If you haven't read the book, why not give it a
try? You can find links to everyone else’s thoughts at Dab of Darkness.
This week we read through to the end
of the book.
Before I answer the questions I would just like to
thank Barbara Friend Ish for the chance to read her book for free and nrlymrtl
for organizing the Read Along.
1) These final chapters
show us much more of Iminor's character and his growing Talent. What stuck out
the most for you about how he handled the various exploding aspects of his
life?
I was constantly amazed that he did not stab Ellion
in the eye when it became obvious that the human was bedding Letitia. He seems
to be remarkably tolerant of her choices and able to restrain his jealousy well
beyond the point where I would have expected at least a well-placed knee in
Ellion’s dangly bits. Ellion has some inkling that he is considered so far
beneath her as to not really warrant jealousy from her designated Consort, but
I was still very impressed.
2) While Rohini is a late
addition to the party, she is an interesting one. What aspect of her character
or objectives would you like to see more of in forthcoming book(s)?
She reminds me very much of Brienne of Tarth from
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, although Rohini is not
supposed to be as ugly or manly. I was very impressed by the way that she
fulfilled a traditionally ‘male’ role with great ease and commanded such
loyalty and respect from her soldiers.
3) Amien has been managing
and maneuvering Ellion quite a bit in this last section. What do you think his
motivations are?
I think that he has always wanted Ellion to take
over as his successor and this plan is now even more important as he is being
overwhelmed by the death magic. I do not think that he has any other motive
behind this wish other than seeing the strongest, most Talented man take over
his position.
4) Letitia continued to
learn more about her abilities, but everyone agrees she still lacks the ability
to go toe to toe with Nechton. What more would you empower her with?
I think that what she really needs is information.
She needs to know what her mother could and could not do and how they differ in
their Talent. More importantly, she needs to know why Carina failed to destroy
Nechton. This could all be in the journal that she uncovered, otherwise I have
no idea how she can hope to survive the encounter.
5) Throughout this entire
book, the deities have played an important, if a backseat driver, role. As a
reader, how as this worked for you in the world-building/plot department?
I am still rather ambivalent about the deities in
this world. Ellion seems to believe that they are real entities, and he
certainly escaped that mine explosion by some sort of divine intervention.
However, they feel very distant and somewhat unconcerned with anything other
than their own desires and needs. I see a lot of similarities with the Greek /
Roman pantheon, especially with the overthrowing and imprisonment of the old
gods by the new. It is unfortunate that we have only Ellion’s internal
monologue to inform us as his wandering exploration of the dark forces has
identified several potential sources of that power. At the moment I am not
certain which dark god is the most powerful or the identity of the one calling
to him.
6) We had yet one more
assassination attempt in the hot water baths of Sucello. Now that we are at the
end of the book, what are your insights into who is behind these attempts?
What insight: did I miss a clue? As far as I can
tell, we are no wiser now than we were with the first one.
7) Bealtan reveals much
about our narrative hero, Ellion. From his reuniting with Conar, to the
revelation of Amien's intentions, to his argument with Letitia, and his own
internal recriminations about himself. Here at the end, what are your lasting
impressions of Ellion?
Erm, this is going to sound rather harsh, but I
have trouble liking Ellion or developing a great deal of sympathy for him. I
have spent most of the book wanting to give him a good slap because so much of
his problems are self-inflicted. He has made things so much worse by trying to
hold to his vow, unless it involved subtle breaks in it to get into Letitia’s
knickers. He could have resolved so much of his angst by talking to Amien and
the others. He is basically narcissistic and selfish: personality traits that I
struggle to find appealing.
