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Sailing to Sarantium
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8/10 Sailing to Sarantium- Part II: Within Sarantium
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I thought it was interesting that part two began with the chariot race. I am normally not a big sucker for action scenes, but the scene was well done. Kay switched through several points of view and had me rooting for the poor kid in the seventh lane caught between Scortius and the lead Blue charioteer. I knew he would not win, but was happy to see he did not embarrass himself. Scortius proved that he had earned all of his accolades. I did not fully understand the Blue And Green factions from the context provided in the book, although it seemed that it Scortius' switch in allegiance was more serious than a star Yankee going to the Red Sox. I saw Scortius as a potential good guy. There were a few scenes from his point of view and he did not seem like too much of a partisan... Just a guy that was really talented.
For some reason I really want to like Petrus and Alixana and I've got my fingers crossed that they don't turn out to be bad guys in Lord of Emperors. The scene in Alixana's chambers is what really drew me to them. They're so open and so smart and so ahead of the game. I know it should make them feel dangerous, but there's something about the love between the two that makes me hope they're on Crispin's side.
I have a bad vibe pertaining Petrus and Alixana. I get tense whenever they appear.I personally didn't like the chariot races. I was skimming through then, didn't see the relevance to the story.
The book lost momentum for me on this second half. It did pick up at the end.
I loved the chariot races and the factions. It seems that whenever there are sporting events, you are just going to have your "super-fans".It seems that the court of Petrus and Alixana is a very overwhelming place and you better be quick witted if you intend to survive in it. The deals and intrigues are not necessarily more prevalent than they are in our modern politics, although they have the potential to be much more deadly.
I think that Crispin cannot trust anybody that is imbedded in the politics of the city. Kasia and Vargos are probably the only people he can trust, simply because of their bonding experience on The Day of the Dead. Most of the "city people" are only trustworthy in so far as Crispin can discern which faction(not only Blue/Green, but political) they are working with or for.
Which brings me to believe that, to a certain extent, the Blue/Green factions of the Hippodrome are a metaphor, or maybe a mirror, for both the political and religious divisions that exist throughout the story.
And don't we treat people like that today? We determine their trustworthiness by some external like their politics, their skin color, their appearance and not whether they are in fact trustworthy.(The Blue-Green factions are a true part of the background of Byzantium, on which Sarantium was based.)
What did you think of the chariot races, specifically the one where we get a play by play? What are your thoughts on Scortius to this point? Is he one of the good guys, or someone to watch since he switched sides in the Blue/Green feud?
Speaking of the longtime rivalry between the Blue and Green factions, what are your thoughts on that to this point? We are introduced to it in the prologue, but now in the "current" storyline we see that it's still very prevalent in the Empire.
There are intrigues and double dealings and plots within plots surrounding the Emperor and his subjects. What do you think of these?
Who can Crispin trust, and who should he watch out for?
For that matter, what are your thoughts on the Emperor and Empress? Are they friends to Crispin, or should he watch his back?
Much of this should be revealed in Lord of Emperors, so this could be a place to talk about speculations. If you've already gone ahead and read the other book, please refrain from revealing anything here.