Kenyons Minions discussion
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The Guardian
The Guardian BOTM
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Some general questions to help incite discussion. Feel free to answer as many as you'd like.•Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?
•Did you feel that the book fulfilled your expectations? Were you disappointed?
•What did you think of the characters? Could you relate to them or no?
- Who were your favorite characters?
- Who were your least favorite characters?
Thread will open April 1st
Okay, so let's start off with a few extra points for consideration, shall we? =)1. Overall tone of the book
Not sure about anyone else, but to me, the overall tone of the book seemed different from the other books in the series. Certainly a lot less sarcasm and banter than we're accustomed to, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Thoughts?
2. Thoughts on Lydia
I'll admit, Lydia is probably my least favorite heroine in the DH series. There were times when I seriously wanted to throttle her, whenever she sniped at Seth. But to be fair, there are many people in the real world who act that way toward their significant others, and I've probably sniped at my husband (whom I do love dearly) more than I care to admit. Does this make her more realistic, or just that much more ... well, b****y?
3. Thoughts on Lydia's relation to Solin.
Gotta say, I didn't see that one coming, lol. Nor had I realized how important she is in terms of potential destruction.
I've got a few other points for consideration, but I'll start with these for now. =)
1. I agree with you that the tone was much different. I wasn't sure if I would like it at first but it eventually worked out pretty well and I enjoyed it.I wasn't really loving Lydia either. I mean I agree with you sometimes there are folks that snap at each other like that. But I felt like that was one of the decline of one of SK's characters right there. I mean snapping at your s/o over petty stuff is really ridic in my opinion. Even though I live in a house where it happens often. I just don't like seeing it in my books though.
Me either. And yet should not be too surprised at the same time I'm sort of not. Given how much of a playboy all the Gods are really at times. So yea for him to have a kid was really par for the course.
My biggest complaint about this one is that the ending felt rushed. The conclusion of Seth and Lydia's romance wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. I chalk it up to her realizing she was running out of word count and still had the scene with Ash to do. (speaking as a writer myself and knowing how all of that works)Seth, I adored! He's awesome and I want to see more of him.
Lydia was eh. Didn't really care one way or the other about her, but that's normal for me.
The scene with Ash? O.O Are you talking about the birth scene that appeared in Retribution? Because that was something else about this book, there was no Ash whatsoever. Which was weird, but not bad.But you do have a good point, Rachel, about the ending seeming a bit rushed.
Seth was pretty hardcore, one of my personal faves.I thought Lydia wasn't so bad to be honest, nowhere near as bad as I've found others.
Nick is my fave character in the whole DH universe so im glad he got an 'honorable mention' i'd be interested to know how he protected them during their stay with him :)
Oh yeah, I did mean the one in Retribution. I read The Guardian in one of the 3-in-1 collections and I guess they ran together.
Totally agree on loving some Seth. I didn't think I would like him at first. But heart totally melted over him trying to figure out the lap top. Can that be more precious and so cute at the same time, lol.Yes, I'll agree on it being rather rushed on the ending as well Rachel. Not to mention the whole thing with Lydia being the "key". Even after having an earlier discussion about it, I was still left wondering what in the hell does that all really mean?
LOL, no worries Rachel. For a while, I had to stop and think about which book that birth scene appeared in, too. XDOkay, so now I'm gonna add another point for consideration:
Thoughts on Jaden and Verlyn
Something definitely funky going on here (yes, I'm being Captain Obvious, lol), and I have a number of thoughts on all that, but I would love to hear everyone else's thoughts. =)
I'll have to go back and look over that section with those two. But care to do a mini re-cap Charlotte? :D
But of course I shall do a mini re-cap, Dhfan. XDFirst, Verlyn and Jaden do NOT appear together. Remember this, it ties into my theory about those two. =)
Verlyn--or rather, the Verlyn critter, as I like to think of him--first appears at Maahes' home to collect Seth and take him back to Azmodea. He's HUGE, bald with tattoos, and is a deadly killing machine. And, he acts like he's almost ... lobotomized, so to speak. (I'll elaborate on that in a later post)
We learn two things about Verlyn: first, he has one green and one brown eye, just like Jaden, but opposite of Jaden's. Like a mirror image. Second, as Seth dryly notes, "He makes his own friends." As in, he can split himself into multiple beings.
Take into consideration that Jaden has been "defeated, defanged, and emasculated" (Azura's words), and the statement somewhere that Jaden was once equal to Noir. Which indicates that Jaden might actually be a god--specifically, a PRIMAL god.
Which ties into my theory that Jaden might actually BE Verlyn.
But I thought when we first met Jaden in Xypher's book I think it was. I thought he had hair though? Which in and of itself is not much to go on after all that you said lol. But I was some how thinking those two could be related. Do to the eye color reversal, as Jaden didn't seem to be able to get out all that much. But didn't Verlyn visit Sanctuary at one time or other? He and Sasha get into it or is that someone else I'm thinking of...
Ahhh ... I believe that's Varyk you're thinking of, Dhfan, that visited Sanctuary. He's a wolf/jackal hybrid.And you're right, Jaden does have hair. XD
There are two possibilities here for Jaden being Verlyn: either they are two parts of a whole (think Bathymaas being split in two), or else it's like Jekyll and Hyde. Or maybe Bruce Banner and the Hulk. =)
OOOOOOH that is right. Nevermind, then mixing my characters up lol.And another relevant point was that they said he always had like claw like marks on his neck for Jaden. Not sure if that was mentioned or not for Verlyn.
But if it is a case of a duality thing going on. Then I'm really intrigued as to how that is working...Would totally be interesting if that is true of him though. And either way though, should prove to be one hell of a fight if he is one of the Gods of Light and they go against the Dark ones so to speak.
Yeah, I don't remember anything about claw like marks on Verlyn anywhere ... so it could be that he is physically separate from Jaden. (The claw marks could also indicate how Jaden was defeated)Oh, that would be an interesting fight, indeed. XD
All part of the intrigue. Can't wait to figure this out to say the least. And actually must be something the God's of light can do. Cause if I remember correctly from some of the theorizing and thoughts on who Cam and what not is. From her description she must be able to project too. Cause from the site description of her with white skin and hair and yellow eyes. We haven't seen any one like that thus far. Or that I recall. So could be onto something with the whole duality thing.That it would be.
I loved the book because I'm a stickler for tortured heroes and boy was Seth tortured. I liked getting more hints about Jaden too. I also loved seeing a softer side to Solin, that he's not the player you think. And the heroine did not full my expectations. The guy had been tortured and raped for 4000 years and she was all like "You have no social skills". The guy hadn't seen the sun in 4000 years and he sees a women for the first time and she be like "Oh hail no. Did you just talk to a women?" No offence but she isn't the only one of SK's heroines to do this, in fact I think it's a disease in her heroines. I can understand jealousy in women I truly do; but I think SK exaggerates it. Because if I had a boyfriend and they spoke to some random women on the street I would just assume they were friends and not jump to conclusions. Then I'd ask him who his friend was. Am I capable of getting jealous? Of course I am, but within reason. And Lydia was bordering on ridiculous...and it's not just Lydia who suffers from the ridiculous jealousy.
Lydia gets angry because she thought he said Susan. Dude if Seth did that to me my response would be "Frowning and pressing my eyebrows together, and saying my name isn't Susan." But Lydia was all like "Oh hail no. Where's the doghouse! Go sleep in it. Don't you even breathe my air buster." And I'm just like looking at the book saying "Take a chill pill girlfriend. How the heck could he ever meet a Susan when he was stuck in Azmodea for 4000 years?"
My favourite characters were Solin and Jaden. Especially Jaden. I was confused about Set's cruelty especially because he was so nice to Beth; but then I remembered from Styxx's book that it wasn't Set's fault and I was like oh cool. But I wanna know how they became friends again and what Set had to say to make Seth believe that he was telling the truth.
Ah I have the answer to that last bit, Kat. lol I'm so excited I know this. SK said it would be revealed in the Dragonbane story on how Seth and Set worked it out and how they met
Shari-amor wrote: "Ah I have the answer to that last bit, Kat. lol I'm so excited I know this. SK said it would be revealed in the Dragonbane story on how Seth and Set worked it out and how they met"Set is Seth's father, right?
Also as for Lydia being the key I was like "Hang on just a minute. So because she's mixed race she has the power to destroy the whole Greek pantheon?" I mean it sounds ridiculous when I state it that way, but it's true! It is ridiculous! And SK said because the Fates predicted it would happen, that a person would be born of mixed race and have the power to destroy the Pantheon. And I'm thinking why on Earth would the fates "fate" something like that? I mean surely they have control of their powers right, why would they say something that puts them at risk?
Delphine was the same as well. She was capable usurping Zeus but excluding her being a dream hunter, there wasn't anything about her that stood out as overly powerful Anyway though with Lydia I didn't understand how she had the power to destroy the greek pantheon either. I mean what is Solin (excluding being a half breed dream hunter himself) that he could produce this powerful being. The only thing I found interesting about Lydia's existence was the the fact that dream hunters could impregnate or get pregnant by anything to the point of bypassing a species general rules i.e. Were-hunters only being able to conceive with their mates. Solin was not Lydia's mothers mate. Well hey that just led me to a theory, were-hunters were punished by The Fates to fight each other forever and to control who their mates are so they could eventually die off since the Fates consider were-hunters abominations since that Sorcerer helped his Apollite sons find a way to cheat their existence. This is the were-hunters way of cheating the system and gaining power like the Apollites are cheating with feeding from demons.
Man the fates are effed up. So let me get this straight the Apollite curse is supposed to kill them at 27. But they avoid/cheat this curse by feeding off human souls. And the fates attitude is "all goods they're cheating the system, but because it's humans who cares" and then when they decide to cheat the system a different way : i.e were hunters, the fates be like "Oh hail to the no". It's almost like you can only cheat the curse in a way the fates find "acceptable". Although the fates seem like real bitches to me, because they will allow the cheating of a curse which hurts another race (demons, and humans) but won't allow the cheating of a curse which doesn't hurt another race (were hunters).Gosh! Am I the only one who wants to go bitch slap them for their hypocrisy?
People have wanted to bitch slap the fates for years. But they don't care. They make a living from it. That is why I was saying how is Archon so great to have created such beings in the first place?
The Fates speak very carelessly. Remember how afraid they were when they found out Ash visited Olympus? Nobody likes them.
Yeah they speak so carelessly they even say things which puts themselves and their own pantheon in danger. Someone fire them already and get a replacement. Even if the fates weren't bitches, even if they were as kind as Cherise Gautier (I'm speaking hypothetically here) I would still want them replaced just because of how careless they are, and their lack of foresight.
Which is another reason Lydia has to be kept a secret. She was born of a union of unmated parents. The Fates would probably have a cow if they knew she was still alive.
I think another reason everyone is so afraid of them because they aren't fully Greek. Like Kat, they're half atlantean which makes them more powerful then the majority of the Greek Gods
And the hands of fate moves us all really in one way or another. Can't really touch one of em, not just cause of the Atlantean thing. But when someone can snip your lifeline like it's nothing? Welp that does put you at the top of the food chain of a sort.
That is terrifying to have that hanging over your head. Your life is literally in their hands. That would piss me off!
No kidding. By far have one the strongest pimp hands I've ever seen to say the least.
Oh and btw I loved Seth as well. He was fierce, adorable and precious. He got fucked over by some many people. His momma amd by accident Jaden. Goodness I know Jaden felt sick over revealing to Noir how to weaken Seth.
Indeed, Seth was indeed one of me precious characters. I still couldn't believe some of the stuff he went through. Such a strong dude of epic proportions.
LOL it gives you more information about just how powerful Savitar is. The fates are powerful enough to cut your life string, and create destiny. But Savitar is like "If the fates wanna **** with me, they better make out a will"
Well he is one of the beings that police the Gods anyway and maintain the natural balance/order of things. So yes in truth he is somewhat above them. But even he can't fully take them out either without screwing up other orders of things too. So even they know he has to sit his patuckus down too, lol.
Kat wrote: "Also as for Lydia being the key I was like "Hang on just a minute. So because she's mixed race she has the power to destroy the whole Greek pantheon?" I mean it sounds ridiculous when I state it t..."Actually, it was Apollymi who made the decree. Here is the passage from the book (at about 21% on my Kindle):
That key held the only thing that could kill the Olympian gods and destroy their existence. The blood of the three races that Zeus, Apollo, and the Fates had wrongfully condemned and punished.
Blood that was mixed with that of an Atlantean goddess who had cursed them when they killed her only son and then trapped her in the Atlantean hell realm. The goddess of absolute destruction, Apollymi, had promised them the day of retribution when the beast of the past would come and confront them all for their numerous trangressions.
"Unless you send Apollo to me, and that bitch Artemis, it will bring forth my justice and avenge my innocent son whom Apollo butchered like and animal ...
"A combination of all you have sought so desperately to destroy, it will survive against all odds. And its blood mixture will be your poison.
"And on that day when it comes for you, my laughter will ring in the Hall of Zeus, and every Greek god will feel my wrath as they die in utter agony.
He sah te, akram justia!"
All hail the queen's justice.
Now, she probably didn't mean specifically the races of Apollites, Oneroi, and Weres. It's very likely that her decree was of the blanket variety, meaning that she intended to include ALL races cursed by the Greek gods. Because she was that angry with them. Which I thoroughly understand, believe me. =)
Helena wrote: "Set is Seth's father, right?"That is absolutely correct, Helena. =)
Kat wrote: "Man the fates are effed up. So let me get this straight the Apollite curse is supposed to kill them at 27. But they avoid/cheat this curse by feeding off human souls. And the fates attitude is "all..."I don't know that Fates were all hunky-dory with the whole Daimon thing, but since it was Apollymi who devised the way for the Apollites to circumvent the curse to die at 27, there probably isn't a darn thing they can do about it.
But I agree with everyone here, the Fates are total bitches. And they have already proven that they can decree a Were's mate on a whim, such as they did with Dev. And I thought it was totally EPIC when Savitar worked around that, by giving Samia the ability to have children again. =D
I also agree with the ongoing sentiment that Lydia left a lot to be desired. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that she is among my three least favorite heroines, maybe even number one in that regard. Because that was some extreme jealousy that she displayed, as well as major thoughtlessness with her comments--such as the one about Seth having no social skills.
And Seth .... my heart broke for him. For him to have gone through what he did, AS A CHILD ... yeah. I definitely teared up, there.
And like everyone else, I am anxious to see how Set and Seth managed to work things out, after what we learned in Styxx's book. =)
Can someone let me know what thread I can move this post too? I'm just posting it here temporarily for some advice.Hmm my view on heroines
Astrid
One word: AMAZING. LOVE HER.
because she's so kind, patient, judges fairly, doesn't jump to conclusions like some heroines do. I mean after reading Zarek's book I can understand what he went through, but I wouldn't of had the patience that Astrid did. If Zarek used his sarcasm on me, I would just see it as him being rude and then lash back. Even though I understand he's gone through a lot of crap, I don't like anyone being rude to me no matter what; because I'm quite sensitive. I'm quick to anger, and quick to cry. So it was really good that she was cool, calm, and collected.
Grace Alexander
Doesn't stick out in anyway, but I liked her
Amanda Hunter
Doesn't stick out in anyway, but I liked her.
Sunshine
I appreciated her optimism, and she didn't stand out in any way. But I liked her.
Cassandra
She didn't stand out in anyway, and I admired her good heart. She was facing the terminal illness Apollite-ness, but she never considered going daimon. So I like her
Bride
LOVE HER! She's AWESOME. I mean after reading this quote of hers how can you not love her?
“If you ever threaten Vane or his brothers again, I’m going to show you just how human I am. I will don my camouflage, hunt you down, and skin you while you scream. Do you understand me?” ~Bride
Tabitha
LOVE HER! INCREDIBLE. I love her independence. Her whole family disliked Valerius, but she's like "nah screw that I'm going to make up my own mind about him." I love her strength, her fighting skills. Love how she's willing to stand up for what's right, even though it meant going against her family. Like when she finds out that it wasn't really Valerius's fault and defended him.
Dangereuse
She doesn't really stick out to me in anyway. But I like her anyway,
Maggie
She doesn't stand out in anyway, but I like her anyway. I admire her wanting to be her own individual, and not just go along with the cliques.
Susan
She's like a black belt in martial arts from being trained by the Dark Hunter Dragon, who she didn't know was a Dark Hunter; until later in her book. So points for badass, but she doesn't stick out in anyway. But I liked her.
Megeara
Meh... I liked her, but I can't think of anything special about her, other than the fact that she's a good lucid dream controller.
Katra
Go Katra!!! She's so level headed, able to reason, and she's Acherons daughter! So already gives her some points. But in all honesty I really do like her, but just don't love her like I do Astrid, Tabitha, and Bride.
Simone
Umm I really really like her. One scenes shows that she's really self sacrificing, and this goes to show how much love is in her heart.
Soteria
Doesn't stand out in anyway
Aimee
I really like her, she's this strong women, loyal, willing to stick to someone's side no matter the hardships. Willing to risk her life to go help her love.
Bethany
I LOVED HER at first because she wasn't blind like most of the heroines are. Without Styxx telling her she quickly jumped to the conclusion that (view spoiler). Some of the heroines I've met the hero has to explicitly state it, but she's a pretty quick thinker. I also loved the class she showed when she (view spoiler)
I also loved it when she (view spoiler) I mean after all she is strong, and her father is one of the most powerful Gods of all times.
But my love for her turned to liking her a lot, because in spite of all her strength, and all her knowledge about Styxx's life (view spoiler)
Lydia
Most disappointing heroine ever. I wanted to slap her at times. Overly jealous, knows he's been tortured but makes ignorant comments like (you need more social skills) Her one saving grace was she was brave enough to go into Azmodea to save Solin. So points for loyalty, but no points for understanding. She's pretty ignorant.
Delphine
She didn't really stick out in any way. But I liked her
Kateri
Doesn't stand out in any way. But I liked her.
Jo
I liked her but she didn't stand out in anyway.
Zephyra
Apart from her dealing with her anger by using torture...I wish she would come up with a more civilized method like punching a boxing bag, I think she's badass and willing to do anything to protect her child. Kind of like Apollymi. But then I can't really blame Zephyra she's kind of similar to Apollymi in that she's willing to really hurt and kill anyone who hurts her child. And if I like Apollymi, why not Zephyra as well? But my problem is her hurting of Jared. He's not your boxing bag girlfriend. And I really don't think he did anything to her. So whenever I heard of Zephyra hurting Jared I was like (view spoiler)
Samia
I LOVED HER. BADASS. Man she's just so awesome. When I saw her epic obstacle course/fight against the Amazonian queen, I was like "oo dayumm girlfriend"
Hmmm ... a good place to put that post, would be here:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Nobody's posted in it for a while, but that's okay. =)
Seth’s time is running out. If he can’t hand over the entrance to Olympus, his own life and those of his people will be forfeit. No matter the torture, Seth hasn’t been able to break the god in his custody. Then there’s the beautiful Dream-Hunter Lydia: She isn’t just guarding the gates of Olympus—she’s holding back one of the world’s darkest powers. If she fails, an ancient curse will haunt the earth once more and no one will be safe. But evil is always seductive...