The Dragon's Path Group Read discussion

Other than the earlier surprise of poor Geder falling in the crapper (ugh, what a horrible visual), there have been some other surprises.

One that struck me was the big reveal of Tag being a young girl and her cargo being revealed as early as it was. I found myself being all kinds of suspicious when Opal stayed behind to help with the mule. I had a terrible feeling she was going to do something to Cithrin and/or abscond with the cargo. All my hackles were up and I was thrilled that Abraham did that to me, got me thinking that way, and then did something unexpected.

I wasn't expecting the connection that Marcus would find himself having with Cithrin so early on and that the entire troupe would step up to try to help Cithrin. I'm worried about what is going to happen with them as the story unfolds, of course, but I'm happy with the direction so far and the way in which it sneaked up on me.

Damn it, Carl! You had to remind me of Geder falling in the crapper, did you? :)

I would say that the scene from the forest involving the caravan, Marcus and acting troupe surprised me the most. I could not think of a particular way out there and the one offered by Daniel Abraham was unexpected. It was thrilling, satisfying and totally convincing.

Also, I didn't expect someone to come forth with information about the caravan. It is an interesting twist the story takes here and I am very satisfied to see it taking this road. Or at least I believe that it would take this road. Especially since also Dawson's part of the story makes me think of a future interest from his part for this particular caravan.

Mihai wrote: "Damn it, Carl! You had to remind me of Geder falling in the crapper, did you? :)

I would say that the scene from the forest involving the caravan, Marcus and acting troupe surprised me the most. I..."

Did you see the movie Slum Dog Millionaire? That scene reminded me of what happened to the kid. Hard not to gag if you think about it too much. Those are the kind of "friends" I wouldn't want to have.

Dawson is interesting. He is the one character I'm currently not fond of which makes me compelled to keep reading to see if how my feelings for him evolve.

I haven't read quite all of this week's section yet (but grad school will be over today, so I'll catch up fast).

Did anyone else think the prologue with the spider guy was positively creepy? He BLEEDS SPIDERS! I'm curious how that will be mingled into the main plotline.

Carl wrote: Did you see the movie Slum Dog Millionaire?"

Amitabh Bachchan! :D I wouldn't want such friends either.

Grace wrote: "He BLEEDS SPIDERS!"

That was pretty cool, I liked it. And because of it, I am very curious to see how the religious part of the world plays out. Especially this spider goddess mentioned earlier in the novel.

Mihai wrote: "Grace wrote: "He BLEEDS SPIDERS!"

That was pretty cool, I liked it. And because of it, I am very curious to see how the religious part of the world plays out. Especially this spider goddess mentio..."

Yes. I've already got an irrational fear of spiders, so a spider goddess that wants to eat the world makes an awesome villain that I'd love to root against.

Grace wrote:
Did anyone else think the prologue with the spider guy was positively creepy? He B..."

Yes. I was creeped out, and yet at the same time I became very curious as to how that could be and what that means for the entire story, the prologue was fantastic. It hooked me right in; so many questions needing answers.

Otherwise, there hasn't been any surprises for me, per se. Not that I anticipated any of it either.

Deanna wrote: "Grace wrote:
Did anyone else think the prologue with the spider guy was positively creepy? He B..."

Yes. I was creeped out, and yet at the same time I became very curious as to how that could be..."

I thought that was pretty cool...and creepy too. I really loved the Prologue. It just sucked me right in. It is funny because I had forgotten all about the spiders until you mentioned it. Now I'm curious how that, and the goddess, will get woven back into the story.

Carl wrote: "Other than the earlier surprise of poor Geder falling in the crapper (ugh, what a horrible visual), there have been some other surprises.

One that struck me was the big reveal of Tag being a you..."

Poor Geder, that is a truly unpleasant ‘joke’ to play on a person. He reminds me a little of Tyrion Lannister, with his bookishness and unfortunate physique. Plus I am always a sucker for an underdog.

I am surprised that you were so suspicious of Opal because the only thing I expected there was that Opal would make it perfectly clear that she knew that ‘Tag’ was a disguise. I have a suspicion that the actors have a rather ambivalent relationship with their audience and so they are wary of outsiders and very protective of one another, which makes them likely to adopt other random misfits such as Cithrin.

I was also surprised at how soon the deception was revealed, and that the whole caravan would change its plans because of it. I thought that the ‘guards’ and Cithrin’s cart would be travelling on alone, leaving the rest to wait for the pass to clear, by which time their protection would have returned.

I think the biggest surprise so far was the death of Besel, the lad who was supposed to drive the cart in the caravan. Perhaps it’s just me, but I would never think of killing someone in order to try to get their master to lend me some money.

Mihai wrote: "Damn it, Carl! You had to remind me of Geder falling in the crapper, did you? :)

I would say that the scene from the forest involving the caravan, Marcus and acting troupe surprised me the most. I..."

I guess that we needed to have the snitch in order for the caravan to be pursued, otherwise nobody would guess that it had anything interesting hidden under the tarps.

Grace wrote: "I haven't read quite all of this week's section yet (but grad school will be over today, so I'll catch up fast).

Did anyone else think the prologue with the spider guy was positively creepy? He B..."

Yep and yep! At the moment it seems totally unrelated, but I hope we find out what his blood spiders are all about . . . I think . . .

Mihai wrote: "Damn it, Carl! You had to remind me of Geder falling in the crapper, did you? :)

I would say that the scene from the forest involving the caravan, Marcus and acting troupe surprised me the most. I..."

I love your points here. Yes, the crapper scene was juvenile surprise factor. But then that forest bandit scene and what Master Kit did was awesome. Great way to solve a messy situation.

I am also surprised how quickly Daniel Abraham has secrets being given up. Like Cithrin's true identity came out sooner than I thought. But then also the caravan snippet passed on to Geder so soon.

I'm guessing that Abraham has more twists and turns in waiting for us and so he can give up those little secrets now in order to move the story forward.

Sue wrote: "Carl wrote: "Other than the earlier surprise of poor Geder falling in the crapper (ugh, what a horrible visual), there have been some other surprises.

One that struck me was the big reveal of Ta..."

Besel going down wasn't expected - and in such a brutal way. I thought for sure we were in for a drawn out one-sided love story as a subplot.

Oh, and I am much relieved to hear that you won't be killing anyone over lending you money (or not) any time soon. ;).

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 himself bothered me , but it did get his whole vengeance thing going which almost made it worth it ;)

The introduction with the bleeding spiders really got my attention. Can't wait to see what that's all about but clearly we're in for a bit more than politics, war and treasure hunting!
I was surprised that Cithrin's cover had been so easily discarded but I kind of thought the actors had already twigged it.
I agree with Sue that the death of Besel was a surprise, in fact it's probably the only criticism that I have so far as it felt a little contrived. Why would you kill somebody's cart driver because they won't lend you money?

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 really going in the direction that I expected, as much as one builds up expectations this early on, so I am curious what else I am wrong about.

Susan wrote: "Mihai wrote: "Damn it, Carl! You had to remind me of Geder falling in the crapper, did you? :)

I would say that the scene from the forest involving the caravan, Marcus and acting troupe surprised ..."

Yep: I predict a twisty, turny plot to be revealed! :)

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..."

Burning books is just plain wrong, for any reason! :D

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 really going in the di..."

I was also surprised, but it would have been a little too cliche for 'Tag' to be outed when the soldiers arrived to seize the cart so I am quite happy to see where we go next.

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: "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.

I can't say that anything is surprising me so far. Well, maybe the fact that Geder made the run to Lord Ternigan. I figured he would bumble that assignment. I didn't think that Tag's disguise would hold, so for me it was a matter of who would discover it first. Am I surprised at the unconditional welcome she received? Kind of, but since most of them are only playing parts it makes sense. I don't know what to expect, so I'm like a sponge soaking it all in.