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Touch the Dark
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Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer #1)
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Aileen
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rated it 5 stars
Apr 01, 2017 11:17AM
Also, I think I just remembered/realized that Tony was only a vamp for 7 years when he turned Rafe. I'm curious how he got powerful enough to do that in so short a time.
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@Aileen: Wow, that's a super positive view of Mircea :D Most fans fall into a spectrum of 'Mircea is a disgusting bastard who is only using her' to 'Mircea is definitely using her but probably has feelings for her' and now we get a 'despite maybe having ulterior motives, Mircea definitely cares for her'. I'm around the middle somewhere, but it was interesting to read someone's enthusiasm, lol!Great points about Cassie's weird leaps of logic when it comes to drawing conclusions about Mircea. She often seems to have different standards for him than others - e.g. herself, so it will be curious to see where KC will take that...
About Tony: I agree with you about Tony totally! A lot of plotlines introduced in TtD have been shelved and never solved over the next 6 books. I'm looking forward to finally facing the 'original antagonists'. Also, do you remember where Tony's age has been confirmed? We know Rafe 'died' in 1520, but was Tony's turning defined somewhere? 7 years sounds incredibly young, epecially since Mircea also needed decades to reach master status.
@Zoltan, in TtD KC says Tony was turned in 1513!!!! It's said right after Cassie gets to the Senate and is talking about Rafe and how she knows him and his background, and then she sees Tony in the mirror and says "he's looked the same as he had since 1513" and how he's wearing his goodfellas suit. How he's 300 pounds and 5'5". It's in the middle of chapter 3, I just checked. But they also talk about how Mircea is around 500, and how he's only a century older than Tony. So...I'm very curious about that one haha. I can't believe I never caught that before. Or must have forgotten.
But as to my love, Mircea, he's a dad. He's GOING to be protective of the people he loves. He's a DAD. It's just who he is. I know that unless we read the Dory books and know about her we don't KNOW that, but still. He's a dad. ALSO, He turned his servant because he didn't want to lose him either, even though the man is ancient and I think blind?? Or close to it?? I don't remember at the moment haha. But he does get this terrible rap for being sneaky and manipulative and I just want to waves my arms and put a sign over Marlowe because HE is Lord Sneaky. He is King of the Sneaks. And we love him for it. Mircea hides a daughter he's not supposed to have, that people would kill if they knew about her, and people wonder why he's so protective of Cassie who has a KNACK for getting herself in tons of trouble. Even Pritkin knows it. And comments on it.
And on the subject of Pritkin!!!!! He had NORMAL HAIR in TtD!!!! It was close cropped!!!! I think my jaw dropped when I read that. I'm so used to his angry War Mage hair that his hair not being long was astounding.
Aileen wrote: "@Zoltan, in TtD KC says Tony was turned in 1513!!!! It's said right after Cassie gets to the Senate and is talking about Rafe and how she knows him and his background, and then she sees Tony in the..."Ooh, amazing catch! :O That's so strange! Maybe someone could ask KC about it? Mircea turned in 1447, and IF Tony is the first vamp he made (he may have turned Horatiu, or Radu or Vlad before that, as they would've been dead if he didn't store all of them in a snare) then that would mean Tony reached master status in 7 years, while it took Mircea 66? Hm... could Mircea have 'pushed' Tony like Cleo pushed Marlowe into masterhood (masterdom? masterness?)?
As to your love, Mircea, you make great points :D In TtD I didn't know if he was going to be a cliché vamp, a temporary interest like Tomas, or an interesting character of his own, but totally adored his character after I read the Dory books. It was indeed telling that Mircea seemed flushed that he couldn't let his old tutor go and instead made him a vampire despite the odds, and his uselessness. And that he tolerates 'failures' like Marco, Jules and the gang, despite the mistakes they made. I think he definitely has his flaws, he's a control freak, has a 'protector complex' and he wears masks and utilizes manipulation constantly, so I don't know where his storyline will end, but I also find him super interesting.
PS.: love your 'Lord Sneaky, the King of the Sneaks' comment :'D Marlowe ftw!
Zoltan wrote: "Aileen wrote: "@Zoltan, in TtD KC says Tony was turned in 1513!!!! It's said right after Cassie gets to the Senate and is talking about Rafe and how she knows him and his background, and then she s..."I hadn't realized how much I had forgotten until I started this reread. I completely forgot about the pixie (who's name I can't remember...) showing up in TtD and knowing Cassie even though she doesn't know her.
I love Mircea haha. So I pay more attention to him than some of the others. I didn't know how he was going to turn out and it still upsets me, years later, that Tomas ended up being a traitor and that I liked him in the first couple books and wanted him and Cassie together.
But yes!! Mircea and Marlowe will ALWAYS be in cahoots in my mind, no matter what. But Marlowe is the spy, Mircea is the negotiator, Marlowe gets to be Lord Sneaky. But yeah, Mircea never having a master makes him different from the get go. And having to hide Dory until he had the power not only to "fix" her mind, but also to stand up to anyone who wanted to kill her obviously took a toll on him, but also seems to have made him more willing to overlook mistakes. I know he has flaws, but I think that Cassie went so long not trusting those around her that even when things are right in front of her face, Mircea and Pritkin (I hate to admit lol), she overlooks it, and ADMITS she blocks it out or ignores it!! It's also that I think I forget how LITTLE time passes in each book, mainly because of all the time travel. And while it feels like this war and whatnot goes on for a couple years, I think it had only been two months by the time HtM happens?? I think TtD only takes place over a week?? Tops??
I would read books and books just about Marlowe and Mircea getting up to stuff forever. Those two are incredible and hilarious and I love them together.
But also, back to TtD...it could be that Tony went back in time as his older, more powerful self and turned Rafe lol. Rasputin and co were having fun time traveling all over in TtD. I mean I don't TRULY think that's what happened, but it could always be possible.
'K the questions:-Is this the first time you're re-reading the book?
Nooo, I'm actually not sure how many times I've read it
-Do you remember your feelings when you read it the first time? Were you blown away or was it an okay read but made you curious enough to continue with the series?
Definitely curious enough to continue with the series, but gotta admit finding the associated Dory books .... that hooked me onto KC with Cassie being more 'filler' for me
-How do you think your current knowledge will influence your feelings about the book? Not too much - still not overly enamoured with Pritkin
- Is there anything that caught your attention that you didn't "see" the first time you read the book?
I'm constantly looking for Easter Eggs now - like Billy saying Cassie gives him a better, stronger 'hit' when he feeds. Also noted that Jimmy shouldn't exist as a Sayter being a magical creature shouldn't be able to take the Were virus - so musing perhaps the dark circle experiments have being going on longer than we think and he was part of it - could also hint to an answer of why a were would 'toadie' to Tony as per Cassie's question.
I'm also surprised at Mircea allowing Tomas to grab him and he teased him plus shared a feeding with Rafe which is supposed to by hyper intimate - he seems ... less powerful/scary in this book than the others, KC mentioned that he's really so powerful as it is him _and_ Radu yet at this point it was 'just' him as Radu hadn't been saved.
Oh one other thing caught my attention- a Royal Fey was caught in the crossfire of senator assignations - wonder if that might come up later as they aren't known for forgiveness or short memory
Karen wrote: "'K the questions:-Is this the first time you're re-reading the book?
Nooo, I'm actually not sure how many times I've read it
-Do you remember your feelings when you read it the first time? Were ..."
Oh my gosh!!! I love that you caught that whole thing about the dark mages experiments. I have wondered about those as well, but since they take place so much more in the Dory books I never thought about it affecting anything in the Cassie books.
Super happy that I'm not the only one not overly enamored with Pritkin. Glad I'm not alone.
I agree that Mircea seems way more relaxed in this book than in later books, but I think that is partly because things hadn't gotten nearly as bad as they do shortly, also because I think that his feelings for Cassie are much more subdued during this one.
Also, I can't remember but I just reread about Louis-Cesar knowing the name of the Dark Mage that Cassie possessed, Jonathan, and was it ever said HOW he knew who he was?? Do they talk about it in the Dory books or later on?? I really cannot remember.
Aileen wrote: "Also, I can't remember but I just reread about Louis-Cesar knowing the name of the Dark Mage that Cassie possessed, Jonathan, and was it ever said HOW he knew who he was?? Do they talk about it in ..."I feel like Dory talks about Jonathan quite a bit. Maybe I should give those a relisten too. (The lady who does the audio books sounds like my MIL though so it bugs me.) He doesn't come up in the Cassie books though.
Mod
Mircea seems so much fun and playful than later on. Not just during sexytimes with Cassie, but all-round. I like the more relaxed part of him. As most of you know I'm on team Pritkin, so I hate to admit that I really like Mircea in TtD. I like that he's frank with Cassie. AND have we overlooked, that the scene in the theater (can't remember if it's book 2 or 3) when Cassie loses her shoe and the Geis goes into effect, may not be the first time that it activates? When Mircea feeds on Cassie and she has some sort of flashback to sitting in Mirceas lap - it says that Mircea gets a weird look on his face - is it possible that she in a splitsecond actually travelled back in time, and having the geis on her - activates Mirceas. Hence the weird expression. And because they don't interact again until that day at MAGIC, the geis lays dormant in both of them. It also explains Mirceas reaction to her when he tries to seduce her.
(I really can't remember if we've discussed this before - if so, sorry for repeating my ramblings)^^
As for Pritkins hair; it's a really interesting observation! I always pictured him with blond spikey hair. So I can't imagine it being too tightly cropped or too long to stand up too far. It just seems wrong to me if his hair stands up more than 4-5 cm. *shudders at mental image of ghastly teenage hair fixed within an inch of it life with hairgel*
Okay wow, I completely forgot that Jonathan appears/gets talked about in the Dory books! I need to re-read them soon.
Okay, can we bring up the whole part where Pritkin TRULY tries to KILL Cassie in this book?????? Legitimately tries, and it takes Tomas, Louis-Cesar, Cassie AND Mircea to stop him, because he's do determined. Also, I totally found an Easter egg I'd never noticed before. Tomas says that Alejandro has something over Louis-Cesar and is using it to control him. And he was RIGHT!!! Go KC, sneaking stuff in once again.
She also foreshadowed Tomas being a betrayer and rereading after KNOWING what Tomas will do, I see him in such a different way and while I have empathize with his issues with being under Louis-Cesar's control, he shouldn't have been so naive and stupid enough to think Rasputin and Myra wouldn't double cross him. For someone so old, he's a bit single minded, and I'm so glad Cassie leaves him later on. He deserves it.
I ALSO FOUND THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF MIRCEAS FOOT FETISH. I don't know WHY I got so excited about this, but I did. After the scene where he demonstrates feeding for Pritkin and Pritkin tries to you know, KILL CASSIE, Mircea starts massaging her feet lol.
I love Mircea being silly and making bad jokes in this book. Especially where Pritkin is concerned. I doubly love how he switches between Cassandra, Cassie, and Dulceata for Cassie, depending on what's going on. I also love that while some might blame the geis for his feelings (I'm looking at you Cassie.......) you can actually SEE when he seems to realize that Cassie has not only grown up, but is someone he has serious feelings for. I know that she was 11 when they met. And that he's not a creep who had feelings for her. That's just not Mircea. But she isn't 11 anymore and he hasn't actually SEEN her since she's grown up and become a young woman. But anyway, I always thought that when Mircea gave her that look it wasn't the geis, or at least not only the geis. I always thought that it was Mircea seeing Cassie as she is now and not the child she used to be. Not long after he even says he sees her as a young woman now.
And can we discuss Cassie for a second?? Mircea says over and over in the first book that he won't lie to her, and tells her why he wants to use her power. Not HER specifically, JUST her power. For one thing. For Radu. And one minute she's all "yes. He's never lied and I can trust him" and the next it's all "I can't trust anybody not to lie to me" and it drives me crazy. He straight up tells her when he found out about her parents and everything else and when he found her after she left Tony's and how he tried to warn her about the assassins. And even is willing (though obviously not happy about) to let her make her choice in who she wants to complete the Pythian ritual with. Even though he clearly wants to be the one to do so, he would never force her (and I'm not saying Pritkin would, The Consul, however....) He even sends Tomas to her because he didn't think at first she would feel comfortable with him because of her childhood crush. Even though, under vamp law, he is her property. So yeah. Cassie frustrates me because I understand that she doesn't want to be Pythia whatsoever. I get it. But Mircea does everything he can to make her okay with everything that's happening, even throwing in a bargain of answering questions even though they both know The Consul could and would force the issue if she had too. And PRITKIN. TRIES. TO. KILL. HER. And TOMAS. BETRAYS. HER. yet........she can't trust Mircea. Yes. Okay, Cassie. You can't trust the guy who will later save your life repeatedly and has not pushed you off a cliff (*side eyes Pritkin*)
AND NOT ONLY THAT, he even says that he has always known that if she becomes Pythia she won't be under anyone's control, not his, not the Consul, not the Circles. And not only that, he even says he might prefer if she wasn't Pythia. Not because he wants to control her. But because he knows the danger and responsibility and what she will be facing and doesn't want her to DIE.
Mod
LC's and Jonathan's past is described in Midnight's Daughter, Death's Mistress, and he makes a reappearance in Fury's Kiss too (perhaps even in Zombie's Bite? He certainly is a persistent negative presence in the Dory books).About Pritkin and his hair, I thought it always funny that KC used hair as a symbol for personality/emotion. We get a lot of angry hair from Pritkin, all disheveled defying gravity; we get bubbly messy hair from Cassie; slick and smooth from Mircea ... unruly from Marlowe... don't know am I reading too much into this? Lol. Maybe his hair starts out seeming normal to mislead us and then later turns out it's actually nonconformist and so is he? :D
@Cameo: Yeah, I also think that the geis 'woke up' when Cassie had that flashback. I interpreted is as just her thoughts shifting from 'he's been real nice to me earlier and I liked it' to 'he's real hot right now and I want it.' It was said that the geis needs emotions to start because it doesn't create them, so that was probably when its effects kicked in. Mircea even says something about never having considered Cassie sexually before she expressed her lust for him - maybe that's what the strange look was about? What's also interesting (and confusing!) is whether the geis was single or double in TtD? I mean according to the basic timeline, it was simple and removable, but the Consul says that the geis was doubled and went dormant centuries before Cassie and Mircea met in the present ... this just goes back to the discussion of how timelines and changing time works, which gives me a headache xD
@Aileen: I think a lot of mistrust towards Mircea comes from the unknown. He's a vamp master, he doesn't share his thoughts, his plans, anything really. Cassie expects there to be a selfish reason for helping her, and sure enough, he tells her about his mad brother (not that protecting others and working to save them is a selfish thing - I mean as in not altruistic just for Cassie's sake). But I agree that it's weird that sometimes characters get a pass for worse attempts (Pritkin trying to kill her, or trying to deliver her to the Circle which is the same thing, or lying to her about the Codex in the next books while he's still trying to maneuver the 'proper' Myra onto the throne and not Cassie.) That changes of course, and it's great to read, but for some reason Mircea often seems like this cold dark manipulator, and that might be because he's hard to read so it's easier to jump to conclusions than with someone who wears their heart on their sleeve? And don't get me started on Cassie freaking out about Mircea having 'a mistress' with no evidence for it, but making out with Pritkin in the meantime, lol. Anyway, that comes in later books - but I agree that her rationale is sometimes hard to follow logically.
Mod
Well of Cleo said it was doubled then that point has got to be the moment Cassie accidentally did it.
LOL I like your hair theory too! It's either that, or KC just needed different ways to describe hair.
Cassie doubled the geis in CbS (1799?, 1800's, I'm foggy on dates), so technically she laid the first geis on Mircea. He laid the second strand on himself when she was 11. When they meet in TtD the geis has already been doubled on Mircea, we just don't know it yet. At least that's true if we proscribe to a linear model of time. If not, I'm going to need a calculator, a whiteboard, and more coffee.
Mod
My head hurts.
No, she doubled it in the theater. They both had it during the feeding so it didn't need to complete itself. Theater Mircea didn't have it yet so that's why it jumped.Must say, I love all the future story set up in this book. There are story bit that we don't see payoff from until 2 books later like Radella (sp?). KC is a mastermind to keep all these little story bits straight.
So...is it doubled in TtD or no?? Because that takes place in CASSIE'S future, but it's Mircea's past so...is it like LC and Francoise/Radu?? Where until Cassie goes back in HER lifetime nothing has changed?? OR...if you think about it as already being doubled in TtD...Mircea having feelings for Cassie so suddenly in this book would make sense. Because she would look the same (except for obviously the outfit.....) as she did when they met at the theatre later on in HER future. AND following that train of thought, it's possible that Mircea had a better idea than most that Cassie would become Pythia after meeting her at Tony's because she would look at least similar to the woman he met at the theatre way back when. OH OH!!! IDEA!!! What if...if for Mircea in TtD Cassie has already gone back in time and doubled the geis and met him...then when he gives her that LOOK after he fed off her to demonstrate to Pritkin...what if he was REMEMBERING the woman from the theatre, figured out it was Cassie (because he felt his own power maybe?? Or it had been a REALLY long time and it took him a bit to remember exactly what she looked like) and realized she would become Pythia, but he wouldn't know EXACTLY when, but would know it had to be soon because the power was already starting to pass to her in TtD when he was seducing her.
My brain hurts a little. Oh my god this timeline stuff....
Mod
But MUCHOS RESPECTOS to KC for keeping track of it all!
Yeah, I think his surprise/confusion is definitely geis-related. Whether the geis was 10 years old for him (original timeline) or hundreds of years (if we assume the past-Mircea-doubling from CbS affected TtD-Mircea) that was the first time he felt its effects.Cassie says in the feeding scene that he looks like he's seeing her for the first time, so that suggests that rather than recognizing her, it was something new and strange. Which could be the strange longing that the geis would have flared up in him - as he tells Cassie later, he never thought she'd look at him as anything other than 'uncle Mircea' so the sudden desire they both feel after the feeding probably caught them both off guard.
Also, as I was rereading, I came across this: "Mircea inclined his head and sprawled elegantly back onto the couch, pausing to remove his suit jacket and toss it over the coffee table. He also loosened the top fastening of his high-collared shirt, as if the room had suddenly grown too warm." Which may be because 1) he feels the desire echo into him after the geis flares up because Cassie starts to lust after him when they touch (even more so if the geis counts as doubled already because that would mean he has centuries of pent-up geis power while Cassie only has a decade) or 2) after his initial shock at Cassie lusting after him, he chooses to go with it and starts to get his seduction game going by stripping a little for her benefit - she looks at him admiringly after, so it was probably not misplaced.
Anyway :D I think that's it for the geis, at least from what I interpreted from the scene. I agree with Aileen that Mircea must have known Cassie would be Pythia, because they kept meeting in the past and Cassie has hinted that they'd meet in the future and they'd be intimate... so Mircea probably knew he'd eventually meet a Pythia that was into him - as Marlowe tells us in TtS, he's been trying for audiences with every Pythia since forever pretty much. That would also explain why he spent so much time at Tony's (what Marlowe doesn't understand) which makes sense if we presume that Mircea from the theatre figured out Cassie is a Pythia and then he recognized her when he went to Tony's.
Just finished the book yesterday. It was actually the only audio book that I didn't own outright, I'd always borrowed it from a friend before, and as such it is my least listened of the Cassie series. Here are my overall impressions along with some reflection after having all available source material in the universe:
Now, I'm not going to say I hate the book, because I don't hate anything about this series and it obviously hooked me in enough to keep reading, but it is my least favorite. The characters aren't as fleshed out in TtD as they in later books. Several really fun characters are missing and others that I wasn't overly found of (and not in a "I love to hate" sort of way) see a lot of screen time. For me, the series really picked up momentum in book 2, that's when I couldn't put it down and by book 3 I was in love. When I recommend the series to friends I sometimes warn them that book one gets a little slow but to push through to book 2. Or sometimes even skip to book 2 and come back and read book 1 after. Normally I'm OCD and believe in doing things in the proper order but I had to do the same thing with Battlestar Galactica's miniseries. That thing was BORING without preknowledge of the show. But watch a couple episodes, get hooked, and then the miniseries was fascinating. Plus in a book about time travel, a little out of order reading is nbd. I wouldn't do that with the later books, but the first is fine.
The Knife Bracelet
The knife bracelet is a possible plot hole that has been bothering me for a couple books. It decides to join Cassie after she beats the dark mage in combat. Try as she might, she cannot get rid of it. She uses in this book when attacked a couple times. She uses it again in EtN when fighting Myra and when destroying the wine bottle, possibly more. I cannot remember if she used it in HtM to go after The Morrigan or when the mage suffocated her against the wall during the other attack in the suite, but I want to say she didn't. I know she hasn't used it in the two books since. During my re-read I'm going to take note when she uses the bracelet and when she stops, because it's been bugging me for a while. I know Cassie didn't like it, but there have been times where she should have used it to get her ass out of the fire and she didn't. Part of me wonders if KC forgot about this trinket? With all the plot balls she has in the air between the two series, that wouldn't be too hard. If they have abandoned Cassie, another possibility, you'd think that would have been a fairly large plot point. Same if she finally found a way to rid herself of them. Maybe I missed something.
The first Cassandra
The story of the Cassandra of mythology is told during this book, I didn't remember that either. She refused to be wooed by Apollo so he cursed her to only see tragedy, always see the truth, yet no one believed her. She was also free from the the influence of everyone else of the era though. Our Cassie shares quite a few qualities with Cassandra of myth. so much so that it makes you think her mother saw something to give her that namesake. She sees the bad, never the good and people don't follow her guidance like maybe they should. Hopefully this also means that she will eventually remove herself from the influence of the senate and circle. Cassie does seem to be moving in that direction at least. Either way, that was a clever bit of foreshadowing right out in the open there that I never noticed.
The Tears of Apollo
Huh, first mention right there in the first book. Nice set up there KC! You are one clever woman! Cassie splashes herself instead of drinks it though, that's strange. Maybe she used them wrong and actually didn't need them for the time trip, she just thought she did. Mind over matter. The potential waste makes me cry a little for future Cassie/Pritkin though.
Little black boxes
Those are going to be fun! I love the Graea and wish we saw more of them lately.
OK, I have to head to the gym this morning so I'm going to post what I have here so I don't lose it. I still have the analysis of the men of Cassie's life left. Wow did my attitudes on them change between book 1 and 7!
Analysis Part 2Future event set up
I admire how bold KC was in setting up some future events in this book. She has some stuff that doesn't see payoff until 2 books later and other events that are taking even longer. The specific events that I'm thinking of are the pixie and witch (my spelling sucks, but you should know who I mean). Their addition into this book seems so random until you get to CbS. I remember having to go back and reread parts of TtD to refresh myself on the original version of the scene. It really makes me admire KC as an author all the more.
Agnes and the Power
The old phrase, "no one who wants power should ever wield it," so true with the Pythian power. The initiates who want the power so badly are so very unworthy of it. They want it for their own gain, not to do the job properly. Cassie, on the other hand, does not want the power or the responsibility which makes her the best choice. For the most part she uses it like it should be used, not for her own gain. Even later in her quest for Pritkin, we find out that her search is not 100% selfish, she is searching for a tool to use to fight Ares at the same time. Agnes cracks me up, I wish we have seen more of her. One piece that bugged me here is she said that she brought Cassie's obit "forward." Um, yeah, no. She had to bring that back in time not forward. But semantics I suppose. Agnes has good advice for Cassie, and she would do well to remember it. It's interesting how she's none too fond of the circle considering who her lover and father of her child is. There was more animosity and more going on behind the scenes there than we realize. All the more reason for Cassie to break away from all groups and be the faction free Pythia the supernatural community deserves.
Finally two main men in Cassie's life. I'll start with my least favorite and end with my favorite.
Mircea
So admittedly my memory of my original reading of book 1 is a little foggy. I originally read it before my kid was born (pre 2011, want to say I read them in 2009/10) and a LOT of life has happened since then. But I do want to say I was "team Mircea" at first. He was sweet, sexy, and wanted to keep Cassie safe. It wasn't until later that I saw just how manipulative and controlling he could be. Cassie never asked him for protection because, as he admits, he can't protect her unless he keeps her close. She knows that to be close means to be under his thumb constantly. she doesn't want to sacrifice her freedom for security. This is a theme which comes up again and again in the books. Mircea tells Cassie to stay in the suite and let the others do the dangerous work so that she can stay safe. Cassie says that her job is inherently dangerous and she can't be kept safe all the time. They argue, she sort of agrees to play it safe, he leaves, she does what she needs to do anyway, they argue again. Rinse, repeat. They have a big conversation about her safety and being close at the end of TtD and Cassie says she won't live her life like that. She knows her life would just be a life in a gilded cage. Right now in book 7, with her constant fights with Mircea about this same issue, I wish she'd remember her earlier feelings and actually act on it. But that may be my Mircea dislike showing.
Mircea does care about Cassie on some level, but I don't think it's strong enduring love. He was prepared to indulge her when he was the more powerful one in the relationship. When the tables are turned he is not so happy. I don't think he's capable of loving someone as a partner, as an equal. He loves his daughter and his family, but that's a different type of love. He cares for the Consul and some of the other Senators, but that's not the same type of love that Cassie deserves. He is used to being in charge and giving orders. The problem is he doesn't get to give the Pythia orders, and he keeps "forgetting" that and he hopes that Cassie does the same. He constantly underestimates her intelligence and that, more than anything, pisses me the hell off.
Don't even get me started on his manipulation and playing the long game with the geas. I'm still curious what else he wants with Pythias. It's not just saving Radu.
Pritkin
My favorite character aside from Cassie. There is so much more to Pritkin than meets the eye. Actually I don't remember feeling much toward him one way or another during my original read through. He seemed like a character added just to show that Circle mages were dicks. It wasn't until book 3 that I fell in love with the surly mage. But I have a thing for broken people, so there's that.
It was interesting that Pritkin went from attacker to protector and back several times. Cassie obviously baffles him and I get the impression that little else does. For the man who literally wrote the book on magic to be confused about a magical person must be very disconcerning. He was a serious ass to everyone in TtD. But to his credit, once he realized that Cassie was neither demonkind nor a threat, he did protect her with his life. Hell, he did that even before he knew in a few cases. He mentions bringing Cassie to the Pythian court instead of just to the Circle. I like to think he would have delivered her to the Pythia rather than to the circle for the death squad. Knowing the man's morals now, I believe he would have done exactly that for both Cassie and Myra.
My favorite Pritkin line was actually said by Cassie, "I'm as human as you are." It's true, more or less, but neither of them realize the extent of it a the time. We the reader won't realize it for 4 more books either. Cassie and Pritkin banter is usually my favorite part of KC books. Cassie and Billy banter coming in as a close second. I do love some dry wit and sarcasm.
Ok, that is enough analysis for book one, one to read/listen to book two while I get some sewing done! Thanks for hosting this and encouraging me to give the book I typically skip a re-listen!
Dajuan wrote: "Analysis Part 2Future event set up
I admire how bold KC was in setting up some future events in this book. She has some stuff that doesn't see payoff until 2 books later and other events that are ..."
Thanks for posting all of this!
I had the exact same impression of Mircea and Pritkin at the beginning. I used to think Mircea was the best match for Cassie until HtM. Then I re-read the books and literally fell in love with Pritkin at the end of Cbs.
I also often skip TtD because CbS is when the series really takes off and we get to see more of the world (not just the inside of MAGIC and a bit of Dante's).
As for the bracelet, I know that Cassie refuses to use it against the mages that hunt her until the end of CtD, because they can be deadly. I will also pay attention to when she uses them because you may be right that it's an unintended plot hole and a weapon Cassie just doesn't use in fights.
However, I know she was unable to use it HtM when she was possessed by the Morrigan the first time, and she wasn't able to use it in the second fight with it because she did not want to kill whats-his-name-Dryden? Something? The mage that the Morrigan possessed. Then, the guy kisses Cassie's hand and thanks her for not using the bracelet because he knew what it was and he knew it would kill him.
In TtS, the bracelet would have been useless against the Allu, so I don't remember if she tried to use it, and don't remember that she used it in RtW.
Wow, that's some serious analysis, lol! And yeah, you're right about the bracelet, it shows up in HtM and then never again I think... I wonder maybe that was the item that KC missed from her answer during the Read for Pixels event recently? There was a question about magical items and all of us were listing something that she apparently forgot about... good chance it was the dagger bracelet, based on this! :DAbout the fey and the witch, I think it's great that KC links her stories together. We learn some info about the Black Circle, about smuggling magical people, about Faerie (sp?) which all play a role in future books and in the Dorina series too, and it's nice to see connections like that!
As for Mircea, there sure will be a lot to talk about during the next book's reread with all the geis stuff happening! But really, it was just a protection spell, that kept sexual advances away from a child at Tony's court and on the street. It also had no romantic or any other effect, and was supposed to break as soon as Cassie became Pythia (which she screwed up by doubling it accidentally in the past so it wouldn't break, but anyway), so I don't see the geis as particularly deplorable. Re: Pythias, most discussions around here suggested that he probably wants to either save his tortured wife from death (as he saved his brother) or to help Dorina in some way (like helping to keep her alive in the past). We shall see, but with Mircea's family fixation, it's gotta be family-related right, and there aren't that many contenders in his family.
About Pritkin, we're kinda the opposite in that I found him quite intersting and enjoyable to read about in the early 5 books, but then the sappy soulmate-esqe romance ruined him (and partially Cassie) for me, so it's kinda related to the genre discussion (romance vs non-romance) in the other thread. The early books start out with nonconventional 'relationships' (Tomas, Mircea) which made the series stand out to for me from the sea of predictable paranormal romances. For the record, while I find Mircea's character to be the most complex, and most interesting personally, I don't think they make a great couple, and I wouldn't have had any issues with Cassie choosing to stay only allies instead of choosing to date him in CtD. I also wouldn't have had any issues with Cassie turning out to be not interested or not having time for relationships and ending up a strong independent woman. I also wouldn't have had any issues if Cassie considered sex to be a fun, noncommital pastime and had hot sex with several hot people in the books... but then romance came into it... let's just say that arc reeaallly wasn't my cup of tea.
And while Cassie does end up discovering a potential weapon, I think that's the deus ex machina of the Pythian power rather than conscious planning on her part, which was largely motivated by her love/lust/friendship for Pritkin as her internal planning suggests. So it boils down to preferences I think, many people said in the other thread they do want a good ol' romance in all their books, while others I suppose find HEAs somewhat tiring, so opinions on the changes throughout the books will vary!
Bracelet replies for now more in a bit, still working on putting together costumes for people.Scarlet wrote: Then, the guy kisses Cassie's hand and thanks her for not using the bracelet because he knew what it was and he knew it would kill him.
I had completely forgotten about this! Thank you for the reminder!! We did not see the bracelet in either TtS or RtW. It could have been useful against the Allu after Cassie figures out their control gem trick.
Zoltan wrote: "Wow, that's some serious analysis, lol! And yeah, you're right about the bracelet, it shows up in HtM and then never again I think... I wonder maybe that was the item that KC missed from her answer..."
I think you're right about the Pixels thing. I was there too (did not win anything sad, sad) and remember thinking that the bracelet must have been the item that she'd forgotten. Makes you wonder if it will see an appearance in the hopeful book 9.
I just finished the Knight Armor battle at Dante's in CbS and Cassie has used the knives against the wine bottle and against the suits of armor so far. So early series she uses it fairly regularly.
Dajuan wrote: "So early series she uses it fairly regularly."I may have phrased it poorly! I meant that she used it in HtM for the last time and then never again. At least that's what I got from searching for it in TtS and RtW. We shall see what happened to them when the reread gets there I guess!
As for the analysis, I'm a bored academic who doesn't get an opportunity to use her skills anymore. Plus I took a lot of notes on my tablet as I listened. It helped me see a lot of connections that I missed before. That alone made me very thankful I found you guys. You encourage me to think about the series even more critically! Also, now that I realize that KC has a PhD in history, I think, her attention to detail and historical figures makes a ton more sense.Oh man, I just realized I messed up CbS and EtN and it won't let me edit. That's the reason I refer to them in book number most of the time. I get the first 3 book titles mixed up. Also please excuse random typos in there. Yikes! I need to proof read better! My writing skills are rusty. I blame it on being a math major most of the last part of my academic career (no papers).
Oh! I just realized that Mircea is losing face because of Cassie and that's why he's pissed at her all the time. He can't "control his servant" and is getting seven kinds of hell from the Consul. Cassie really needs to set them all straight and cut him loose. I would agree he probably wants a Pythia for a family matter. But I just can't decide what matter. He seems to have accepted both Vlad's and his wife's fates. Maybe Dory? But then that would negate all of the growth she's made and surely he wouldn't want that? But then Mircea has a huge daddy/savior complex so maybe not. Still, I feel like we're missing something with his Pythia search. We probably are to be honest.
The geis was more than just a protection spell, it was designed to promote devotion in both parties (I'm just getting to that part in CbS now). Cassanova said that it amplifies existing emotions, it puts them on the path to obsession. Huh, duthracht is an Irish word for devotion (KC the more I research your work the more I admire you!). I would call that more than just protection.
As for the Pritkin chase, Cassie believes she is motivated by refusing to let go of a friend who, in her opinion, needlessly sacrificed himself for her. And she is in part. She has lost so many people in her life that when she sees a way that's within her power to save one, she jumps at it. I think she is ever so slowly coming to realize that her feelings go deeper than that, but the complication named Mircea is slowing that realization down. I don't think we will see this go the traditional romance path. Or at least no predictable path. KC is too sneaky for that.
While I don't need a HEA per se, I do want to see the characters happy by the end of the series, whatever that means for them. One thing that loses me a bit with the Harry Dresden books is the author puts his character through absolute hell. Which is fine, it's good story telling. But he also never lets poor Harry batch a damn break! Even the most beat down and depressed people need that glimmer of hope, of happiness to keep going or what's the point? I honestly don't know how Harry chooses to go on. I get emotionally invested in these characters so I would like them to find their happy, no matter what that means, even if it's not the happy I would have chosen for them.
Dajuan wrote: "Also, now that I realize that KC has a PhD in history, I think, her attention to detail and historical figures makes a ton more sense." Did you read her history blog posts about Masks back when it was scheduled to come out? I found them quite delightful, she really put a lot of research into it that truly got a chance to shine in that book. She probably doesn't have time to write about every historical stuff she includes in her books - a lot - but it was great to read the few info posts that she had time and motivation to write!"But then Mircea has a huge daddy/savior complex so maybe not." Haha, totally, savior complex is what frequently comes up when I ponder what his motivations could be... which is why I'm fairly convinced his scheming isn't personally motivated as the Consul thinks, but trying to help someone he feels he's responsible for. Also, the stress Mircea is under is more obvious in the Dory books, as so many lives hinge on their success. Pritkin has never had anybody entrusted to him, and wasn't raised to do so nor lived centuries doing so, and didn't have to live with the pressure of failing so many people and knowing what terrible things happen when he does. I'm not saying it's a healthy obsession to have, but this is Mircea's major character obsession, the same way to Pritkin's self-loathing (due to a fear of losing control, which is the consequence of his own traumas). It's interesting to see how Mircea's past translates into trying to keep people safe in both the Cassie and Dory books, and there's definitely some character growth there to see how he can deal with not being in control and accepting that losing people can happen despite all one's efforts so he should learn to shelf his protector complex. But it's hard to show a character grow that has only one or two scenes per book. Anyway, we shall see :D
About the geis, I didn't want to go into detail too much, because it really only unfolds over the next two books not TtD. But we learn that most of Cassie's initial thoughts and impressions about the geis are just plain wrong. The Consul confirms that the geis is dormant without the other party, and as you said it reacts to emotion, not creates them. So until Cassie started lusting after Mircea, it didn't have any effect. Tomas also confirms that Mircea wouldn't need a spell to control Cassie and points out that it was supposed to break the moment she became Pythia. Plus, as Casanova points out, it's a two-way street. So in the end, Cassie suddenly understands why it seemed weird to her that Mircea wanted to control or bespell or force devotion out of her, especially when it affected him too - it seemed weird because he didn't. And if he could have taken her to his court in Washington, the protection would have been unnecessary in the first place.
"As for the Pritkin chase, Cassie believes she is motivated by refusing to let go of a friend who, in her opinion, needlessly sacrificed himself for her." Yeah, she's in serious self-denial, lol. But still, she feels it's ok to risk the Pythia who everybody needs (her life that Pritkin sacrificed himself for) and walk into hell and leave her court behind and put the war effort on hold, and just go on past-time-walks while crazy acolytes are wreaking havoc for saving a guy. That's pretty telling, despite her denial.
So I think everybody predicted that Cassie and Pritkin will fall in love because they are so perfect together, and that they will have sex (they almost did on several occasions, it's bound to happen). So you can practically hear the wedding bells with this guy who the heroine 'redeems' and turns him into an unconditional follower that ends up fitting her perfectly and bickering like old married couples. That's what I ment by traditional and predictable. I don't think it's wrong on principle, it just simply isn't what one would have expected considering Cassie's quite non-romantic vibes in the early books. Of course, KC may surprise us and not have them get together, but I think that's definitely the obvious persistent progress that we've been seeing for the past three books now.
Haven't read the Harry Dresden series, but it sounds interesting, I'll check them out, thanks! :D
Speaking of forgotten items, did Cassie took off the lizard-ward?I remember that she still had it at the end of CbS, but I do not remember seeing after that.
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Dujuan and Zoltan you two are on fire! Holy hell all that info is making my head twirl a little bit. (My memory sucks - so I'm horrible at recollecting stories and events).
And Zoltan do check out the Dresden Files - it's an epic series, the last book had me screaming in frustration over the long wait for the next book to come out.
Cassie still has the lizard according to a Q&A, it just hasn't made an appearance. She actually got that ward after her trip to Fairy in book 2. She got it in the final battle with Myra, Vlad, and the senate vampires IIRC. Billy threw all the wards up to distract everyone and the lizard was the only one to stick with Cassie. (Sheba, the tiger, I think she lost at the end of her trip to Fairy, but I could be off on that.) We don't know what kind of ward the lizard was so we have no idea when it would be appropriate for it to pop up. Oooo, that does give me something to look for in book 2 though. If the type of lizard is mentioned it might give a hint to its purpose. Lizard is such a catchall that it could literally do anything from regrowing a limb, camouflage, making touching/biting her poisonous, making her bite venomous, generic sense enhancement, the possibilities are endless. Pretty sure Pritkin still has his sword tattoo too. KC mentioned somewhere (Q&A or Pixels maybe?) that it's really only useful in Fairy so that's why we haven't seen it on screen, so to speak, yet.
The Dresden Files is a really good series. Jim Butcher, the author, is as bad as KC with time between books though. You easily wait 2-3 years between each one and he occasionally likes to leave you hanging. At least he has the last few books. That said, they are worth the wait and I want to say there are 12-ish books out now? Possibly more? I started that series in the early 2000's so it's been around for a while, it has staying power. Unfortunately the author seems to be more interested in him other series lately even though Dresden is what put him on the map. The other series is a snoozer IMHO. Too high brow, LotR fantasy for my liking. But, I might be cranky because I'm out of new books to read again. The curse of a fast reader.
Zoltan, you keep me on my toes! I guess I don't see the Cassie/Pritkin arc as completely predictable. Or it wasn't from the start. It was totally Mircea that was the love interest for me at first. Pritkin came out of nowhere. Part of me wonders if we had less wait time between books to analyze the shit out of everything if we would have noticed all the subtle byplay between them? Personally, if RtS had come out last year I would have never found this group and really started looking at this quite so deeply. So maybe it would have been quite as obvious. Now, I'm not trying to criticize KC. I have the utmost respect for her and understand shit happens professionally and personally that screws up even the best of plans. But I know the early Cassie-verse reveals hit me like a truck because they happened so fast that I didn't see them coming. Both Pritkin's and Cassie's parentages were complete shocks but looking back the hints were all over the place. Same with Rhea's.
We're going to have to agree to disagree on the geis. We are obviously in different camps on Mircea ;)
Too much Cameo? Thank you/i'm sorry? Lol. I listen to the audio books often while I sew. It gives me something to occupy my mind while doing semi repetitive tasks. I've been through all the Cassie books numerous times over the past 3-4 years.
12-ish books? Holy hell. That's nice though, maybe I won't run out of them too fast to start pining for when the next book comes out, lol!And yeah, only her lizard tattoo remains at the end of CbS, and yeah, it sure seems like a lot of items fade out from the books! Too bad, I thought the wards had potential. I liked that KC incorporated Cassie's pentagram tattoo into the storyline though, instead of just skipping it; that one was always such an identifying feature about her in the early books!
What I really liked about the early series is that Cassie straight up says she has no illusions about her relationship lasting, she just wants to enjoy herself. Which made me go "Ooh, not a romance, that's great!" And we had Tomas initially, then suddenly Mircea out of the blue, then a spell, then Tomas again, then Mircea again who was also not going to be a perfect match - it was a challenge and it was nonconventional and had a lot of promise. So I don't mean to hate on romances (I do read some PNR myself) I just prefer to know what I'm getting and the early books didn't sign us up for that at all, indeed seemed to work against conventional expectations rather than towards them.
As for the geis, I guess we could be considered 'on fire' (lol, Cameo :D). But I must confess that I almost know the page-numbers of all geis-related quotes by heart. So many times somebody would bring up how 'gross' it is to lay a 'love-spell' on a 11-year old, or how disgusting it is to 'try to control' somebody with a spell, so that every time the geis is brought up, I pretty much have the exact quotes ready, which may explain why I seem like I'm unloading xD Anyway, I promised I wouldn't start quoting geis stuff on the TtD thread, but even after everything, Cassie says: "But as much as I hated it, the damned thing had played a big part in getting me where I was. It had protected me from unwanted advances as a teenager, helped Mircea find me before Tony did as an adult, and convinced him to let me go in the Senate chamber." So everybody is free to hate the geis if one feels that a simple tracking and protection spell was a terrible fate for a teenager, but even Pritkin himself says that it was Cassie's unconscious desire for Mircea that probably lead her to lay it on him in the past, causing all the issues.
The geis really isn't my biggest issue with Mircea. I understand his reasoning on numerous levels. (Like you said, we'll get there later, more notes for my file.) My issue has always been with how he treats Cassie in the here and now. Especially after their positions switch and she is the more powerful, or has the more powerful position if you prefer, of the two. He commands instead of asks; he tries to hide her away for thr vamps instead of letting her do her job; he merely guards instead of teaching her to defend herself. He wants to be her master, not her partner or ally. Maybe I'm on my feminist bent again but I am just tired of watching men attempt to control powerful women. (Please excuse missed typos, I'm on my tablet again.)
Dajuan wrote: "The geis really isn't my biggest issue with Mircea."That's perfectly fine, we are all entitled to like or dislike characters! All my comments were about was the geis alone, as that is what came up in the discussion, not preaching about how everybody should like Mircea, lol, I trust that's not what came across! :P
He commands instead of asks; he tries to hide her away for thr vamps instead of letting her do her job; he merely guards instead of teaching her to defend herself. He wants to be her master, not her partner or ally."
I'm sure you will list those examples in the later books, so that will provide ample food for discussion in the other threads I suspect! :D But I'd just quickly like to jump in to say that in CbS, EtN and CtD, Pritkin spends 38 chapters with Cassie (not counting meetings in the past), and comes a long way from wanting to kill her, lying to her and trying to undermine her attempts for the Codex while putting his money on Myra to eventually start to trust Cassie and work with her, not against her. Mircea on the other hand gets 10 chapters in total, so there's not going be much development in that timeframe (which gets even less in the later books of course). So I don't think there's an issue with creating characters with a character flaw that they have to overcome - pretty much every character in the series has some. Pritkin's behavior starts off far worse than Mircea's, and yet he makes great progress during all the time he spends with Cassie! The issue probably stems from the romance again, which sets up Pritkin's early development into this perfect follower as a 'rival' to Mircea (even though the comparison is clearly skewed) which only serves to sidetrack pursuing how individual characters might grow and overcome their issues, and instead shifts the focus to character comparisons motivated by who would fit the heroine most. Comparisons which are even more skewed because the Senate is a political rival of Cassie, while her bodyguard is a servant, which is hardly an equal.
About the 'feminist issues' obviously I'm a feminist too, but I don't think anything in the Cassie books has to do with misogyny or men controlling women, because I'm quite certain that Mircea is imperious with everybody men included - Dorina even comments on him 'having too many yes types around' that he got used to be bossy (and that's part of his job description). Plus, when Mircea loses his cool about potentially being under her control it's not because she's a woman (he has a female boss) but because she's young and inexperienced. Same with the Circle, I find it highly doubtful that Jonas or any of the senior mages who spent their lives in the Corps would genuflect for an early-twenties male mage with no experience any more than they do to Cassie. KC said in her recent video chat that a lot of the violence directed at Cassie also isn't because of her gender, but because she's Pythia, so I quite liked that gender is not the cause for any of the outrage, but rather that she's a powerful figure and that power rivalries are present in all setups in the series, man-man, woman-man, woman-woman whatever! Btw, this is just about gender discourse, not an attempt to advocate that people should like Mircea or Jonas.
Anyway, while I greatly enjoy the discussion, I don't want to give the impression that us two are appropriating the thread, lol. And btw, Sarah just announced that the CbS reread is now on :D
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My issue with Mircea is as you said, his sheilding her in and "protecting" her. Why doesn't he encourage her to try and learn how her power works? If he wants something from her wouldn't it make sense for her to practise?
And about Dresden - I remember reading somewhere the Butcher has about 20 books planned in his head for the series, so we've got some books to go yet! :D
Ok good! I've been enjoying analyzing the crap out of these books and I want to make sure not to annoy with it. It's just too much fun! If books in high school and college lit classes had been this fun I'd have enjoyed analysis more back then!20 books huh? Hopefully he lets poor Harry find a sliver of happy before it's all said and done.
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yup, 20 books! Well having in mind how the last book ended *internal screaming* he's bound to have SOME happiness in his life. I wont say any more about it, I don't want to spoil anything for Zoltan or any other new readers of the series. ^^
Cameo wrote: "LOL not at all - it's thoroughly enjoying to read your analysiseses (LOL what)!"Ok then, happy to hear it! And 'lol what' at that plural form indeed, you may have out-latined Latin who already out-greeked Greek, so grats! :D
"Why doesn't he encourage her to try and learn how her power works? If he wants something from her wouldn't it make sense for her to practise?"
Well, there's no Pythia to teach Cassie, and for the first 4 books the mages want to kill her. I suspect the Senate would have wanted to arrange magical training for her after they deal with Saunders and the Circle's conspiracy against Cassie, as they're cool with Jonas teaching her after the Circle's leadership is sorted out. Without the mages, it would've been impossible to encourage her to learn about her powers as vamps know little of magic. So based on this the question would be why does it take a coven mage after several books to point out basic spells to Cassie, when her sidekick is Mer-freaking-lin himself! Shouldn't she have mastered some spells under his tutelage by now?
"yup, 20 books! Well having in mind how the last book ended *internal screaming* he's bound to have SOME happiness in his life. I wont say any more about it, I don't want to spoil anything for Zoltan or any other new readers of the series. ^^"
Hm, so 5 more books to write? (if the info on the net is correct) I might wait a bit then and see if he finishes it in a timely fashion rather than me spending 5-10 years agonizing over the release of the books, lol! Thanks for being considerate of spoilers btw :D If you're excited to talk about it though, there's always the spoiler warning code!
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Life is just a bit busy at the moment so that I can't really join the discussion.
So based on this the question would be why does it take a coven mage after several books to point out basic spells to Cassie, when her sidekick is Mer-freaking-lin himself! Shouldn't she have mastered some spells under his tutelage by now?Presumably because he was teaching her non magical self defense and physical training first? I always got the impression Pritkin was trying to get her to get a good handle on her own powers and use them under pressure (i.e. pushing her off the mountain and the three A's) before before moving on to more. And just because you're a good practitioner does not make you a good teacher. Think about how many math instructors you've had who you can see are brilliant but suck as teachers. Maybe Pritkin is one of those? (Side note, I am amused at our mental gymnastics to defend our chosen champion here :p ).
Dajuan wrote: "Presumably because he was teaching her non magical self defense and physical training first?"Lol, I get why he would have perfectly good reasons to, I have no beef with Pritkin. My question was just an attempt to jokingly turn the question around - if it can't be expected from an expert-level magical practitioner who spends every day with his charge to develop her powers, an absentee vampire who meets her twice per book could be expected to do so even less. (Side note, I too amusedly enjoy the back-and-forth of discussion. Though I don't think it takes much to 'defend' Mircea - 'Pritkin is a mage and he doesn't either and yet isn't called out for the same' is hardly a masterfully elaborate argument I have to admit ;-( )
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Cameo wrote: "And again we have to remember the books only take place over a couple of months ^^"Totally, the series is a whirlwind! :O
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It just now occurred to me what a huge time-altering no-no Agnes committed in showing Cassie her own obituary and helping her escape from 'Fat Tony's' and Rasputin's vamp goons.
I wonder how far Agnes went into the "future that didn't happen" before she realized she would have to go back, get the obituary, and post it on Cassie's computer in order to save Cassie's life.
Agnes, as the current Pythia, would have been one of the first casualties if the Dark Alliance won the War for the Worlds. It makes her self-sacrifice in closing with Myra (the first rogue), and carrying her with her in death much more believable, since she realized she would die soon anyway.
As always, I'm amazed at how coherent and consistent KC is in the development of the Cassieverse as Cassie stumbles into her powers as Pythia. Overall, there don't seem to be very many continuity errors.
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I feel like starting the series all over again now :D
Finished my re-read of Touch the Dark a few days ago. Wow! There are so many details and things happening in these books that you have to go back and keep track of them! For instance, I completely forgot that the dark mage Jonathan made his first appearance in TtD. My favorite scene: When Cassie wants to escape MAGIC through the window in her bathroom, but it's warded and she stuffs toilet papers in its' mouth to escape (During my re-read it was one of the funnier moments in the book)
-Billy Joe: Ohhhhhh Billy! Knowing that he was there with Cassie from the start and he was pretty much the only real ally she had in this book, makes his loss all the more impactful.
-Question: Among the senate members who were injured was one named Ismitta. Is he dead or has he recovered?
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I LOVE Marlowe! It would have been a tragedy if he had died. Who could have been the antagonist-turned-reluctant ally for Dory? Their evolving relationship has been one of the continuing delights in the Cassieverse.
Nancy wrote: "Ismetta is alive, I think. She returned to Africa to recover after being decapitated. Not sure, but I don't think she has returned to action yet. Marlowe was the other Senator who nearly died in th..."Marlowe is one of my favorites as well! Who can ever forget his charming personality or his bouncing curls?(I wish Lannister was here! Lol😅)
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Touch the Dark (other topics)Greywalker (other topics)
