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The Widow's House
The Dagger and Coin
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TWH: Section 3: 6th Marcus - 8th Geder
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In this section we have the Antean assault on Porte Olivia which goes well for Porte Olivia right up until Inys gets brought down by Geder's anti-dragon weaponry. The Birancourans then open the gates to rescue him and that's that for Porte Olivia. cithrin is nearly captured and the gang barely escape to sea with their lives. At least Inys survives, but Cithrin falls back into a depression. She's still young, and the idea that a dragon was on their side had her certain they would win.Clara is discovered and Jorey agrees to have her tag along with the army. The army eventually turns towards the capitol of Birancour, Sura-sur-Mar where Cithrin's mob have spread rumors of Callon Cane, the fake identity that Cithrin has been saying would pay bounties for saving Timzanae. At sea with Marcus and Cithrin, Barriath Kalliam elects to go to Sura-sur-Mar to play the part of Cane while the rest of the group go to Northcoast to execute a crazy idea that Cithrin has.
Cithrin's plan turns out to be the creation of paper money and decoupling wealth from goods of explicit value. Her financial genius immediately grasps the concept of being able to literally print money far in excess of the value actually owed by the kingdom and also the inherent stability that this form of money offers even between city-states.
Back in Antea, it's becoming increasingly obvious that the Antean forces are spread too thin, and the Church of the Spider Goddess now appears to be suffering the same problem. Geder is not having a good time.
Mod
Komme Medean has it right, talking about the central lie of it all.For the money to be worth something the government has to be trusted and stable. So to keep your money valuable you'll act like your government is trusted and stable even when it isn't. It gives everyone whose value is measured in paper money a stake in the country and an interest in making sure it stays stable.
It's the central lie behind our money and it works pretty well in the real world. Zimbabwee makes a perfect counter-example with a government so bad that the people were forced to acknowledge the lie and their money became essentially meaningless overnight.
Mod
I had a strong feeling that the would lose Port Olivia but the speed of it was surprising. I love that Abraham doesn't wait until the last 10% for everything to happen.Geder's lat chapter was really interesting because it show how different he is with the people he loves but also shows the seperation he feels.
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 goodreads friends.
This section covers the 6th Marcus chapter through to the 8th Geder chapter. The first sentences of the section are:
We should be harassing their column,” Marcus said.
“I don’t see much point,” Cithrin said lightly. “The scouts say they’ll be here in a few days.”