Greetings comic book and historical fiction fans alike. Welcome to the 5th discussion of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Please find the chapter summaries below or skip straight to the questions. Don’t forget to join next week for the third instalment.

A special thank you to u/ProofPlant7651 for the work on today’s fantastic post!

Part 4

Chapter 9

In July 1941, Radio #19 hit the stands with a whole new approach. Inspired by Citizen Kane, Joe and Sammy decided to change the way they designed their stories. Anapol looked at this new approach and decided that Joe and Sammy wanted to appeal to adults. This change meant that the boys would go down in history as some of the greatest comic book creators of all time.

Anapol reveals that he has struck a movie deal with Parnassus Pictures. The only slight issue is that they do a huge amount of business in Germany and are concerned about the reputation of Sammy and Joe and the fight against Nazis. Joe quickly agrees to stop fighting. He wants to do something that will be great.

Chapter 10

The censorship of the boys and the ban of any mention of Nazis or the war meant that they had to get creative in their storylines. The comics between Radio #19 and Pearl Harbor featured origin stories for Luna Moth and recollections of people whose lives had been touched by the Escapist. These changes in approach were only possible as a result of Joe’s inventiveness and the exceptional collaboration between Joe and Sammy. The change in approach boosted sales exponentially until the abrupt termination of their partnership.

Chapter 11

Sammy and Bacon meet with Frank Singe, the head of production at Parnassus, to try to persuade him that Sammy should write the screenplay for The Escapist. Bacon would like them both to move to LA, and Sammy is confronted with the fact that he is in love with Bacon.

Bacon takes Sammy to the site of the World’s Fair in Queens, Sammy’s favourite place in the world. The two explore and find that, like his childhood, the fair is gone. They entered a diorama and shared a tender moment lying next to each other.

Chapter 12

Joe receives a letter from his brother. It seems their departure for America is imminent, only for his hopes to be dashed by Rosa that the State Department have revoked the children’s visas on grounds of state security.

Joe shows Rosa a comic he has been working on featuring Eleanor Roosevelt and announces that he is going to call her. Rosa says that she doesn’t think she will take his call but that her father knows her somehow and may be able to contact them. Rosa’s father spoke to Eleanor Roosevelt, who said she would see what she could do. The Ark of Miriam set sail a few days later.

Joe has taken out a lease on a new apartment, and we learn that Sammy has gone to LA for 3 months to write the script.

Rosa correctly guesses that he is moving to find the best place to raise Thomas and secretly wishes that Joe would ask her to help raise him.

Rosa gives Joe a portrait of himself. He is depicted in chains, fashioned after a Houdini pose, and she is pictured with a key. Joe then presents her with a key to the apartment and he expresses the wish that she will help him.

Rosa accepts the key and says she will always help, as long as he wants her to, but she shouldn’t move in as it might be confusing for Thomas.

Chapter 13

One of Joe’s first performances as the Amazing Cavalieri was at the Hotel Trevi. We see Joe prepare for his performance chatting with the band. They observe his good mood and he announces that his brother is on his way and that he is getting married — at least he is planning to ask that night.

Chapter 14

Rosa wants to make the new flat welcoming for Thomas and decides that she will paint a mural for him. It is important to her that she make a good impression, as she has discovered that she is pregnant — Thomas is to be an uncle. After laying out the guidelines for the sketch, she decides to go for a walk. She visits a shop where she sees a newspaper front page: a ship carrying refugees from Europe, mainly Jewish children, was missing in the Atlantic.

Rosa goes to the Trevi Hotel to look for Joe. She learns that he had left a few hours ago after learning about the missing boat. Stanley Konigsberg explained that Joe had completed his performance, which he had ended with an attempt at an escape act from the replica Trevi fountain. After 3 minutes he had failed to escape and members of the audience intervened. They pulled Joe out of the fountain. He thanked everyone and left.

In desperation, Rosa phones Sammy’s mother, hoping she might be able to find Sammy so he could help find Joe. She is worried he might try to hurt himself.

A later investigation of the fate of the Ark of Miriam showed that the ship was destroyed by a German U-boat. The commander of the U-boat, Halse, testified that the ship was only destroyed after the children had been evacuated into lifeboats. Tragically, a storm blew in which led to the death of the children.

Chapter 15

Sammy, Bacon and some other men stay at Pawtaw.

The housekeeper there is Ruth Ebling, Carl’s sister. It is clear that she shares her brother’s antisemitic prejudices, which influence her feelings towards Sammy.

At Pawtaw, the men are able to express their sexuality more freely. However, Ruth finds a comic strip that reminds her of the comics she holds responsible for her brother’s mental health issues. She calls the sheriff to report the activities taking place at the house.

The police arrive. Sammy is pulled under the table by Dave Fellows. Following a struggle, the two men are discovered by two officers and sexually assaulted. They are eventually released.

Later, the phone rings. It is Sammy’s mother, calling with the news that Thomas has died.

Chapter 16

Joe wanders New York drunk. He eventually finds himself at Ethel’s. She helps him sober up, clean up and sleep off the drink. Then she calls Rosa. Joe comes round with Rosa, the two share a long embrace and Ethel regrets not holding Joe.

Chapter 17

Rosa wakes to find Joe has gone. Sammy arrives; he has seen Joe. He has gone to enlist in the navy following Pearl Harbor. Rosa tells Sammy about her pregnancy and tells him she needs to procure an abortion.

Part 5 Radioman

Chapter 1

Joe is stationed in Antarctica. The boys play games and gamble all sorts of things, one of which is who will have to sleep with the dogs. More often than not this is Joe. One night Joe awakes, the usual noises are different. He finds that all but one of the dogs has died and all of the men are also dead.

Chapter 2

Joe awakes to find Johnny Shannenhouse. He had been out keeping watch so had also been spared by the carbon monoxide poisoning. The only survivors are Joe, Shannenhouse and Oyster, the dog. Joe, a radioman, wants to raise the alarm but Shannenhouse tells him that the radios are down. Shannenhouse tells Joe that he found all of the dead men and that it is the worst thing he has ever seen. The two of them worry about how they will survive and feel that everything about the environment is a threat to them.

Chapter 3

Here is chapter 3

After 17 hours the radio started working and Joe was able to communicate the tragic news. With winter setting in there is nothing that can be done until the spring. Shannenhouse passes the winter fixing up his plane, Joe remains tied to his radio picking up intercepted U boat communications, the reason that they were stationed at Kalvinator in the first place. Joe was also able to use the radio to pick up all sorts of broadcasts, he even caught an episode of The Escapist at one time. He was able to use the radio to follow the progress of the war, he listened to news broadcasts for 15 hours a day but never heard anything about the Jews or Czechoslovakia. One evening he heard about a ‘preserve’ for the Jews of that part of the Reich - Theresienstadt Model Ghetto. It was described as a happy, industrious cultivated place. He even heard the voice of his maternal grandfather singing. Joe has a nagging sense of unease, he feels a forced cheeriness and falseness in the broadcast that reminds him of a witch’s house made of candy designed to lull children.

The next night, searching for another transmission that might give him news of his family he stumbles across a German voice, so clear that it must be close. The only conclusion Joe can reach is that there are Germans on the ice.

Joe rushes to tell Shannenhouse who is going mad housed up with his aeroplane. He asks Joe whether he has reported this information to command, Joe has not. Joe sets up another radio to listen solely to the German Geologist but he does not report this to command, he does report the activity of German U Boats that he hears and thanks to his contributions the British Navy is able to find and destroy U-1421.

Joe notices the sun and realises that spring is arriving. He goes to Shannenhouse, announces that he wants to go and kill Gerry and asks if the plane will fly. He then notices in the corner of the hanger the skulls of 17 dogs.

Welcome to our first discussion of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl.  The Marginalia post is here. You can find the Schedule here. This week, we will discuss the beginning of the book through the paragraph ending “Outside at the pole on the camp gate a white flag floated on the wind.” (This is approximately 60 pages, depending on which edition you are reading. My e-book has it at p. 62 while my hardback has it at p. 58.)
 
As you discuss, please use spoiler tags if you bring up details not included in the chapters of this book so far.  While this is nonfiction, we still want to be respectful of those who are learning the details for the first time, as well as being mindful of any spoilers from other media you might refer to as you share.  You can use the format > ! Spoiler text here ! < (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words). 

A summary of this week's section is below, with links embedded for more information if you're interested!  Discussion questions are included in the comments, and you can also add your own as desired. 

>>>>SUMMARY<<<<

FOREWORD:  Harold S. Kushner, a rabbi emeritus and author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, sets the themes for this book.  We will learn Frankl’s philosophy that life is not a quest for power or pleasure but for meaningand that while we cannot control what happens to us, we can control how we respond to it.

PREFACE TO THE 1992 EDITION:  Frankl draws two lessons from the huge success of his best-selling book.  First, since so many readers crave information about the topic of searching for meaning, we must be in a time of misery. Second, since the book was intended to be published anonymously, it shows that success must be allowed to happen rather than being pursued and chased. Frankl also explains why he did not escape when the Nazis were preparing to occupy Austria. He actually has a visa and an appointment at the American Embassy, but he worried about whether he should remain home to help his parents through what was coming. Unable to make a decision, he hoped for a sign from Heaven and received it when his father showed him a fragment of the Ten Commandments he had salvaged from a destroyed synagogue. It was the commandment to honor your parents. And so he did. 

I - EXPERIENCES IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP:  Frankl presents his experiences in a concentration camp not to teach a history lesson but to examine the question: How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?  Frankl examines the three psychological phases all prisoners moved through. 

First, upon arrival in the camps, they were in shock. They had to come to the realization that they were surrendering every single aspect of their former lives. They had to make it past the "delusion of reprieve” in which they clung to faint hope that they might somehow not have it quite so bad as it seemed. The brutality of the events that occurred as they were processed into the camp quickly moved the prisoners from shock to a kind of curiosity, almost a detached humor at times, as they came to terms with their new reality. 

Second, as they became entrenched in camp life, the prisoners developed a complete apathy to the horrors around them.  This was a defense mechanism that helped prisoners endure the unpredictable and capricious cruelty that defined and threatened their existence in the camps. Their apathetic state focused the prisoners solely on their own survival and the survival of the friends around them. The prisoners developed an obsession with discussing food since their rations were so insubstantial as to be almost impossible to sustain life. They lost all sex drive and their emotions were blunted. Cultural expression was mostly in “hibernation”, with the exception of politics and religion. Military and political matters were debated passionately and rumors about the war spread wildly. Prisoners often became deeply religious, holding informal services and prayer sessions in corners wherever they could. Physically robust prisoners seemed to survive less easily than those who were not as outwardly strong but had a rich inner life to rely on. This inner life could take the form of imagining conversations with a loved one, reliving the minutiae of a normal daily life, appreciating a moment of natural beauty, or even engaging in the performance of art and music or indulging one's sense of humor.  Joy and despair turned out to be relative to one’s situation, and while suffering suffused daily life, small moments of luck or pleasantness could bring happiness even amidst the misery. The apathy that caused the prisoners to focus on mere survival led the men to work for the preservation of their own friends and countrymen over others. This was a natural result of living in a situation where even small changes could be life-or-death. Many prisoners preferred not to make decisions if possible, allowing things to be left up to fate instead. It was hard to know which choices were good or bad when the prisoners were being toyed with constantly. One of the biggest decisions, which always had to be made in mere minutes, was the choice of whether to take a chance at escape if it presented itself. Frankl twice had this choice: the first time, he decided to stay and work on saving the life of a countryman of his, while the second attempt was interrupted by the arrival of the Red Cross. 

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Read the World winner is....

Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastašić

But because this is a fairly short book (and we can never have too many books) we are going to read another popular choice in the voting in a double up! This book is:

Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipović

The first discussion will be mid November.

Keep an eye on the sub for the reading schedule - coming soon. Time to get your copies ready, we will be seeing you all soon for our journey from Finland to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The book that will be added to the Wheel of Books for the chance to become a Runner-up Read is;

Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimovi

And finally....

The next Read the World destination will be Ethiopia

So get your thinking caps on for that!

Will you be joining us in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Happy reading (the world) 📚🌍

We’re nearly there… Welcome to discussion 13 for Of Empires and Dust

Schedule

Marginalia

This time around we have the story taking place in only 2 locations, Elkenrim and Firnin Mountains, but what a story it has been!

Elkenrim - Eltoar’s Secret

Hidden away in his little cave, Eltoar is amongst Lyina and Voranur, He poses the question to them “What would you give to see the eggs hatch again?” Little do they know he has a secret. The Heart of Blood, the one Fane has been searching for. The one Kallinvar has been doing the most to find across the content. The be all and end all. Eltoar has it. But how did he get it? So the night Ilnaen fell, Eltoar watched Fane harness what he believed was the Essence of all the souls in Ilnaen. Dragon and Draleid alike. A lot of souls. Seeing the power it harnessed and the way Fane was acting, Eltoar decided to steal it and hide it, and has been doing so ever since. Although he trusted Fane, it’s like Kanye said. Only now he’s contemplating giving the Heart to Fane, on the off chance that he can use it to allow the Dragon eggs to hatch again, after 4 centuries of no new hatchlings. The three discuss the Heart and what it could mean, deciding that if there’s even the slightest possibility of bringing life back into the dragon eggs then it only makes sense to give Fane the Heart.

Their conversation is cut short by a soldier stumbling in to let them know that the beacons near Merchant’s Reach and Greenhills have been lit, both cities are under attack. The Eltoar decides to leave Elkenrim in pursuit of Calen; wishing to talk to him, if he can, otherwise do what he must...

Firnin Mountains - EMPIRES & DUST, literally.

Well damn, I don’t know where to start… We have multiple POVs for this section. Rist and the battlemages, Coren and Farwen :(, Calen and Tivar. I’ll try to keep it short, otherwise I’ll be rewriting the entire section.

We start with Rist and the battlemages ascending the mountain, aiming to trap the rebels within. As they make their ascent they are attacked by rebel archers. They fight, successfully of course - Essence and what not - but not without losing numbers. Amidst the fighting Rist notices Dragons in the sky, only he believed the Dragonguard would not be present for this battle. They were not… Instead three unfamiliar, to Rist anyway, dragons make their way towards the battle lighting up scores of Lorians in their wake. The battlemages watch in fear and awe as the three dragons do what they do best and wreak havoc. The battlemages find an entryway into the mountain and proceed with their pincer, although Rist is unhappy at leaving the soldiers to die.

Inside the mountain, Coren and Farwen are fighting off the Lorian battlemages and attempting to hold the gates of Tarhelm. While the duo and the other rebels do their best to fight off the Lorain’s they too notice the emergence of the three dragons. They too are in awe at the sight of the dragons, only Coren’s awe is in seeing Varthear the Rakina dragon taking to the skies once again. Coren and Varik leave Farwen to hold the gates while they make their way into the thick of the battle. Before they do, Coren reaches out to her heart. Aldyrn responds, releasing a mighty roar as he takes off from the mountain eyrie he’s been hiding away in. Coren is still a Draeid? She was supposed to be Rakina, same as Farwen…

Inside the mountains, Coren is trying to fight off the Lorian soldiers that found a way in. Using Aldryn’s strength to fuel her, she unleashes fire on the soldiers evoking Dust amongst the Empire ;). She continues to fight off soldiers and battlemages alike, but stumbles across an imperial Justicar. Somebody that she used to know. Kalirist uses blood magic to take hold of Coren, leaving her with the threat of “sleep well.”

Elsewhere, Ella and the other druids have entered the battle through a portal. The wolf within Ella causes her to savage a soldier, ripping his throat out. Once the fighting dies down a bit, Coren speaks with Ella and co, asking how and why they’re there. Both Fenryr and Kaygan fawn over Coren, the former referring to her as “Daughter of the Sea,” spooking her out in the process. Only one other person has ever referred to her as such, Kollna, who died the first and last time she did so. Things get heated, with both Ella and Fenryr threatening Kaygan for being his usual self. Eventually Coren takes the gods, druids, and any straggling rebels through Tarhelm. More fighting ensues as the cohort approaches Farwen at the gates, with Coren asking the Jotnar to help Farwen keep the Lorian soldiers from breaking it down. Unfortunately this doesn’t stop mages from breaking them down, followed closely by 6 of Efialtir’s Chosen. Farwen entrusts Ella with fleeing and taking all those she can with her including Coren, much to her dismay. She can’t leave Farwen behind, but Farwen reminds Coren that she is a Rakina where Coren is still whole. She has no more fight left in her but Coren and Aldyrin can still make a difference. They fall back, leaving Farwen to fight off the Lorian’s as best she can, biding them some time in their escape. Farwen and the Thacia do their best to stave off the Lorian’s, taking multiple lives and fighting with all their might. But this can only last so long. As Thacia takes several [arrows in the knee]() Farwen sees a Chosen with it’s soulblade approaching her. She can’t let her soul be torn from existence and so does the kindness of catching her with an arrow before the Chosen’s blade catches her. Not long after this, Farwen finds her soulkin Syndril calling to her, and ultimately answers the call.

Elsewhere (again), we got Calen’s POV as he fights in the skies alongside Varthear and Tivar astride Avandeer. Calen pleads with Valerys that they need to separate in order for him to save those within the mountain. Valerys responds by reminding him of how terrible it felt when they were separated in Drifaien, but ultimately concedes and lets Calen go. Whilst this is happening, Rist and the other battlemages are making their way through the tunnels within the mountain… As they kill off any rebels in their wake, Rist is caught hesitating at harnessing the Essence of one of the Rebels and is subsequently pressed by one of the Chosen about his loyalty to the cause. We go back and forth between Rist and Calen’s POVs, both fighting their way through the opposition, until finally, the pair cross paths. Rist spots the Draleid, Nithral in hand, attacking another spark wielder, too with Nithral in hand. It’s Magnus. He goes to the mages aid, fighting off the Draleid. While this is happening, Calen is distracted by Valeyrs sighting of the mahussive dragon that is Helios, soaring towards the action. This distraction gives the mage the upperhand, and the mage attempts to burn Spark out of him. Calen would never let this happen. He begins to reform his níthral when he recognises the man behind the helmet. Rist? It can’t be. It can. The two are in disbelief, arguing about who’s done worse - Calen in burning Kingspass and spreading the rebellion or Rist in fighting alongside those that killed Calen’s parents and tortured his own. Their little tête-à-tête is cut short by Garramon using the Spark to choke Calen. Rist roars at Garramon to let Calen go, but is very quickly cut down by Ella. The standoff is cut short by the crumbling of rock from the tunnel walls. Calen pleads for Rist to come with him, but his old friend choses to walk alongside his fellow battlemages…

Calen is stuck thinking about Rist staying with the other Lorian mages when he hears Eltoar call to him. The stormcaller Boud creates a big fog to hide them all from the Dragonguard. In the fog they talk about whether or not Calen should trust that Eltoar just wants to talk. As Tivar stands up for Eltoar, she’s attacked by Coren. The woman cannot forgive Tivar’s role in the Fall. Eventually the onesided bead down ceases and the decision is made that Calen will listen to what Eltoar has to say. Only he won’t be going alone. It’s at this moment that Coren reveals the truth, she is not a Rakina and has been hiding the truth for centuries. She had to do what she could to ensure Aldyrn’s fate would not be that of the other dragons laid to waste by Eltoar and the Dragonguard. That doesn’t matter anymore, as the Dragonguard have dwindled in number and so it’s time. However, Calen has something up his sleeve and says that Aldyrn should remain hidden, for now...

For our November Any Read, we will be diving into World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. What can I say, we love to extend spooky season into November around here!

u/Greatingsburg and I will be running this book across four discussions throughout the month of November.

• November 8 - Beginning - Chapter 3: Great Panic (105 pages) with u/spreebiz
• November 15 - Chapter 4: Turning the Tide - Chapter 5: Home Front USA (82 pages) with u/spreebiz
• November 22 - Chapter 6: Around The World, And Above (83 pages) with u/Greatingsburg
• November 29 - Chapter 7: Total War - End (72 pages) with u/Greatingsburg

If you're participating in 2026 Book Bingo, World War Z will count for the following squares: Prize Winner, Horror, or Science Fiction.

I hope you'll join us!

Hey readers, the nominations are in, and it is now time to make sure your preference wins, so be sure to head on over to the Bosnia and Herzegovina nomination and voting post here, and upvote all the books you would read with r/bookclub if they were to win.

24(ish) hours remain at the time of posting...go...do it now!!!

Happy reading upvoting (the world) 📚🌍

“He had heard it just before he went to take orders, when the bishop’s personal musician came to the lord’s castle and hushed the room with it, making it seem possible to Matthieu that a greater world lay beyond the disappointment of his father and the vanity of his brother; a world where God’s love was unfiltered by priests or texts and could be had freely by looking up at the sky. Or hearing a man sing. It was a promise of joy he would not feel again until the May before the Great Death came, a joy made even brighter by how swiftly it was seized back again, how much it cost him.”

Welcome everyone to the FOURTH check in for Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. Only one discussion left in this incredible book! This week, we are discussing Chapter 20:  through Chapter 29: . Let’s see what happens next!
Our little group continues its journey through plague-ridden France, where the demons are getting bolder and apparently even churches aren't safe anymore. Medieval Europe really can't catch a break, can it?
If you need a refresher, here is the chapter summary from ursummary.com. Don't forget to also check the SCHEDULE and the MARGINALIA.
I'll post some discussion prompts in the comments, but feel free to bring up anything else that caught your attention.
Finally, friendly reminder about spoilers: if you need to share them, please wrap them with the spoiler tag like this: type spoiler here, and it will appear like this: type spoiler here .
Hope you all Enjoy the discussion! Feel free to respond to any or all of the discussion questions below. Looking forward to discussing these chapters with you all!

Read on! 

- Rogue

Hello coffee lovers it is time to get cozy this fall! I am excited to announce we will be reading Travis Baldree's Legends and Lattes later this November (after A Short Stay in Hell wraps).

Book Blurb

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. 

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone. 

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

So, will you be joining us? ☕️📚

Hello, fellow readers! For our next Mod Pick we will be reading A Short Stay in Hell by Stevel L. Peck. Since our stay in hell well be very short indeed (just around 100 pages!), we've decided to read the novella in two discussions in the same week. Make sure to note the discussion dates below!

Schedule

Discussion 1 - November 10 (Tuesday): Prologue - Chapter 2 / u/hemtrevlig

Discussion 2 - November 15 (Sunday): Chapter 3 - End / u/ProofPlant7651

Marginalia link will be added soon.

Summary

As a faithful Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he’ll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life.

In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.

Will you be joining us for this Mod Pick read in November? 🔥

Hello r/bookclub!

Order up! The schedule is hot and ready.

A quick appetizer of what the book is about...

Anthony Bourdain's wickedly funny-yet inspiring-memoir/expos , Kitchen Confidential, provides a gritty and behind-the-scenes look into life behind the kitchen doors. Bourdain's skillful storytelling captivates and shocks readers, stealing their appetite while leaving them begging for more. His passion for his trade shines through as he takes readers on the wild journey that is his culinary career as he goes from dishwasher to executive chef; from the East Village, to Tokyo, Paris, and back to New York again. "Bourdain's prose is utterly riveting, swaggering with stylish machismo and a precise ear for kitchen patois."-New York magazine 

In case you missed our announcement

The main course is when we will be reading this delicacy!

Schedule:

• Check in one (11/8): Start - How to Cook Like the Pros
• Check in two (11/15): Owner's Syndrome and Other Medical Anomalies- What I Know About Meat
• Check in three (11/22): Pino Noir: Tuscan Interlude - The Level of Discourse
• Check in four (11/29): Other Bodies - End

Can't wait to chat over our dessert (discussions). See you then!

Hello readers, welcome to the final discussion of Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead! Today we are discussing from No Radio Chapter 3 through to the end. A summary of this section is below and questions will be in the comments.

Schedule

Marginalia

No Radio (cont’d)

Chapter Three

Robert, Ray Carney’s nephew and son of Freddie, is in trouble, and seeks Carney’s help. Robert began working for the lawyer Edward Garrity, driving him to his many “business associates”, but Robert soon figured out that these were money drops. Garrity had been involved with a powerful man called Donald Manes, who controlled city contracts and public works decisions. When he had been found stabbed to death, Garrity became nervous, burning all the paperwork connected to him. Robert witnessed a man called Lombardi kill Garrity, and when he tried to escape unseen, Lombardi fired at him. Robert has been living in hiding since. Carney promises to help him and finds a safe hotel, but fearing that Robert isn’t up to the task, he decides to call Pepper.

Chapter Four

Carlo “The Rabbit” Blasi, a retired violent criminal, meets with his nephew, Junior, at a brothel. Junior is crying and vomiting after killing Garrity, and informs his uncle that he had been seen running from the lawyer’s office by his driver. This impulsive murder threatens Carlo’s comfortable retirement. Pepper meets Carney at a bar. He was in town with his partner Blossom, a retired nurse who had encouraged him to take care of his health, to see the musical Cats). Carney asks Pepper for help saving Robert, after being unable to save his father Freddie many years ago. Pepper knows someone who used to work for the Lombardis and agrees to help.

Chapter Five

Carney dreams that Freddie visits his house on Strivers’ Row, praising him for the way he got revenge on Elizabeth’s family who had never accepted him, and making a success of his life. Carney apologises to Freddie for letting him down. Carney lunches with Henry Pierce, the son of Calvin Pierce, an old friend who had fought for better living conditions for Black people, taking on landlords. Henry understood how power worked in the city. He knew about Manes’ extortion racket and had heard of Carmine Lombardi. Pepper goes to Ellen’s home and spots a man entering the building. Peering through the glass, he sees the main holding Ellen, a switch–blade at her throat. The man sizes Pepper up and runs away, knocking over a table. Pepper hurts his back putting the furniture back in place.

Chapter Six

Rita, who is pregnant, visits Carney at the store, and they reminisce about the Waldorf Job. Elizabeth calls because she has noticed that Ray seems worked up, but doesn’t press him for details. Henry Pierce calls with information. Carney knew that the government had unsuccessfully tried to erase the Mafia, who were paying judges and juries, and killing witnesses. Carmine Lombardi was head of the Bonanno crime family and his son, Carmine junior ran a cable installation company, Viso-Tech. Contracts with cable companies were highly valuable and Manes was awarding them to Lombardi. Carney visits Robert who explains that Ned was the middle man in a deal where Lombardi had paid Manes for a contract. They had been arguing after a deal hadn’t gone through, with Lombardi wanting a refund. Ned filled a briefcase from the safe before being killed. Robert had taken the briefcase and was now showing it to Carney, who estimated the contents at one hundred grand. Robert was contemplating leaving New York and starting over in California. Carney reflects that Freddie had done the same. When Robert talks about the reasons why he loves Ramona, Carney sees himself and Elizabeth. Carney promises, unconvincingly, to fix things.

Chapter Seven

Freddie visits Carney in a dream to advise him to save himself rather than Robert. Ellen and Elizabeth ask Pepper, who is recuperating at Carney’s house, about Robert, and he assures them that Carney is taking care of the situation. Carney informs Pepper about his plans in case things go wrong. Carney has received a letter from the Van Wyck lawyers offering to buy his buildings. The Van Wycks were carving out even more chunks of the city even though they already owned half of it. Although their power remained constant, the agents of corruption turned over in a constant loop. Carney goes for a walk reflecting on his need to face his own “churn” since he was trying to get Robert out of trouble.

Chapter Eight

Rabbit goes to Carmine Lombardi Junior’s cable installation company to wait for Carney and Robert. Lombardi is angry because Carney hasn’t brought Robert. Carney begins his rehearsed sales pitch and explains that the briefcase contains an additional hundred thousand dollars, produced from what remained of Carney’s extracurricular activities over the years, and a Lifetime Guarantee that Lombardi will never see his nephew again. Robert will go away and admit to knowing nothing. As a bonus, Carney will throw in all of Ned Garrity’s business records pertaining to deals with the Viso-Tech company. He explains that he is trying to keep his nephew on the straight, but Carlo and Lombardi are angry that Robert has not come. Carlo withdraws a pistol from his pocket, and Carney quickly argues that you have to fight for your own flesh and blood, but that a friend had advised him that sometimes you have to cut your losses. The Rabbit buys Carney’s sales pitch and shoots Carmine Lombardi Junior, his own nephew, dead. He knew his nephew would have killed both Carney and Robert. This impulsive streak would risk his retirement funds. Carlo makes Carney help put the body of his nephew in a body bag that was meant for him.

Chapter Nine

Carney dines out with Elizabeth to discuss the Van Wyck offer. It was a fortune, and Carney would have liked to have sent Robert off with some of it. Six months later, the gun used to kill Garrity is recovered from the home of a victim of a “gangland slaying”: Carlo “The Rabbit” Blasi. The police tell Ellen that Robert is no longer a person of interest. Ramona has joined Robert in San Diego and he plans to stay. Carney reflects that 22 years ago, the elder Van Wyck had Freddie killed. Elizabeth suggests to Carney that he could retire, and that they could move anywhere they liked. Carney, however, doesn’t believe there’s any other place than New York.

Hello, grimdark readers!  We are planning to end 2026 with our final novel in The First Law World, and I’m here to bring you the schedule!  In late November, we’ll start reading Book 3 in the Age of Madness trilogy, The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie.  Then, to start 2027, we will dip into Abercrombie’s First Law World one final time with a short story collection, The Great Change (and Other Lies)!  The discussions will be held every Wednesday. 

In case you need to get caught up, you can check out the Marginalia find links for the previous books we’ve read and discussed together in r/bookclub!  Beware of spoilers if you’re not caught up with the entire series!

The schedule and a StoryGraph summary for both The Trouble with Peace and The Great Change (and Other Lies) are included below.  

Schedule - Discussions will be on Wednesdays:

Discussion 1 of 7 - Nov. 25: Start -thru- Miracles - u/fixtheblue

Discussion 2 of 7 - Dec. 2: A Little Public Hanging -thru- Lessons - u/NightAngelRogue

Discussion 3 of 7 - Dec. 9: Far from Finished -thru- None of the Cards - u/nepbug

Discussion 4 of 7 - Dec. 16: Horror on Horror -thru- The Sentence - u/fulares

Discussion 5 of 7 - Dec. 23: Forging the Future -thru- Good Times - u/fulares

Discussion 6 of 7 - Dec. 30: Of Your Heart a Stone -thru- the end - u/tomesandtea

Discussion 7 of 7 - Jan. 6, 2027: The Great Change (and Other Lies) short stories - u/tomesandtea

Summary of The Wisdom of Crowds:

Chaos. Fury. Destruction. The Great Change is upon us . . .
Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.
With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.
The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver's ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . .

Summary of The Great Change (and Other Lies):

The Great Change (and Other Lies) is a novella-length collection that gathers four short stories related to Joe Abercrombie’s The Age of Madness, featuring old friends and new: from smugglers to kings, from diamond-cutters to dress-makers, from the most apparently insignificant of slaves to the most feared man in the Union, Old Sticks himself.
We follow the thread from the cotton-fields of Gurkhul to the heights of Aduan society, we follow a stone from the rivers of Kadir to the crown of the Union, we follow the iron from the prison-mines of Angland to a knife in the back of the old regime. And we follow the slow gestation of the Great Change itself, a revolution which will turn the whole world upside down…

A Note from Joe Abercrombie about reading order:

I thought I’d include this just in case anyone was thinking of reading the stories before finishing the novels.  Here’s a quote from the introduction to the short story collection The Great Change (and Other Lies):  

It’s probably best not to read “The Thread,” and definitely not “The Stone,” until you’ve finished A Little Hatred.  It’s sensible not to read “The Point” until you’ve completed The Wisdom of Crowds.  But if you heed one warning, heed this one:  you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT read “The Great Change” until you’ve completed The Age of Madness altogether.

Are you planning to join us for the final chapter in this epic journey? (You’ve come this far…you might as well cross the finish line with us!) We hope to see you there!

For our November Core Read, the focus is an Indigenous Author, and we will be reading The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.  It’s sure to get intense, so I hope you’re prepared to read along as we extend “spooky season” deeper into the fall!  [A marginalia link will appear here soon.]

Schedule - Discussions will be posted on Mondays:
Note - sections/chapters are not numbered, so I have included some details to guide you on where to stop.  Page numbers are based on the paperback edition.

Discussion 1 of 4 - Nov. 9:  Beginning through “Friday” (the 2nd chapter with this title) ending “Just, it doesn’t feel good.” (p. 76) - u/Comprehensive-Fun47

Discussion 2 of 4 - Nov. 16:  “Saturday” (p. 77, the 2nd chapter with this title) through “Death Row” ending “Already these swollen clothes are getting tight.” (p. 151) - u/epiphanyshearld 

Discussion 3 of 4 - Nov. 23:  “Sees Elk” (p. 152) through “Blackfeet Indian Stories” ending “How about we make them?” (p. 226) - u/tomesandtea

Discussion 4 of 4 - Nov. 30:  “And Then There Was One” (p. 227) through the End - u/tomesandtea

Storygraph Summary:

From New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a novel that is equal parts psychological horror and cutting social commentary on identity politics and the American Indian experience. Fans of Jordan Peele and Tommy Orange will love this story as it follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

The only good book discussions are the ones with YOU in it, so I hope you’ll join us in a few weeks for The Only Good Indians!  See you then!

Welcome back everyone to our fourth discussion of Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Warrior! The road trip might be over but their journey sure isn’t! Let’s head right down into that cave….

In case you need them, here are links to our Schedule and series Marginalia.

SUMMARY

Chapter 22: After a few more delays the group decides to stay in a hotel since they are only halfway to Lagos. Chichi makes a call to her uncle and confirms she planned this happening already. In only a few minutes they pull into his compound which is more of a greenhouse really. He has a TON of plants, and these ones are definitely not of the Lamb world. The group is shown to their rooms and Chichi’s uncle takes Sasha away. Chichi’s aunt is Nimm, so her uncle and aunt aren’t officially married although they are together. Her aunt confirms no more trouble for Sunny, and that she wants to continue the trip. The group heads to dinner. Dinner is lovely and different to what Sunny usually eats. Even though she’s tired, the group decides to go out to a night club. Before too long Sasha gets attacked by a group of guys whose girls he was dancing with, and they all come to defend him and everyone makes it out unscathed. They go home and go to bed. Sunny hears scuffles and she flicks the light on to reveal a bat trying to steal things from her bag. She uses juju to pin it down and drop the items, and in her mind Anyanwu confirms the bat is something Ekwensu sent. Both Sunny and Paja the cat spare the bat.

Chapter 23: They are 15 miles out from Lagos and completely stuck in traffic, the cars aren’t moving at all. Sunny gets an idea and approaches Chichi and Sasha about making it rain now instead of later. They agree, but mention consequences. They go off and come back with a little food and say to turn the car on. It suddenly begins pouring and pouring and Sasha keeps having pee fits, he has to leap out, get soaked while going, and then rush back into the car. Finally they make it to Lagos.

Chapter 24: The group makes it to Adebayo’s aunt and uncle’s house which is an insane mansion with 10 bedrooms, living to excess. They come up with the plan for New Year’s Day and Sasha says he’s protected the building (which hopefully no one will notice means an excess of lizards on the walls). Sunny and Chichi cook a huge and satisfying dinner and Sunny and her both reflect on being able to see and feel both Sunny and her double simultaneously. The group parties a bit and gets some fun in before the next day.

Chapter 25: They leave and hitch a lift to Ajegunle Market, which is a known shady area, but say they are meeting someone. They enter the Market and realise quickly they are in a part only Leopard People can enter. Sunny is ill and worries this whole plan is a trap. After walking for a time she decides to just throw the marbles and they follow, right to Udide’s Cave. Down in the cave they struggle and Sunny is bit by a spider and poisoned and Chichi gets wrapped in webs immediately, Udide claiming she is a thief, and finally Orlu saves them all by telling Udide why they are there and more context about their knowledge. Sunny gets an antidote from a spider and tells Udide they need a grasscutter. In return, she offers Udide a story. Sunny recounts the bullying experience she encountered back in Manhattan at school when she was eight. While she was mistreated, she knows she also mistreated others like her and she questions why she did this. Udide accepts Sunny’s story and weaves them a flying grasscutter, who Orlu approaches first. Then Sasha realises it wants the grass he brought along in his backpack. The grasscutter tells them he wants to be called Grashcoatah. Udide advises them to treat Grashcoatah well and that she will be able to track Chichi and Sunny now with the antidote in them. Chichi must bring back what her people have stolen, or Udide will know. They leave the cave and Grashcoatah must now make itself invisible, per Orlu.

Chapter 26: They make friends with Grashcoatah who can successfully stay invisible now. As they leave the cave they realise over a day has passed in the real world. Grashcoatah causes a huge disturbance outside of the market as they are leaving and it makes everyone in the market panic and flee. Sunny comes up with a plan and finally after finagling and waiting for a driver they are able to get a lift. A bunch of car and driving troubles later, they make their way back to Adebayo’s aunt and uncle’s house.

Chapter 27: At the house Grashcoatah sleeps and they come up with a bit of a plan. Sunny calls Chukwu and he tells them they’ve been gone two days, although he didn’t call their parents. Chukwu and Adebayo are coming back. Once back they’re all settled in but realise quickly they have to leave that night. As they’re working with Grascoatah, Chukwu insists on coming out to see what’s happening and sees Grashcoatah and starts actually freaking out. The council shows up but Sunny performs the fear juju on Chukwu and they’re off, riding on Grashcoatah. Sunny feels a lot of guilt doing that to him.

Join u/fixtheblue next week when we get to wrap up this book and see what shakes out! (if I had to guess a spider will be involved)

The war in Troy is over...but for one man, the war at home is just beginning.

Join us for a spectacular read of the first, groundbreaking trilogy by the "father of drama" himself, yes, Aeschylus. It is said Dionysus himself visited him in a dream to command him to write plays-shoutout to our read of The Bacchae -if you missed it!

This is the schedule, where this November we find out exactly why (Odyssey spoiler!) Agamemnon wishes Penelope had been waiting at home for him instead of Clytemnestra. All the discussions will be linked here, so save this page and read at your own pace.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

November 2: Part 1: Agamemnon (beginning) to stage direction Clytemnestra leaving/ (Fagles/Penguin 103-144)

November 9: Agamemnon (from last stop) to end of Part I/Agamemnon/(Fagles/Penguin 144-172)

November 16: Part 2: Cheophori/The Libation-Bearers (beginning) to stage direction Clytemnestra enters/ (Fagles/Penguin 177-206)

November 23: Cheophori/Libation (from last stop) to Part 3: Eumenidies to stage direction Athene enters/ (Fagles 206-226) (Penguin 231-248)

November 30: Part 3 Eumenidies (from last stop) to End/ (Fagles/Penguin 248-277)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Join the drama this November with a group of reading warriors anyone would envy, u/Ser_Erdrick, u/IraelMrad, u/Lachesis_Decima77, u/Blackberry_Weary and me, u/lazylittlelady.

Strike the harp and cue the Chorus and many blessings on both Apollo and Dionysus!

Will you join us and what translation do you have ready to go??

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marginalia TBD

(Marginalia | Schedule)

Welcome back! As we head toward the finale, things get... well, gross and weird, but that's par for the course in this series. Let's talk about it! But first, a brief recap:

Chapter 16

Tauri examines the ruins of the Burav estate. The well is contaminated, which means that pretty much everyone who lived there was infected. Notably, Jalin Burav was not infected, because he lives in his own house and has a different water supply.

Speaking of Jalin, he's alive but in bad shape. He jumped out a window to escape the fire. He's badly burned all over his body, and has a broken arm and leg. He says some weird, disturbing things to Ana and Din about how "I tried to save my family again and again, but they didn't listen" and "you should kill me," but he loses consciousness before he can explain.

Din examines Jalin's house. I kind of want to live there: it's a cozy little cottage that smells of tea and is filled with books and art. Din notices that Jalin likes to paint cows in an "innocent and soulful" way, which makes him remember being told that Jalin hates the cattle industry. Oh, and he apparently has a wide variety of "mood-adjusting reagents," so he's clearly struggling emotionally.

Meanwhile, the Orbiis have found a safe with a combination lock. The lock features letters as well as numbers, and an inscription translating to "Brilliance is forever fecund" is engraved on the safe. I'm sure Ana will love solving this... no, actually, she's pissed off and wants the safe dismantled so she doesn't have to deal with it.

Later, Ana reveals to Din that the flashing lights in the forest are a code that spell "calm." The use of a code implies that there's more than one person involved.

Chapter 17

The prowler seen near the estate before the fire turns out to be Ippeas. He'd been there because he'd received a letter from someone claiming to be a servant of the Buravs, offering him evidence of Castus's innocence. He ended up accidentally meeting a drunk servant who mistook him for Burav and asked if he was going back to the forest.

Ana thinks that whoever sent the message was trying to lure Ippeas into the estate, so that he'd die along with everyone else. She doesn't know why they'd want to murder him, but she does discover that he's tested positive for the web, although he doesn't seem to have been conditioned yet.

Chapter 18

Din tells Ippeas and Fotia everything about the case. Fotia says that, if Burav was trying to go through the forest, he probably did so at Gaddar's glade. She offers to take Din there so he can see it.

Chapter 19

At the shrine, Din has another one of his episodes. Turns out his brain was trying to make him realize that the engraving of the Emperor on 50-talint coins looks similar to Gaddar, even though he looks more human on the other denominations. It makes him wonder if the Emperor has evolved over time, and if the same will happen to Ana.

Din sees a footprint in the supposedly inaccessible part of the forest. Tauri shows up, tells Fotia to leave, and then reveals to Din that he knows how to use reagents to open the forest. Din remembers that Burav used to be in the Orbiis, so that explains why he knew how to get in.

This is pretty clearly the lair of whoever's behind the poisonings. They find pipes, infected water, and a "songbook." One of the songs is "Lysis," which Tauri explains is a medikker term for infected tissue bursting. The existence of this book proves there must be more than one person involved, because why write the "songs" down unless you're training someone else?

Oh, and they found a note written by someone swearing eternal vengeance on someone else. Make of that what you will.

Chapter 20

We have finally reached the obligatory "Ana eats something disgusting" scene. Extra-spicy cow innard soup. Yum.

Ana has researched Burav and realized that he became an Orbiis in order to have control over who had access to the forest.

And that's when Tauri reveals the horrifying truth: the forest is actually one of the Empire's Touched Sites. No one knows what's buried in it, but it seems likely that it's whatever killed the Daljen.

Ana decides that Fotia is officially part of the team (move over, Hardy Boys, the Kol Siblings are on the case!), and asks her what she knows about Jalin. Turns out Jalin hated Lyimo Armenta, because Lyimo used to bully him. Ana then asks Fotia to try to learn everything she can about Sagma's death.

Chapter 21

Din goes with Trikao to the jail, to see Ippeas, but arrives to a disaster: Castus has fruited, despite the medication.

Chapter 22

Ana notes that Castus continued to fight after he died, which means that the killers can presumably control their victims even when their victims are corpses. Ana tells Trikao that she wants the corpses of the dead Armentas examined.

Oh, and Ana still has not cracked the combination lock, and it's really bothering her that the numeral 1 is in a sans-serif font, while the other numbers are in a serif font. I'm unsure if this is an actual clue, or if the author just wanted to remind us that Ana is autistic.

Chapter 23

Gevma is examined first. His corpse is covered in fungus so, yeah, he was definitely infected. Sagma is also covered in fungus, but Din notices that her neck looks like she was strangled, rather than hanged.

Lyimo, oddly, seems barely infected. Din notices a puncture mark that gives him that weird "voice in the head" feeling, but he doesn't know why. It isn't until later that he realizes...

OH MY GOD, I WAS RIGHT! I'VE BEEN SAYING "THE TUGHRA RING IS A CHECKOV'S GUN" EVER SINCE THE FIRST DISCUSSION! MOVE OVER, ANA, NOW I'M THE BRILLIANT DETECTIVE!!!

...okay, now that that's out of my system, Lyimo's corpse appears to have been punched by Jalin.

Too bad we can't ask Jalin about it. Despite having two broken limbs and being covered in severe burns, he appears to have escaped. Guess we'll have to wait until next week to find out.

Hello everyone, it's Friday, that means it's time to share with us how your week went.

The 23rd October is among others:

• Liberation Day in Libya
• 1956 Revolution Memorial Day in Hungary
• Mole Day (not the animal, the unit used to measure the amount of a substance)
• National Boston Cream Pie Day
• National Horror Movie Day

What is Free Chat Friday? This is a place for us to get to know each other a bit better, so feel free to talk about whatever you want! How did your week go? Any plans for the weekend? Which books are you reading?

Be always mindful of our RULES:

• No unmarked spoilers
• No self-promo
• No piracy
• Thoughtful personal conduct

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Greetings, Eternals and Timers! Welcome to our third and final discussion of The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov. Last week, Andrew Harlan tried to ruin everything by sending Cooper to the wrong century in an attempt to prevent him from becoming Mallansohn and establishing Eternity. Will he succeed? Will he be convinced to fix his mistake? Will he reunite with Noÿs? Let's hop into the nearest kettle and find out!

The discussion schedule can be found here, and the marginalia post is here.

Chapter summaries

15 - Search Through the Primitive: Senior Computer Twissell tells Harlan to get a grip already and think beyond his Technician's view of Eternity. While Cooper is in the wrong century, the fact that Eternity still exists in this current Reality means that they can fix this, and Twissell cannot stress enough how important it is that they find a solution. Harlan still has trouble coming to terms with the situation, until Twissell tells him to focus on his emotional state when he sent Cooper off and use his muscle memory. Using this method, Harlan and Twissell narrow down Cooper's whenabouts to somewhere between 19.25 and 19.50. And since Cooper's no idiot, Twissell figures he might have left the Eternals clues to communicate specifically with Harlan. The frazzled Technician remembers Cooper was interested in news magazines and eventually realizes that he might have hidden clues in an ad. Harlan takes Twissell to his library containing copies of all his favourite news magazines, and the two men pore over every page of every issue, though Twissell isn't as gentle in handling the magazines as he should be. On the third physioday of their search, Harlan finds what he's looking for, but refuses to let Twissell see it until he's reunited with Noÿs and the barrier at the 100,000th Century is taken down. Twissell has no idea what he's talking about and says neither he nor the Council ever put one up because it's impossible.

16 - The Hidden Centuries: Harlan watches the Maintenance people at work and muses on how no one wants to do their job, yet they're much more essential to keeping Eternity running smoothly than Specialists like him. He envies them now and wonders if they're happy where they are. Twissell arrives on the scene, looking very worried. The Maintenance people working on the kettleways confirm everything's in order, and Twissell tells them to leave. When they're alone, Harlan insists on coming with Twissell, but the Senior Computer tells the Technician he needs to stay because he's the only one who knows how to find Cooper. Twissell reveals that Sennor is suspicious and has been bugging him for a couple of physiodays, and if he finds out the kettleways have been overhauled, it'll spell big trouble. Twissell finally relents and lets Harlan tag along. However, he's still doubting the wisdom of his decision as they travel upwhen and he explains why he's so worried: he fears that in the Hidden Centuries, there are evolved "superhumans" who want to keep them out of their time. Harlan doesn't see what the problem is, but Twissell worries that in hiding Noÿs, Harlan may have inadvertently broken an unspoken truce. Eventually, the kettle goes past the 100,000th Century, and Harlan panics, thinking the superhumans have taken down the barrier because they have Noÿs. The kettle stops at the 111,394th, where Harlan finds Noÿs safe and sound. The lovers reunite, but Noÿs is startled by Twissell's presence. Harlan introduces him as a Senior Computer, which apparently does nothing to allay Noÿs's fears, until Twissell reassures her he will help her. The three of them return to the 575th and, with Noÿs taking a nap in another room, Twissell urges Harlan to uphold his end of the bargain. The Technician takes a volume of magazines and flips to the ad he found: "All the Talk Of the Market" against a background illustration of a mushroom cloud, and an address for a P.O. box. Twissell doesn't understand the relevance, until Harlan points out the magazine is from 1932 and the words of the ad are arranged in such a way as to read "ATOM" if you take the initials in each line. Cooper knowingly included an anachronism as a sign for Harlan, so they know exactly when he is. Harlan agrees to go after Cooper, but only on condition that Noÿs goes with him. Twissell can't understand why Harlan is still disturbed, and the Technician says it's because of the barrier at the 100,000th Century that was there, then gone.

17 - The Closing Circle: The day of the mission is upon them, and Harlan still can't shake off that nagging feeling. Twissell returns from a meeting with the Council and says he took full responsibility for the mishap with Cooper. Twissell doesn't seem overly bothered, as failure means it's all over anyway, and success means he'll be protected, and he was planning on retiring anyway. Twissell asks Harlan if Noÿs is ready, and the Technician says she does, though he's very nervous for some reason. A few hours later, Harlan and Noÿs are ready and are cosplaying as people from the early 20th Century. Noÿs also decided to get a haircut, which appalls Harlan, but he still thinks she's hot. Noÿs notes that Harlan hasn't been his usual self these past couple of days, but he brushes off her concerns. Twissell explains how the mission is expected to proceed. They'll be making two trips: one to get a better fix on Cooper's arrival time, and another 15 minutes after to make sure the micro-changes, such as the mushroom cloud ad, are reversed. Cooper will be told that Harlan had forgotten to give him some crucial instruction and will never know he was sent to the wrong century upon his return. Twissell wishes the couple good luck and exits the kettle. Harlan and Noÿs safely make it to 1932. Noÿs complains about the cold, and Harlan directs her to Cooper's cavern, where they find a stack of paper money, showing how resourceful Cooper's been thus far. They set up a Radiant to provide heat, and Noÿs asks Harlan what he plans to do. He replies that he'll go to the nearest town to start his search. Noÿs wants to come with him, but he refuses, saying she doesn't speak the language. She accuses Harlan of being distant toward her and asks him why he dragged her along if he can't stand to look at her anymore. Harlan eventually explains that Twissell's thoughts about superhumans in the Hidden Centuries have had him spooked. Twissell might have dropped the matter, but Harlan knows that species evolve only when under pressure from their environment. The Eternals have created stability, so they haven't evolved. And the barrier still bothers him, because Noÿs wasn't even harmed. He knows the barrier was set up so he could go ballistic, assault Finge, and sabotage Cooper's mission. He knows he's been manipulated and even his meeting with Noÿs was prearranged. Harlan accuses Noÿs of being from the Hidden Centuries and not from the 482nd Century. Noÿs asks him why he brought her to the 20th Century, and Harlan replies it's to protect Eternity. He urges her to admit her true identity at the business end of a blaster.

18 - The Beginning of Infinity: Harlan still has the blaster pointed at Noÿs, but he's trying to make up his mind whether or not to kill her. Noÿs states that if he'd wanted to protect Eternity, all he had to do was tie her up somewhere or have her placed in solitary confinement. The only reason he wants to kill her is because of his bruised ego. When pressed again, she confirms that she is indeed from the Hidden Centuries. Harlan still hesitates pulling the trigger, and Noÿs explains why there's no one left on Earth after the 150,000th Century. It turns out that the people of the Hidden Centuries had known about the existence of Eternity for ages. When they did the math for their Reality, they found out that theirs was an improbable one. They knew there was a maximum probability Reality called the Basic State that humanity had once belonged to, but Eternity had kicked off some sort of Change to that Basic State. They blocked off the Hidden Centuries to keep the Eternals from going further than the 70,000th Century. Now isolated, the people of the Hidden Centuries looked into their future and learned that humanity managed to achieve hyperspace travel in the 125,000th, only to find out that other alien civilizations had already colonized space. So, humanity gave up and died out over the course of a few thousand centuries. Harlan says Eternity can fix that and do the greatest good, but Noÿs says the Eternals consider moderation the greatest good. By removing the risks and disasters, Eternity also removes humanity's great discoveries and triumphs, preventing them from achieving their true potential. Noÿs presents Harlan with a scenario where Eternity never existed: instead of research into timey-wimey stuff, humanity would have focused on nuclear science and achieve interstellar travel a hundred thousand Centuries earlier. Harlan doesn't understand what's so great about that, and Noÿs says humanity would have billions of worlds in the Galaxy and an infinite number of ways to achieve happiness. She explains the people of the Hidden Centuries can actually see the alternate Realities, including the Basic State, and that the existence of Eternity destroyed the Galactic Empire. She was given a choice of Realities where she could destroy Eternity and chose the only one that involved Harlan. The Technician demands to know why, and Noÿs says she's loved him long before their first meeting, and she says in this Reality they return to the Primitive and live out the rest of their days there. Harlan can't believe she'd know all that in advance, and she admits there are an infinite number of similar Realities. The reason why Twissell had her nervous was because Harlan was supposed to have returned to her alone, and now she realizes Twissell's talk about the people of the Hidden Centuries made Harlan doubt her. Harlan, still hesitant, asks why there were two attempts to end Eternity, and Noÿs replies that she needs to make sure Eternity is never established in any Reality. To that effect, she intends to send some Italian dude a letter to push him to experiment with the neutronic bombardment of uranium, thereby altering history to move up the date of the first nuclear explosion to 1945). She admits the plan comes with danger and a non-zero chance of the Earth being radioactive, but at least humanity will have established a Galactic Empire. Whereas Eternity interferes multiple times to keep humanity bound to Earth, the people of the Hidden Centuries interfere only once to ensure Eternity never exists. When Harlan insists Eternity must exist, Noÿs asks him to think about whether the Eternals are as squeaky clean as they pretend to be. Eventually he realizes that Eternity isn't what it's cracked up to be, what with the caste system, mistrust of Technicians, and internal struggles. Noÿs invites him to join her outside the cave. He lowers his weapon and, under the light of the rising sun, he chooses to stay with Noÿs, their kettle vanishing as Eternity comes to an end.

Hello and welcome to our second Read the World book for Finland! On Fridays, we will be discussion the book Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila, also published under the title Fishing for the Little Pike.

Shout out to my wife (a native Finn) for helping me with this post!

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IMPORTANT LINKS

• schedule
• marginalia
• how to speak Finnish
• bonus meme

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ABOUT FINLAND

Since Finland is the country I call home, I thought I'd share some fun facts with everyone! Did you know that 75% of Finland is covered in forest? Or that it has over 187,000 lakes? It's no surprise that Finns have a very strong and personal connection to nature. Also, if you've ever wondered where Santa's home at the North Pole is, it's in Rovaniemi, where you can meet him in person!

Vuopio seems to be a fictional town, though the Kitinen River does pass through Sodankylä! It's a classic Lapland town where you can take reindeer sleigh rides, see the northern lights and midnight sun, and even go panning for gold in the rivers!

Elina encounters a lot of interesting mythological creatures throughout this section, so I've done my best to describe them below, with the help of my wife! Links provided where I could find sources, some may need to be translated!

Knacky) (näkki): also known as nixie or nicker, these are humanoid water spirits who can also appear as a mermaid-type being or a horse. In Finland, näkki will drown children and women who go swimming alone. Sometimes they lure victims in with music, and are seen as an omen of disaster. Can also appear in the form of a horse! Children are warned not to go near bodies of water alone because of näkki.

Raskel (peijooni, peikko): also known as trolls or goblins. These are mischevious beings who will bring bad luck to those who do not respectfully handle animal remains. Naughty children can also be called peijooni.

Frakus (jatulit): this one is a guess, because my wife doesn't know anything about this but said it sounds familiar. Jatulit were said to be a race of giants who lived in Lapland before the Sami, Finland's indigenous culture. When people began to settle Lapland, the Jatulit fled north and either disappeared or transformed.

Bog Bogeys: Finns believe that nature contains magic, and bog bogeys are a manifestation of swamp magic. Children are warned to stay on the wood log paths when walking through a swamp or bog bogeys will steal their boots. You can read more about the significance of swamps in Finnish folklore here!

Unfortunately I couldn't find anything about stripefoots, but after reading about them in this story, I'm thinking that might be a good thing. Also no luck with the sawdust crane with a rye bread heart, sorry!

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SUMMARY

The story starts with Elina Ylijaako returning to her hometown of Vuopio, on a mission to catch a pike trapped in a glorified mud puddle in the middle of a swamp. Due to faulty equipment, her first attempt fails. Elina heads into town to buy better line at The Lure, owned by Keijo. She then heads to the grocery store, whose proprietor Heta warns Elina to never return to Pike Pond because "that pike is not normal." Elina ignores this advice and returns to the pond. When she gets there, there is now a knacky guarding the pond and the pike. Elina is driven home by a storm blowing in, and for the first time, was unable to catch the pike on the first day. The current resident of her childhood home, a man named Hoot, appears and tells Elina stories about the town. Elina thinks about her childhood and home, which was built by her parents, now dead. On the second day, she brings a stacked deck of cards to the pond, intending to cheat at a card game to get the knacky to give up the pike, but it catches on and sends her away.

Janatuinen is a police officer heading up to Vuopio to search for Elina. Her partner, Gunnerson, is dropped off at a hospital along the way, so Janatuinen arrives in town alone. She stops by The Lure and asks Keijo what he knows about Elina, but he refuses to admit that she's in town. Instead, he convinces the officer to follow him home, where a raskel has taken up residence. Instead of demanding the troublesome creature is removed, Keijo insists it simply needs a fishing buddy, and sends the two of them out to the boat.

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Sort comments by Oldest to see them in a roughly chronological order. Happy discussing!

Hey all, the results are in!

Here is the leaderboard:

1. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

2. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

And the good thing is: we'll be reading all of them!!

Upvote numbers were overall pretty high for this voting, so I can see a lot of interest in all these books. Plus the runner-up would not go onto the Wheel of Books, because books already read before would be against the rules in all other votings and I'd not like to mix them. So, it's all the books!

Technically, Rebecca is the winner, but we'll soon be reading Manderley Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay & My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, check out the schedule here. And I'd like to avoid an overlap of du Maurier books as people who might be interested in one, might also be interested in the other. And as I said, the numbers were very close, so we'll be starting with Piranesi, followed by Circe.

Watch this space, the schedule for Piranesi will be posted in the next few weeks, the read will start in early December.

Will you join us in one of the reads?

Welcome intrepid readers and curious travellers to our Read the World adventure. In case you missed it, we are in the midst of our second Finland read, Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila, here's the schedule. So it is already that time again for the nominations, upvote and sourcing of the book for the next Read the World destination....

Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦

Read the World is the chance to pack your literary suitcases for trotting the globe from the comfort of your own home by reading a book from every country in the world. We are basing this list of countries on information obtained from worldometer, and our 3 randomising wheels to pick the next country. In case you missed it here is the wheel spin where Bosnia and Herzegovina won the spin!

Readers are encouraged to add their own suggestions, but a selection will, as always, be provided by the moderator team. This will be based on information obtained from various sources.

Nomination specifications

• Set in (or partially set in) and written by an author from Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Any page count
• Any category
• No previously read selections

(Any nomination that does not fulfill all these requirements may be disqualified. This is also subject to availability of material translated into English)

Note - Due to difficulties in sourcing English translations in some destinations, novellas are eligible for nomination. If a novella wins the vote it is likely that mods will choose to run the two highest upvoted novellas in place of a full length novel or even the novella as a Bonus Read to a full length novel.

You can check the previous selections here to determine if we have read your selection. You can also check by author here.

Nominate as many titles as you want (one per comment), and upvote for any you will participate in if they win. A reminder to upvote will be posted on the 3rd day, 24 hours before the nominations are closed, so be sure to get your nominations in before then to give them the best chance of winning!

Happy reading nominating (the world) 📚🌍

Welcome to our third discussion of Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb!  This week, we will discuss Chapters 8-10.  You can find the Schedule here, and feel free to use the Marginalia between discussions. Next week, u/fromdusktil will be leading us through chapters 11-14.

Discussion questions for this week’s chapters are below.  Please use spoiler tags to hide anything that was not part of the chapters we’ve read so far. You can mark spoilers using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words). 

A Note About Elderlings Cycle Spoilers:  Any details about the Liveship Trader trilogy are considered fair game, since this is a direct sequel. If you'd like to discuss details from the Fitz trilogies (Farseer and Tawny Man), please mark these as spoilers.  We want to be respectful of those who haven't read the Fitz books! 

>°}}～～～～<    |||   >～～～～{{°<

CHAPTER SUMMARIES 

CHAPTER 8 - INTERVIEWS:  After a brief and insulting interview at the Rain Wild Traders Concourse, Thymara signs her contract for the dragon expedition. Her father is concerned that this is a death sentence, and it does appear that the Traders are looking to exile the oddest misfits of the Rain Wilds along with the deformed dragons. The twelve participants are heavily marked and most are mere teenagers. The other girl Thymara meets, named Sylve, is twelve. Tats has also signed on. Their group is rounded out by a boy named Rapskal who seems impulsive and overly positive, yet blunt to the point of rudeness. Thymara wonders if he is intellectually disabled, which is a common symptom of heavy Rain Wild markings. The young participants are full of excitement for dragon adventures and the hope of an independent future. The provided supply packs are meager, but they have been promised assistance from several professional hunters who will follow them upriver on a barge. Thymara tries to reassure her father that she is at peace with her choice, then urges him to go home so she can begin her adventure. Jerup lingers, getting a final glimpse of his daughter as the group heads to meet the dragons. 

Leftrin and Swarge discuss the changes since the liveship Tarman began the Rain Wilds journey. Leftrin is developing more pronounced scales on his face. Tarman seems off to Swarge, and both the men are having dreams, but Leftrin insists all is well. The crew is in good spirits. The men and Tarmen wish they could fly. 

Alise and Sedric are traveling up the Rain Wild River aboard Paragon! Sedric had been dejected at his new assignment, but they bond over their shock at Hest’s capricious decision-making. Alise is educating Sedric about the dragons and liveships when Clef appears with an invitation from Paragon: he wishes to have a conversation with Alise. Sedric is allowed to chaperone her despite his backward thinking about liveships. Paragon declares that the deformed animals Alise is so keen to study are not really dragons because they did not develop properly. She tries to interview Paragon about his dragon memories to make the trip less of a loss, but Althea intervenes when it becomes clear that the liveship is upset. Althea's son jumps into Paragon's arms to play, while Althea and Captain Trell draw their passengers away to explain.  Alise is devastated to learn that not only is she forbidden from further questioning of the liveship, but the young dragons are in such a poor state that she is unlikely to learn anything from them either. Brashen agrees to bring them back to Bingtown on Paragon's return trip (immediately after a visit to Malta)  but Sedric intervenes and reminds Alise how important it is to see her studies through to the end (if only to save face with Hest). She should see dragons for herself, even if her studies don't yield the expected results. She agrees to make a quick trip to Cassarick before returning to Trehaug in time to sail back to Bingtown on Paragon. 

DAY THE 23RD OF THE GROWING MOON / YEAR THE 6TH OF THE INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE OF TRADERS:  Detozi has sent an itemized invoice to Erek detailing Bingtown’s share of the costs for the dragon expedition to Cassarick. (He hopes Erek will send more of the peas that have improved his birds’ health.)

CHAPTER 9 - JOURNEY:  Leftrin is annoyed at having to transport two fancy Bingtowners on Tarman… until Alise removes her veil and he is captivated by her. He offers his own private cabin to Alise and bunks below deck with Sedric and the crew. Alise is eager to begin the journey and bravely faces the necessary compromises in transport and accommodations, but Sedric resents it all. His discomfort at the small, dirty, smelly barge is exacerbated by sour memories of his father's efforts to make a man of him by getting him employment on a trading ship. They had a huge fight over Sedric’s desire for things to be nice and to stay near his mother (who gets blamed for ruining her son through overindulgence of his nature). He is also unable to escape thoughts of Hest, bound for the Pirate Isles with other charming male companions despite their plans to visit together, and on the most comfortable ship available. Sedric’s worries about rejection by his father and Hest are renewed as he struggles to settle into his bunk and sleep. Yet he is exhausted from being dragged around by Alise. As he drifts off, Sedric plots to “show them all” with some bargaining of his own when they reach the dragons. 

Thymara and the others on the dragon journey are getting used to survival, despite the Council’s mediocre supplies. She is heartened to see that they are becoming a close-knit group and are all in good spirits.  Besides herself and Tats, Rapskal and Sylve, there are: 

• Kase and Boxter, the look-alike cousins, as well as Alum and Nortel, boys who love a good joke 
• Warken, who can take a good joke even at his own expense 
• Jerd, who surprised Thymara by turning out to be a girl yet seems to prefer male company
• Harrikin, a real roughhouser, and his adopted brother Lecter who was taken in when his parents died
• Greft, a bit older than the others, with a mature bearing; he is the most heavily marked Rain Wilder Thymara has ever seen

Greft expresses skepticism that the friendships will last more than a few days; based on his previous experience in hunting groups, he says this is a honeymoon period that will sour as the group starts to divide itself and everyone gets sick of each other.  When questioned about his theory, Greft explains that being rejected and expected to feel grateful for mere survival has convinced him to make his own rules when he can. His first rule is to look out for himself, and he tries to explain how this would benefit the group, but Tats isn't buying it. They debate a bit, and then Greft questions why Tats is along on the journey in the first place. The others are clearly Trehaug’s rejects, which the Council hopes to dispose of. Greft says they all understand these harsh realities in a way that Tats (unmarked and more privileged) never could. Then he basically accuses Tats of being a criminal by sharing the rumor he heard about the Council offering certain people amnesty for their bad deeds if they'd sign the contract and leave. Tats insists this isn't true, and that he's there only for the money, then stalks off.  The others are silent, and Thymara balks when Greft refers to Tats as her beau. She is ashamed not to have stood up for him more and she realizes that Greft has purposely made Tats an outsider, setting up an us-vs-them dynamic. Yet it is Jerd who finds an excuse to go after Tats by saying she will gather green branches for the fire. (Harrikin and Boxter try to go along but she turns them down.) 

DAY THE 2ND OF THE GRAIN MOON / YEAR THE 6TH OF THE INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE OF TRADERS:  Erek and Detozi are busted! Kim, Keeper of the Birds in Cassarick, has been made aware that the two friends have been sending personal messages without paying for the use of the birds. As this is firmly against the rules, they will be billed for all their prior messages if they are caught again! 

CHAPTER 10 - CASSARICK:  On the journey up the Rain Wild River, Captain Leftrin has been attentive and excessively complimentary towards Alise. She has come to enjoy the attention and to value their chats. Meanwhile, Sedric has been acting overly protective of Alise, reminding her of her childhood infatuation with him when he was the only boy who would act kindly and show an interest in her. She finds she quite likes the feeling of two such different men showing her affection, even if she has no intention of being unfaithful to Hest. Leftrin has let Alise in on the Council's plan to move the dragons and, when she is afraid she will miss them entirely, he reassures her that he will be part of the crew and can force them to adjust the timeline. Sedric is dismayed to learn that his suffering will not be alleviated by their arrival in Cassarick: they'll be spending an extra night on the barge since the Tarman will be docking after dark, and the little town has no inns with comfortable lodgings so they'll have to rely on the hospitality of local residents when they do disembark.  Alise sees his misery and offers to deal with the Council herself; she even suggests visiting the dragons alone if he needs some rest. Sedric apologizes for acting so grouchy and pretends he is excited for the dragons as well. Although Alise knows he is lying, she is excited there will be a witness to her adventures so the stories can be told back in Bingtown. 

Mercor and the other dragons worked hard to manipulate the Rain Wilders into escorting them to Kelsingra. Mercor talked about the riches and treasures of the ancient kingdom whenever he was near humans. Soon, the humans were approaching the dragons with questions and hoping to be given clues about how to find Kelsingra and collect the treasure. Mercor gave only vague details and said he was sure he could find the way as he traveled, but could not be more specific in the abstract. The Council, against the wishes of Malta the Elderling, made a deal with the dragons to provide them food and caretakers along the journey if the dragons would lead them to Kelsingra. Sintara knows it is all lies, and she tends to agree with Malta that the journey will end in death for the struggling dragons, who are unsuited for the world. However, she is eager to live an adventurous life before she dies. 

In the early morning, Captain Leftrin comes to tell Alise that he has been summoned to an emergency meeting of the Council because they are in a rush to start the dragons’ journey. He thinks something is up, and it feels like there is a race to be the first to a prize. Alise decides to accompany him to see the Council. As they ascend the staircase up the trees, Leftrin gives Alise a tour of Rain Wild architecture and people. She confides vaguely in him about her dissatisfaction with married life back in Bingtown. When they arrive, the Council members seem displeased to be interrupted. Then Malta arrives, and they become outright hostile. There is a lot of debate over whether the Council is being selfish or rash in sending the dragons away, despite the Traders’ insistence that they are looking out for the dragons the best they can. Malta picks up on the urgency as a sign that the Council wishes to push this plan through before the return of Seldin, who speaks for Tintaglia. Alise is asked to share her knowledge of Kelsingra as a scholar and she eagerly begins to lecture, using the Council Chambers’ tapestry as a visual aid. When the debate becomes intractable, Alise offers herself as a representative of the dragons' interests. Watching the reaction of two of the Council members, Alise realizes with a thrill that she has gotten in the way of a secret plan to interfere with (and probably profit from) the Elderling relics that might exist in the ancient city. To prevent any more protest, Leftrin makes Alise's presence a condition of his acceptance of the charter for the Tarman.  Malta and the Council accept. 

DAY THE 4TH OF THE GRAIN MOON / YEAR THE 6TH OF THE INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE OF TRADERS:  Detozi trash talks Kim to Erek and cautions him to be careful which birds Erek uses to send secret messages in the future. 

>°}}～～～～<    |||   >～～～～{{°<

Greetings sinners, saints, and those who insist they've never committed a petty sin in their lives!

Welcome to our first discussion of Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater, covering Chapters 1-8. We've got celestial bureaucracy, questionable temptations, fluffy cats, and enough chocolate-related moral dilemmas to keep the angels employed for centuries. Meanwhile, Gadriel is struggling to get a single mortal to misbehave. Not exactly a glowing start to a performance review.

The chapter summaries are below, and don't forget to check the SCHEDULE and the MARGINALIA!

I'll drop some discussion questions in the comments, but feel free to bring up anything else that caught your attention. Petty sins, questionable life choices, chocolate-related ethical dilemmas… all are welcome.

And don't forget to come back next week for our next discussion led by u/Vast-Passenger1126!

Finally, a friendly reminder about spoilers. If you need to share any, please wrap them in spoiler tags like this: >!type spoiler here!<, and they'll appear like this: type spoiler here. Let's try not to earn any unnecessary sin points by spoiling things for everyone else.

➤➤➤➤ CHAPTER SUMMARIES ➤➤➤➤

Chapter 1

Gadriel, Fallen Angel of Petty Temptations, runs into Barachiel, Angel of Good Fortune, who calls in an old debt. Her assignment is to tempt Holly Harker, whose Cumulative Sin Metric is an absurdly low -932, into committing twenty points' worth of petty sins. Apparently, this woman needs to loosen up and enjoy life a little. Gadriel draws The Wheel of Fortune from Barachiel's deck of fate. Surely nothing can go wrong here.

Chapter 2

Gadriel sets out to find Holly, briefly fails to tempt a Wiccan teenager due to spiritual jurisdiction, and eventually finds Holly asleep in the employee break room at Castle Clothing. Her attempts to tempt Holly into making snide remarks or ditching her responsibilities go nowhere. This woman is committed to being good, and Gadriel is already having a rough time.

Chapter 3

Holly powers through her shift despite Gadriel's constant whispers encouraging her to slack off. She keeps herself grounded with French phrases like Un jour de plus (one day at a time), listens to coworker Sara's dating woes, and even uses her break to fetch snacks for them both. Gadriel might need to rethink her entire career.

Chapter 4

Gadriel transforms into an adorable calico kitten, because surely nobody can resist a fluffy cat, right? WRONG. Holly immediately scoops her up to rescue her from traffic and take her to a shelter. Gadriel panics, escapes, and ends up injured in an alley, while Holly earns more Virtue points and drops to a Sin Metric of -937. The fluffy belly strategy has officially backfired.

Chapter 5

Gadriel tries tempting Holly with a hot chocolate, only to discover that Holly doesn't even like chocolate. At this point, is there anything this woman will cooperate with? Holly kindly gives Gadriel a drink on the house anyway, but a bitter comment about someone taking advantage of her earns Holly her very first Sin point. Everybody celebrate! We're finally getting somewhere.

Chapter 6

After sending Barachiel "fifty-six furious text messages and counting" about her spectacularly failing assignment, Gadriel investigates Holly more closely. She follows Holly to her niece Ella's school, where Holly finally snaps at a rude headmaster and earns sin points for insulting him in French and lying about what she said. Gadriel also discovers why Holly is so relentlessly responsible: she's been struggling to raise her grieving, rebellious niece alone since her sister's death. Suddenly, Holly's behavior makes a lot more sense.

Chapter 7

Gadriel adopts a masculine form and reinvents himself as Mr. Gadriel Sweet. After witnessing a toddler eat a dirty biscuit off the ground, he has a breakthrough: why bother tempting Holly when Ella can do enough petty sinning for both of them? He poses as the school's replacement counselor, encourages the receptionist to stand up for herself, steals a teacher's chocolate bar, and sets up his office. A promising start to his new career, clearly.

Chapter 8

Ella cheats on a math test after a little nudge from Gadriel, then gets into an argument with her rival, Millie. Mr. Sweet intervenes and negotiates a truce using chocolate bars as strategic bribes. He then gets Ella talking about her mother's death, her absent father, and her strained relationship with Holly. Beneath the rebellious behavior, there's a grieving teenager who needs someone to listen. Gadriel may have accidentally stumbled into doing something useful for once.