Carl’s Comments (group member since Jul 05, 2013)

Carl’s comments from the The Dragon's Path Group Read group.

Excellent and well-integrated world-building, characters who inspired complex emotions in the reader, surprises around ever turn, an interesting economic storyline that is uncommon for genre fiction. There was so much to like and I enjoyed every part of it. The book was not perfect but the reading experience certainly was. Once it got rolling I had a hard time putting it down and read these last three sections in a matter of days.

Abraham was already a favorite author because of his short stories and his James S.A. Corey work. This book just solidifies that feeling for me.

Mihai said "I have quite a few fantasy series left unread after the first novel"

I do as well, and it is only the presence of many, many other books that I want to read that has gotten in the way of me reading on. I think the non-fantasy Louise Penny series was one of the first series ever where I read multiple books in a row to the exclusion of all else.

I don't know what to expect from this series. "Expect the Unexpected" never sounded so true. I initially thought maybe little would happen in the book because of how slowly (not a criticism) Abraham was building up the characters and plot. But once events started happening it felt like they came hard and fast. I feel like SO MUCH happened in this book and there is such potential for more.

Mihai will be posting final discussion questions here on Friday. I hope everyone enjoyed the book as much as I did.

On Monday I will be putting up a proper review of the book on my site with a Mr. Linky for anyone to use if you too want to put up reviews on your site. That way we can all visit each other there as well.

Wherever you are at in the read, keep reading, enjoy the discussions and feel free to climb in on any of them to keep talking, and I'll see you here in the morning to wrap things up.

Kelly wrote: "she detached herself emotionally to achieve her goal. Or at least tried too"

Exactly. I think that attempted detachment shows her immaturity, and although it wasn't the way I wanted to see Cithrin go, it does fit with the character Abraham is creating. Will be interesting to see where she goes from here.

Which, in the end makes her a little less capable.

I agree Starr. I think it ultimately makes her a more vulnerable character and shows that for all her economic wisdom she does not have a lot of worldly wisdom. I suspect that wisdom is going to be costly for her and will be interesting if she thinks the price is worth it.

Sue wrote: "I was somewhat shocked by Cithrin giving up her virginity in order to steal secret information."

I was surprised by that too, more from the fact that this seems a standard fantasy element and I didn't expect Abraham to go there. Not sure that I necessarily like the choice, but it does fit with the direction that Cithrin has been going, a direction Marcus for one does not like.

It made sense to add the bank.

It really did, although I certainly didn't see it coming in the way it manifested. I kept wondering through the early part of the reading when Cithrin's money knowledge would come into play and was happy that it happened in this book of the series.

The bank also sets up a great reason for Marcus and Yardem to stay on with her, as guards. In that kind of society a banker certainly could not walk around unprotected on a regular basis.

Honestly, I think I am getting a deeper perspective than I would have if not for these glimpses of the economics of society.

I'm right there with you Starr. I think the world is opening up in greater measure because of the financial/economic aspects of the story.

as we saw with the Magister at the beginning of the book when he refused to loan money to the king"

That was one of the first things that shocked me and told me this would be a fantasy with different elements than I was used to. I'm happy that has indeed been the case as it has made this a gripping read.

Such as the brewery Cithrin chooses as one of the first investments"

That move on Abraham's part made so much sense. Not only does it act as an example of the kind of things her bank will do, but it sets up a perfectly safe meeting place for her in which to conduct business. It also makes sense with the character arc Abraham was creating because Cithrin seems to have become very fond of drink ever since her first sampling of it.

leaving the bemused reader to cheer for loan contracts and venture capital

Love that, well put! It really does add another dimension to the world building that we are unaccustomed to in most fiction. I'm not a particular fan of economics (though I do like money!), but Abraham makes it interesting in the way he makes it part of the story. There is no info-dumping here. It is all relevant plot and I applaud him.

This builds on Brittain's discussion from last week. What are your thoughts on the shift from hiding the money to using the money to set up a new branch of the bank?

I think its bloody brilliant myself. I was a little worried that the constant running with the money would get tiresome as a reader and I knew that route would bring forth a steady supply of people trying to kill/rob them and perhaps more betrayals from within the "fellowship". And that may still happen. But this track too was a surprise, although not entirely unexpected. I had been wondering when more of the economic elements with Cithrin would make their way into the story and was pleasantly surprised with this change of direction for the crew. I too have read of Abraham's interest in economics and one of my favorite short stories, "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" is by Abraham. It is an interest of his and I like that he works that into the fantasy realm he has created.

I imagine nothing can top last week's burning revelation, pardon the crass pun, but did anything stand out to you in this week's reading?

This wasn't so much shocking, but it was a pleasant surprise to me: the moment when Geder came across the dragon's skull. It never occurred to me that the dragon's would be revealed in such a way. I figured it would stick entirely to what Geder was discovering in written histories. It may be because of all the hours playing Skyrim, but that part of the book became so clear to me as he stood their. I found myself in awe in the same way Geder was in awe.

Anyone else wildly curious about what the actual "dragon's path" is?

It is referenced often, almost as a sort of euphemism at times, but I have to say that I'm no more clear about what the actual "dragon's path" is than I was early on in the book. I suspect that is part of the charm of the mystery. It is interesting that this path seems to be something negative from the history of this land, something that all are wanting to avoid, except perhaps Geder whose interest in the history may spark him to do things in the future to take the world back down said path. After all, he's already proven once that he can be inspired to action by written history.

At any rate, I'm enjoying that mystery and wondering if anyone else has thoughts about it.

In the first week's discussions we talked some about the characters and how, to a large degree, every main character was likeable, perhaps less so with Dawson. After last week's revelations and the continuation this week, are you having mixed feelings about the main characters?

I can say for certain that I am, and I'm thoroughly enjoying having my reader-emotions played with in this manner. Geder of course blew everyone away last week when at the end of the week's reading (how serendipitous was that for an ending chapter?) he burnt Vanai. I was too shocked to even know what to think. It was so unexpected a move. But that act doesn't simply turn Geder into a specific character. He then turns around and acts somewhat heroically and he continues to be fascinating because of this quest for knowledge that he is on.

Cithrin was a character I must admit that I expected to not have as big of an arc as far as my feelings about her to this point and this week's reading has revealed more about her banking/money smarts but also shows her to be willing to play games of intrigue that I did not expect. I'm not sure how much I believe what feels like a sudden shift in her abilities in this way, but Abraham has set this up to some degree by slowly revealing her areas of expertise. I feel a bit like Marcus did near the end of this week's reading...I don't particularly like the Cithrin as created by Master Kit. But again, she is fascinating.

Dawson continues to be a character I feel compelled to dislike and I don't trust him and yet this week's reading revealed that perhaps, at least in his own mind, he is the most loyal to king and kingdom and might be the most realistic about what is happening. Then again he may just be a pessimist. I'm not warming to the character, but I am enjoying his chapters because I am so curious about what will happen next.

Those are three of what could be many examples of characters who are showing many facets, leading me to feel conflicted about my feelings about them, but in a way that is a credit to Abraham's writing.

Here is the folder for Week 2 Discussion, Brittain.

Brittain wrote: "Ima gonna start posting some discussion questions tonight and tomorrow for Week 2, if that's alright with everyone. If I wait until Friday, I'll probably get bogged down and not get everything up.
..."

There is a Week 2 folder. As soon as you post your first Topic and choose Week 2 folder it will appear on the main page.

Sue wrote: "Brittain wrote: "I have to agree on Abraham's itchy reveal trigger. I'm sure he knows exactly what he's going, but I wasn't expecting all the initial secrets to fall so quickly. Things aren't reall..."

Me too. The stuff that was revealed could have been near the ending of a long novel. Since it was revealed early my expectations are shattered...and that is a good thing. I'm going forward completely blind to what he might do with these characters and that is exciting.

Kelly wrote: "Reliving the crapper scene...thanks so much for that Carl..lol
I was not happy about Geders burned book...that was just plain mean. The fact that he has to hide the perceived, softer side of himse..."

Yes, that was a painful scene. If there were any time that Geder was going to Hulk out, that would have been the catalyst. :)

Sue wrote: "Mihai wrote: "I do have a feeling that the apostate is a certain Master Kit. I am only guessing here, but I do see some small similarities here. Especially in the forest scene with the bandits. :)"..."

Hmmm...that is certainly an intriguing idea.