James S.A. Corey’s Nemesis Games is getting very intense, very quickly! It’s time to discuss the second quarter of the novel, which includes chapters 13 through 25. This week’s questions are provided by There’s Always Room for One More.
If you’re interested in getting involved in the read-along, feel free to check out our Goodread’s group, and/or to follow SFFReadAlongs on Twitter. From here on out, beware of spoilers!
1) Woah. Okay, was anybody expecting this level of drama? Prediction time: what will Marco do next? Any thoughts on who his mysterious allies are?
No, I was definitely not. It was foreshadowed with all the talk about the Belters’ feelings about the gate and thousands of habitable planets. It was also foreshadowed by the discussion of the militant sect of the OPA and Naomi’s past involvement in it. Marco’s request for Naomi was also a clue. It seemed like a really minor thing to call her out for, just to charter her son a ship. I was trying to figure out what was the real purpose. The prologue, also, gave us some hints toward what they were up to. Despite all this, I did not see the attacks coming at all.
As for the rest, I suspect his next plan involves the protomolecule. Their goal seems to be to actually wipe out planet-bound humanity, so I suspect he plans to unleash the protomolecule on Earth. I’m not sure if it will do the same thing as it did on Eros or Venus, now that the gate is built, but I don’t know. I have no idea who his allies are. Maybe aliens?
2) So Earth is full apocalypse. The Secretary General is dead. The Martian President may be dead too, but Mars was pretty much flailing anyway. What Should Fred Do? (and will Holden approve?)
I think Fred should unilaterally side with Earth and Mars, and focus the full military might of the planets to wipe out the militant OPA. At this point, I’m not sure if even infiltrating the OPA terrorist cell is useful. Anyway, Naomi’s in there. If they can establish communication with her, she would gladly pass on any information she could uncover. Also, I think that publicly acknowledging the OPA terrorists as a legitimate political force would cause more damage than he could possibly balance by any good. They are not legitimate, they are mass murderers, and they should be treated as such.
3) All of Naomi’s past is laid bare for us now. Will she save Filip’s soul? Is she right to try?
I wouldn’t say she’s ‘right’ to try, but I understand why she wants to. I think the guilt will get to him eventually. Right now, he’s high on ideology and indoctrinated to not think of Inners as people. Once he really understands, in his heart, what he has done? I think it’s very likely he’ll at least try to kill himself. I hope she is able to save his soul, but I don’t really see any future for him besides suicide or execution.
4) Who are you most worried about/for?
Right now? Amos. He’s on Earth, being bombarded by rocks, surrounded by violent body-modified criminals. If I’m right about the OPA’s plans, he might be stuck on a dying planet poisoned by protomolecule. I think he’s in the toughest spot right now, even though the whole crew is in danger.
No comments:
Post a Comment