a blog thinger.

“Most men do nothing to deserve what the gods throw their way.”

week four of the locke lamora read-along! one week to go! our email thread is exceptionally short this week, partly because i worked a lot and only finished the reading this morning, partly because this is a very in-between section in which i mostly frown a lot, and partly because i started reading another book about thieves who i have rather recklessly fallen in love with. surely mistborn will end happily for all those involved though!

um, anyway! second to last post about a book most of you have never read! very little flailing and keysmashing this week. on a related note, sabetha doesn’t show up in this week’s reading at all. heh.

1. In the chapter “A Curious Tale for Countess Amberglass” we learn of the tradition of the night tea in Camorr. I found that not so much fantastical as realistic – how about you?

i love the night tea! i also absolutely love dona vorchenza and that tea sounded SO GOOD, om nom nom. also that cake. but seriously- dona vorchenza. WHAT A BADASS. i still have a lot of residual anger from being told that the ladies in these books are one-note, because what! this lady is the duke’s SPYMASTER! she has a wicked sense of humor, is a bit of a mother hen for all of the younger donas, and is BRILLIANT. i am more than a little bit in love with her.

2. When Jean meets with what will become the Wicked Sisters for the first time, the meeting is described very much like how people feel when they find their true work or home. Agree? Disagree? Some of both?

OT3.

3. Salt devils. Bug. Jean. The description is intense. Do you find that description a help in visualizing the scene? Do you find yourself wishing the description was occasionally – well – a little less descriptive?

the only times i want less description in this book is the salt devils. and also the cask of horse piss. STILL GAGGING. but actually, i am TERRIBLE at visualizing things but i can picture that scene fairly well. also boys :(

4. This section has so much action in it, it’s hard to find a place to pause. But…but.. oh, Locke. Oh, Jean. On their return to the House of Perelandro, their world is turned upside down. Did you see it coming?

well, fifth reread, so yes. except ashley promised me it would be different this time and then it wasn’t :(

but, god, i just can’t. not only did they lose their family, they lost their HOME and their livelyhood and all of their mementos of father chains and sabetha and their brothers. locke is scary when he goes cold, and those bastards should be afraid.

5. Tavrin Callas’s service to the House of Aza Guilla is recalled at an opportune moment, and may have something to do with saving a life or three. Do you believe Chains knew what he set in motion? Why or why not?

i don’t think he ever saw this coming, but i DO think he wanted them to be prepared for all eventualities. but also i love how kind of insane the various religions are, and how everyone just rolls with it.

i also like the glimpses we get of jean working on his own. a lot of the book is spent showing us how brilliant locke is, so it’s good that we see that jean can and does hold his own.

6. As Locke and Jean prepare for Capa Raza, Dona Vorchenza’s remark that the Thorn of Camorr has never been violent – only greedy and resorting to trickery – comes to mind again. Will this pattern continue?

i mean, neal caffrey is non-violent and dislikes weapons, but when you harm his family, he’ll steal a gun and come at you too. and as we learned, camorri are big believers in revenge, and locke is camorri in his SOUL. what i’m saying is- i’m sure this will end well for everyone involved!

7. Does Locke Lamora or the Thorn of Camorr enter Meraggio’s Countinghouse that day? Is there a difference?

locke enters, but the thorn comes out. the difference is that locke has a good, slightly risky but rather ordinary scheme, and the thorn sees the opportunity for a much cheekier plot and takes it. locke asks the crooked warden for help, and the thorn saysfuck you, i’ve got this.