SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

The discussion thread for our July 2021 Book of the Month. Spoilers allowed.

Easy read thus far. Alina is about to start her training, so the orphan from humble peasant origins is catapulted through the Grisha ranks, on course apparently to collaborate closely with the Darkling, The Darkling's symbol of two overlapping circles (an eclipse) is quite apt. I think first to be eclipsed might be the king, because the Darkling thinks he is a weakling, and he might be discarded when not useful no more. And Mal? I suspect a Peasant - Prince vying for the Princess subplot, I am curious how it all will pan out,

Tonight on Facebook, somebody commented that behind every successful woman there is a man holding her back. This somebody must have read Shadow and Bone, because the minute Alina let go of Mal, she starts blossoming. And there goes my rivalry subplot, but who knows...peasants can be persistent. ;,>)

Glad to see you're enjoying this one, Wayne. There are about 6 books in the queue before I'll get here.

Carolien wrote: "Glad to see you're enjoying this one, Wayne. There are about 6 books in the queue before I'll get here."

Yes, it is actually quite a lekker read. What's not to like - an orphan (actually two remember Anne, Annie, David Copperfield, my Ruiter in Swart (the first man in black) and a number of other interesting characters. Hope I am not spoiling it too much for those who stillwant to read.

I really liked this book from the get-go. For a brief while at the end I thought I was going to be disappointed, but with another kink in the tale the author disabused me of that hasty conclusion, and now I am looking forward to find out what adventures await Alina and Mal. Will the Apparat feature in rest of the trilogy? I do not know yet, but I am a bit baffled about his role here. And the Peasant's persistence won through at the end, gives a poor man hope ;,>)

I enjoyed this more than I had expected and I agree with you that one will have to read the rest of the trilogy to see what the Apparat's role is (he seems to be a Rasputin-like figure).

An interesting article in The Atlantic on the influence of TV and movie adaptations on the popularity of books. One can see why Shadow and Bone meets the criteria in terms of world-building that is required.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/a...

Carolien wrote: "An interesting article in The Atlantic on the influence of TV and movie adaptations on the popularity of books. One can see why Shadow and Bone meets the criteria in terms of world-building that is..."

Thanks Carolien, will read later