[JPK]

Your reading pace scares me sometimes Ando.

Are you ready to join me on pushing this to the board though? More of these guys need to get on this one.

[Andorion]

 JPK, on 07 February 2017 - 05:17 PM, said:

Your reading pace scares me sometimes Ando.

Are you ready to join me on pushing this to the board though? More of these guys need to get on this one.

Weekend. Got some nice reading time!

Yeah, I am all for pushing these books. They are not talked about enough

[Andorion]

Finished Chapter 8 of The Grand Conspiracy.

Oookk....

Lysaer is getting some very very solid character work - he is legitimately scary now. He has come a long way from books 1 and 2. No longer impulsive, this ice cold Lysaer is extremely dangerous. I feel like Arithon has to step his game up now.

Mearn and his brothers are awesome. But now I am scared for them.

Did they kill Cattrick and the others? Judging from Sethvir and Arithon, I would say no.

I wonder if they are going to jump this 15 year span, or take it slowly?

That Dragonward is dangerous. Could it wake things? Could something like this attract the attention of the Paravians?

There was this one throwaway line - about reuniting the Fellowship by getting Lysaer and Arithon to fulfill their mission - how does that work? Even if they find Siladis, how would Davien be reconciled? Why did he betray them anyway?

[JPK]

 Andorion, on 09 February 2017 - 02:14 AM, said:

There was this one throwaway line - about reuniting the Fellowship by getting Lysaer and Arithon to fulfill their mission - how does that work? Even if they find Siladis, how would Davien be reconciled? Why did he betray them anyway?

Davien's reconciliatiom is covered in Dakar's prophecy back in the first book. I'll grab my copies of Curse and Ships and post the two prophecies that have really popped up so far here in a bit.

[JPK]

Ok, I found the Black Rose Prophecy back in Curse of the Mistwraith.

Chapter 9 - Althain Tower
Section 2 - Strands

"Davien.
Dakar shoved straight as his gummy, clogged perception broke before a cold wave of prescience, and prophecy claimed his tongue. Though churning sickness tugged at his gut, his words fell in solemn clarity on a sudden, arrested silence.
'Davien the Betrayer shall hear no reason, nor bow to the Law of the Major Balance, neither shall the Fellowship be restored to Seven until the black rose grows wild in the vales of Daon Ramon.'
'Black rose!' Sethvir shot upright, intent as a hunting falcon. 'But none exists.'
'There will be one,' Dakar gasped, slammed by a second precognizance that blazed through him like lightning etched across darkness. 'The briar will take root on the day that Arithon s'Ffalenn embraces kingship.'"

So, I'll leave you that to chew over a bit as to why they are pushing for Arithon to succeed and advise that Davien is very much a RAFO situation.





The other prophecy that you'll want to revisit involves Fionn Areth at the beginning of Fugitive Prince.
Chapter 1 - Fionn Areth

"Then the words came, sonorous and full, to augur the coil of the future; they were directed, not to the babe's kin, but to Elaira.
'One child, four possible fates, looped through the thread of this life span. He will grow to reach manhood. Should he die in fire, none suffers but he. Yours to choose when that time comes, Fferedon'li. Should he die on salt water, the one ye love most falls beside him. Should he die landbound, in crossed steel and smoke, the same one ye cherish survives, but betrayed. Yet should this child's days extend to old age, first the five kingdoms, then the whole world will plunge into darkness, never to see sunlight or redemption. Your burden to choose in the hour of trial. Fferedon'li, and this child's to give, the natural death or the sacrifice. Let him be called Fionn Areth Caid-an.' The ancient seeress lowered the babe, the hard spark fading from her eyes as she closed her final line, ' Let his training be for the sword, for his path takes him far from Araethura.'"

[Andorion]

Finished Chapter 12.

Some interesting glimpses of Davien there. Is he going to become a player now?

Very impressive display from Kevor and his mother, but in the end overshadowed by the priests. Hmmm. This raises a question - who will Lysaer back? Does he care about his heir at all? He is going to live 500 years after all.

So that stunt the Koriani pulled - can we agree that this directly interfered with Athera as a whole and not just some individuals? I think the Fellowship would be perfectly justified in taking their toys away now.

Did I read it wrong or did Morriel shift into the body of her young successor?

It's interesting how reliable and constant the Fellowship spellbinder near the swamp is, compared to Dakar.

This Fionn-Elaira-Arithon shitstorm is going to hit and hit hard. Sigh. I really wish Arithon would actually think a bit.

[Andorion]

 Briar King, on 10 February 2017 - 04:16 AM, said:

What's the pg counts on avg for these?

Of the 5 I have read, the MMPBs range between 800 and 500 pages.

[Andorion]

So finished Grand Conspiracy

The last part of the book was awesome. Tense and fast.

D-did Arithon just kiss his way out of trouble? Really? I don't think I have actually seen that one before.

I can see Fionn Areth becoming massively annoying.

Poor Elaira.At this stage I would be seriously considering asking the Fellowship to see if they can cut the bonds

So Lirenda is going to get in trouble for this, right?

[JPK]

I have to ask, which brother do you prefer at this point of the story?

[Andorion]

 JPK, on 12 February 2017 - 02:44 AM, said:

I have to ask, which brother do you prefer at this point of the story?

From the perspective of character development, Lysaer.

He has transformed from this straight and narrow good guy to a conniving ruthless plotter who can now use his justice impulses to further his aims. He is very interesting to read.

Arithon has remained this scrappy eternal-underdog who has to rely on wits, Dakar and loyalty earned by his superlative personal qualities. Also his music is literally magic, and he can kiss people senseless. He is in danger of turning into an underdog Mary Sue with a super tragic aura, and that is something I hate.

[JPK]

I agree entirely with you there. I also think that Lysaer surrounds himself with interesting characters that really make his plot shine. I also have a thing for characters with a twisted sense of justice.

Damnit, I'm really considering squeezing these in for a reread now.

[Andorion]

What I want from the books now is for the Fellowship to be less goody goody. Athera was in serious trouble. They need to take the higher crystals away from the Koriani

[JPK]

So Grand Conspiracy is very much a setup book. I think you'll enjoy the last 3 in this arc. Peril's Gate is it's own book, but Traitor's Knot and Stormed Fortress were split from one like Ships of Merior and Warhost of Vastmark were.

[Andorion]

Kind of a big gap, but I got really busy in the middle.

Anyway, 3 chapters into Peril's Gate and so far I think everything has been setup.

Arithon is going to Ithamon.

Lysaer is going there as well and is organizing forces for a siege.

The Fellowship continues to be in danger.

This book is going to be quite different from anything else in the series I think.

Also the clans are going to be on the sharp end. Again.

[Andorion]

8 chapters in.

Ok, so lots of things have happened, but I am just going to remark on the ones that struck me as most important.

A Paravian visited Elaira in the Ath sanctuary. This is huge, and I think this shows that Arithon has been going about it all wrong. The Paravians are not in a physical location that can be found. I think they went into the spaces between worlds. The search for them has to be internal rather than external.

Davien is getting involved again. Worrying? Maybe.Interesting? Definitely.

So Lysaer did care for his son. This is why I like him. Unlike Arithon, he has a lot of hidden complexity.

Jieret is apparently going to die. I really don't want him to.

[JPK]

 Andorion, on 18 February 2017 - 01:35 PM, said:

8 chapters in.

Ok, so lots of things have happened, but I am just going to remark on the ones that struck me as most important.

A Paravian visited Elaira in the Ath sanctuary. This is huge, and I think this shows that Arithon has been going about it all wrong. The Paravians are not in a physical location that can be found. I think they went into the spaces between worlds. The search for them has to be internal rather than external.

Davien is getting involved again. Worrying? Maybe.Interesting? Definitely.

So Lysaer did care for his son. This is why I like him. Unlike Arithon, he has a lot of hidden complexity.

Jieret is apparently going to die. I really don't want him to.

Yeah I knew you'd end up enjoying this one. I'm loving seeing your reactions. I LOVE Davien.

[Andorion]

12 chapters done.

Woah.

Ok, that was a pretty intense segment

That was some trap set by Arithon. He basically got Lysaer to incinerate his own troops. That was pretty awe-inspiring, I did not see that coming.

And now Sufin Evend knows Lysaer's ancestry. Seeds for the future?

Poor Jieret. At least he got in some good shots. That Centaur thing.... what could a real Paravian have done?

Davien has a body??!!! he anticipated the Koriathin trap and and used it, that is the only explanation I think. This guy is very very dangerous.

Yeesh, the Prime got caught quite badly. And as usualy Lirenda is going to get shit on.

Ok so I am quite worried about Dakar, Luhaine and Kharadmon and this repair job they are trying to pull off. Could Davien help? I mean if Athera falls, he loses too. WOuld they accept his help?

Also I don't like all this stuff on Sethvir's end. I hope he does not die.

Sudden thought - why did Davien setup that long life pool Arithon and Lysaer drank from? Did he anticipate a prophecy?

[Andorion]

16 chapters done.

I have to say after the edge-of-seat intensity of the past chapters, Arithon in the Maze was a letdown. It was repetitive, hyperbolic and plain boring. I think this part just concentrated too much on Arithon and his emotions. It seems like he is being elevated to god-tier level.

[Andorion]

Not entirely sure why I didn't finish posting.

Anyway, I am now reading Traitor's Knot

7 chapters in, and again Lysaer and Sufin Evend are the far more interesting and diverting story. In fact this book as a whole has been far better than the last one so far.

[Andorion]

Finished Traitor's Knot.

What a book! One of the best of the series, quite easily. I loved the increasing complexity of the story and I loved Sufin Evend. He is very close to becoming my favourite character.

Started reading Stormed Fortress, about 30% in.