Shadow of Night discussion

What do you think happened to Em? I thought maybe the Goddess had chosen her until I re-read/listened to SON (Shadow of Night. Sorry about the unfortunate acronym).

I think she died during the birth somehow. I hope that's one of the first things addressed in the next book.

What makes you think so?

That was one of the threads that seemed to get dropped for me. It came from out of nowhere and then kinda went nowhere.

I wondered this very thing. It was brought up, but never explained. I assume that the author will go into detail in the 3rd book, but I think how it was brought up and dropped kind of sucked. @Cathy...died during the birth? What do you mean? What did I miss? I thought I remembered them saying something about a fight or something...but not sure.

This was one of the unanswered questions I had which hopefully will be answered in the next book. Using context clues, however, I sort of gathered that she died during the birth somehow and it was for a good cause since she died protecting the newborn baby.

I think this will be addressed in the third book and was meant to be cliffhanger. So now we are all wondering what was going on in the present while Diana and Matthew were running around in the past?

And if Emily died to protect the baby, why doesn't it bear her name?

I agree with the general consensus that it should be explained during the next book. But what really confuses me about the whole thing. Is the fact that. Of all of them, who targeted Emily AND was capable of killing her? I mean wasn't she and Sarah living with Ysabeau and co. for a while there? I mean there had to be plenty of protection going on for everybody. So I don't see how Emily just up and got killed like that. I mean even Knox seemed to be preoccupied with finding the lost pages and only after learning what he did about them. Did he even think about planning an attack on them. So what in the world happened to Emily?

About the only thing I could think of is if it was a witch fight or something. But still how were they able to get to her as I doubt Sarah would have left her unprotected like that.

Yes, Knox was planning to launch an attack on Sept-Tours--he discussed it with Gerbert. Then we learned that Emily died protecting the baby. I assume there was a confrontation at Sept-Tours during which Emily was killed.

And I believe the fight happened AFTER the baby was born--I never had the impression that it happened during the birth. But we'll see with book 3!

I was wondering what happened to her also. I just said that Sara was crying and hidding out in the tower. But it doesn't explain how she died or anything. Hope that is the first thing addressed in the next book.

I was thinking that in the 3rd book, the effects of the time travel might be revealed a bit more, i.e. what changes happened in the 'current' day as a effect of something they had inadvertently changed in the past. I was wondering if Em's death could be a result of this somehow. Diana's father spoke to her, I think, of how altering the past had consequences in the future somehow... I'm not sure if I have that exactly right, but I finished the book pondering this idea somehow with the different cliffhangers with which we were left.

Could be the case Pia. But from the way things were going along. Em was dead prior to Diana and Matt even talking to her dad in the past at all. So it had to have been a event further in their travels there maybe.

I agree with Pia that Em's death had something to do the time traveling, one of the coloured threads that Diana saw off in the corner signifying a change had been made. Ysabeau mentioned that she died to protect the baby, but perhaps the comment was meant more symbolically, like her death was for the cause. What I find most difficult to wrap my head around is the changes that are being made as a result of the time walking. Yes, they appear to happen in the past, but did they just "appear" out of no where, or were these items technically in existence for all this time. I know that sounds confusing since Matthew and Diana's circle are in the know about events at the moment and realize what is happeneing, but someone like Vernin obviously knew about this many decades before. Poor Gallowglass has been in the know for centuries!

I agree with your with you. I think Know attacked Sept-Tours and Em was the casualty of the fight.

Crossfinn wrote: "Yes, Knox was planning to launch an attack on Sept-Tours--he discussed it with Gerbert. Then we learned that Emily died protecting the baby. I assume there was a confrontation at Sept-Tours during ..."

I think emily was probably killed when the two (Sarah and Emily) went away with their friend after halloween at the end of the first book. There definetly was an encounter with members from the congregation, because of Ysabeu and mathews conversation. But it was pretty clear by then end of book 2 that we wont find anything about what happened to Emily until book 3. Does anyon know what book 3 will be called?

This thoroughly confused me too... I thought I missed something! Knox implied he was on his way to storm Ysabeau's home so I thought perhaps she got killed in relation to that.

Pia wrote: "I was thinking that in the 3rd book, the effects of the time travel might be revealed a bit more, i.e. what changes happened in the 'current' day as a effect of something they had inadvertently cha..."

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the time walking. What I think we will get in the next book is an update on what was going on the present while Matthew and Diana were back in time. Obviously we know that Sarah, Emily and the others were not simply twiddling their thumbs while Matthew and Diana were having their fun in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if the first third of the book is a recount of what happened while they were gone and then the story will move on from their.

I have to admit that reading about Em's death in the end put a bad taste in my mouth. In fact it overshadowed most of the good I saw in the book in my mind. Sorry. It was a gamble by the author and it didn't pay off. I will have to seriously consider whether I pick up book 3 or not.

Timothy wrote: "I have to admit that reading about Em's death in the end put a bad taste in my mouth. In fact it overshadowed most of the good I saw in the book in my mind. Sorry. It was a gamble by the author a..."

A gamble? In what sense?

Does anyone actually tell Diana what happened to Em?

apparently she died so that Sophie and Nathan could have a child - but she was murdered and the de Clermont family is gonna have revenge....