[Gertie Kindle]

Mike and Jan, I'm not going to be able to answer all the questions because at this point, I was just blasting through the book.

Chapter 30

What were your impressions when Eustus and Enya were exploring the tunnel and the chamber beyond?

Scared to death. Enya gave an impression of strength from when we first met her. Eustus did not. I think this exploration showed how Eustus had grown and toughened up.

Any idea who the male Kreelan guards were guarding?

I knew right away that it had to be Keel Tath's tomb.

What do you think happened when Enya touched the blue crystal? Why did it effect Reza like that?

She awakened Keel Tath. Reza was affected because he is the chosen one.

Chapter 31

What did you think of the crew and mission of the scoutship Obstinate?

Mike, I never know who you're going to kill off. I don't trust you since Goliath.

What was your first thought when you read what happened with the Kreelan target Lieutenant Weigand was monitoring?

Chapter 32

In this chapter you get another small glimpse of the power of the First Empress, both in terms of what happens to the mountain that Enya and Eustus had been exploring, as well as what happens to Reza. What was your reaction?

Spectacular. Awe-inspiring. Wish I had been there to see it ... from a very safe distance.

Chapter 33

One of our favorite (not!) characters returns in this chapter: who wanted to take a blowtorch to his head??

And other more personal parts.

What did you think of Reza's transition from being a Marine back to a Kreelan warrior priest?

About time. (shiver)

Chapter 34

Why do you think Reza didn't simply kill Thorella at the beginning of the chapter?

Have to reread this part.

And what of not telling the Rainiers that they were soon to be slaughtered?

Reza's reasons were sound. There may have been some innocent Raniers, but the majority went along with Belisle.

Chapter 35

What do you think of the idea of 700 Mallorys meeting 700 Kreelan warriors? What did you think was going to happen?

Mike, you sure can write a battle. It was all very symbolic and I had the impression all the moves were choreographed and very ritualistic.

Did you think that Eustus was ever going to see Reza again after the breakout from the parliament building?

I thought Reza might be the last man standing (figuratively) and the Kreelans would take him back to the home planet to fulfill the prophecy.

Chapter 36

Reza and Esah-Zhurah meet again - did you suspect that this would happen when you first learned that the Kreelans were coming to Erlang? What do you think about them meeting again finally, only to have to fight each other?

Yes, I suspected that would happen. You can stop making me cry, now.

Chapter 37

Do you think Nicole's accident was a coincidence, or a timely intervention by unknown powers to keep her out of a battle that would surely kill her?

Hadn't thought of that, but by the tone of your question, I'm guessing your fingers thought so.

Chapter 38

How did you feel when you found out that if Reza was to go to the gallows, Nicole would likely die with him?

You had my heart in my throat with that one.

Reza was dead and now he's alive. Esah-Zhurah wishes she were dead because she doesn't know that Reza is alive again. Jodi and Eustus should be dead, but they aren't and we don't know if Nicole is alive or dead. Whew! What were you thinking when all of this was going on? [You can tell that Jan did this one! LOL!]

As The Homeworld Turns or The Guiding Blue Light.

What did you think of Enya urging Eustus to go on Jodi's "suicide mission"?

I thought that Enya was very courageous. As I said about her before, she will always do what's right no matter how hard it is.

Then what did you think of their escape just as the torpedo exploded next to Jodi's fighter?

You're killing me, Mike.

Chapter 39

Do you think L'Houillier and Zhukovski being too pessimistic about the battle scenarios? Should humanity take one massive roll of the dice?

It seems like the logical thing to do, except for the fact that they both (and we) know the decision is being made by a megalomaniac.

How did you feel when Zhukovski told Reza about what was happening to the Kreelans, and what it must mean for Esah-Zhurah?

Huuurrrrrryyyyyyy.

What do you think happened when Reza collapsed shortly after Thorella entered his room?

I think it was the Ancient Ones preserving Reza to fulfill his role.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

It was that bad?? LOL!

You know darn well it was that good.

You peeked!

Did not! I happen to be very perceptive.

Hey, that's good!!

Yes, and it was all me ... not my fingers.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Mike, I think you need to change the date and chapters in your siggy. 

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I really had thought that all 700 Mallorys would have to die for the Kreelans to be satisfied.... so I was happy that some were able to live.

That's what I thought, too. I guess we thought so because Reza thought so. Then he sacrificed himself, which stopped everything. Can you imagine how Esah-Zhurah must have felt at that moment?

I'm like Gertie..... I am so anxious... and there is such a feeling of urgency for Reza to get back to E-Z... but he seems to be a little restricted right now with the charges against him and our ugly "Mr. T" dogging him every step of the way like a game of cat & mouse, only MUCH worse. That's why I need a blaster to get Mr. T out of the way so Reza can get on with serious business..... but at the same time, I want Reza to be the one to take him out, once-and-for-all!!

Thorella seems to have more than nine lives. Maybe if Reza just slices off one part at a time ...

And, when Reza changed from his uniform back to his Kreelan clothes....... it gave me goosebumps (I think they must have been blue). What a powerful scene that will be for the movie!!!

Oooh, didn't think of it like that, which is odd, because I love scenes like that. Yeah, blue goosebumps.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

So, now you know..... I do not want this book to end.... and will have to re-read it again soon after our klub is done so that I can stay connected to the world of Reza, E-Z, and the Kreelans..... it's that wonderful!!

When Mike first joined KB, and called himself kreelanwarrior, I figured they were the good guys. Then I read the book and said, ick, why would Mike want to name himself after these vicious, brutal people. Then bit-by-bit, even though the Kreela are still pretty brutal, we start getting sucked in to The Way, just as Reza did. After finding out about Keel Tath, the curse and the prophecy, we see what a burden these people are struggling under.

Spoiler

So, Mike, are we going to find out how the Kreela evolved after the new dawn?

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Okay, here's a question: who prefers to have their villains with more of a "soul," and not just being totally bad? Some people seem to think that characters who are manifestly evil and don't have any inner conflict are less believable, although I think there's plenty of historical evidence to show that some human beings are quite capable of being evil to the core...

Evil to the core, but when they get caught, they think they are misunderstood or can't understand why everyone doesn't agree with them. That's the soul part.

I was watching a show about Yongle, second Ming emperor last night. He deposed and probably murdered his nephew and family by burning down the palace with them in it. He executed most of the officials out to the tenth degree of family and servants. He got mad at a concubine and executed 2800 concubines, servants and eunuchs. He was afraid of being remembered as a bad guy and had a revisionist history written, then executed the guy who wrote it. But see, he just wanted to be loved.

We would call Yongle's actions purely evil, but even being evil, he cared about his image.

On the good side, he did care very much for China and expended a lot of time and energy in making China prosperous caring for its people.

Thorella's soul? He didn't want to lose and he didn't want to die.

You need to come inside from the cold, now, Gertie!

That's why I don't do snow.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

The concept of the evil character is interesting. A few of the reviews of the book called the characters of Thorella and Borge caricatures, and therefore hardly believable, as if you couldn't have people like that in real life. I'm afraid that it's all too possible to believe there are people like that in real life. I hope I never meet them!

Were Hitler and Stalin caricatures? Vlad the Impaler? Yongle? Maybe we just don't know much about Thorella and Borge's personal lives. We don't get to see how they chill out in the evening. Do they play cards with the guys? Do they hang out in the ESPN room with the male Kreelans? These are things we don't need to know and are best left to the imagination.

Thorella served another purpose besides being the quintessential bad guy. His training methods contrasted sharply with the Kreelans training. It made the Kreelans more sympathetic, and not just through Reza's eyes. The reader starts to see the difference, too.

In the same way, they felt that Reza was too perfect. My viewpoint is, aren't we always looking for a real hero to believe in? And when we find him, we cheer him on all of the way, and feel his pain when he gets knocked down. I think that's part of the appeal of this book. It satisfies our needs/interests on so many levels.

I didn't see Reza as being too perfect. I saw him as a guy that had been through hell in just about every stage of his life. Every time he managed to build something of a life, he lost it all. I think Reza, in reaction to that, keeps himself tightly controlled. His training in The Way, keeps him focused on what needs to be done. He's like Thorella and Borge that way; we don't know much about his private life outside his duties as a marine. I'm guessing, considering his leisure activities as an orphan, that he read a lot. Again, best left to the imagination. There's no need for an author to mention every time the hero brushes his teeth.

In Her Name has some flaws (so what), but it's a darn good story, very well told with characters that I can care about. *****

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I wouldn't say the characters are caricatures. . . .it's meant to be entertaining, after all. To some extent you have to know who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. I would not object to one or two characters that you can't quite figure out. . .maybe that's what the critics are saying.

We need clear cut bad guys in this story. The Kreela are supposed to be the enemy, but are they really? Yes and no. Reza certainly isn't the enemy and he has the soul of a Kreelan priest/warrior. Mike kind of takes us back and forth with that. So, yes, make Thorella and Borge as bad as you want. I need to know who to hate.

I am finding the story very very satisfying. I'm guessing that they'll be taking the Empress soul or whatever it was back to some sort of home planet and something else important will happen. But they need Reza. . . .I kind of have a feeling that the fate of both cultures lies in humans and kreelans together somehow. But give it's been decades of war between them, that's going to be hard to work out. . . .I'm interested to see how Reza gets out of his court martial predicament and/or keeps Nicole from dying as well and then saving the universe as we know it!

Whew. This sounds like a job for Superman.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Hey, what happened to her hat? I warned her to hang on to it!

N

Good advice. I have to read the next section again before I can answer any questions. I think I'm going to super glue my hat on my head and then strap myself into the recliner before I do.