From Under The Mountain - Discussion!

[Rose]

Thrilled to share my birthday with Cait Spivey’s new book. Let's grab some cake and get reading! We won’t offically start reading until the 30th but ready your copies From Under The Mountain is now available everywhere!

This thread is for all your thoughts, discussions, and feels. The suggested reading speed is 100 pages a week, if you fall behind or speed ahead no worries! Just be mindful of spoilers and try post to the relevant threads.

Cait Spivey has also graciously agreed to do interview questions. If you have any questions about writing or the book itself you can also post them here or send them on tumblr to creative-aces's tumblr.

Happy reading!!

[Hezekiah]

I'm not there yet, but for people reading the ebook: 100 pages in corresponds to about 21% completion.

[Rose]

Thanks for checking this for me (and others)!

[Hezekiah]

So these are my thoughts about the first 100 pages:

Usually when there are shifts in point of view, I have a hard time following, but I'm able to follow the shifts in point of view generally well in From Under the Mountain.

The characters are very multidimensional, and the pacing is good too.

(view spoiler)[

I wasn't expecting a sex scene this early in the book, but I liked that it wasn't super-graphic. The descriptions of the king and queen's decaying bodies early on in the book were far more graphic.

Now that we've learned Eva is part of the anti-witches conspiracy group, I don't know how much to trust her. I'm not sure how sincere she was at the meeting when she said she'd work to convince Guerline of the necessity of sanctions against the witch clans.

(hide spoiler)]

[Jay]

Thoughts under spoilers jic.

(view spoiler)[ Eva being part of the Anti-Magic faction is really interesting, up until that point she really came across as totally and utterly in love with Guerline willing to do anything for her, to the point of utter devotion. I'll be really interested to see what she does and if we can trust her or not. I certainly want to believe her and Guerline's love will survive, but who knows!

Desmond is a pretty interesting character too, I wonder just exactly what his role is going to be. He's a bit of a wildcard, being clearly with the Witches but also somewhat separate due to being male. Guess he and Guerline will be teaming up somewhat, but where would that leave Eva? Will Guerline have to make a stand for one over the other?

Also it's speculation but I wonder if those two rogue Witches are the ones who are messing with (reanimating) Alcander? Wonder what his deal is in general, he's a jerk who should stay dead though if you ask me (hide spoiler)]

[karten]

So I'm at 33% (end of chapt10), I think it does make the 100 pages ..? I'm not sure but I have read those spoilers and I didn't get spoil (yes I'm a risky person). Here's my opinion for now (there's like, one spoiler, and it's hide) :

I think that Eva will be my fav character. She seems interesting and I can't wait to see her development and how the things between her and Guerline are going to be, (view spoiler)[considering the anti-witches stuff (hide spoiler)]. But also how Eva's going to be in general.

I agree about Desmond! I still have no clue about what his role's going to be but he seems like a nice guy and interesting character.

I love the parts from Guerline's POV (maybe because that's the parts my French-ass understand the best? but I don't think so), mainly because there's Eva and all the gay, I think. Moreover, the past of Guerline and how she deals with it is so well-handled! It's not too pathetic, so it doesn't become annoying or seem forced, I like it.

I can't really judge the writing as English isn't my mothertongue and I'm not that fluent, but I think it's enjoyable and well-written. Things are well-pictured and we enter easily in the story even after a long break (I often have to stop reading in the middle of a chapter because my teacher just came) and that's some good points.

In a nutshell, I didn't think I would enjoy this book that much as fantasy isn't my fav. But From Under the Mountain stand out from all the others I have read so far. First because of the gay, you know, and secondly because the characters are all so diverse and complexe.
Well, at least that's what I get for now.

[Rose]

Wow you guys have such articulate thoughts and you tagged your spoilers so well. Very impressed! A summary of my feelings so far is I like everyone but trust no one. We should be offically hit the 100 page mark today, which is in chapter 7 f you've blown past that not a problem. I thinking about kicking the discussion on the same page instead of dividing them up since everyone's been so good about tagging their spoilers. Speaking of them--
(view spoiler)[I just felt it in my heart that the ship was going too well too soon. Then Eva was being sneaky and my fears were confirmed! (hide spoiler)] Excited and a little nervous of where this will go.

[Aurelija]

I finished the whole book few days ago! (yay) (just wanted to find out what happens really) :D

Very excited for people to carry on reading and see what they think.
I did get little confused at times when the Pov changed and because there are so many characters introduced it takes a bit to understand who's who, also questioning everyone's motives doesn't help.
I did really enjoy the whole book especially when it started to pick up more towards the second half of the book.

I have no idea how to tag spoilers, therefore i'll keep the spoilers to myself, until more people read it :D

Happy reading :)

[Bianca]

I am not up to the 100 pages yet, but I just wanted to ask everyone's attention for this beautifully written sentence. (this may be a SPOILER if you haven't read anything yet, after the 2nd chapter you're fine though)

"Guerline was young, mysterious - ignored and sheltered by her family only to be thrust into authority by the gruesome and sudden death of same"

[Paradox]

This is probably super nerdy, but I realized that the names of the clans of witches are close to the names of the bases in DNA (cytosine/Sitosen, guanine/Gwanen, adenine/Adenen, and thymine/Thiymen).

I'm past 100 pages in my ebook reader, but I don't think it's equivalent to 100 pages in other people's readers, since I'm at 112 out of 603 pages.

So far I'm enjoying the story. I've noticed a couple minor typos in my review copy, but other than that everything flows well and isn't very confusing, even though lots of concepts and places are introduced. Right now I'm siding with Guerline re:witches and the gods. The witches seem to be pretty important in keeping Arido safe and have shown their powers, while the gods haven't shown themselves at all. I always tend to be partial to atheist and skeptic characters.

[Claudie]

Paradox wrote: "This is probably super nerdy, but I realized that the names of the clans of witches are close to the names of the bases in DNA (cytosine/Sitosen, guanine/Gwanen, adenine/Adenen, and thymine/Thiymen..."

I totally spotted the DNA thing too! Nerds unite!

I'd give more thoughts but I am far behind. I just got my kindle Thursday and I think I have ~5 chapters read? It's a very solid book, though. I love the worldbuilding and pretty much all the characters are intriguing. You can tell there's depth in them (and the world).

And now, to catch up!

[karten]

I didn't notice at all the DNA thing! But, well, it's not surprising I didn't know the names until now :') This is so cool, I'm fan! :O

[Claudie]

The more I read of this book, the least I like Eva (still do but Eva ... no) and the more I like Guerline. I thoroughly expected it to be the only way around.

[Claudie]

I just want to point out that Alanine and Arginine are two amino acids and also characters in this, so we're absolutely not imagining the DNA thing

[Drake]

I'm interested in how the anti-magic/anti-witch conspiracy will play out. It seemed almost like how people think of the military? How those close to the military (have family in/are in/live near a base/ect.) think of it often and those who aren't don't really think about it unless the military is brought up.

[karten]

I'm talking about chap16 ~
(view spoiler)[I really like Desmond! Even with the fact that he enjoys flirting and everything which usually isn't something I like reading about. It's in a nice way and it suits him. I like his relationship with Guerline for now! I hope his love for her will not become annoying and I hope that, if Guerline and Eva don't end up together, Guerline will have Desmond by her side. Yeah, I'm scared that, once again, two of my ships don't work together. I both like Guerline/Eva and Guerline/Desmond.
And it's not really about chap16 but I like how we can make parallels with our world. How people think of the magic and the military, as it was said, but also how witches were here "first" and it seems that human were some sort of slaves before (if I understood well).
EDIT : I just wanted to quote a little thing which touched my heart : "This is growing up. Nothing stays simple." (hide spoiler)]

[October]

Karten wrote: "I'm talking about chap16 ~
I really like Desmond! Even with the fact that he enjoys flirting and everything which usually isn't something I like reading about. It's in a nice way and it suits him. ..."

Karten, this is exactly what made me a little uncomfortable with some of Desmond's interactions with Guerline. He really does come off as brotherly (and I hope he continues to be so. Either that or Spivey decides to be cruel and make us cry into our books or tablets because of a rift)

Tbh, some of his flirtation with her made me really uncomfortable. Maybe it's how long he knew her, or the fact that flirting with someone who's in distress is a little...eck (also she's the empress now, so...).

[Rose]

Cait Spivey had an amazing guest post over on the blog today about Love and Sex in Literature. Make sure you check it out! http://fuckyeahasexual.tumblr.com/pos...

[Jay]

Trying to catch up since my depression's been kicking my butt and keeping me from reading much, but can I just draw attention to this great little line I think we'll all appreciate...

"In a way, the books were protection. An
escape she would always have access to. A sanctuary, there for when she needed it."

Well said.

[Fenaria]

Alright, so I'm at 54% (the beginning of chapter 20) and I just need to voice some of my thoughts so far.
(view spoiler)[ I really love the dynamic between Guerline and Eva, even though I feel like at times Eva is really unfair to her. And don't get my started about the whole leading Alcander's cult after his death thing ugh). I absolutely adore the mythology surrounding the witches and I gross cried when Fiona died (honestly I loved her character and Olivia is really starting to grow on me). Desmond is a remarkably well written character imo, but I'm curious to see how the stuff with him and Guerline will play out, considering she's pretty devoted to Eva.
The scene with Olivia (I think....) and her son in the plague town was really intriguing and I'm really concerned for the well being of this fictional world. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, great job Cait Spivey for getting me so emotionally invested in this world. I love the world building and the mythology surrounding the witches. I would love to know more about their early days and maybe a prequel (view spoiler)[ maybe with the shapeshiters and witches war?? (hide spoiler)]

[Rose]

Ali wrote: "I'm a bit behind at the moment (at around 20%) but I wanted to just post that I've really enjoyed what I've read and look forward to reading more soon!
This is the shortest 'my thoughts on a book'..."

Lol! Next time I'm just going thumbs up emoji and keep reading

[Rose]

Fenaria wrote: "Alright, so I'm at 54% (the beginning of chapter 20) and I just need to voice some of my thoughts so far.
I really love the dynamic between Guerline and Eva, even though I feel like at times Eva ..."

I know Cait mentioned how much lore literally couldn't make it into this book so all of that would be interesting to see. Or write myself for fun because I love witches. :P

[Rose]

Jay wrote: "In a way, the books were protection. An
escape she would always have access to. A sanctuary, there for when she needed it."

Coffee mug quote worthy really :)

[Bee]

I've been thinking about the Thiymen witches, and their powers and people's attitude towards them remind me of a discussion I saw about the concept of Grim Reapers. They don't do the actual killing themselves they exist to help guide already dead souls to the afterlife, which I think should be seen as more helpful and comforting than scary. Although I am also behind in the reading (page 135).

[karten]

Anna wrote: "Karten wrote: "I'm talking about chap16 ~
I really like Desmond! Even with the fact that he enjoys flirting and everything which usually isn't something I like reading about. It's in a nice way and..."

(view spoiler)[For now the flirtation doesn't totally bother me, but I know that sometimes it makes me "ew" and I'm scared that it will get worse. I like their relationship in a bro way. I don't really want it to fall appart because of some of Desmond's feelings or something, but I think that if it's Guerline/Eva which falls appart, I may enjoy Guerline/Desmond in another way.
But well, we'll see how it turned out! (hide spoiler)]

I couldn't read this week so I think I'm a bit late now. I'm at 58% and ready to get back in this story!

[Rose]

I really like how Desmond's feelings are being handled from an ace point of view later on. Namley after the big spoilersly bits. I posted some of my favorite lines on the blog and might talk more about it if I start feeling better (rough Monday).

[Drake]

I thought the chapter that introduced the twins was a bit rushed. I felt like it jolted me out of my suspension of disbelief.

[Rose]

We haven’t reached the end yet but I figured now would be a good time to cover some things. The suggested pace will have us finishing up the book on March 3rd. If you are behind, don’t worry please have fun at your own pace.

From the 3rd until the 12th we will still be offically discussing From Under The Mountain. If you finish after this can still review and discuss Cait Spivey’s book, we’ll just be switching gears. I plan to announce what book that is on March 15th and we’ll likely start reading April 1st. These dates are tentative and designed in hope that everyone has time to take a break, finish up, or just really hang out with each other.

[Rose]

Hi again! Please send any questions you have for this month's lovely author because I'd like to send them over tonight! http://creative-aces.tumblr.com/ask

[Rose]

If you’ve finished From Under The Mountain please remember to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thanks!