TROT - Section 6: Chapter 10: The Five-Year Game: Final Approaches - Epilogue: Wings

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Section 6

Please keep all discussion to the events and speculation from Chapter 10: The Five-Year Game: Final Approaches - Epilogue: Wings.

No spoiler tags required. Though it would be highly appreciated if you Uncheck Add to my Update Feed to avoid accidentally spoiling this for your good read friends.

Referring back to events from a previous section/book is fine.

[Bill]

I really felt that Sabetha would stick with them at the end but looks like they are back to two again. Also seems like all of the secondary characters will again be new.

I enjoyed the parts with the old crew and the whole acting thing but felt like we only really gained knowledge of Sabetha and Locke's relationship. Jean didn't really grow as a character at all in this one. Calo and Galdo were awesome but knowing they are already dead kind of ruins learning more about them.

The Karthain elections had some entertaining moments but again left Locke and Jean right back where they started. This ending really lacked the excitement of the first book.

Looks like Falconer will be back and better than ever in the next book. It will be interesting to see if this hidden enemy will make an appearance.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I was kind of underwhelmed by the ending. I liked the flashback story more than the present day one.

I did enjoy the tie. It's something Locke did a few times in the flashbacks. Essentially refusing to lose.

I guess it will be interesting to see what the Falconer will do now that he's back, but I'm nervous about the direction the series might be taking.

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "I was kind of underwhelmed by the ending."

I agree... I never had a good feeling for what was actually going on in the city. I mean, how exactly did they end up with nearly a tie at all, since the Deep Roots Party was apparently so far behind to begin with? The random pranks? I think the whole "there are bondsmagi involved, so you don't need to trick anyone" thing really robbed the story of any potential greatness.

I'll withhold judgement on the direction the series is going until after I read the next one, but I am a little sad to see it drift further and further from what made Lies so much fun...

[Sky]

Also, was I the only one who immediately thought that Locke was just going to use the mandatory spending funds to register a whole bunch of new voters in the districts he needed them when Patience was explaining the money?

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Sky wrote: "Also, was I the only one who immediately thought that Locke was just going to use the mandatory spending funds to register a whole bunch of new voters in the districts he needed them when Patience ..."

That hadn't occurred to me. I'm not sure it would have been enough for that though.

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "That hadn't occurred to me. I'm not sure it would have been enough for that though."

They were given 100,000 ducats, and in order to vote a citizen needed to show title to property worth at least 60 ducats, serve in the constabulary for 25 years, or pay a one-time fee of 125 ducats.

I'm just surprised that the thought wasn't even mentioned. I mean, they estimated some 5,000 persons in the city with voting rights, spread across 19 districts. Assuming there were districts they could ignore completely (those in their pocket or their opposition's), they could have fielded 800 freshly minted voters to swing contested sections of the city. That seems substantial, and a little more concretely worthwhile than dumping snakes down chimneys.

Or they could have pulled a con to ruin some portion of the opponent's voters, the ones relying on title to 60 ducats' worth of property. Or even fabricated voters of their own with fictitious title papers... and any of that would have been more entertaining than hearing Locke whimper about his undying puppy love.

That last part may have just been my opinion.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Sky wrote: "I'm making a point with numbers and math"

Well OK then.

[Hanne]

i agree being underwhelmed by the ending.

the flashbacks were nice, but as remarked above we only really learn about locke and sabetha - which is important for what's the follow, but he needn't create a play for that.
i also kept looking for parallels between the play and real life, and obviously there were some, but not nearly as much as i would have liked (or i missed them of course)

what i missed the most was any play in this election thing. it didn't look like they actually did much at all in these famous elections, except reversing whatever Sabetha did. i was expecting something bigger and grander.

the direction of the series is peculiar now, i'm on the fence. it might be really cool, or really not. i'll wait for the next book to see what i think about the magi moving, lamor a., and falconer