’t panic!

These discussions are spoiler-free for the new short stories The Wine Shop and The Knife Dance, as well as for the ARC Thick As Thieves. If you have any comments on these in relation to ACoK, please write them down or tell them to the cat, so you’ll remember them to share with everyone else in Less Than A Month’s Time!!! :D

Obviously, there will be spoilers for the four extant books, so if you’re very very new to this fandom, I echo the Queen of Attolia: Go Away – and finish reading all four books!


So, so, so. This book contains some of the most uneven chapter lengths Megan’s ever published, so for discussing, I have divided the narrative into 6 parts:

1. Reunion (Prologue)
2. Life – and death – at the villa (Chapters 1 & 2)
3. An unexpected escape (Chapters 3 & 4)
4. Life and learning (Chapters 5 & 6)
5. An unexpected rescue (Chapters 7 to 9)
6. Flight to Attolia (Chapters 10 to 12)

For each of these, (in imitation of pendrecarc) I have added a few rather random thoughts and questions in separate comments below. As you’re reading through and want to comment, pick the thread that matches your section and reply. Quotes, comments, suggestions, elaborations, arguments -- all welcome!

Enjoy! And don’t delay! Next week is section 2 of ACoK led by ibmiller, while May 16th gets nearer every day!

Comments

Reunion

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

“To answer many questions about where you have been and what has become of you, since they saw you last...”

No doubt about it, this prologue is one of the most tantalising ever! First, MWT reminds us all just how good she is at showing without telling anything – hands up if you didn’t realise it was Sophos and the Magus! – and even once we know a thousand more questions spring up. Travelling? Robbed? The new face of Sophos?

Then there’s also one of the most human sides of Gen we see or have seen, in greeting both the Magus and Sophos – a useful reminder that Gen is still Gen as well as Attolis, when he promptly goes on to become so distant.

What do you think? Even on the umpteenth re-read, is it humanly possible to put the book down at this point?

Favourite line: “You know, I don’t think you’re allowed to treat me like this.”

Life -- and death -- at the villa

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

This section marks the return to first-person narrative, like Gen’s in The Thief. I enjoyed it, particularly because I admire the way MWT has made it sound not at all like Gen. Also, after two books without Sophos, it was so nice to have LOTS of him!

In story structure terms, this section is a bit of background and the Inciting Incident, as we meet Sophos’ family who were so briefly described in The Thief, and then “Like a fool, I got what I wished for...”

One thing which I noticed was that although, like his size, Sophos doesn’t realise it or use it yet, he is quite an astute judge of people. His sisters, Terve, Malatesta … all are described with very defining actions, like Hyacinth always arriving in time for food.

A theme which runs through the whole of ACoK is Sophos making plans. When the attack on the villa comes, we have the first of these – which, of course, starts off quite well but then runs into a table... [Note: the way to fight off a table is to bend just as it reaches you, so the table and its wielder go over the top. I learned this from an old Robin Hood book when I was about six :D]

Should Sophos have guessed that all might not work out, given the fuss his mother’s two maids were making about the first part of the escape?

An unexpected escape

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

Sophos hatches another plan, for his own escape from the slavers. Does it work better this time because he finally uses some of his assessments of people’s characters, ie Berrone’s kind heartedness and the slaver guard’s greed?

It seems like it’s working, too – before Berrone unknowingly drops the information about her father!

How much sense can you make so far of the abduction plot?

Life and learning

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

Sophos becomes a field-hand, and gets a new name/nickname. Is this section the equivalent of Gen’s Winter of Whining?

At the same time as Rural Life becomes a major feature, another library appears, this time with a rather tantalising haul of book titles and Moira as tutor, though Sophos doesn’t recognise her. His “studies” and life start to relate to each other, with particular emphasis on the nature and qualities of monarchy. How do all the monarchs in ACoK measure up?

There’s also what Gen would have called “an instructive story.” The immediate parallel is quite clear, but is it relevant that it leaves Sophos with a whole pile of questions?

On a less important point, what do you think the Magus had been doing in a library in Ferria?

An unexpected rescue

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

In many senses!

Firstly, Sophos faces the hardest choice of his life. Are there certain echoes of Eddis' very long pause before she lets Gen go to steal the Queen of Attolia here? More so because with the example of the Mephians discussed among the field-hands in the previous chapter, we know his "stay safely put" option isn't really an option, just as Eddis knows she can't stay put on the Sacred Mountain?

Choice made, and the next Plan by Sophos. This time, crunch time, it really works -- given a dozen or more adjustments, reverses, wild strokes of luck and so on! Sophos combines both his mind and his physical strength – “I hit him with the accumulated force of a thousand thousand shovelfuls of dirt.” A couple of points spring to mind: Why does Sylvie the maid go along with Sophos’ deception when she has seen at least part way through it?
And when Baron Hanaktos recognises Sophos, is it as Sophos or because he looks so like Sounis?

Flight to Attolia

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

“You and I go to Attolia...” And Sophos hatches yet another plan, as the success of the previous section goes up in smoke – literally, as the Mede (or accomplice) fire the tent.

Apart from leaving Sophos and the Magus completely destitute on their arrival in Attolia, does the robbery on the road add or reveal anything to justify it being a whole chapter?

After a brief revisit to the route of The Thief, it’s back to courtly life and one of Gen’s all-time stunners: “The quickest way to end a war is to admit you’ve lost it.” Just what did he really mean by that remark?

And finally, we end with my favourite line of the whole section: “and you came in. And you laughed.” Is it because Eddis is glad? Or because she’s spent her whole reign refusing to marry Sounis and is now proposing to marry his spitting image?

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I just re-read ACoK! I love how Sophos is such an innocent sweetheart compared to snarky Gen (though of course I love him too)--a very different POV experience. Then of course that makes his arc in this book even more dramatic and surprising. (Similarly, in The King of Attolia, it was rather surprising when Gen and Irene ended up showing mercy and kindness at times when you wouldn't have expected it of them, given their ruthless histories.) Always keeping us on our toes, MWT.

When Gen is cold to Sophos upon his arrival in Attolia, I assume that's meant to harden Sophos up so he'll understand right from the start what it's going to take to be king? I.e., it's going to be a different treatment than just being Gen's friend, though they'll still be friends.

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

Do we have to bear in mind that Gen doesn't know what Sophos thinks about the Medes, but probably does know via the Attolian spies that Sophos' father, who has always over-cowed his son, /is/ pro-Mede?

Afterthought

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

In Baron Hanaktos' field-house, we learn a lot more about the Eumen conspiracy than originally mentioned in The Thief. What light does this add to the character and actions of Ambiades, whose family lost everything in it? And also that of the Magus, who took the son of a Eumen conspirator's family to be his apprentice?