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I'm reading The 2010 self-published edition of The Oracle so there may be a few differences from the 2012 TWCS Publishing House edition that you can get at Amazon.
Since we are going to try to get all the way through The Oracle this month and posts got a bit long last month with The Six, I will just be hitting the high points for me (favorite quotes, character observations, questions that pop into my head, etc.) I hope you will share yours in the comments.
Let's get started....
We once again start with Darcy's family getting ready to head to Cedar Cove for family camp. This time around Sam, Lewis, and Darcy are friends and Darcy is totally looking forward to going to camp. We never did find out really why Lewis and his mom are so cold to Darcy. I get why Lewis was - he's been Sam's best friend forever and Darcy doesn't treat her very nicely even though Sam continues try to befriend her. But why was his mom the way she was in the bathroom?
Darcy mentions to Veli when they get to Alitheia that Sam, Lewis, and Darcy are picked on. Could it have been that Lewis's mom thought Darcy was one of the kids that made fun of Sam and Lewis last year?
In chapter 6, Roger is following the gang into the woods as they run for the gateway. Do you think he saw anything?
I have kind of wondered about it specially in light of his assistance in the last book of the series. It also makes me wonder about how time works. Does everyone freeze? Or do they continue on thinking the kids are missing until they return and then time resets itself?
Along the lines of time, I know Hoyle kept detailed notes and outlines of the story, but I've always wondered if it took her a bit of time to work out how old Tellius needed to be on The Six so that he would be the right age in the end. Or if she had to stop briefly each book and work out what his age was. I know I do, along with Darcy...
Two years ago? Darcy puzzled over Vesa's wording for a moment, trying to figure it through her head. A year ago we returned to our own world after spending a year with them in Alitheia. And the, of course, time continued on for them while we lived the same year over again. So, yeah, I guess it was two years ago that we first arrived. So that would make Tellius how old now? pg 61Oh! And cool word alert on page 60. I love that Hoyle used the word SWARTHY. A great vocabulary word for the kids reading this story (and maybe for some adults too!)
When I read the series the first time, I don't remember the introductory chapters, those chapters before they get to Alitheia, being so slow to read. But again in The Oracle I realized how much faster I read once they get to Alitheia. Was it that way for anyone else?
When we get to Alitheia we see some of the same changes that occurred in Cedar Cove also occurred in Alitheia. Which world is effecting the other?
The log down in Cedar Cover is the same as the wooden causeway in Alitheia. That one involves some natural changes, but the one that really gets me is the Cal Meridian. That one is a little freaky as it involves two groups of people in different worlds make the same decision.
Speaking of the Cal Meridian. When Torrin says it will be the flag ship of the royal highnesses, did you, like Darcy, assume he meant Tellius and Cadmus? Or did you think he was referring to Tellius and Darcy?
I had forgotten that Darcy's infatuation with Perry really kicked up a notch in The Oracle. And it doesn't seem as one sided this year. I guess it makes sense since they will be entering high school next year and girls and boys really start noticing each other at that age.
Who were you shipping at this point?
Darcy and Perry?
Darcy and Tellius?
Sam and Perry?
Sam and Lewis?
Amelia and Dean?
The whole scene between Darcy and Tellius when the six first arrives (page 78 - 79) makes me smile a bit. From Darcy's description of the gangling teenager to Tullin's prompt to the actual greeting. You can just see the rebellious teenager in Tellius.
I love this line...
Darcy looked at him then and noticed that his ears were flaming red. We could start a "we blush with our ears" club, she thought ruefully. pg 97Darcy is still hung up on having to marry Tellius and even challenges whether it is necessary for them to marry. She is looking for any technically even semantics to get her out of it. I find her reaction to Ribidius calling their marriage a reward very funny. Since Tellius is still a pimply boy and Darcy is a bit stubborn, I can see how they think it is totally ridiculous. Plus, right now if Darcy is doodling anyone's name on her parchment it is Perry.
Didn't I tell you in the last book that instead of playing 20 questions that Darcy and Tellius should have been assigned a project? Well, in this book they find their own project and it gets them communicating more than they did during the entire first year.
Oh and Darcy isn't the only one interested in someone else. I feel sorry for Tellius as he relates his "unrequited love" that was cut short because of the prophecy. He has lost so much and I'm sure he is lonely. He only has his brother Cadmus. At least Darcy has her other five friends.
And we end today's discussion with just a hint of what is to come as Tellius's last whispered words of chapter 11 are "the Oracle".
I hope you will join me next Sunday as we discuss chapters 12 - 22.
If you have been following the read along so far this summer, you know that K. B. Hoyle has been stopping by to share little tidbits and answer pressing questions. Please feel free post a comment in the questions for her.
Also be sure to enter the giveaway for an ebook pack (if you win and already have them, you can designate a friend that you think should read the series to receive the books on your behalf).
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Re: Lewis's mom... she's just not that nice of a person, for starters, and yes, she viewed Darcy as someone who had snubbed her son in the past. I imagined Lewis as someone who would have complained about Darcy at home, so his dislike would have been picked up by his mother.
ReplyDeleteAs to Tellius's age with the time differences... I figured that all out ahead of time before I started work on book one. In my initial note taking, as I planned out six books, I made a chart of the ages of the Six and Tellius and Cadmus in Alitheia (as well as a few others). I admit, I had to reference this chart regularly as I went, but it was all planned. I did NOT fly by the seat of my pants! That's not how I roll as a writer. :)