wherein Liz reads more stuff
Jun. 21st, 2016 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingI have now read The King of Attolia and A Conspiracy of Kings (and most of the extant Queen's Thief fic on AO3, as one does), and yes, this was a good choice. This is a good series. :)
I hear book five (and possibly also six?) may be released either this year or in 2017? I certainly hope so! I very badly want to see more of these characters, and also learn how their socio-political woes turn out. (Plus that volcano, which is a Chekhov's gun if I ever saw one.)
I think, of the four currently published volumes, The King of Attolia is my least favorite. Which is not to say that I disliked it, just that while I was convinced that Eugenides got through to Costis, his attendants, and Relius, I remain emotionally unconvinced that the events of the end of the book would really change Teleus's mind. I also think Gen was still playing idiot/useful tool in front of the barons, right? Which means he still wouldn't have been fully recognized/accepted as a reigning king in his own right, and that's weird to me since that recognition/acceptance (on his part and on others') was kind of the point of the book.
Eh, perhaps these things simply happen in stages.
On a much more trivial note, I am slightly perplexed by one issue of nomenclature: namely, I can't tell whether some of Attolis's attendants (Hilarion, Lamion, and Ion) are meant to be three separate characters or only two. I genuinely have NO IDEA if Ion is meant to be a nickname, and if so, for which of those longer names. I mean, nicknames exist in this setting! Gen has one! So does Dite! On the other hand, there's a character (Nomenus) in CoK who seems to have Ion as his actual full given name, which Sophos takes at face value and directly equates to Ion-the-attendant.
I was unable to find a scene in which Hilarion and/or Lamion directly addressed or thought about Ion, or vice versa, so I can't clear the confusion up that way.
Is there any fandom consensus on that issue?
I hear book five (and possibly also six?) may be released either this year or in 2017? I certainly hope so! I very badly want to see more of these characters, and also learn how their socio-political woes turn out. (Plus that volcano, which is a Chekhov's gun if I ever saw one.)
I think, of the four currently published volumes, The King of Attolia is my least favorite. Which is not to say that I disliked it, just that while I was convinced that Eugenides got through to Costis, his attendants, and Relius, I remain emotionally unconvinced that the events of the end of the book would really change Teleus's mind. I also think Gen was still playing idiot/useful tool in front of the barons, right? Which means he still wouldn't have been fully recognized/accepted as a reigning king in his own right, and that's weird to me since that recognition/acceptance (on his part and on others') was kind of the point of the book.
Eh, perhaps these things simply happen in stages.
On a much more trivial note, I am slightly perplexed by one issue of nomenclature: namely, I can't tell whether some of Attolis's attendants (Hilarion, Lamion, and Ion) are meant to be three separate characters or only two. I genuinely have NO IDEA if Ion is meant to be a nickname, and if so, for which of those longer names. I mean, nicknames exist in this setting! Gen has one! So does Dite! On the other hand, there's a character (Nomenus) in CoK who seems to have Ion as his actual full given name, which Sophos takes at face value and directly equates to Ion-the-attendant.
I was unable to find a scene in which Hilarion and/or Lamion directly addressed or thought about Ion, or vice versa, so I can't clear the confusion up that way.
Is there any fandom consensus on that issue?
(no subject)
Date: 2016-06-24 01:10 am (UTC)I have mixed feelings about The King of Attolia. I love some aspects of it (poor Costis!), but I also find the end unsatisfying. Partly it's because it strikes me as being a little too fawning in its love of Gen, who gets to show off being the best at everything. I think in A Conspiracy of Kings we see that he's still not necessarily accepted wholeheartedly by the barons, which seems real. But Teleus...I think I agree with you, I don't understand his coming around like that, so suddenly. For one thing, he already knows (or should know) how physically capable Gen is, despite appearances. So what is it that tips him, Gen's strategic victory?
I think Ion is a name, not a nickname, but I don't know if there's fan consensus. Megan Whelan Turner's main social media presence is on Tumblr, which I have never gotten the hang of, so a lot of her fan discourse is there.
So glad you like it! It's a great series.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-06-24 02:38 pm (UTC)Yeah, KoA leans a little too heavily (for me) on other people realizing that Gen is amazing. I would have been happier with them realizing he's competent and leaving it at that. It gets kind of weird going, 'OMG, I love character X!' if the narrative seems to be doing the exact same thing, you know? I start feeling railroaded.
As I was rereading KoA (because, having read the series once I immediately decided to read all the books again because they play differently the second time around (yes, even if you know most of the spoilers going in)) I paid very close attention to the attendants, and there turns out to be one scene in which Gen explicitly removes Ion and another person from a room, after which both Lamion and Hilarion participate in a conversation among the remaining attendants; Ion is therefore a separate person rather than a nickname for one of them. :)