Read-Along: Kushiel's Dart Part 4

Welcome to part 4 of the read-along of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart. Our host this week is once again Susan of Dab of Darkness, and her questions cover chapters 27-36.  Keep in mind, therefore, that there will be spoilers up through chapter 36 in the questions and answers below!  Also, remember to visit all the participants blogs to see what they have to say about this week’s section!  Quite a lot happened in this weeks section, so I’m looking forward to discussing it with everyone!

1) Alcuin finally talked with Delaunay about being uncomfortable serving Naamah. He spent 3 days in the sanctuary of Naamah and came out with a lighter heart. What do you think occurred there? 

I’m wondering if maybe they weren’t too hard on him since he swore to serve Naamah out of love.  It wasn’t the exact motivation they had intended, but it’s not like he had some kind of disrespectful ulterior motive.  He really just wanted to please the one he loved, and I think the order of Naamah has to be sympathetic to that.  I am wondering if they gave him some counseling on the power of communication and making sure you’re true to yourself.  Also, he didn’t really have to ask to be let out of his vow of service, since he did earn enough from Bouvarre to make his marque.

2) We are introduced to the new protector of the Delaunay household, Joscelin Verreuil. What were your first impressions? Would would you find it harder to pay homage to: Naamah or Kushiel or Cassiel? 

I’m sad Guy is gone, but I think Joscelin is a great new addition to the household.  He’s been trained since he was a kid (sort of like Phèdre would have been in the Night Court), but he’s young and inexperienced enough to be extremely uptight about his order.  I’m wondering if the order sent him, at least in part, because they knew he would mature significantly from having to deal with the Delaunay household.  

Of the three, I would say it would be hardest for me to follow Cassiel.  I’m really not a very violent person, and I don’t think I would do well in weapons training.  They are protectors, not aggressors, so I don’t have any ideological problem with the order.  I just have no desire to ever be in a fight.  I don’t think I would really enjoy paying homage to Naamah or Kushiel, either, though.  Where is the angel of natural philosophy?

3) Phedre visits Childric D'Essoms two more times; once to beg a boon for Delaunay and again because she feels she owes him a debt. Do you think she was right to go on either of these occasions? 

Since everything that she has done up to this point was for Delaunay’s schemes (well, and to serve Naamah), I think it wouldn’t have made sense for her to balk from the first meeting.  For the second, I don’t think I would have done it, if I were her. I can understand her feelings of having a debt, but she didn’t really betray him.  She never even tried to coax information out of him, she just listened and reported back to Delaunay.  He had always known she was going to do that.  I think at least part of it might come down to her feeling that she used the service of Naamah for an unrelated purpose, and she had to make it right by having a meeting with him that carried no ulterior motive.

4) We meet the Duc Barquiel L'Enver, who has spent much time in Akkad. What do you think lies in the past between him and Delaunay? What do you think of his methods to dealing with Vitale Bouvarre? 

Now we know some of Delaunay’s secrets, at least, so I have some maybe-true answers!  Delaunay loved Isabel’s husband, and he also publicly accused her of murder.  I imagine that’s hard to get over for her family, and I wonder if Barquiel at one point suspected Delaunay of Isabel’s murder.  I think this was probably the best method, though it was dangerous.  In addition to getting justice, he can start to move towards not being the enemy of the Duc and his family.

5) At the palace, after a meeting with Clavel, Phedre sneaks off. In the hall, she overhears Isidore d'Aiglemort talking about the Glory Seekers along the Skaldi border. Then she finds herself hiding under some furniture when she witnesses a secret meeting between Delaunay and Ysandre de la Courcel. What do you make of this latest political intrigue? 

There’s too much going on, so I don’t have any real coherent ideas!  I guess Isidore’s problem is that soldiers don’t want to follow the one who betrayed their last leader to execution, and that seems pretty reasonable.  I wonder if this is going to cause some problems with protecting the border, though.  The whole bit with Ysandre has to refer to his promise to Rolande… maybe it was Rolande’s ring?  All I got from the exchange right now is that maybe Ysandre is starting to take a more active role in politics.

6) Melisande Shahrizai points out to Phedre that she both despises and loves each of her patrons, if only a little. Do you think this is true for Phedre? For most human relationships? 

I’m not sure if that’s true or not for Phèdre.  I think that she has some fondness for each of her patrons, though I’m not sure I would call it love.  However, I don’t think Phèdre really has a lot of hate in her right now, so I can’t really see her despising them.  I think she feels a little condescension towards some of their kinks, but so far she seems too good-natured about it to call it contempt or hatred. I really don’t think that’s true for human relationships, in general.  I try my best to understand and accept people, especially the ones I love.  The people I love might do things that annoy me sometimes, but I’m sure I have my share of annoying habits as well.

7) Phedre is contracted for the Longest Night by Melisande to be shown off to the Duc de Morhban. What stood out for you the most this night? Now that Phedre can complete her mark, what do you think she will do? 

That was an impressive night.  Melisande had Phèdre so dazed that she was completely off her training, and didn’t really notice anything.  I think the thing that most stood out was her using her safeword— and I’m glad Melisande respected it.  I still think it’s weird that Melisande seemed to see that as a triumphant moment, but I’m glad Phèdre seems willing to use it.  But on that safe word topic, could it be that Phèdre is developing feelings for Hyacinthe?  That would be rough, since they are really not into the same things.  Concerning completing her mark, I think Phèdre is pretty happy with her life as it is.  I think she hopes to stay with Delaunay doing mostly the same things, but now as a more equal partner in his scheming.

Other Things:

—It was interesting that Phèdre was jealous of Alcuin.  I didn’t think she really liked Delaunay in that way.  I guess maybe she did, but was aware that their tastes were too different for them to ever work, even if he reciprocated her feelings.  I’m wondering if that’s going to start to be a serious problem for Phèdre, that her heart loves people that are incompatible with her particular niche.

—On Delaunay’s past, what else is there?  Apparently this part of the puzzle was not what Phèdre does not want to know.  Now that she will have her marque, does that mean Alcuin will tell her the rest?

—It’s nice to see Alcuin and Joscelin getting along!  He deserves a bit of happiness and peace, and I’m betting this peaceful period won’t last too long.

Review: The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente

Published: Feiwel & Friends, 2013

Series: Book 3 of the Fairyland Series

Awards Won: Locus YA AwardThe Book:

“September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home and embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers.” ~WWEnd.com

I have reviewed a few of Valente’s books on this blog so far, and I generally really enjoy her work.  Unfortunately, this will be a little shorter than my usual reviews, because it is months delayed and I don’t seem to have written a whole lot of notes.

My Thoughts: 

This series as a whole is following September as she grows up--in the first book she is a child, in the second an adolescent, and in this one she is a 14-year-old teenager.  The ideas and problems she faces are also maturing with her.  Some of the main topics she struggles with this time include free will vs. predestination, self-identification and purpose, and social responsibility. I enjoyed the new realizations September comes to as a result of her journey, but it seemed a little more meandering than the first couple of novels.  In addition, while September does a lot of talking, thinking and wandering, she has more of a passive observer role in the main adventure.  Part of that might be due to the fact that the conflict of the story is much more nebulous than dethroning a marquess or a shadow queen.

As usual, September travels across a new area of Fairyland, meeting varied new creatures, such as moon-yeti, oyster cities and self-aware tools.  Her old friends A-through-L and Saturday are also much more involved than they were in book 2, and it was nice to see them again.  Valente’s writing was as lovely as usual, though I think that the flowery language coupled with the slower-moving story might make it a little more difficult to get into than the previous novels.  In general, if you thought the writing style of the first two books was charming, this one is pretty similar.  One other thing that I rather enjoy about Valente’s Fairyland is that it is not limited to children-- September doesn’t have to give up her magical world when she becomes a teenager.  Rather than teenagers putting away childish things, it is refreshing to see a story where a girl and her dreams are allowed to grow up together.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Read-Along: Kushiel's Dart Part 3

Welcome to part 3 of the read-along of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart.  Our host this week is Lisa of Over the Effing Rainbow, and her questions cover chapters 19-26.  Keep in mind, therefore, that there will be spoilers up through chapter 26 in the questions and answers below!   You can find the schedule HERE. We also have a Goodreads group for SF/F read alongs. Also, remember to visit all the participants blogs to see what they have to say about this week’s section!

1)  We get a lot of political intrigue to wade through this week, plus a couple of pretty big dramatic revelations, not least of which was the twist of fate for Prince Baudoin and his mother. What did you make of the trial, and what became of these two?

I was shocked by how honest Lyonette was, but maybe she knew there was no point in lying since the evidence would condemn her.  I also found it surprising that Prince Baudoin did not expect to be sentenced to death— throughout history, I think treason has always been dealt with pretty horrifically. I was actually relieved that they got to choose their own method of execution, so that we wouldn’t have to read about them being hanged, drawn and quartered or something equally horrible.

2)  On a rather different, much more personal note for the House of Delaunay was the drama that unfolded surrounding Alcuin (poor Guy!). What do you think might become of Alcuin now that he appears to be out of the game?

Based on the things that Delaunay said during this chapter, I get the impression that he would have had an alternate plan for Alcuin, if he’d known how much the boy hated the idea of serving Naamah.  Maybe he would have trained him in arms, and had him serve others as an escort or bodyguard, and he could fulfill his work as a spy in that way.  Maybe, if he is trained up quickly, he could be Phèdre’s escort, now that his marque is complete?

3)  As we'd suspected last week, Phèdre's refusal to use her signale gets her into some trouble with d'Essoms - but it also gets her the result that Anafiel had hoped for... Do you think she'll be more careful from here or will this only make that addictive slope more slippery for her?

The trouble it got her into was pretty trivial, though.  I think the injury would be serious for a normal person, but her fast-healing ability means that she won’t even have a scar.  Instead of being more careful, I think this has probably confirmed her sense of her own invincibility. Also, she got some nice information for Delaunay in the process!  Rather than being more cautious, I would expect the opposite. 

4)  Speaking of Phèdre and trouble, what do you make of the 'relationship' building between her and Melisande?

I think something major is going to happen.  The night with Prince Baudoin and Melisande was pretty tame, I think mostly because Baudoin didn’t really have much interest in that sort of thing.  Phèdre suffered mostly from neglect, when Baudoin got distracted with Melisande and just left her tied up.  I could be wrong, but I felt like the point of it for Melisande was to make Phèdre feel involved in her betrayal of Baudoin.  That’s a much more subtle kind of pain than the sort you get from a whip.  I expect there will be more brewing between the two of them, as we continue.

Other Bits:

—It’s hard not to blame Alcuin for Guy’s death, but I can see where he was coming from.  He had to know that meeting was going to be dangerous, and Delaunay would have stopped him.  If he’d warned Guy, though, I wonder if that would have allowed Guy to take enough precautions to keep them safe.

—I am pretty disappointed that Phèdre’s first safeword disaster was just a side note story, and one that basically came out great for her in the end, at that. I imagine we’ll see more trouble on this front.

—Phèdre’s latest assignation was surprisingly sweet.

—I’m worried about what Delaunay is going to do to bring Bouvarre to justice.