The Dragon's Path Group Read discussion

Overall I think the story is great and it has really captured my interest. I have been having difficulty with getting a clear picture of the various races featured in the book. I'm heartened because it appears that Abraham is using more of a "show don't tell" method of storytelling when it comes to the various races but that, coupled with my other difficulty, the names, has made it hard for me to get a clear picture of who these people are and what they look like. I find myself envisioning almost all of them, with the exception of Yardem, as standard humans.

I suspect that will change with time. As for the names, I don't want to make it sound like I have a HUGE problem with them. I don't. It isn't like some fantasy that I've picked up, and quickly put down, where the names are so far out and filled with too many consonants, etc. There is just something about many of the names in this series that have an elusive quality when I try to recall them. This goes for the characters, the places and the race names. Some are easier than others, but my overall sense is that they are not sticking in my head the way that most often happens when I read.

It is a minor complaint compared to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I can't think of anything not working for me at this point of the novel. Intriguing world-building, clearly drawn characters, very interesting story and plots are all elements working in favor of the novel for me. I am convinced that the rest of 3/4 of "The Dragon's Path" would not disappointing.

Carl, I don't have a problem with the names. Usually for me those who a bit more difficult are easier to remember. For instance, after the introductory parts of each character I remembered more easily Cithrin's name than Dawson's. But as we imagine the characters and places differently we do deal with the names differently. :)

The main characters...Cithrin, Dawson, Marcus, Geder, were not difficult. It is more the place names and some of the side characters that, for whatever reason, seem to fade from my memory the second they are gone from being the focus. I'm sure that will all come in time though.

My only minor complaint is that for the sake of a groupread, some form of chapter number or marker other than the name of the narrator would be nice. Even a part one, part two, part three would provide a bit more structure.

There really isn't anything that I can say is not working for me. Although, getting a handle on the races is difficult especially since I cannot remember their names. But like Carl said, it seems that Abraham is "showing" rather than "telling" about the races so that makes me okay that I don't have a handle on them yet. I figure that will come along for me. At this point, I am getting a better handle on Cithrin's race --- the characteristics. But even still, I am hard pressed to remember the name off the top of my head.

Grace wrote: "My only minor complaint is that for the sake of a groupread, some form of chapter number or marker other than the name of the narrator would be nice. Even a part one, part two, part three would pr..."

Yes Grace, I agree. Some differently named chapters or numbered chapters or section of "parts" or "books" would be very nice. It was so confusing to figure out how to get the message across of where to start and stop for each section.

Deanna wrote: "There really isn't anything that I can say is not working for me. Although, getting a handle on the races is difficult especially since I cannot remember their names. But like Carl said, it seems t..."

I'm right there with you.

Carl wrote: "Overall I think the story is great and it has really captured my interest. I have been having difficulty with getting a clear picture of the various races featured in the book. I'm heartened beca..."

I know what you mean about the various races: I was starting to feel really bogged down about them. However, I did find a guide to them (http://www.danielabraham.com/books-by...), which makes me feel a little more confident about them and how they differ. I would definitely have liked more description of their physical and mental attributes as well as their various roles in society. I agree with you that I am tending to see the characters as humans unless it is made very obvious that they are not.

I don’t want to sound repetitive, but I also agree with you about the names. I am struggling to retain them all, which is not a problem I usually have. I can only assume that it something about the way we are being introduced to so many names with little detail to attach to each one: I have a very visual memory, so I work best if I can see places on a map, get a visual image of a character, location, etc. Maps are the one aspect that I hate about my Kindle because they are usually so difficult to use and read on it :(

However, I have been thoroughly drawn in to the story and I am eager to read ahead, which is always a good sign! :)

Grace wrote: "My only minor complaint is that for the sake of a groupread, some form of chapter number or marker other than the name of the narrator would be nice. Even a part one, part two, part three would pr..."

I agree: he could at least number them Dawson 1, 2, etc. . . . I blame Mr Abraham's association with good old George R.R. Martin! :D

Carl wrote: "The main characters...Cithrin, Dawson, Marcus, Geder, were not difficult. It is more the place names and some of the side characters that, for whatever reason, seem to fade from my memory the seco..."

I find it interesting that the more unusual names stand out for you. I tend to struggle most when there are similar sounding names, such as the races Kurtadam, Raushadam, and Haunadam. I can understand why they might have similar names, but it makes my old brain struggle! :D

Deanna wrote: "There really isn't anything that I can say is not working for me. Although, getting a handle on the races is difficult especially since I cannot remember their names. But like Carl said, it seems t..."

It is strange how some authors can throw tons of world building at me and I simply soak it up like a sponge, whilst others leave me feeling a little like my brain is not working quite right. For the first few chapters I definitely had that feeling of being a little overwhelmed and uncomfortable, but the story is so strong that I am happy to push on.

Carl wrote: "Overall I think the story is great and it has really captured my interest. I have been having difficulty with getting a clear picture of the various races featured in the book. I'm heartened beca..."

I totally agree with you on these two points. I am glad that Sue from CCCP pointed out the race description page on Daniel Abraham's website. That is helpful

We have this very nifty map at the front of the paper book. It would be cool to have some sort of genealogy or character list for the royal houses - as those characters have all the long, fancy names and in bred cousins that they are scheming again.

But overall, these are two small points for me and definitely won't keep me away from the book.

In my head I'm seeing dog people, rabbit people, insect people ,fish people.....etc. I don't really mind it at this point, but I am looking forward to a more detailed description :) As far as the chapters, if he were writing it for our group read...I hope he'd add chapter numbers ;)

Sue wrote: Maps are the one aspect that I hate about my Kindle because they are usually so difficult to use and read on it :("

Oh, how I hate Kindle for that. Or for not being able to go easily back and forth to some passages I enjoy or need to recheck when the story develops. In this case however, I am fortunate to have both the paperback edition and the Kindle one (I could not resist a bargain for it). That usually happens for the authors I really like and Daniel Abraham for his "Long Price Quartet" is one of them. :)

Well, I hate being late but it so often appears to be my 'thing'. My nickname should be the 'white rabbit'. The good thing about being a bit tardy is that I read the first quarter this morning in one sitting. I think this helped me greatly with names, places, races and plot. If I'd been reading this during the week it would have been more in snippets here and there and with breaks in between but as it is I feel I now have quite a good handle on the characters. I must admit that with names I tend to shorten them in my head if they're overly long or difficult to say. I don't find the main characters names to be a problem here and thankfully they don't all sound similar which I find is more of a problem for me sometimes. It would be nice to have chapter numbers - particularly reading on the Kindle. Lynn :D

The only thing that's not working for me would be the edition that I have. ( I got the kindle version with Leviathan wakes) so it took me longer to get through the first part because it stayed at 2% for forever. Now that I figured out to get the page numbers to show (which is not the same as the group breakdown) I have a much better handle on where I am and I can see the progress I'm making. Not a big deal, but I'm also reading another chunky book so it can get a bit slow-going at times.

Sometimes watching that kindle percentage button moving (or not moving) can be quite aggravating. When you get a real chunkster it takes ages to just make 1%.