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The Call by Peadar O'Guilin [SPOILERS]


RedEyedGhost

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I'm surprised somebody else hasn't started this thread already.  Here's the book for those that haven't been following the reading thread this and last month.  What a great read, especially the climax.  That was one of the best climaxes I've read in quite some time (excluding the book I finished immediately before this - Foreign Devils).  

I was a bit disappointed that Nessa only survived her call because of Conor's agreement.  I was hoping for her to figure out some clever way to survive on her own. I did like that Conor's agreement was also then what sealed his own fate.  Megan was a great character and I really liked how she went down fighting.  

The rotating POVs were great, even when they were just one-offs.  The imagery was wonderful throughout, probably Peadar's best so far.  The book did have a lot of the same feel as The Bone World Trilogy, so if you liked this one you should try those too.

Maybe I've read too much Grimdark, but the low ratings on Amazon talking about how gruesome it is surprised me, because I didn't think it was bad at all. :unsure: 

I was a bit surprised they didn't try and send a force into the Grey Land when they found the door in the mound, but they've been on the defensive so long that they probably just weren't prepared for that.  Maybe next time.  I loved how many double agents the Sidhe had created, even though it was painful when the one started shooting up the place.  Nabil and Taaft taking charge was awesome.  Can't wait for the next book.

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Maybe I've read too much Grimdark, but the low ratings on Amazon talking about how gruesome it is surprised me, because I didn't think it was bad at all. 

I think it's the marketing for the book as YA. Although YA books do have violence and death, they're usually not as much in your face as in this novel, and I think it took some people aback.

I'm really not sure I'd call this YA at all. It's much more like Lord of the Flies and Battle Royale in tone.

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2 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I want to see the text of the treaty and figure out the hole that allowed the Sidhe to wall off Ireland and start taking people against their will.

Agreements with these kinds of beings in most fiction tend to be of the exact-words variety, so if it's not specifically prohibited...

On that note, my guess is that once all the Irish are dead the treaty will be null and void, thus allowing the Sidhe back in even if their plans with Conor and others don't work out. If 90%+ of all kids die before 18, the demographic collapse can't be too far away.

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1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Malt,

If so, why did the Irish have 2000 years with the Sidhe locked away? Why didn't they block of Ireland immediately and start the Calls right after the treaty was signed?

Great questions. There was discussion about the worlds were growing closer recently which likely has an impact on what power the Sidhe can exert. But agree lots not fully explained. 

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1 hour ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Malt,

If so, why did the Irish have 2000 years with the Sidhe locked away? Why didn't they block of Ireland immediately and start the Calls right after the treaty was signed?

Maybe it took them 2000 years to figure out they could do it in the first place.

 

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12 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Maybe it took them 2000 years to figure out they could do it in the first place.

 

If the get 24 hours for ever three minutes that pass here they've had a wee bit more that 2000 years.  It is more like 960,000 years to find this loophole.

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5 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

The imagery was wonderful throughout, probably Peadar's best so far.  The book did have a lot of the same feel as The Bone World Trilogy, so if you liked this one you should try those too.

There were occasional moments where The Grey Land did remind me of that world, particularly in one of the Calls where someone ran past a field of human heads buried in a field which reminded me of the Diggers.

Maybe I've read too much Grimdark, but the low ratings on Amazon talking about how gruesome it is surprised me, because I didn't think it was bad at all. 

:unsure:

I think there's a big variation in how gruesome people want their reading to be, I imagine some people will go into this expecting something along the lines of The Hunger Games which might be just as horrifying in its implications but most shied away from showing things too graphically.

I was a bit surprised they didn't try and send a force into the Grey Land when they found the door in the mound, but they've been on the defensive so long that they probably just weren't prepared for that.

It seems that adults would be unable to even see the door. I suppose they could consider sending some of the older students who haven't yet been Called, but they might be badly outnumbered although if they could take iron weapons through with them they could have a chance. I don't know where the sequel is going to go, but that would be one potential plot to have a force sent through a door (maybe to try to destroy the Black Cauldron which is crucial to the Sidhe's power).

I'm really not sure I'd call this YA at all. It's much more like

Lord of the Flies and Battle Royale in tone.

It wouldn't surprise me if Lord of the Flies was published today that a publisher might try to classify it as YA.

Great questions. There was discussion about the worlds were growing closer recently which likely has an impact on what power the Sidhe can exert. But agree lots not fully explained. 

I feel this is something that might be explored in the sequel.

I was also a bit curious whether this was something that just happened to Ireland, since the other Celtic nations have similar mythology.

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10 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

If the get 24 hours for ever three minutes that pass here they've had a wee bit more that 2000 years.  It is more like 960,000 years to find this loophole.

I dunno. Some serendipitous discovery involving windows and planetary alignments, followed by a treacherous deal with the Taoiseach?

But you're right. The Sidhe are bound by their word, so something's happened. Maybe it will be explained in the second book. I doubt we'll get a POV from the other side of the veil, but seeing as the Calls have only been going on for 25 years, there is scope to include a character who could shed some light on it.

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I started reading this when the e-book came out and enjoyed it. But it came right on the heels of me finishing the Obelisk Gate and I found that I wasn't quite ready for another round of emotional toil and grimness. So I've put it aside for now -- I'll probably pick it back up near the end of September.

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On September 11, 2016 at 6:49 PM, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

The fact that the sidhe are bound by their literal word is what makes this point so interesting to me.  Further that people being coerced into  acknowleging one dumbass as "King" giving that "King" the power to abrogate the treaty is also interesting.

I thought that bit was hilarious. Is this a multi-book series or a one-shot? Because the Irish better get some damned good lawyers soon. 

I figure the entire island is doomed, and a lot sooner than demographic implosion. Of course, if there is a next book, I hope someone tries to burn Vanessa as a witch.

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On 9/11/2016 at 5:12 PM, williamjm said:

There were occasional moments where The Grey Land did remind me of that world, particularly in one of the Calls where someone ran past a field of human heads buried in a field which reminded me of the Diggers.

That specifically.  But really just the feel of it, too.

On 9/11/2016 at 5:12 PM, williamjm said:

It seems that adults would be unable to even see the door. I suppose they could consider sending some of the older students who haven't yet been Called, but they might be badly outnumbered although if they could take iron weapons through with them they could have a chance. I don't know where the sequel is going to go, but that would be one potential plot to have a force sent through a door (maybe to try to destroy the Black Cauldron which is crucial to the Sidhe's power).

It made me wonder if one of the teens that could feel the path could lead the force down it.  A battalion of soldiers with some machine guns loaded up with iron bullets could wreak some havoc.  To be fair though, they probably didn't believe all of the stories about the Sidhe magic such as the cauldron, and probably didn't even consider that the Sidhe they're dealing with now are the same that their ancestors dealt with.

11 hours ago, Maltaran said:

He's let us off lightly with the names, no Ruaridh or Tadhg, the only obviously Irish ones are Cahal and Aoife

He really, really did.

9 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

And I know how to pronounce "Aoife".  :)

I even had to look the one up!

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