The Sundered Book Club discussion
The Reaver
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The Reaver- Chapters 1-3
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Anton is possibly one of my favorite new characters. His backstory (which we find out a later in the book) is amazing
After the first few pages I was prepared to dislike Anton and the book itself. It's rare that a character will grow on me like that. The change is great. What I love is how he realizes how insane the whole situation is, then goes along with it. The best reluctant hero I've seen in a long time.
He is definitely a vile pirate at the onset. I truly disliked him at the onset. Which is fabulous because pirates are not supposed to be likable. :)
Mod
Any discussion of this section without at least mentioning the use of the word 'chatoyant' will in some ways miss the point entirely.
This is a Forgotten Realms Book--and a much more old school type of realms book then the more modern style we have been reading. None of this postmodern trappings of prequel, foreword, introduction--we just jump right in at chapter one! In the middle of a fight! OLD SCHOOL! We have frequent use of Figures in the Realms--a list of demons, lots of gods mentioned, etc--and a lot of locations dropped in a very short amount of time. The book does a great job of setting up ton and setting--and the rain...constant rain...it is almost like the weather is one of the characters in this book...
But the book does not start with rain, it starts with a fight!
And what a great fight--several members had warned us that Richard's fencing experiences were going to matter and they do--as do tactics & motivation. A really good opening scene that establishes character and setting strongly.
Unlike others, I did not find Anton all that vile--sure he was engaged in a kidnapping and he had little regard for his friends, but he had a playfulness and je ne sais quoi attitude that I found very endearing. I have a feeling that he and Stedd are going to get along just fine!
"Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"--maybe it should be "Arrrr, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" in this case--awesome and fun.
The villains in chapter two are awesome--the Chosen of Umberlee is truly repulsive in a way that all villains should be--and grandiose and megalomaniac and all sorts of evil rotten things that make me just hope he dies soon.
Umara is a great character--I have already started rooting for her strongly even though she is clearly not on the side of 'good'--a term that I assume is going to be very flexible as this book goes on. The vampire 'feeding' intimate moment is just so repulsive--'why doesn't he give me romantic illusions'--I mean ICK! ICK! ICK! 'because he assumes I don't need them' GROSS GROSS GROSS and then she longs for finally joining the undead when she is ready...This is girl has some ISSUES!
Kymas is fantastic--just rotten to the core. As a character he provides great insight into Szass Tam and his red wizards. His on board ship motivational speech is just fantastic. and EVIL!
The third chapter, with the conflict in the village, is great--lot of fun fighting [again], some really good magic descriptions, great character work. A fun read.
I am very much enjoying this book.
I was very happy to see that the vampires didn't sparkle in the sun.
Mod
Plus, how do you not enjoy a book where someone gets blasted right away? :)
I want to second David's mention of Umara. I'm really enjoying her thus far. Somehow, despite unquestionably being a calculating, cold-blooded killer with grand ambitions, she seems like a really sympathetic character. Maybe it's just that she is presented alongside the truer evils: her vampire boss and the rotting, bloated chosen of Umberlee. I think it's going to be really interesting to see what happens to her in the book. I'm enjoying Anton as well. It seems like we're given just enough of his inner thoughts to know where he's coming from, but I can tell that there's a lot more to learn about him.
I really enjoyed the first 3 chapters. Leaping right into the action might be the best way to describe Anton character. I wasn't surprised that he was double crossed after the complete lack of concern he was displayed to his crew. I felt it drove home the fact that he is a person who just can't level good enough alone. It seems to be a flaw both when stakes where high going after the Stedd protect and when it would have been easy to just say yes take the bodies of his crew.
I had mixed feeling about Umara at this point. She is a very interesting character, but I haven't really decide if I genuinely like her or that Kymas is so horrible to her. It made me wonder how much of what she was suffered is due to her own ambitions and not a lack of choices.
The description of the Chosen of Umberlee was fantastic. I loved the contrast between his bloated features, hollow soul and bright colored cloths. The fact he was completely content with his appearance made him even more creepy.
I really hope Khyms dies. After seeing him in action I started thining maybe the Chosen of Umberlee not so terrible after all...
I was just happy to see that Kymas is a "typical" vampire not one of the kind that can magically walk in daylight and sparkles.
late to the party but catching up. I agree that the opening action was a great way to begin and really grabbed our attention.
So far we have several villains to watch, the chosen of Umberlee, Kymas, Umara, and Anton himself.
Its certainly going to be an exciting ride and I'm glad to be along for it.
Looking forward to everyone's comments and questions.