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Hunt the Moon
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Hunt the Moon (Cassandra Palmer #5)
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@Zoltan The point is that there was a major security lapse that is inconsistent with the level paranoia normally displayed by the Senate--- much less for an event (publicized worldwide) featuring an extraordinary collection of high value targets, much less for the most high value target of all.The enemy could be expected to have in place, if not a full-blown assassination plot, at least a sharpshooter or two for opportunistic kills. One guy with a rifle with potion shells could have taken out Mircea and Cassie without ever being seen.
Just because no one died, that doesn't mean security was good.
All the rest is beside the point: uncharacteristically poor security.
The whole moving the event plot doesn't make much sense. It was mentioned that there were 2000 guests. Probably all of them more or less important and the press. They all got notice on the day that they held the event that it got moved. And there was no problem with that? Nobody (besides Cassie) got angry?
The security should be actually worse in such a case, because everything was planned for a different day...
I think the whole thing only happened, because Chance wanted Cassie to battle the Spartoi in front of everyone, without anyone being able to interfere, and that was the only way she could come up with such an unlikely event. First Cassie was locked out, and then everyone was locked in.
And I'm not even talking about the rest of the unlikely happenstances that were necessary to make this happen. Pritkin badly injured by the Spartoi, but not dead. The Spartoi only got Cassie called to him but not Mircea, when in Curse the Dawn Cassie and Pritkin were shifted to Marsden. Cassie let Billy steal that device from Marsden, but gave it back to him to make the whole event happen...
The security should be actually worse in such a case, because everything was planned for a different day...
I think the whole thing only happened, because Chance wanted Cassie to battle the Spartoi in front of everyone, without anyone being able to interfere, and that was the only way she could come up with such an unlikely event. First Cassie was locked out, and then everyone was locked in.
And I'm not even talking about the rest of the unlikely happenstances that were necessary to make this happen. Pritkin badly injured by the Spartoi, but not dead. The Spartoi only got Cassie called to him but not Mircea, when in Curse the Dawn Cassie and Pritkin were shifted to Marsden. Cassie let Billy steal that device from Marsden, but gave it back to him to make the whole event happen...
Kathleen wrote: "The point is that there was a major security lapse that is inconsistent with the level paranoia normally displayed by the Senate"Kathleen wrote: "The reason given for keeping her out was "safety". Yet the party was ultra secure. I never believed that excuse.But then she was simply locked out without protection. That makes no sense."
So do you believe that the party was ultra secure, or not secure? Either way, what was your issue with Cassie being inside or outside the party in the first place? The Senate's safety measures didn't count on her showing up at all, so yes, her being there in the first place did put her at more risk than if she had just stayed away (but that's her doing, not like the Senate planned for it - and when they realized it, they tried to salvage the situation by a) getting her out of the target zone (the Pythia decoy) and b) having Mircea personally trying to convince her to go away, just in case there will be an attack).
Also, I'm no security expert, but I think it's standard to sweep the perimeter - and even if they didn't what reason would a "sharpshooter" have to shoot a waitress at the service entrance... shouldn't they be trying to get inside the portal-bubble so they can take a shot at the Pythia parading herself in front of the glass?
Kathleen wrote: It looks almost like a setup to make the magical. world think the knew. what she looked like and make Cassie look like an imposter if she ever went. to them for help."
You claim that your issue is that the party had poor security, but your above accusation is somewhat confusing, what does it even mean? Perhaps if you elaborate what you suspect the true meaning of this 'lapse' was?
@Stardust: that's how I saw the event mostly too, considering their importance in how the plot developed.But in addition, I don't think it was too illogical that the Senate tried to do their best to throw off any would-be attackers: the security was Mircea's masters (and the Senate's like Marlowe and Jack) mostly, so they could be ordered on the spot with a mere thought, and the venue was being prepared by Mircea in advance anyway, so the new date gave them an element of surprise on the turf they already controlled.
So I think most of the details (Cassie being away from her own coronation, Mircea coming outside to talk to her and going back to the past with her, her magically being yanked back by the Pythia-charm thing, etc.) made sense enough if interpreted in the way they contributed to the plot.
So, a recent update by KC: somebody on Facebook (Felicity, or someone - sorry can't remember their name exactly) posted this discussion - Kathleen's original question, to be exact - and asked if that isn't a sign that "Mircea is just using Cassie and their relationship is disturbing". To which KC answered in the short version that a) escorting her somewhere wouldn't have had permanent effect since she can shift at will b) Mircea wanted to convince her to return to Vegas because of that, and also because he thought that Marlowe's tactic wasn't going to work and could very well backfire. Interestingly, it has since been taken down from the FB comment section - maybe KC will post it as a Q and A (she mentioned that she doesn't like long questions in comments because there is space for a long answer), or I don't know why.
So who has been reading Hunt the Moon? Anyone?What do you all think of this book in comparison to the others? Better or worse? Any favourite (or not so favourite) scenes?
There are a lot of action scenes in this book, and I have to admit that the scene where they fight the dragon isn't my favourite. It feels like it goes on for ages and is sometimes a little confusing. Having said that, the aftermath of that scene, with Cassie & Pritkin talking at Mage Central, is one of the best things KC has ever written. It's such a touching scene with them simply comforting each other.
Another thing I like in Hunt the Moon is how Marco is developed. He's not just Mircea's muscle any more. He becomes a fully fleshed out character with a messy history, and his comment that he had a little girl once was so sad. A thousand years later and he still remembers his little girl. *wipes away a tear*
What does everyone else like/dislike in the book?
Oddly enough, when there have been no comments on this reread, l believe many people said that this is the best of the series when it was published. I think your countdown to RtW has captured all the attention!
My favorite action is the 'night out of time.' **whew!**
The aftermath when a hungover Cassie returned to the suite from Billy Joe was hilarious: "And just what part of 'we' came up with the get-out-of-jail-free card?"
Hilarious!!
My favorite action is the 'night out of time.' **whew!**
The aftermath when a hungover Cassie returned to the suite from Billy Joe was hilarious: "And just what part of 'we' came up with the get-out-of-jail-free card?"
Hilarious!!
This book is still one of my favorites in the series. Probably my most favorite. I do agree about that scene with the fight with the dragon. It's really confusing and does go on too long, but I like what it leads up to.My most favorite scene, though, is Cassie kicking some Spartoi ass all on her own. When she finally accepts her power. She fought on her own with no one jumping in to save her and she did a great job of it. That part always makes me feel proud of her.
I also agree about Marco's development. I wasn't expecting much out of Cassie's bodyguards character wise, but Marco has become a favorite of mine.
Nancy, that night out of time scene was pretty cool. Also, Mircea getting drunk and saucy in the back of the limo, the rascal!!However, the very best bit was Cassie opening the bathroom door naked to flash the entire room. That's possibly the second funniest scene in the whole series, after the body swap morning glory scene. Poor Cassie, but it was hilarious!!
Mello, yeah, Cassie definitely takes a big step forward in this book, and she finally realises that the power is hers and she deserves it. I'm looking forward to seeing if she manages to develop any new time tricks in the next book, since she seems to be learning new things all the time.
Marco is sweet, and his comments about everyone having to answer to someone are quite astute. I feel that there's maybe a deeper lesson to be learned there, and those comments might come back to Cassie in a future book.
Hunt the Moon is 100% my favourite of the series, sooo much plot progression happens here and there's also some really fun scenes.We learn about Pritkin's history, Cassie's parents, and Cassie finally starts properly standing up for herself.
I'm just not rereading because I've read it so many times now that I can pretty much relay the dialogue without even looking at the ebook XD And yeah, despite having read the book about 11 times I still get so confused in that fight scene that I sort of let myself skim until Cassie's ordering people away so she can deal with an injured Pritkin.
Definitely one of my favorites maybe is my favorite, A LOT of Mircea in this one and getting to see his mask slip with his feelings showing through. Just him and Cassie spending some time together.Curse the Dawn and Embrace the night was really good. So was the first book we immediately get some Mircea in that. Man I LOVE them all, TTS was good but not as good as all the others.
@Lannister
Marco's comments about everyone having a master was perseptive, although I think he stopped at the Senate level. Somewhere else, it was said that the only control on a Senate head was the other Senate heads.
It is hard to phrase that, since the other territories may not be called a Senate and the other Vampire leaders have different titles. But, anyway, they are the only control on each other's actions.
Marco's comments about everyone having a master was perseptive, although I think he stopped at the Senate level. Somewhere else, it was said that the only control on a Senate head was the other Senate heads.
It is hard to phrase that, since the other territories may not be called a Senate and the other Vampire leaders have different titles. But, anyway, they are the only control on each other's actions.
It's funny but Hunt the Moon is also my favourite! Although for different reasons. The Cassie/Mircea 'night out of time' scene actually really irritates me, and it's my least favourite part of the whole book. It's one of those rare times where Cassie disappoints me, because she was going to have a real talk about her relationship with Mircea, then she just lets herself get distracted by him being sexy :/ I'm also not too good on second-hand embarrassment, re: the walking out of the bathroom naked scene. I'm easily angered by small things so when Cassie gets a teeny bit irritated at walking into a roomful of people naked I got more mad at Mircea than she did lolI'm gonna be the odd one out here and say that I really enjoy the dragon action scene. Fred is hilarious, everything is chaotic and happening lightning-quick, and... I dunno it just plays out really well in my head. The cinematic quality again ya feel :D?
But the main reason I love HTM so much is how many lovely scenes we get with Cassie and Pritkin, those little islands of peace amidst all the pandemonium occuring just about everywhere (although I will always be a fan of that total anarchy). You get to see how far they've come in their friendship, and watch them comfort each other(parallels! nice.), and basically everything about their relationship builds further and it's so lovely they both make my chest hurt with how cute they are!
Someone mentioned Cassie being a bamf at the end when she fights the spartoi... if you'll recall my recent long love-letter about that scene you'll know that's another thing that makes me adore this book above all.
Tempt the Stars is probably my second favourite though. Casonova drunk and miserable just makes it for me XD
Agree with everyone, I did love this one, I think I can say it's my favorite as well. I finished the re-read a while ago but was waiting for others to comment since I knew I was ahead of our planned schedule. ;) A big part of why I love this one is the scenes with Cassie and Pritkin and the progression of their relationship. I get gleeful enjoyment out of the scenes with Cassie helping Pritkin heal or vice versa. ;) But yes, the time Cassie and Pritkin spend just talking and being there for each other makes my heart melt, I'm a sap. I loved the scene where Cassie just walks into the shower at mage central and hugs Pritkin, not saying anything. And clearly he's naked at the time, but it doesn't matter at all because she's just being there for him. Aside from the Cassie/Pritkin goodness, I really enjoyed the action/fight scenes, and was really happy for Cassie to start to grow into her power at the end of this. It's important for a book series to have progression of the plot and character growth, and I think Cassie learning to own and use the Pythian power is a big part of that. After a while, it was getting old when all she could do was shift around a few times. ;) The scene at the end with the Spartoi was awesome, and her fury at what Pritkin did totally made sense to me. I also enjoyed getting all the backstory for the characters, the fully detailed story about what happened with Pritkin's wife and Cassie's discovery of who her mother was.
Cassie as a naked flasher was a little sad for me, too, when I thought about the anxious thought process that preceded it. Mircea couldn't help but be amused...men!!!...but I thought he comforted Cassie gently. When you think about it, Mircea has always comforted Cassie. His hasn't been a flashy kind of caring. Not an 'I will die for you' or an "I will go to Hell for you' type, but his caring has been constant for a long period of time.
I think readers sometimes fail to give him credit for that.
I think readers sometimes fail to give him credit for that.
Haha, clearly I'm a heartless bastard since I found the idea of Cassie flashing the room to be hilarious!! :D Mircea was very kind to her afterwards, though I had the feeling he was secretly laughing up his sleeve. Maybe because that's what I'd be doing LMAO! At the end of the day, it's only nakedness and I don't think vamps are all that uptight about this sort of thing (not to dismiss Cassie's feeling of humiliation, of course, but she got over it quick enough.)Nancy, about Marco's comments about the Senate rulers, yeah, I think his point was that even they still have responsibilities and they aren't completely free to do as they please. If they got too far out of line, the other senate heads would respond. He said no-one was free in their world. Probably no-one is free in our world either, although you do have the freedom to walk away from something/someone if want. There might be penalties (financial, emotional) but you can do it if you want. Vamps can't. It must be a shitty life as a junior vampire.
This is the book where Mircea talks about his changing Tony for money and the situation that caused Mircea to need money.
He explained that he had had two narrow escapes from a female vampire who had tracked him to Venice, and he also had 'someone for whom he was responsible.' .
At that time (1470 or thereabouts), the female vamp wouldn't have been Cleo, because she KNEW he was in Venice.
I wonder who she was. Just an enamored female we haven't met? Mircea certainly isn't yet the powerful vamp he will later become, so was he wanted merely as a beautiiful boy toy? Or was he already known in other territories because of his ley line travel to seek healers for Dory?
I confess I am not good with timelines, so I may be widely off the mark here, but I wonder if he somehow came to Ming-de's notice when he was a young vamp.
The statement that he was tracked to Venice by the female vamp suggests that he might have been far afield before being tracked.
He explained that he had had two narrow escapes from a female vampire who had tracked him to Venice, and he also had 'someone for whom he was responsible.' .
At that time (1470 or thereabouts), the female vamp wouldn't have been Cleo, because she KNEW he was in Venice.
I wonder who she was. Just an enamored female we haven't met? Mircea certainly isn't yet the powerful vamp he will later become, so was he wanted merely as a beautiiful boy toy? Or was he already known in other territories because of his ley line travel to seek healers for Dory?
I confess I am not good with timelines, so I may be widely off the mark here, but I wonder if he somehow came to Ming-de's notice when he was a young vamp.
The statement that he was tracked to Venice by the female vamp suggests that he might have been far afield before being tracked.
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Are you sure? I thought she'd just turned 24.
She turned 24.. in CbS I think
Mmm have you been reading lovers knot? A female which who seemed to also have vampire abilities (draining Mircea) has just become quite enamoured with him. And he had travelled through a portal to where she was
Haven't gotten that far yet. Dory just volunteered to have the spell placed on her. I'm trying to finish RtW before I pick it back up.
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Book #2, when Cassie first corners Casanova.
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Karen Chance Fans
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Maybe he wants Chavez, Drac's incubus lover, killed so he would have a chance with one of the charismatic Basarabs.
But Chavez was instrumental in saving Mircea's life and helping him capture Drac in the isolation prison box. Does Jack know any of this, or does just want to have a romantic rival eliminated?
Maybe he holds a grudge against Mircea for outing him. Or, maybe Mircea and Augusta framed him, and the rumors were true. It really was Dracula who was the Ripper killer.
Well, I'm going wild with the "maybes". Perhaps I will start my next thoughts with "perhaps".