TRM Chapter 18 to finish

[Abigail]

This section is pretty much nonstop action, save for the rather drawn-out scene with (view spoiler)[Lucy waiting outside the window as Godfrey is spinning his yarns. (hide spoiler)] Stewart is so good at bringing the reader vividly into such scenes and picturing them in our minds. But I have to say, Lucy makes some dumber than average choices!

[Elizabeth]

Abigail wrote: "This section is pretty much nonstop action, save for the rather drawn-out scene with [spoilers removed] ..."

I was just listening to that scene, Abigail, and I thought it was quite cruel the way (view spoiler)[ made them all, and especially Max, wait so long for her to reappear, alive and well! (hide spoiler)]

Another thing, which struck me when really thinking about what happened to Spiro: how long can a swimmer actually stay conscious or survive when the water's around 16°C? I had a dip in the Aegean (not the Ionian) early in April last year and only lasted about two minutes ;-).

[Abigail]

Perhaps it's a matter of acclimatizing oneself. When I was close to the Pacific as a young thing, if I simply kept going into the water as winter came on, I didn't feel much colder than I did when swimming in summer.