COMMUNITY READALONG PART 6: The King of Attolia, Prologue - Chapter 5
Onward we march, getting closer each day to ACoK! Huzzah! But please no ACoK spoilers!
Reading from line: The queen waited.
Ending at line: Costis walked on through the palace and down to the Guard's barracks, knowing himself entirely guilty of what the king had not condescended to accuse him of.
(page numbers from hardback edition)
General Thoughts/Questions:
We're on our third POV and I know it's been discussed before but thoughts again? I love the POV switches as I feel they lend depth to the stories. Can you imagine KoA from other perspectives?
Right off in the Prologue I'm struck by mwt's fantastic turns of phrase. Something as simple as "unsubstance" is really quite fantastic.
When do we get Ornon's book? :)
Was KoA the first in the series you read? If so, what were your initial thoughts on the characters? After reading the whole series? This was not the first I read and I've always wondered what I would have thought if it was the first in the series I came by.
Detailed Thoughts/Questions:
Favorite Scene: It's a tie between the Eddisian style dance and the audience with Relius after the informants return from the Mede empire to report to Their Majesties.
Favorite lines:
p. 22 - "That was terrifying, but I suppose you are used to excitement?"
- Eugenides smiled, entirely without royal dignity, and left. (You mean like a Thief?:)
p. 44 - He struggled to imagine her own mother kissing the queen and balked, seeing instead an adult Attolia somehow shrunk to the size of a child.
p. 54 - "If we are not valuable, why should she defend us?" Teleus asked.
p. 71 - He put the ring back on his finger and went to bed, trying to think of other things.
p. 93/4 - Short of throwing a dinner roll at him, there was no way to get his attention.
p. 98 - She knew that. It worried her.
p. 109 - "I do," Aris admitted. "But, as a low-minded and practical sort of fellow, I'm glad someone has ideals and sticks to them."
Random stuff:
A brief comment about writing style rather than story: I think mwt is a master of characterization and I only noticed on this reading how deftly she illustrates character by the way everyone projects their personal feelings on the the match of Attolia and Gen. It's a very natural way to get to know everyone, feeds well into the plot and allows us to learn how Gen and Attolia are presenting themselves to the court at this point. mwt's craft is truly stunning.
p.14 - I love how Costis already has Gen's number: "conniving bastard."
Gen hates ceremony, spotlight, etc but do you get the impression that he enjoys adding "kingly wiles" to his toolbox of manipulation and sneakeration?
How do you think Costis might behave differently if he, like Aris, came from a non-landed family?
p. 21 - Teleus is instructed to take the bargain. He's surprised by this but had he not also failed? Is it not his purview to ensure that the king is safe? Or, because it was the attendants causing trouble, were the pranks not something he would know about?
p. 23 - Here begins the mostly omniscient asides that don't come from Costis' POV. What do you think is the purpose of these? Clarity? A more intimate look at characters that some readers will have a lot of familiarity with? Can you imagine the book without them? Do you think they give the mystery away at all?
p. 46 - Gen to Costis: "I thought you grew up on a farm." At first blush this seems like a sarcastic dig. But we learn that Gen actually wants to know about this type of thing. Do you think he was genuinely puzzled that Costis didn't know this?
p. 72 - My little heart goes out to Relius here who is trying so hard to do right by his queen and having no idea there's really no need to try to hide anything from Gen. Cuz ya know, Attolia would tell him and he probably already knows.
I get the impression that the threat of the Thief of Eddis was not widely broadcast in Attolia. Teleus and Relius clearly feel he is a threat (even if they don't know what kind) but wouldn't others in her court have known what type of person he was other than T and R? Why do so many people underestimate him? Or do you think we are only exposed to those that do as they are relevant to the story?
p. 79 - After Gen's nighttime visit to the deceitful baron and Attolia's response the scene ends with: She crossed her arms and refused to speak to him again. Why is that? Seems like he did something useful. Do you think she's annoyed at his methods?
Gen says that he smacked Costis in the side of the face during practice because he lost his temper. With whom? Is he annoyed at Costis for not coming round faster or did he lose his temper in general. And while we're on this... despite appearances, even up to this point, I think it's clear that Gen likes Costis more than he lets on. However, he's really hard on Costis. I mean, really hard. Why do you think that is?
p. 101 - I can picture this dance scene so well and when it is over and I'm imagining Attolia's hair and skirts swinging back into place I see Gen smiling (beaming really) at her and I hear his mental voice say, "This is My Queen."
p. 106 - Why do you think Gen had such a public beginning to his conversation with Dite? And speaking of Dite, we're given the impression that Attolia is as lovable as a piece of steel. Were you surprised to learn that someone other than Gen was in love with her?
p. 122 - "...In my experience, patronoi, my opponent's self-confidence is usually my best asset." This puts me in mind of the Jewel quote: Your underestimation of me will be my greatest weapon. (from memory, hope it's correct)
And even though this post has probably become way too long (but where else can I gush and gush about QT to people who will understand:), I have one last question because it's one of my favorite discussions: Why do you think Gen's outing of Relius was public? This was discussed a couple months ago and you can click here to see what I and a couple others were sharing.
I can't wait to see what interests everyone from the random stuff I posted and/or any other topics.
Reading from line: The queen waited.
Ending at line: Costis walked on through the palace and down to the Guard's barracks, knowing himself entirely guilty of what the king had not condescended to accuse him of.
(page numbers from hardback edition)
General Thoughts/Questions:
We're on our third POV and I know it's been discussed before but thoughts again? I love the POV switches as I feel they lend depth to the stories. Can you imagine KoA from other perspectives?
Right off in the Prologue I'm struck by mwt's fantastic turns of phrase. Something as simple as "unsubstance" is really quite fantastic.
When do we get Ornon's book? :)
Was KoA the first in the series you read? If so, what were your initial thoughts on the characters? After reading the whole series? This was not the first I read and I've always wondered what I would have thought if it was the first in the series I came by.
Detailed Thoughts/Questions:
Favorite Scene: It's a tie between the Eddisian style dance and the audience with Relius after the informants return from the Mede empire to report to Their Majesties.
Favorite lines:
p. 22 - "That was terrifying, but I suppose you are used to excitement?"
- Eugenides smiled, entirely without royal dignity, and left. (You mean like a Thief?:)
p. 44 - He struggled to imagine her own mother kissing the queen and balked, seeing instead an adult Attolia somehow shrunk to the size of a child.
p. 54 - "If we are not valuable, why should she defend us?" Teleus asked.
p. 71 - He put the ring back on his finger and went to bed, trying to think of other things.
p. 93/4 - Short of throwing a dinner roll at him, there was no way to get his attention.
p. 98 - She knew that. It worried her.
p. 109 - "I do," Aris admitted. "But, as a low-minded and practical sort of fellow, I'm glad someone has ideals and sticks to them."
Random stuff:
A brief comment about writing style rather than story: I think mwt is a master of characterization and I only noticed on this reading how deftly she illustrates character by the way everyone projects their personal feelings on the the match of Attolia and Gen. It's a very natural way to get to know everyone, feeds well into the plot and allows us to learn how Gen and Attolia are presenting themselves to the court at this point. mwt's craft is truly stunning.
p.14 - I love how Costis already has Gen's number: "conniving bastard."
Gen hates ceremony, spotlight, etc but do you get the impression that he enjoys adding "kingly wiles" to his toolbox of manipulation and sneakeration?
How do you think Costis might behave differently if he, like Aris, came from a non-landed family?
p. 21 - Teleus is instructed to take the bargain. He's surprised by this but had he not also failed? Is it not his purview to ensure that the king is safe? Or, because it was the attendants causing trouble, were the pranks not something he would know about?
p. 23 - Here begins the mostly omniscient asides that don't come from Costis' POV. What do you think is the purpose of these? Clarity? A more intimate look at characters that some readers will have a lot of familiarity with? Can you imagine the book without them? Do you think they give the mystery away at all?
p. 46 - Gen to Costis: "I thought you grew up on a farm." At first blush this seems like a sarcastic dig. But we learn that Gen actually wants to know about this type of thing. Do you think he was genuinely puzzled that Costis didn't know this?
p. 72 - My little heart goes out to Relius here who is trying so hard to do right by his queen and having no idea there's really no need to try to hide anything from Gen. Cuz ya know, Attolia would tell him and he probably already knows.
I get the impression that the threat of the Thief of Eddis was not widely broadcast in Attolia. Teleus and Relius clearly feel he is a threat (even if they don't know what kind) but wouldn't others in her court have known what type of person he was other than T and R? Why do so many people underestimate him? Or do you think we are only exposed to those that do as they are relevant to the story?
p. 79 - After Gen's nighttime visit to the deceitful baron and Attolia's response the scene ends with: She crossed her arms and refused to speak to him again. Why is that? Seems like he did something useful. Do you think she's annoyed at his methods?
Gen says that he smacked Costis in the side of the face during practice because he lost his temper. With whom? Is he annoyed at Costis for not coming round faster or did he lose his temper in general. And while we're on this... despite appearances, even up to this point, I think it's clear that Gen likes Costis more than he lets on. However, he's really hard on Costis. I mean, really hard. Why do you think that is?
p. 101 - I can picture this dance scene so well and when it is over and I'm imagining Attolia's hair and skirts swinging back into place I see Gen smiling (beaming really) at her and I hear his mental voice say, "This is My Queen."
p. 106 - Why do you think Gen had such a public beginning to his conversation with Dite? And speaking of Dite, we're given the impression that Attolia is as lovable as a piece of steel. Were you surprised to learn that someone other than Gen was in love with her?
p. 122 - "...In my experience, patronoi, my opponent's self-confidence is usually my best asset." This puts me in mind of the Jewel quote: Your underestimation of me will be my greatest weapon. (from memory, hope it's correct)
And even though this post has probably become way too long (but where else can I gush and gush about QT to people who will understand:), I have one last question because it's one of my favorite discussions: Why do you think Gen's outing of Relius was public? This was discussed a couple months ago and you can click here to see what I and a couple others were sharing.
I can't wait to see what interests everyone from the random stuff I posted and/or any other topics.