Flight of the Heron read-along: Part III chapters 1-2

[regshoe]

Charlie chose the place himsel', the graveyard of Culloden...

Well, it looks like Keith's prophecies about the fate of the Jacobites, at least, weren't too inaccurate...

Next week we'll read chapters 3 and 4 of part III.

Comments

[luzula]

Hi and welcome to the fandom! : D

Oh, naval terms...I've been recording an audiobook with a few naval terms in it, and they're always shortened, and never in quite the way you expect.

And here I am, several weeks later, alarmingly invested in this novel and its characters.

Ha ha, I recognize this! That first reading experience was something.

I can't help but wonder if her reluctance is, at least in part, based in the fear of becoming a widow so soon after marriage. Ewen, in contrast, seems to have the complete opposite view: that any time married is precious, and that they should seize life with both hands while they have it.

Yes, I think you're right, and that this explains the conflict, such as it is, about whether to get married right away. I do like Alison a lot, but by now I feel like the Alison in my head is half my own character, since I wrote a longfic where she had a lot of POV (more than in canon).

I did enjoy the brief mention of Keith when Ewen is at Ardroy. It was a good way to subtly remind the reader where the story is headed, that even though this particular chapter of the Jacobite Uprising is swiftly drawing to a close, there is still plenty of story left.

Yes! We're only halfway through the story, really. So much slashy goodness left.

[tgarnsl]

Hello!

I've been recording an audiobook with a few naval terms in it, and they're always shortened, and never in quite the way you expect. — Yes, it's a bit like Gaelic in that you have to alter your understanding of how phonetic pronunciation works. I'm sure that there's some underlying rule, but I have yet to work it out.

I agree that it's hard to tell where one's own interpretation of character ends and the author's begins — I'm in the midst of writing some fics right now and am still working out Alison's voice and motivations, but I do feel that she is given a little more agency than other standard love interests of the era.

So much slashy goodness left. Oh, is there ever. I'm currently working on a story that slightly alters the events of the final three meetings and every time I look at the book I marvel at the fact that for every single event Broster went as far as she did, which I very much look forward to rereading in the upcoming weeks :-)

[luzula]

Yay fic! \o/ Looking forward to it, and let me know if you want a beta reader. : )

[tgarnsl]

Thank you! At this point it's looking like a serious longfic, so it might be a while.

[luzula]

Even better, then. : )

[regshoe]

Ooh, you're writing fic, how exciting :D