It’s time for another Indranan War discussion! This week, Hail has to deal yet again with King Trace being a menace, as she sets out to discover Wilson’s true identity…

Let’s discuss Beyond The Empire. Spoilers follow!

 

 

Hail is fretting more and more about keeping people safe. Do you think she is being realistic in this? How does this sit with you given her own tendency to (want to) take risks? 

I don’t think she’s being entirely realistic, though I understand the fretting. These are her people, and the ones closest to her are her friends – of course she’s worried about their safety. On the other hand, Hail doesn’t always play it safe, and they are at war. Safety is a tall order for everyone right now. But I feel like she’s doing everything she can; it’s just a high-stress situation.

 

Trace seems awfully keen to tell Hail something about Wilson – care to guess what it might be? Any other observations about Trace and his behaviour this week?

Oh, Trace. You could not be any more of an attention-seeking child. Maybe it’s harsh, but I’m inclined to only put so much responsibility for his erratic, wild behaviour on his addiction; Trace strikes me as the type to resent not being catered to even when he’s not high? The fact that he’s so strung out is only amping up those worst aspects of his own personality.

As for Wilson, I admit I don’t quite remember what it was he had to say! So I’m going to hold off on this part until we know more…

 

After last week’s very public show of cold-hearted resolve with Modi, Hail hesitates when faced with shooting Ivan. Any thoughts?

<Deep breath> Hail.

I will try to be fair and in fairness, it makes some amount of sense that killing someone you’ve known personally in the past would be harder than killing a stranger. But the circumstances with Trace and Ivan were arguably higher-stakes than with Modi, and I kind of feel like this hesitation was a bit forced? For the drama?

I don’t know. I just didn’t fully buy it, I guess. Kind of an eye roll moment for me, there.

 

What do you make of Saxony’s peace offer? Are they legit?

Actually I think they are! There’s likely a rush job on coming to an agreement on their end, given Hail’s deadline, and it’s not unreasonable to point out that nothing in politics usually happens quickly! So for a decision to be reached and conveyed within that time limit is pretty notable, heh. I think the offer is legit, but the matter of how things will play out when there isn’t an urgent need to act may be another thing entirely…

 

That’s it for my (belated!) post this week, but I’ve already got another round of questions to answer which means I need to get on with the reading!

Here’s a reminder of our schedule, and a round-up of posts so far:

• Week 1: Chapters 1-9, hosted by Dear Geek Place
• Week 2: Chapters 10-19,  hosted by There’s Always Room For One More
• Week 3: Chapters 20-29, hosted by The Book Nook
• Week 4: Chapters 30-End, hosted by Bookforager

Week 1: There’s Always Room For One More | Bookforager | The Book Nook | A Dance With Books

Week 2: There’s Always Room For One More | Bookforager | The Book Nook | A Dance With Books