Metaframe War Series Buddy Read - A Traitor's War - August 1, 2022 - August 31, 2022

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

This thread will be for the buddy read of the book A Traitor's War (Metaframe War series) by Graeme Rodaughan (continuing series read) starting August 1. Just remember to use spoilers when necessary.

[Denis (deez_bookish_adventures)]

I am looking forward to this!

Is the plan to buddy read 1 book per month until the series is complete? I only ask so that I can add it to my calendar if it has been decided already.

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

Denis (deez_bookish_adventures) wrote: "I am looking forward to this!

Is the plan to buddy read 1 book per month until the series is complete? I only ask so that I can add it to my calendar if it has been decided already."

We haven't decided yet on how it will be for future reads. We decided for August for book two. It is possible that it will be every month but we are not sure yet considering other reads that we have planned for the group. But no worries as we will let members know about a month ahead of time so they can plan their book schedules around the reads. :)

[Denis (deez_bookish_adventures)]

Marie wrote: "We haven't decided yet on how it will be for future reads. We decided for August for book two. It is possible that it will be every month but ..."

Sounds good, Marie. Thank you. :)

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

Denis (deez_bookish_adventures) wrote: "Marie wrote: "We haven't decided yet on how it will be for future reads. We decided for August for book two. It is possible that it will be every month but ..."

Sounds good, Marie. Thank you. :)"

You are welcome. :)

[Nyssa]

I purchased the entire series after reading book 1. So I will be here on the 1st. :)

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

Cool Nyssa! :)

[Jason]

Excellent

[Sally, The Ninja Clown]

Nyssa wrote: "I purchased the entire series after reading book 1. So I will be here on the 1st. :)"

I did the same thing Nyssa! And I've loved every one!

[Graeme]

Hi all. Looking forward to this.

Cheers Graeme

[Netanella]

I was looking forward to the sequel to "A Subtle Agency" so much that I already 'shot the gun' and read this book! But, I will be lurking on the threads!

And, I'm pretty eager for the third book . . .

[Patricia]

Ohh I am new to this group and not sure what it is bit a buddy read for these books sounds great!
Looking forward to it :)

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

Patricia wrote: "Ohh I am new to this group and not sure what it is bit a buddy read for these books sounds great!
Looking forward to it :)"

A buddy read is where members get together and read the book at their own pace then make comments or ask questions on here. Though we do require spoilers to be on the thread to not spoil for other members as they read the book.

To do a spoiler it will look like this:

< spoiler> xxx < / spoiler >

Put your comment about the book where the xxx is located then take out the spaces so everything runs together with no spaces.


I put a space between < spoiler (take out that space) and I put spaces in front and back of the xxx (take out those spaces) - I also put spaces between < / spoiler > so take out those spaces. I tried to do it so you could see what the spoiler code looks like as it won't let me do the code without you seeing how it will look.

What the spoiler is suppose to look like after it is on here would be like this:

(view spoiler)[xxx (hide spoiler)]


Hope that helps. :)

[Marie, Coffee-Chocolate-Book Lover]

This read has started and all of you can start anytime. I will be joining you all as soon as I can - I have a couple of other commitments I am reading but Graeme will still be here for you all if you have any comments or questions. :)

[Graeme]

Indeed, I am available for any questions.

[Kasia, il Barbaro]

I'm still on book one but hope to finish today/tomorrow if time permits. Then I can jump into book 2 :D

[Jason]

This is great so far, luv all the training stuff and the plotting and back stabby stuff

[Graeme]

Kasia wrote: "I'm still on book one but hope to finish today/tomorrow if time permits. Then I can jump into book 2 :D"

Awesome, Kasia. See you soon!

[Graeme]

Jason wrote: "This is great so far, luv all the training stuff and the plotting and back stabby stuff"

Of the six books I've written, this was the hardest to write. Nearly strained my brain into oblivion. So much deception, secrecy, lies and betrayal. Keeping it all straight left me staring blankly into space at times... Who knew what and when? Is that lie going to work or not? Would they believe it? My head was spinning ...

I could never be a spy - too hard.

Glad you're enjoying it, Jason.

[Nyssa]

I will be starting this one tomorrow! :)

[Kasia, il Barbaro]

Nyssa wrote: "I will be starting this one tomorrow! :)"

Awesome :D

[Kasia, il Barbaro]

Ok just finished Metaframe and off to book 2 uff... intense stuff!

[Graeme]

Kasia wrote: "Ok just finished Metaframe and off to book 2 uff... intense stuff!"

It will be like you never stopped... (The 2nd book starts like 30 minutes after the events of the 1st book). 😀

[Kasia, il Barbaro]

Graeme wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Ok just finished Metaframe and off to book 2 uff... intense stuff!"

It will be like you never stopped... (The 2nd book starts like 30 minutes after the events of the 1st book). 😀"

Not going to lie, I LOVE when series do that! I already have it open on my kindle :P

[Nyssa]

So, I got a much later start than planned, and I just finished Chapter One.

I had a visceral reaction to (view spoiler)[Ramin Kain; I want him dead (hide spoiler)]!

The thing that is going to drive me insane is the truth about the Slaynes. I hope it's revealed sooner than later.

I'm confused by Chloe's decision, (view spoiler)[If she wants to protect Anton as some means to an end, why send Kain after him!?! Or was finding the base of operations the end she had in mind? I thought there was more to it. (hide spoiler)]

The only "good guy" seems to be Anton because he was thrown into this mess.

So many lives, so many storylines!

[Graeme]

Hi Nyssa, regarding Chloe's tactics in chapter 1.

Chapter 1 spoilers ahead.

(view spoiler)[

To begin with, Chloe states her primary immediate need vs Crane as she approaches the R.I.S.C boardroom.

'Chloe considered her tactics. A bold approach is best. The truth is my ally, the more he knows, the better to demonstrate my loyalty and competence in the face of a tactical defeat. There is but one key fact I must keep secret – the existence of Anton Slayne.'

Then she throws this artful piece of truthful misdirection at Crane,

'“I agree,” Chloe conceded. “It would not surprise me to discover that Shabbah al Ahmar has a secret agent in Francis Mirovar’s force team – it would allow for a coordinated action just like this.”'

Which speaks to Crane's long standing view of the Red Empire as his major opponent, and he responds by pulling Chloe off the search for the CODEX, and gives her free action against the Mirovar force team in the north east of the US.

'“The Order have lost respect for our power and we must teach them a sharp lesson. You have carte blanche for operations against the Mirovar force team in North America. Fulfill the promise that you made in Jerusalem and bring their heads to me. First, we must quell this pathetic rebellion and then refocus our efforts on recovery of the Interpretive Codex. Never forget, securing access to the Metaframe remains our primary goal.”'

Chloe acquires Crane's sanction to go after the Mirovar force team, which enables her to watch over her pet project, 'Anton Slayne.' However, in the very next scene, Chloe has to admit to the existence of Anton Smith.

'“There were three Order of Thoth operatives in Boston; Gang Wu, his daughter Li and someone else. I’ve reason to believe the Wu family were closely associated with the Slaynes. I need to know who that other person was. Whoever he is, he survived a battle with six praetorians and yourself, and he has appeared from nowhere. It’s imperative we find out precisely who he is and determine the risk he presents to our operations.”
Chloe’s heart froze. Crane was so close to the truth. The smallest misstep and her plan would come undone.
“Cornelius, the Panopticon identified him as Anton Smith, he is young, he must have been trained in secret by Gang Wu.”'

Note how Chloe consistently shields her lies with layers of truth. That said, she immediately realises that [1] Ramin Kain could, if he knows about Anton Slayne, reveal the truth to Crane, and [2] that she must use James to help her cleanse the data in the Panopticon.

'James Haley had best be awake, she thought furiously. He has work to do. And what of Ramin Kain, if he is the traitor in the Order, he could reveal the truth to Crane. I can’t let that happen.'

She rushes into action. James completes the refactoring of the data in the Panopticon and the new 'Anton Smith 2.0,' identity is born. We then shift to Chloe's penthouse apartment, where,

'Chloe mentally ticked the items off in her mind. One, find out where the Mirovar force team’s safe house was so she could keep an eye on Anton Slayne. Two, find out the details of the Crane-Kain detente, and three, do it quickly before events got away from her.'

Followed by,

'Chloe would not be able to justify how she knew who Kain was without revealing too much about her own capabilities to Crane. With the Crane-Kain detente almost a certainty, Crane would not forgive such a step against his own carefully cultivated plans. He would likely reward her with a suicide mission against the Red Empire.'

Crane's detente with Kain, is his secret. Chloe can't reveal that she knows it without angering Crane. This is followed by Chloe identifying her key risk,

'Chloe’s eyes glittered like burning coals. Crane wanted to know who Anton Smith was. If Kain was the traitor, then Crane would have asked Kain to investigate from within the Order of Thoth. As soon as Kain found out that Anton Slayne existed, he would no doubt conclude that Anton Smith was a cover identity, but which name would he give to Crane, Smith or Slayne?'

Chloe, in this moment is caught on a dilemma. On one hand she wants to keep Anton 'safe,' and cultivate him as a weapon against Crane, on the other she must protect her own secrets against Crane's discovery of them.

She decides to use Anton as bait vs Kain.

'She stood in perfect stillness. Staring through her window, she stopped breathing. It would be necessary to put the knowledge of Anton Slayne’s existence at risk to find out more – there was no other way. Her eyelids closed as she calculated the risks. She resumed breathing; the decision made.
Chloe opened her eyes. It was essential that she was able to track Kain’s movements as soon as possible, and Anton Slayne would make the perfect bait. She picked up her smartphone and placed a call using the stolen quantum signature.'

(hide spoiler)]

I hope that helps.

Enjoy.

Cheers G.

[Nyssa]

So (view spoiler)[Kain now realizes that if Crane found out he (Kain) knew about Anton without saying anything, their detente would implode, therefore forcing him to (unknowingly) back Chloe's play. (hide spoiler)]

That was a freaking huge (view spoiler)[ and almost deadly (hide spoiler)] calculated risk!

I now need to see if Chloe captured the info she wanted. Plus, find out what she's going to do with it.

[Graeme]

Indeed, Nyssa. On all points.

(Gotta split for work. Catch you all later. G)

[Kasia, il Barbaro]

Good luck at work today Graeme :)

[Nyssa]

Graeme wrote: "Indeed, Nyssa. On all points.

(Gotta split for work. Catch you all later. G)"

Thank you, Graeme! Have a good night at work.

[Graeme]

Bonus for Chapter 4 - Map of Scene Location.

Chapter 4 spoilers ahead

(view spoiler)[

Chapter 4 mostly occurs in and around a set of 'derelict,' apartments in South Dorchester, Boston. This is all modelled off a real location. At the scene, there are three groups of praetorian vampires.

Alpha team, including Centurion Rawlings in a black van on the expressway.
Beta team, on top of the water tower.
Gamma team on top of the building north of the apartments.

The path of the Mirovar force team's van into the site is also shown with a white line.



Hat tip to Google, I couldn't have done this without the help of their excellent maps.

(hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

I have completed Chapter 3, and I have burning questions!

1. Did the Mirovars not find it odd that (view spoiler)[ that Kain specifically requested the newbies!?! Especially after trying to kill one of them? (hide spoiler)]

2. Why did the Mirovars (view spoiler)[abandon the idea of a day raid so quickly? Hunting vampires by day would make the most sense! (hide spoiler)]

[Graeme]

Hi Nyssa, a very curly question indeed. 😀😉😎

Chapter 3 and 4 spoilers ahead.

(view spoiler)[

From, A Subtle Agency, we have the conversation in Gang's garden where Gang explains to Anton the relationship between Force Leaders and the Head of the Order.

'A force leader commands a team of operatives, they have total authority over their teams, and how they operate. The Head of the Order typically comes from the ranks of the force leaders, many of your ancestors have been force leaders, and quite a few have been Head of the Order.”
“If a force leader has total authority over operations, what does the Head of the Order do?”
“Set policy, coordinate actions, settle internal disputes and guard the integrity and secrecy of the order. The Head cannot order a force leader to any action, but must rely on persuasion and soft methods of negotiation. The role of Head of the Order is intensely political.”
“What about the third rule, operational obedience?”
“Doesn’t apply to force leaders and the Head of the Order,” Gang frowned. “And that’s something I’m sure Ramin Kain wants to change. He’d love direct control of operations.”'

And Gang also explains, later in the warehouse...

'“Vampires were behind the witch hunters?”
“One of Crane’s early experiments with social control.”
“Why don’t they try the same tactic now?”
“Society has moved on; fewer people would believe it. I think Crane is simply weighing the risks. A public campaign against the Order risks his own exposure, so he has more to lose than to gain by such a strategy. So, both camps live in the shadows and fight our battles in secret.”
Anton nodded. “It’s a pretty messed up world we’re living in.”
“That it is,” Gang agreed. '

Regarding the decision to attack at night rather than during the day (when it would have been easier to ensure that no vampires escape) Francis would have been well within his rights to insist on a Day Raid. Against that, the vampires (naturally) and the Ramp masters all typically fight at night and have come (for their own reasons) to the conclusion that keeping the war secret is for the best.

The decision point comes at

'“Of course,” Ramin agreed. He handed a data stick over to Juliette who placed it next to her laptop.
In moments, the data transferred across. Juliette scanned her screen and nodded. She pursed her lips and said, “It’s a beast of a site.” A 3-D schematic of the building projected onto the wall screen and rotated around its midpoint axis. “Five long floors above ground, and one below. At night, vampires could leave from any direction. This should really be a daylight raid to ensure they don’t escape.”
“Impossible,” Ramin declared. “It has to be at night, we can’t risk exposure of the existence of the Order.”
“Our rules of engagement are clear,” Luther declared pompously.
Juliette shook her head slowly. “It will increase the risk that one or more vampires will get away.”
“That is why you must take everyone you have,” Ramin observed sagely. “Including your novices, Li Wu and Anton Slayne, they have already proven their worth in Boston. They will allow you to close this mission out successfully.”
Francis and Juliette glanced at each other, a silent question passing between them. Juliette nodded, and Francis declared, “We will take the mission, and we will commit our whole team.”
Francis leaned forward, turning to Jay. He commanded, “Jay, prepare everyone for a raid – we go to Boston tonight.”'

Of note, while Francis is the visible face of authority within the team, Juliette 'nodded,' and green lights the mission, is the true power behind the throne.

That said, Juliette outlines all the issues with a night vs day raid, while Kain counters with keeping the Order secret. In the end the decision is made to go with a night raid as the best option satisfying all requirements: Kill the vampires while maintaining secrecy and avoiding harm to the innocent.

All that said, Anton notes,

'Energy snapped and crackled along his nerves and excitement flooded his soul, but from the back of his mind, from a place beaten into existence by recent traumas came a voice of caution, take care, Kain hates me. For some reason, he wants me dead, and he insisted that I be on this mission tonight. Gang believed that Kain is colluding with the Vampire Dominion (GR: As does Li). Where did these vampires come from? They’re so close to the safe house. Of course, it would be the Mirovar team that would deploy.
Anton looked at Li. She put her hand out. He reached across and gripped it. She stared at him for a long moment in the dim light in the van, smiled softly and nodded.
Yes, we’ll fight them together, but I’m keeping my eyes open, it could be a trap.'

Anton notes the risk of a trap. (hide spoiler)]

To find out more, you'll have to read on.

[Nyssa]

Chapter 4 = *Shock* & *Awe*

(view spoiler)[I could have sworn Crain had Chloe under surveillance. I mean obviously not, but you know what I mean.

Did she, perhaps, perform too well? (hide spoiler)]

Curiouser and curious.

I am amused at the various characters almost figuring out certain truths. So many realizations are just on the tip of their tongues brains.

[Graeme]

Chapter 4 in A Traitor's War is one of my favorite chapters in the series. I'm always amused by the fact that only one character who was there understood what was going on.

[Graeme]

Regarding 'performance,' Nyssa, I'll say this openly, there is a scramble to manage 'the facts,' an outright act of co-option, and the artful laying of misdirection built from 90% truth, and 10% lies in front of you.

You'll have to read on to discover the details.

[Graeme]

Hi Kasia, & Nyssa, thanks for the well wishes re work.

[Nyssa]

I didn't get to read much today. I'm just finishing Chapter 5.

Man, (view spoiler)[Haras put the pieces together pretty darn quickly (hide spoiler)]! I am excited to see what happens next!

[Graeme]

Nyssa wrote: "I didn't get to read much today. I'm just finishing Chapter 5."

Indeed, Nyssa.

Chapter 5 spoiler ahead. (view spoiler)[It's amazing how being thrown into a dungeon can sharpen someone's thinking! 😉😎 (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

A Traitor's War was fantastic, Graeme! Thank you. :)

[Graeme]

Nyssa wrote: " A Traitor's War was fantastic, Graeme! Thank you. :)"

You're welcome, Nyssa. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it.

Good luck with you're next read.

[Nyssa]

Graeme wrote: "Nyssa wrote: " A Traitor's War was fantastic, Graeme! Thank you. :)"

You're welcome, Nyssa. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it.

Good luck with you're next read."

Thanks! :) I have two other books scheduled for this month and a third that I want to read sooner than later. Hopefully, we'll have The Dragon's Den scheduled by then.

[Graeme]

Nyssa wrote: "Thanks! :) I have two other books scheduled for this month and a third that I want to read sooner than later. Hopefully, we'll have The Dragon's Den scheduled by then. ..."

I'm sure we will have another buddy read. Looking forward to it.