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Questions
Primary Characters:
- Margrave Royston
- Hal
- Thom
- Rook
Also:
Key Locations/People:
- Volstov
- Thremedon
- Ramathines
- Ke’Han
- Arlemagne
Other Works In This World:
- Shadow Magic – Jones & Bennett
- Dragon Soul (June 2010) – Jones & Bennett
- Did you like or dislike the book? What elements led you to feel that way? Strengths/Weaknesses?
- Both authors have expressed an interest in anime, and the book was
intended to try to carry some of the “sense of anime” into literary
form. Do you feel like the authors succeeded?
- The book seemed to use fantasy reimaginings of real world cultures
and events. Did you find that this modeling helped you to understand
the story? Did it enhance or detract from the story for you?
- Politics play a significant role in the story – both on a macro and
micro level – from the three-legged power structure of Volstov to the
diplomatic successes and failures with Arlemagne and Ke’Han. How well
did you feel the authors represented the realities of political
interplay?
- The Airmen represented a very interesting microculture, and through
Thom we saw an attempt to study how such a group operated
sociologically and psychologically. How well did you think the
authors “got it” in terms of group dynamics.
- The interplay between the characters of Thom and Rook is played out
against the parallel interplay between Hal and Royston, did you find
yourself thinking those relationships were headed in the same
direction? Do you think it was intended by the authors for the reader
to do so?
- The book earned a place on the short list of recommended works for
the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards – what elements do you think contributed
to that and do you think the judges were accurate when they selected
it as a work with strong positive GLBT content?
- What works did this book most remind you of and why?
- Did you feel that the magic as presented – including the dragons –
was internally consistent? Did you find it original or derivative?
- Would you read the follow up books (Shadow Magic concerns itself
with post-war diplomacy, Dragon Soul will be released this summer)
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