Karen Chance Fans discussion
This topic is about
Shatter the Earth
The Cassie Books
>
Shatter the Earth (Cassandra Palmer #10)
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
Anthony! We need some Anthony/Cleopatra excitement. I miss Radu and Gunther, too.
Mod
So SPOILER ALERT!
From now on there will be spoilers in this thread for the whole book!
Thank goodness. I was having panic attacks yesterday.
Mod
I won't be back for a few days. Life happens, and there's no time for reading............
Nancy wrote: "I finished. Frankly, this seems to be the biggest cliffhanger ending I have ever read. Maybe a quick re-read will clarify what has happened and what the current status is. "I assume Cassie is about to shift Johnathan to Dory.
I am very confused as to what happened after Cassie and Pritkin were shifted out of their room to the 18th century.
I am actually very confused over what happened in most of the book. If I wanted to sum up the novel, I wouldn't be able to do it.
Touch the Dark: Cassie becomes the Pythian heir and has to master her powers.
Claimed: Cassie discovers the geis and deals with Myra.
Embrace: Cassie deals with the geis and Apollo.
Curse the dawn: Cassie fights the Circle and Apollo.
Hunt the Moon: Cassie fights the Spartoi.
Tempt the Stars: Cassie goes to Hell to save Pritkin.
Reap the Wind/Ride the Storm: Cassie travels through time to save Pritkin and deals with present-day politics.
Brave the Tempest: Cassie deals with the fallout, her court, her training, and the Ancient Horrors.
Shatter the Earth: Cassie... doesn't get Pritkin to remove Lover's Knot from her to sever the link Mircea (as soon as it happens. She even visits Pritkin right AFTER discovering this). Never tells Pritkin about what Mircea did until it comes out in the open. Cassie doesn't take Rhea to Gertie's court to train, she takes her there with the intention to hunt information in the library? What?
No, seriously. Someone tell me what the plot of Shatter the Earth was.
Edited to say: I enjoyed the novel, mostly, but I'm refraining from writing a review until I read it twice to make sure I've understood everything. The part of me that cares about plot and characters and well, a story that makes actual sense, that part was really disappointed, and I don't want to give an angry-review, nor do I want to leave a fake glowing review when I wouldn't be honest about it.
And I feel sorry to feel this way about my favorite author, so, someone out there, PLEASE, help me change my mind.
I did call it tho. Johnathan did travel in time, albeit in quite a round-about way.
I think Cassie killed Jonathan and shifted out.
Tasha wrote: "I think Cassie killed Jonathan and shifted out."Maybe. She did promise him to Dory.
Like I said, going to re-read the book, I think I read it so fast I didn't understand everything.
Aira wrote: "I still dont understand how [spoilers removed] I reread it 3/4 times and it made no sense"I understood the mechanics of that. I didn't understand why (view spoiler)
Mod
I'm in a re-read now. A slow re-read, so everything clicks for me (I hope).
Mod
Q&A #66
https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-ca...
Q&A #67
https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-ca...
Mod
Basically I liked this book. If it were possible, I would rate it 3.5. In deference to a very creative author, my rating will be a four-star positive one.
The questions Karen answered helped a lot, and my second read-through clarified the situation as it now stands.
So, I assume that the instigators of the Dark Alliance are safe and still plotting. Rasputin, Fat Tony, Aeslinn, some dark mages, the
Alorestri, the Dark Fey King and his wife (the Morrigan) and the other remaining gods could still pose a threat to the good guys........
Roger still has a part to play, and I hope Artemis does, too. There is still another god, Zeus or Odin, to deal with, so the action isn't over yet.
Obviously, there is more to come, and I enjoy this series more as Cassie grows into her powers.
Nancy wrote: "Okay. My re-read is complete, and I've read both sets of Q&At's.Basically I liked this book. If it were possible, I would rate it 3.5."
I'm glad Nancy! I am also still thinking carefully about my review. I would love to give a solid 5*, but I can't, it would not be honest. So, I'll give a solid 4*, and I'm glad I'm not the only one.
I loved this book!! StE left me with many unanswered questions!!
Mod
The action in the end was as usual a bit hard to follow, given how massively actionpacked KC writes her endings. But overall I liked it and I really liked the beautiful transition she made for Billy - albeit it came very much out of the blue. I'll miss him popping in and telling Cassie what's what. I guess that job goes to Marco now.
I'm not sure how much I loved Caedmon riding in at a crucial moment on a flying metaphorical white horse, saving the day - but I liked that he was there and participated in the battle alongside the others. I hope we get to see more of him, as I found him very amusing.
My problem with the book - besides there not being nearly enough Pritkin! - was how protective Pritkin has become. I get that they're a couple now, but haven't they kind of always been? So it really bugged me that he went from throwing her off cliffs and training her in how to defend herself, to pulling a Mircea a trying to make her stay at court, safe. Pritkin of all people should know her better than that! He knows she can't even go shopping without getting in trouble, so that particular character development felt really off to me.
She's a child of chaos! why do the men in her life tend to forget that once they get to sleep with her?!
As for Cassie herself, I really liked her growth in this installment - she's gone from a nervous wreck who doesn't think she's got anything figured out - to a strong woman who now prefers to go about doing her job alone, putting her foot down when people (Jonas, Gertie, Pritkin) tries telling her what to do. She's grown up a lot, and gotten more confidence. But... because yes, there is a but; why did she have to become so protective of Pritkin? I get that she's terrified of losing him again, but he's Pritkin! He's basically a child of chaos too, he's in mortal danger all the time, and Cassie KNOWS he can take care of himself. He's gotten stronger just like her - so those to need to get over it, and work as a team again! I would actually love to see more training and cliff falling!
I'm very excited to see what direction KC is taking Pritkin and his incubus side. Hopefully he wont go skizo like Dory and see it as an entity all on its own. I really hope he merges with that side of him, and finally becomes whole.
And lastly; was I the only one who had an Ahhhh moment when Pritkin gave Cassie her very own war mage coat?! If that is not Pritkin telling Cassie he loves her, I don't know what is!
Hum hello! :) Long time wait for the book, then bama whama its in my Amazon download que! YAYYY. Got questions, gonna have to talk about it, but I called some key things. go me! And it was good. Think the readers are really going to like this one...
So questions1. What or who is Elena? Not a vanilla human for sure...Irin? Or part-fey / something mix? Would that explain why Caedmon was so interested in Dorina and why Dorina has that particular magical talent she has that's so rare which is why C wanted to charm her?? Hum...
2. Is Elena really working for the opposition as someone suggested? Or is she hiding out from them on Earth trying not to get captured and be dragged back to Fairey? Because she says her life is done, but Dorina's is just starting when she's trying to give the baby to the fey creature...and there was something about a bargin in there too I think?
3.) Did Elena curse Mircea to be a vampire, and if so why? Part of a looong plan (implying foresight of extraordinary nature) OR out of vengence and malice? Or was it something/someone else that cursed him?
3. Pritkin, is he divided like Dorina between his 2 "sides" if you will and why can't he integrate them? The incubus *might* actually ? love Cassie..and not be trying to kill her like Pritkin thinks or dominate Pritkin like he things... P is strangely like Dory/Dorina spilt mentally as one of our other readers noted...And is still a Prince of Hell...much as he hates that.
4. Mircea - now that he's gotten to acknowledge his obsession is he going to give up on locating Elena and resolve that? I mean clearly she didn't die like he always thought she did, he's confirmed that and she didn't look like she was suffering did she - looked like she has it well in hand, escaping?. And clearly Dorina was safe with the gypsy folk, so, no harm no foul and obsession is cleared up? Also will there be a significant power boost from sharing the power out to his family? Eg. he has more to pull on now in emergencies?
5. Cademon and his help. He suspicions now or he knows now Pritkin must have fae blood or how else could he work that rather impressive water elemental magic like he did? But he doesn't know the exact bloodlines...I don't think he does anyway but I think he'll be looking into it closely now...what ramifications if any would that have? A demon/fae/human hybrid...with access to the pythia's power (if they do a power swap like they can - without the lover's knot being involved).
6. Roger & Artemis - still trapped out in Faire somewhere?
7. Status of the Demon Council & Vamp cooperation? We saw Fred (my favorite of the vamps sometimes, playing strip poker hahah). But we only got a brief glimps of Marco...and the rest.
And not much about the rest of the vampires.
8. Does Cassie have access to the Lover's Knot spell now that Rhea and the librarian have found it again? And can she cast it for herself? Because yeah, each of those 3 are very powerful and it says the spell can incorporate more than 1 witch/mage and vamp.. and hey presto instant God level power...Although the Consul would not be best pleased with that!!
That's all I got for now, but I'm going to re-read to pick up stuff I missed out on. Sure there's plenty o eggs I've missed, and Easter is coming right up!!
Mod
Ms Chance's Q&As don't address your questions, but they have a lot of info and explanations.
I asked somes questions few days ago. I give you answers. Maybe somes of you are interest. I will make my commentary about the book after read it a second time( but for the moment I am too much busy) because i did not understood all.
Have à nice day.
------------------
My first question is about this two quotes from Shadow's Bane when Mircea is speaking to Dorina:
"Vampires have a constant war between our two natures, pulled by the beast on one hand and our humanity on the other. Forced to reconcile the two because we don’t have a choice."
“We vampires have no choice but to blend our two natures, to come to equilibrium or to go mad"
In particular the second quote. It's remember me dhampir who become crazy cause of their two natures. As I remember Dorina had a split personality even before the wall.
So my question is : When vampire speaks about "two natures" is it like two différents personality or more like instinct?
1) Mircea was speaking figuratively. He was talking about a mental struggle between his old nature (human) and his new one (vampire) which have different desires and motivations. He was not talking about an actual split like Dory has.
----------------
Second question: when I read about baby vampire I remember it was write that somes can fall‚ hit the wall. Also I remember one quote when Jules is with Cassandra ( Brave the Tempest?)‚ they are with one baby and Jules is giving him order like a child and he was shivering. That gives the impression that mentally they left a little at the stage of childhood. But when we see Mircea few years after the change‚ he does not behave like that.
Does the baby vamp's behavior is link to the influence masters have over them ( which explains why Mircea does not behave at all the same)
2) Baby vamps aren't actually babies. They don't revert to a childish stage of existence. They are simply new to their changed body and have to get used to it, and some have more trouble at that than others. Mircea was several years past the change in Masks, after he'd had a chance to become somewhat accustomed to his new state, and was also one of the rare vamps on the way to first level status. He was maturing quickly, yet he did have some obvious struggles in that book. But Mircea did not have a master ordering him around, or a vamp family constantly in his head. Sometimes, not having a master has its advantages
-----------------------
My last question is about glamouries. I remember somes fey were using them‚ also Cassandra / Dory buy one. So it is a charm that you buy or something you can do. Then it's seems weird because vampire can't make magic. But in The Gauntlet book when Kit is speaking we cand find that:
"I am skilled at glamourie. Let me inside your shields and I can hide you and the girl."
So how works vampire's glamouries?
3) A glamourie is a spell that can be cast by a magical practitioner or can be purchased in the form of a charm or lotion. It's the same practice as Dory buying magical weapons made by someone else. If you're a mage, you can do your own spell; if you're not, you can buy one made with someone else's magic.
Vampires can't do spells, but they can fiddle with people's minds if they have that gift, and can change their bodies in somewhat remarkable ways. They can also project their aura outward and shield somebody else within it, as Kit was promising to do in "The Gauntlet." You don't see vamps in my books throwing spells as the mages do, but they are magical creatures with their own gifts, not just humans with fangs.
Mod
Mod
I can't wait to hear your reaction. I'm still trying to decide how the plot action dovetails with the action in Queen's Gambit.
**********Dorina is such a fascinating wild card now............*******
Shattered the Earth comes a couple of weeks before Queen's Gambit
Mod
It was really interesting to see Tomas and his mercenary group in action in supernatural Hong Kong. With two series and multiple novellas, it's hard to keep track of all the places AND times that the plot actions happen.
KC is awesome, just awesome!
I think Elena is not the bad guy hereIt’s the light king face and it’s probably Artemis And Elena was trying to protect her daughter and her husband from mad King because he could use both of them to try to get to Elena and they would also kill Doria for what’s inside of her it’s like what Doria‘s father did to protect Dory racing part of her memory to hide her.
I'm also constantly checking everywhere, and I even re-read the first two chapters last night. The wait is killing me.