Last First Snow

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Time to read Last First Snow! When do we want to start? I'll find my copy and break it into our typical length sections sometime soon and update this post.

Week 1: Ch. 1-16 (page 99) Sept. 14th - Lisa
Week 2: 17-37 (page 202) Sept. 21st - Anya
Week 3: 38-53 (page 303) Sept. 28th - Anya
Week 4: 54-End (page 382) Oct. 5th - Allie

[Lisa]

Post-August sounds good to me too. ;-)

[Allison]

September sounds good to me, too!

[Wendy]

September sounds good.

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Do we want to start right away the first week?

[Allison]

As in, plan for the first post for Sept. 7?

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Yeah that sounds good, I'll make up the schedule

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

We'll miss you!

Who wants to host? I'll pull out my book and make sections tonight, probably four again?

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

So the last section will be a little shorter but that tends to work out well since there is more to discuss. I'm happy to host one of the middle weeks since I should be leading a mostly sane life during that time, but I might duck out at the end for wedding!

[Allison]

I should have time to read and post, but I don't think I'll be able to host this time. I have 2 weddings and a conference coming up during this read-along :). If there are not enough hosts, then I might be able to for the 28th.

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Sounds good!

[Lisa]

I can host if need be, no preference of week. :)

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

So do we want to start on the 14th?

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

I put a possible schedule up there if we do start on the 14th. I can jump in another week but not the 5th since I'll be getting married ;-). Allie would you want to do the 5th and I can do the 28th?

[Allison]

14th-start is good for me, too. I hadn't finished reading the first section yet, so I was planning on a lot of reading today and tomorrow to be ready for the 7th :). I could host Oct. 5th. Also, congrats on your wedding!

[Lisa]

Looks good to me!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Yey sounds good! And thanks :D

[Lisa]

OK, I'm going to put together a quick announcement blog post for this one while I'm up to my eyes in prep for various things anyway. Is this schedule right?

Week 1: Me
Week 2/3: Anya
Week 4: Allie

[Mogsy (MMOGC)]

Sorry for not checking in sooner, this month has been kind of crazy. I'm actually going to be pretty busy for the rest of the month with possible trips out of town so I actually hope I can still read along. The difficult thing about this situation is that I don't know when those trips might be, which is frustrating. Anyway, if it turns out I have to bow out, I certainly don't want to put anyone out in case something in my schedule changes, so I can't commit to hosting.

But Anya, huge congrats though! When's the wedding? So awesome!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Yup that schedule looks good!

Completely understandable Mogsy! I hope you can join us and thank you!!!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Yup that schedule looks good!

Completely understandable Mogsy! I hope you can join us and thank you!!!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

The wedding is oct 9th :D

[S.L.]

Congratulations on the wedding, Anya! <3

And I'm sorry for not checking in with this thread sooner. I feel bad about having to bow out this time. I've had so much fun with the previous book discussions, but I'm just not in the right headspace right now. :( I'm really sorry!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

No worries Lynn, it happens!

[Lisa]

Week 1 questions will go up a bit later today! Sorry for the lateness - kind of sort of forgot I was hosting first this time... *Hangs head*

[Lisa]

OK! Here are my questions for the first round (sorry again for being so late!)...


1) We have an impressive few recurring characters (though, are they recurring if this is a prequel...?) with Temoc, Elayne Kevarian and the Red King leading this story. Given what we've been shown of them before, what are your thoughts on them now, as they relate to this story so far?

2) While we're on the subject of characters, I'd like to give a nod to one new face - 'the Major', whom evidence so far suggests is a possible antagonist in this story. Do you agree with that, or might there be something more complicated in the works where he's concerned?

3) ... And speaking of complications, we also get some rather interesting scenes with Temoc's family - his wife Mina, and a much younger Caleb than we met previously in Two Serpents Rise. How might their appearances lead to thickening the plot(s), do you think?

4) Lastly, we end this section of the book with a near-catastrophe of the Red King's (accidental?) making, before their peace talks have even really begun. Add to this the fact that Ms Kevarian is not at all used to handling such matters from ground level, as it were... Do you think her efforts to negotiate peace without the use of force are going to pay off?

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Oops, sorry I didn't remind you!

Here's a banner everyone is welcome to use!

http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings....

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Hey everyone, my response will be up at http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.... after 7am EST! I'll be getting the questions up for next week pretty early also since that way I can schedule ahead ;-)

[Lisa]

Anya wrote: "Oops, sorry I didn't remind you!

Here's a banner everyone is welcome to use!

http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings...."

Yay, banners! :)

That reminds me - no rush on it, but could I trouble you to maybe put one of these together for the Small Angry Planet read along in November?

[Lisa]

My Week 1 post is up: http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Questions for this week:

1. We've gotten glimpses of the two sides to the Skittersill situation. Gladstone is once again using his fantasy world to discuss interesting social issues. What do you think of the arguments on each side and the solution they came to?

2. Temoc is experiencing a lot of conflict over his roles of father/husband and leader of the rebellion. Do you think he's making the right decisions? What do you think you'd do in his place?

3. Who do you think tried to assassinate Tan Batac? Any theories as to their purpose or affiliation?

4. What do you think Elayne's going to do next to try to fix this quickly snow-balling situation?

As usual, feel free to discuss things that I didn't remember to put in a question ;-).

[Allison]

Finally put up my Week 1 post: http://tethyanbooks.blogspot.it/2015/... Week 2 should be on time!

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Yey!

[Lisa]

My Week 2 post is up! Sorry it's so late...

http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Hey everyone, just realized I never posted my answers for last week, oops! http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings....

Questions for this week:
(view spoiler)[
1. Turns out the Major is more noble than we initially thought! What do you think of his character arc and the big reveals during his sacrifice? (I assume he preferred male pronouns since he was presenting male and it wasn't otherwise specified.)

2. There seems to be a lot of sneakiness going on between the fires being set in Skittersill, someone following Temoc and then Mina and the initial assassination attempt that set everything off. Any ideas what is going on? Do you think they are all coincidences or related?

3. We get a lot of details from the King in Red about how he turned into a skeleton! After so much build-up to that particular oddity of Craft, what do you think? Would you do it if you were a Craftsman or Craftswoman?

4. At the very end of this section, there is a discussion about Tan Batac getting the Skittersill insured long before that was decided on. What do you think that means? Was anyone else a bit confused on the finer points of the insurance contract?


(hide spoiler)]

[Allison]

My week 3 is up! http://tethyanbooks.blogspot.ch/2015/...

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

My week three is here: http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings....

So excited to finish this one!

[Lisa]

Here's my Week 3 post: http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

So many questions! ;-)

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Did you all see the cover for the next book and that Tara is going to be in it?? :D https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Allie are you able to do questions this week still?

[Lisa]

I did see that! Can't wait. :D

And my post will likely not go up until Monday in any case, as I'm off to see Macbeth tomorrow afternoon!

[Allison]

Yeah, I saw that, looks exciting! And yes, I have this week's questions now, in the spoiler tags. Sorry for the slight delay:

(view spoiler)[

1. Everything came to a head in this chapter, and Elayne chose her tricky path for protecting the Skittersill. Do you think there is more she could have done, or do you think she chose the right path?

2. Now we see more of the Quechal gods, and the way they think of their believers. What do you think of Temoc's chosen path? Also, what do you think of the Quechal faith after this betrayal?

3. When all seemed lost, Elayne heard a mysterious voice. Do you have any theories on what that voice is, and how it fits into the Craft mythology?

4. What did you think of Last First Snow overall, in comparison with Gladstone's other books? What was your favorite part(s), and what would you most like to see more of in future books?

A lot happened this week, so of course feel free to also discuss whatever is on your mind that didn't make it into the questions!

(hide spoiler)]

[Anya, Dragonmaster]

Thanks Allie!

I won't be putting up a post this week all, sorry, just got news that I'll be going to a funeral right after the wedding so I'm just not feeling up to expressing the love that that ending deserves. It's been fun reading this series with you all though!

[Lisa]

Aw, no. Sorry to hear that, Anya! *Hugs*

But this was tremendous fun, I agree. Here's my final post:

overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/2015/10/re...

[Allison]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, Anya. It's been fun reading with you too!