A Conspiracy of Kings Chapters 17-23

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

This week we finish our community read-along, as we’ve reread all the books to get ready for the release of Thick As Thieves, woohoo! This section covers the last seven chapters of A Conspiracy of Kings, beginning with the change back to to 1st person POV as Sophos says, “ We left Attolia with all the provisions we had missed on our previous journey,” and ending with, “They both laughed.”

This discussion should be spoiler-free for the new short stories and Thick As Thieves. Which we’ll be discussing SOON.

All page numbers I refer to are from the original hardback book.

Although A Conspiracy of Kings is a more linear story than QoA or KoA, these last seven chapters are as complex and layered as any in the series.  When I first read them, they seemed straightforward. But, at the same time, I had a vague feeling there was a subtle undercurrent going on, and I was missing something. I gradually realized that feeling was from not realizing how much of what happens in these final chapters is entirely from Sophos’ (ok, with some help from Gen, Irene, Helen and maybe the Magus) plans and manipulations.  But Sophos is the key player here and it is his leadership, patience, determination, and even his acting ability that lead to his final success as he assumes the throne and becomes, in every sense, the king of Sounis.

As we’ve seen in past story arcs with Gen, Helen, and Irene, an overarching theme of the series is what rulers must do for love of  their countries, and whether those difficult decisions are justified. All the rulers in these books must act in ways they wouldn’t have chosen as an individual. It’s heart wrenching to see Sophos realize his limited choices and that those choices must involve war and violence. Some of the most powerful parts in the book are where he compares himself to his uncle, and when he smiles at the end and the barons see his uncle in him, it gave me chills.

I liked pendrecarc ‘s idea of discussion questions in comments, so see my five below. The comments are titled:
You Shot the Ambassador
From Bunny to Mankiller
He couldn’t offend the gods with a pointed stick
These Are My Dead/My Hands Are Covered in Blood
I Love Stupid Plans!

Feel free to also leave a general comment about the entire book. I would also ask that folks stay away from partisan political comments, so everyone feels welcome. Let’s stick to the politics of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis, which leaves plenty to talk about.

Also, some random questions:
What do you think Helen said in her love letter? Sadly, it’s probably in the slush pile along with the Wedding Night scene.
What did you think of Helen’s clever letter? Did you get it right away, or not until Sophos did?
What’s the significance of the two Ions? Why do you think Megan made the choice to give them the same name?
Who knew Sophos wore an earring??
What’s the significance of the library, that everyone from Gen’s great-great-grandfather to Sophos has dreamed about it?

HAHAHA moments:
I love the humor sprinkled throughout this book, most of it from Sophos’s sotto voce comments about other characters and himself. What are your favorites? Some of mine:
"All I could do was wave my sword around to defend myself and try not to cut the ears off my own horse."
"I landed badly, just exactly like a sack of rocks…"
"Eurydice could be heard, if she chose to exert herself, across several fields and a small river."
"It was all I could do to keep myself from grabbing Comeneus’s finger and biting it."


 

Comments

You Shot the Ambassador

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

So, here’s the part I was referring to, about feeling I was missing something during my first read. I thought Sophos was the victim here, subject completely to the Medes’s plans. On pg. 263, we learn that Sophos had instructed his troops to feint an attack, then scatter and reform a few times. They retreated with few casualties, and allowed Sophos to be captured and taken to Brimedius. Sophos could have faded away with the Magus, but chose to remain and be captured. Once at Brimedius, Sophos killed time until he was sure his mother and sisters were safe, and he’d given his father’s/the Magus’s/Gen’s troops time to get to Elisa. Even though Sophos was a captive, he was mostly the one pulling the strings here.

Remember in The Thief when you went back and read all those clues you’d missed the first time? A reread made me feel like that. Here’s the evidence I missed the first time around:
Both of them had urged me to keep my plans to myself (p 211)
I had prepared my Attolians and my Eddisians carefully. (p 212)
It was an excellent place for a trap, and we had sprung it. (p 213)
Without needing a signal, the Eddisian captain whistled a retreat. (p 214)
The battle hadn’t been unanticipated or forced on me, as the raid in the villa had been. (p 215)
(To the Magus) “You aren’t supposed to be here!” I shouted. “Get back!” (p 216)
When the first men of Sounis reached the top of the hill, I shouted clearly, “I am the king of Sounis,” on the slight chance that the silvered breastplate with the Sounis colors in velvet underneath didn’t identify me clearly enough. (p 216)
“What a surprise to see you here,” I said to him, not surprised at all. (p 217)
And so by late afternoon I was in Brimedius, almost exactly as I’d originally planned. (217)
I am not Gen. I cannot tell a convincing lie. He and I had agreed that I was foolish to try… (219)
I practiced firing Attolia’s gun… (225)

So, how much of the plan do you think was conceived ahead of time, versus Sophos improvising as needed? Had he planned from the start to shoot Hanaktos if he could find no better way of convincing the barons that he should be king? And, once he got the barons to support him, did he have any hope that his army could stop the Medes?

From Bunny to Mankiller

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

A Conspiracy of Kings has a stronger theme of “coming-of-age” than any of the other books. Although Gen is young in The Thief, his personality seems nearly fully formed. Sophos is more of a blank slate when we first meet him and changes in a more dramatic way. In this last part of the book, Sophos has already changed into the king he’s going to be, although not all his decisions have been made. He compares himself, usually to his detriment, to Eugenides, to his father, and to his uncle.

What evidence did you see of Sophos’s growth and transformation from a boy with little talent or self-confidence into a king, as he accepts his fate and steps into his role as leader?

He couldn’t offend the gods with a pointed stick

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Many of the QT characters are visited by Moira. She was distant to Nahuserish (“I only ask that you hear me.”). She shows Eddis the destruction of her country, and tells Gen to stop whining. To Sophos she is kind and patient. She invites him to sit down, smiles at him, teaches him and tells him stories, and accepts his decision that he doesn’t want his dust mote moved into the sun. Why are the gods so gentle with Sophos?

In the past, the gods kept Irene from having Gen executed, and told Nahuseresh where to find Irene. How come the gods didn’t intervene to help Sophos when he needed it? Or did they? Is that how he knew just where to find the army Gen sent?

These Are My Dead/My Hands Are Covered in Blood

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I worry about Sophos as the years go by. His country has been stolen by his best friend. His true love has deceived him (or at a minimum kept him uninformed) and manipulated him into saving her country. (“But Sophos had to know that she and Eugenides had let him ride away with an Attolian army at his back, believing he had needed it. With more faith in himself, and his father’s army, he could have retaken his throne without Attolia’s aid. He might not have followed that bloodier and more costly path, but Eddis and Attolis hadn’t offered him the choice.” p. 310). His barons have forced him to resort to violence and act as his uncle would have (including his smile).

Similar things turned Irene into a person who wore a cold mask and chopped off people’s hands. How will the events in ACoK change Sophos in the future? Will he be able to gain the respect of his barons and countrymen/women? Or is he doomed to infighting and sand in his food? Will his role as king change him from the kind and sensitive person he has been? “If I couldn’t be Eddis, I would be Attolia.”

I Love Stupid Plans!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Sophos is sent off to Brimedius without enough soldiers and counts on Gen to provide him with more help when he makes his final stand at Oneia against ten thousand Medes. He breaks the truce at Eisa, kills an unarmed man, and shoots an ambassador. If you accept that most of what happens in these chapters is due to the plan Gen and Sophos dreamed up in the wine shop, how is this plan, compared to all the other stupid plans? Let’s review…

Stealing the king’s seal, bragging in a wineshop, getting sent to Sounis’s prison
Depending on a fallen tree bridge you’ve constructed in order to escape the queen’s soldiers
Sneaking into Attolia’s megaron just because your queen asked you to
Sneaking back into Attolia’s megaron after she’s cut off your hand
Sneaking into Attolia’s bedroom while she’s sleeping and leaving her presents
Kidnapping the queen and getting her to accept your marriage proposal when you didn’t really think about being king
Demanding an answer from the gods
Jumping over atriums 4 stories up, just because
Taunting a member of your guard into slugging you, in order to change the mind of the man next to him (and reduce the guard by half)
Jumping around on crenellations when you’re drunk
Agreeing to fight the entire king’s guard when you have a hangover and want breakfast

What have I missed?

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Just a general comment here:

You mentioned Sophos' acting ability and how it served him, and it dawned on me that all those years of him watching, memorizing, and obsessing over plays, were not wasted!

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Would it be possible to request that the headers for the questions in the comments be appended to the post itself? I find the comment discussion questions methods really hard to follow.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I had to stay up all night to finish the book, but I am finally current, yah! Anyhow, I will get to the questions later, but I just wanted to leave this here.

Earlier in the book Sophos described Akretensh as "saturnine." It's not a common word, so I looked it up and here's that.

1. sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.
2. suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.

Lead? Guess what Sophos's bullets were made out of?

AAAHHHHH!

plain

[(Anonymous)]

join the new social [url=http://onlinecasinos-x.com]casino[/url] guide

[manderelee.livejournal.com]

Did anyone else find Sophos a little out of character in the last chapter? I found it a little startling that he would not only interrupt Eddis (a queen he's long admired) while she's trying to tell him something important, but to also announce his engagement carelessly to Eugenides, and then demand answers from Eddis. I just thought he was more circumspect than that.