The Book of the Ice Series - SPOILERS for all Mark Lawrence books (Including Girl and the Moon SPOILERS)

[Maltaran]

Presumably they built 1024 because it is 2^10 

[Linda]

3 hours ago, Maltaran said:

Presumably they built 1024 because it is 2^10 

I guess I am more wondering if there's a connection between the various structures. For example, is there a function to there being 1024 pillars and 1024 Arks and Ark cities? 

[unJon]

Just finished Girl and the Moon. Really enjoyed the wrap up. I’ll would love to see him return to this world again and follow where you know who went. 

[Garlan the Gallant]

Finished this last night. I don’t re-read books and read all of Lawrence books as they were published so I was hoping someone could fill in some gaps.

Spoiler

1. Who were the two Red Sisters Mail/Pan spoke to when they went through the gate?

2. Jorg/Theus was cut off when explaining that the Missing needed underwater power to generate enough power for their elevated form of life but they didn’t seem to care what happened on Abeth. Then he goes, “In fact…” and gets cut off. What do we think he was about to say?

3. Was the living fire that Prometheus gave Yaz a part of Holy Sister? I don’t remember that at all.

4. I seem to remember Holy Sister ending with a reboot of the moon. How does the ending of this latest book impact the ending of Holy Sister? ELI5

Also, is Lawrence now done with Abeth? I was hoping his next series would further intertwine like his other series now have.

[Rhom]

17 hours ago, Garlan the Gallant said:

Finished this last night. I don’t re-read books and read all of Lawrence books as they were published so I was hoping someone could fill in some gaps.

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Who were the two Red Sisters Mail/Pan spoke to when they went through the gate?

2. Jorg/Theus was cut off when explaining that the Missing needed underwater power to generate enough power for their elevated form of life but they didn’t seem to care what happened on Abeth. Then he goes, “In fact…” and gets cut off. What do we think he was about to say?

3. Was the living fire that Prometheus gave Yaz a part of Holy Sister? I don’t remember that at all.

4. I seem to remember Holy Sister ending with a reboot of the moon. How does the ending of this latest book impact the ending of Holy Sister? ELI5

Also, is Lawrence now done with Abeth? I was hoping his next series would further intertwine like his other series now have.

I don’t know that I’m much help here.  Maybe if @Azecap is still around, they could help out.

[unJon]

On 5/17/2022 at 11:22 AM, Linda said:

I guess I am more wondering if there's a connection between the various structures. For example, is there a function to there being 1024 pillars and 1024 Arks and Ark cities? 

In Holy Sister when Nona is deep in the path with a ship heart she sees the 1024 pillars as a map for the 1024 arks. 

[unJon]

On 6/16/2022 at 8:22 PM, Garlan the Gallant said:

Finished this last night. I don’t re-read books and read all of Lawrence books as they were published so I was hoping someone could fill in some gaps.

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Who were the two Red Sisters Mail/Pan spoke to when they went through the gate?

2. Jorg/Theus was cut off when explaining that the Missing needed underwater power to generate enough power for their elevated form of life but they didn’t seem to care what happened on Abeth. Then he goes, “In fact…” and gets cut off. What do we think he was about to say?

3. Was the living fire that Prometheus gave Yaz a part of Holy Sister? I don’t remember that at all.

4. I seem to remember Holy Sister ending with a reboot of the moon. How does the ending of this latest book impact the ending of Holy Sister? ELI5

Also, is Lawrence now done with Abeth? I was hoping his next series would further intertwine like his other series now have.

I’ll take a stab since I reread the Ancestor trilogy just now after finishing the Girl and the Moon. 

Beware spoilers follow:

 

 

 

seriously, spoilers for all Abeth books

 

 

 

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1. Who were the two Red Sisters Mail/Pan spoke to when they went through the gate?

Ari and Nona. 
 

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2. Jorg/Theus was cut off when explaining that the Missing needed underwater power to generate enough power for their elevated form of life but they didn’t seem to care what happened on Abeth. Then he goes, “In fact…” and gets cut off. What do we think he was about to say?

No idea. 

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3. Was the living fire that Prometheus gave Yaz a part of Holy Sister? I don’t remember that at all.

It’s mentioned near the end of Holy Sister by Nona that legend said that The Missing had a way to burn ice. 
 

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4. I seem to remember Holy Sister ending with a reboot of the moon. How does the ending of this latest book impact the ending of Holy Sister? ELI5

It adds more optimism to the end of Holy Sister. It goes from Nona’s possibly plan of slowly pushing back the ice while using the remaining propellant of the Moon, which maybe is a few generations of extension, to being able to burn ice, with Theus says could be tens of thousands of years of fuel. It also gives an explanation for why Zole goes back to the Ice at the end of Holy Sister. She says “I hear a whisper and it seems important. Perhaps the Missing are calling to me.”

 

[Rhom]

I've been seeing Lawrence promote his new novel "The Book That Wouldn't Burn" on social media.  

I have wondered if it is part of the Taprootiverse.  I have seen nothing that would indicate it is... but then again, everything else he's written has been tied together on some level.  So maybe I should just assume it is.   

[Lord Patrek]

Mark told me no. But he also said that about the last series. . .

[Rhom]

23 hours ago, Lord Patrek said:

Mark told me no. But he also said that about the last series. . .

Interesting.  Because the last series wound up with more ties than I can count.

[Lord Patrek]

I told him I don't trust him anymore!

[Lord Patrek]

About 75 pages into The Book That Wouldn't Burn and it's good.

Though the book is not supposed to be related to Lawrence's other series, there is a Crath City in this world as well. And quotes from various works mention the names Ancrath and Hayes. . .

[Rhom]

16 hours ago, Lord Patrek said:

About 75 pages into The Book That Wouldn't Burn and it's good.

Though the book is not supposed to be related to Lawrence's other series, there is a Crath City in this world as well. And quotes from various works mention the names Ancrath and Hayes. . .

He shared an epigraph quote on his social the other day that is attributed to "Captain Elias Root."

I'm not buying his statement that this isn't tied in somehow.

[Lord Patrek]

Given how the whole universe is set up, anything he writes can be part of the whole, no matter when or where it occurs.

So he can mess with our minds as much as he wants!

[unJon]

I finished The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. 

I thought it was really good but not without flaws. The back third was awesome non stop action with a lot of twists. And one or two twists I didn’t see coming but in hindsight made sense.

I thought the supporting cast of friends for Livira was not well developed. But the upside to that is that we didn’t have to have a repeat of the kid-at-school drama stuff that has been done many times before.

Conclusion set up next book very well without being a total cliffhanger, which I appreciated.

Lot of Easter Eggs to the Taprootverse, especially in the chapter epigraphs.

For now, think we keep discussion in spoilers though if people want me to change thread title so this can be a spoiler discussion of the book, I can.

 

 

[unJon]

I guess just to put a few spoiler thoughts out. 

spoilers for The Book That Wouldn’t Burn

Spoiler

I was surprised by the reveal that Evar was a canith. I reread the Evar chapter where he watches Clovis family get slaughtered and there are clues. Most notably that Clovis mom takes out sabbers with nothing but a large book. 
 

prediction is that the humans that are attacking Clovis family (remember they came through the portal) are the soldiers that Yute directs into a portal at the end of the book when everyone is in the Exchange. The portal Yute sent them to is described as between Livira’s and Evan’s time.

Now that Livira and Malar have been inside Assistants they may always be ghosts. The Assistants are described as outside of time or experiencing all of time at once. And once you dip into the future you are a ghost in all past places. It may be that the two of them are only “real” in the Exchange from now on. Though of course Evar can interest with them when he is a ghost too.

I’m not sure I really follow how The Book was itself a mini portal or mechanism that sucked Livara and Evar into it. Nor how the book stayed “real” so the caninth witch could see it when Livara was a ghost.

I groaned at the name of the king and his father.

Are the Sleer or Mayflower going to be the big bad?

 

[Leofric]

On 5/21/2023 at 8:19 PM, unJon said:

I guess just to put a few spoiler thoughts out. 

spoilers for The Book That Wouldn’t Burn

  Hide contents

I’m not sure I really follow how The Book was itself a mini portal or mechanism that sucked Livara and Evar into it. Nor how the book stayed “real” so the caninth witch could see it when Livara was a ghost.

 

 

Spoiler

I think the reason the book is special is that it has not been finished yet, Livira still has more to write in it so it is outside of time yet in all times, or something. 

 

[Rhom]

Finished up the book I was struggling with.  Cracked open Book That Wouldn't Burn...

Shortest prologue ever.  

[Rhom]

Finished tonight.  Great read. Definitely part of the Taprootiverse in my mind.  Given that he has played with time on epochal scales in the Abbeth books; I’d say this one is the one that exists “outside” of time while being a bridge that ties them all together. (Loosely.)

[Rhom]

On 5/21/2023 at 3:11 PM, unJon said:

 

For now, think we keep discussion in spoilers though if people want me to change thread title so this can be a spoiler discussion of the book, I can.

 

 

If we are taking a vote, I move that we change this to a general Mark Lawrence thread.  Never gets enough attention around here anyways… 20 pages worth of discussion would probably see us at least through the end of the Library Trilogy.