Victoria BC science fiction book club discussion

Discussion thread for chapter 2

So, I've finished chapter 2. Anyone else?

Yup! I really enjoyed the different story. I liked that it isn't just a continuation of traveling on Hyperion. The battles were exciting, and some odd virtual romancing.

As before, the story was gripping. I found the New Bushido Code to be interesting. I looked up Bushido, and it turns out that it's the way of the warrior in Japanese. It was fascinating how stuck FORCE was to the New Bushido, but how easy it was for Kassad to abandon it when the Ousters attacked.

The descriptions of the battles with the Ousters were great, especially the space ambush above Hyperion and Kassad's brilliance and luck with the escape.

When I was first introduced to the character of Kassad in the first chapter, I didn't think he was that interesting, but this chapter changed my mind. I hope all the chapters are this interesting!

The story of him meeting the lady, and the 'your past my future' part was haunting. I love time paradoxes. Also, when Kassad admitted that he had seen some of the pilgrims impaled on the tree, but wouldn't say who. Did he see himself there I wonder?

I found the initial part of Kassad's story not as exciting. I felt like something was missing compared to the first story. Maybe because it was less of trying to figure the world out, and more of a typical military story at first.

I did think the concept of the temple (I forget what it was called now, and couldn't find it quickly in the book) that was travelling back in time was neat. I'm guessing that Kassad must have seen into the future, with the pilgrims impaled on the tree. To me it might have meant that he knows the outcome of the pilgrimage. Maybe he will try to stop things from happening or force it to happen so that he's the one that lives?

I liked this chapter better than the first. I thought Kassad was really fascinating. As Sam said, his sudden willingness to abandon the code and turn violent was intriguing. The Shrike seems to be feeding on strong emotions like violence/hate, sexual ecstasy... I got the sense that the Shrike somehow influenced or encouraged Kassad. I'm curious to learn how he and Moneta gained their connection. And if he's planning to kill the Shrike/her, what consequences will that have on Kassad, given that connection?