AoM: Section 2: Chapters 8-14

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Section 2

Please keep all discussion and speculation to the events of Chapters 8-14.

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

Please do not discuss events from later sections. Referring back to events from a previous section is fine.

[Scott]

The really interesting character to this point is Trilos who as far as I know was never named but played a role in Revelations especially in the last book. His importance and power are much more significant than perhaps I had thought. Every still seems like one cosmic experiment to him.

The book really starts to take off after the halfway mark.

[Suzanne]

Yeah this is really a huge huge world with lots to explore, and I think that ended up requiring some setup.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I haven't finished this section yet, so I'm not reading comments, but I had a thought yesterday I meant to post, I'm not sure if it was chapter 7 or 8..

So I totally forgot to bring up the fact that I'm wondering if Persephone's husband was murdered by the new leader (her husband's shield guard or whatever).

Suri calls them murderers, and Persephone takes it to be about the animals in the forest, but what if they killed her husband and blamed it on the bear?

Maybe that guy lost his hand fighting her husband. I really don't get why else they'd want to kill her. It's probably on the new leader's orders. At least that's my guess.

[Suzanne]

That completely never crossed my mind at this point - about Suri meaning them instead of the animals, the new leader, etc.

But wow, the new leader's wife - what a bitch!

[Richard]

I agree Rob. I was not 100% certain what chapter it was in, but i had the same thought. Why were they attempting to kill Persephone. I can only assume her husband was murdered by them. Not certain about her son who was also killed by this bear - could he have been killed? Could this have been a power grab?

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

The further I got into this section, the more I think it was a power grab. I think not necessarily the new leader's ambition, but more likely his wife's.

There was a mention of how much she hated his family's home and some of his family members. I can see her urging her husband to act and raise their station. Look how she is about any challenge to her new power/authority.

I don't remember the name Trilos at all from the Riyria books. I have some thoughts/comments about him, but they belong in the next section.

This book continues to get better with each chapter though.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Also, I loved the part where they "raid the well". I forget the character's name, but her standing up to the Fhrey was pretty great.

I suspect she's one of Mr. Sullivan's tertiary characters who take over the book or whatever. If only I didn't have a memory like a goldfish when it comes to names..

[Tammy]

These chapters have really upped the story now. Learning who Nyphron is and what was done to his father by Lothian helps to understand the rift between the two Frehy factions.

I never thought that maybe Reglan wasn't killed by the bear, but that's possible, especially since Persephone was targeted as well.

Mora was the one that stood up to the Fhrey at the well.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Thanks Tammy. I'll try to remember that..

[Teanka]

Rob wrote: "The further I got into this section, the more I think it was a power grab. I think not necessarily the new leader's ambition, but more likely his wife's.

There was a mention of how much she hated ..."

Certainly the new chieftain's wife Tressa (?) I don't know what the spelling is) reminds me of a Lady Macbeth driving her husband to do things he is unsuited for in pursuit of power. It is quite obvious he is unfit to be chieftain at all, has problems with reaching any decisions on his own, and his wife is the ambitious one. How sad that people who crave power the most are usually the ones most easily corrupted by it.

This section was very interesting, with lots of new characters introduced, and the pace has picked up, too.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I like the Lady McBeth comparisson. Interesting thought.

[Bill]

I definitely think that Reglan was killed by Coniger(spelling?). It seems like it would have been difficult to get the body back from the bear especially with the others injured.

I wish I had done a full Riyria reread before starting this so that I could really dig for clues. As is I feel like some names are jolting my memory but am probably missing tons of clues. Will have to do the reread before book 2.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I'm probably going to reread Riyria next year. This year is taken up by Wheel of Time.

[Richard]

I agree with Rob again. Certainly feels like a power struggle. Also agree that he is being pushed by his wife. They ignore trouble in the hopes that it will go away. The chieftain is weak, and this cause problems further down the line.
Enjoying the book immensely at the moment.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Good quote. Is that from Malcolm?