frosenblum

When is CJ going to meet him? I meant both the bare chested photos and the ones with him roaring like a warrior. In my day, fencing was a very polite sport. (60 years ago.)

What's surprising is that it's all totally plausible, quite realistic. CJ keeps doing what he thinks is the right thing to do. He does takes advantage of every opportunity that comes his way. But there's no shrewd plotting going on (like the Kennedy, Bush, or Trump families). There's got to be some major obstacles coming CJ's way. If nothing else, given the nature of D.C. politics, being Mayor of Washington will not be easy. @Carlos Hazday since you asked, there was one time that you went way beyond plausible. It was the dastardly triple cliffhanger, was when CJ was still in high school. All in one chapter 1) Brad's dad was shot, 2) some family friends and their kids were in a major car accident on the highway, and 3) Brett's helicopter crashed on takeoff. You did this in the final chapter of that book, so we had to wait until you finished and starting posting the next book before we found out if anyone was killed or badly hurt. I think you earned the GA Master Cliffhanger medal that year.

I wonder what's going on with Brad, that no one knows where he is and he's acting so up tight. Could there be a new dilemma in the next chapter?

When I was a fencer in college, no one took those kinds of photos of me -- or any other fencer.

Wow, that was like the coming attractions before they show the movie. Only more interesting.

I'm beginning to see Northman as the comic relief character in the CJ TV series. Pompous boss, totally clueless, wears no-longer-in-style clothes he thinks are still the bomb, definitely with a mismatched bowtie. You know, the character the audience (us) starts laughing at as soon as he enters a scene because we know he's going to say something hilariously stupid, a real groaner. Many actors have won Emmys for playing this type of role to the hilt.

Some fairy godparent must be laying down a yellow brick road in front of CJ. The one that leads to the presidency. NY Times Sunday magazine interview comes his way unasked for, plus the Advocate, plus on national TV, Oscar in hand. All without paying a publicist. You go, CJ

The story moves along, following a road full of twists and turns. What's coming next? It's sure keeping me interested.

Exactly! Snafu means "situation normal, all effed up" so SOP.

Great chapter. A lot of scenes jammed it, yet it still felt leisurely. Maybe this is the Liechtenstein for Ritch:

Fernie -- LMAO. I bet using that it his face would really rile him.

"The first three weeks of summer are OPS Air Force.”—Ritch would wind up stationed in Alaska—“I’ll probably be in D.C. after. Since I’ll have three weeks off, maybe I’ll come check out Mexico City for a few days.”" As I remember, CJ's Mexican "incident" will happen while Ritch is in Alaska, so few more months to wait. Ritch didn't get to check out Mexico City.

What a fun chapter! I'm surprised the teams are not evenly balanced. In fact, there are ten hunters but many more defenders, which doesn't seem like a fair game. It seems like at least 25 or 30 defenders: Cyrus "waved to Remis to come closer, and many of the bodies dispersed from the room" with "Fifteen remained in the hall." Next Cyrus "pointed in several directions, and five of the strangers left" leaving ten still in the room, but most of the team dispersed elsewhere. When Vincent first arrived, Cyrus was telling the defenders, "Does everyone understand your tasks? I want an even distribution across the seven mountain territories. For those going farther, be sure you’re capable of escorting a prisoner back to Sandoval. Try to have a mage within your ranks. They’ll be your best bet to take on Vincent Bolton. He has three affinities, so don't be afraid to go all out." Cyrus must have known Vincent would spy on them, which was why Remis was checking the room out. In which case, was Cyrus just trying to confuse and trick Vincent and the hunters, so they were left unsure: is the ribbon in Cyrus's hand and then on the floor actually the flag or did Cyrus sneak the real flag out with those who dispersed all over the property? Sneakiness within sneakiness.

The story is coming to a turning point. I expect Jevikal and Kadin's trek to Benden Weyr will be quite exciting.

A fun chapter. Just about everybody we love made an appearance. If I followed Loren explanation to Jay, Loren & crew are making over a BILLION dollars per year in profit! Just on the drops, that doesn't include all the freebies. Holy cow! It's amazing they are all still so down to earth and real.

A fun chapter. Will at his best.

What an interesting, well plotted story. Bravo, Quokka!

Darn auto. Si, se puede.

For all that we've been told about the length and depth and closeness of the relationship of Loe and his team --- and for all we've seen of the four of them intensely working together and joking around and supporting each other --- I didn't really didn't get what MrsG meant until she "showed" us the YouTube of the four of them as 13-year olds and how they as a group grew into who they are today. Amazing. It was a major turning point for Jay to realize that Loe's tagline was actually a statement of how Loe lived his life and an affirmation that his childhood doesn't define who he is. And I now understand that Loe has been a huge lifeline and beacon of hope for his followers. So, see puede.

Nice chapter slowly introducing Christopher and your readers to the school and the people he will be spending the next few years with. I also appreciate that you're your time, Quokka, to give us the physical layouts, rather than all at once, it helps my slow brain to take it in.

The first two chapters are an interesting start to the new story. An interesting premise, a native-born Australian coming back to an Australia he's had no experience of. On the other hand, for this reader it felt like being back home in Quokka country, with our protagonist already needing to obtain legal intervention against mindless bureaucrats. How wonderful that his aunt backed him up.

Great chapter. What a relief to see George out of the doldrums. Fun times again.

What a long road Eric has walked over the three stories. What great courage he's shown. How alive he is now compared to when this tale started. I wonder if Eric has any idea of the impact and contribution he's made on Andy, Rob, and the others he's come in contact with. I suspect he will help change Tyler's life as well. I get a kick out of how direct and unfiltered Eric is when he decides to speak. It's one of the gifts of getting older. Another loose end to tie up in the remaining chapters is Adam's mom.

I love tamarind Jarritos! What a nice surprise to find out CJ and Owen also like it. There's a taqueria a few blocks from me here in Oakland that occasionally makes tamarind agua fresca, yummy! A sweet, fun chapter. It was a delight to get to know more about a few of Ritch's friends. You did a great job of recycling bits we'd already seen. It was seamless, the way a great job of hairweave is, and you probably put in as much work as a hair weaver does. The most brilliant part was how the little bit of Miranda's upset you included was enough to bring back my entire memory of what was going on for her. I hope we see more of her in the future.

Another delightful chapter. As usual, every character is so well written, they seem real. I love Will's humor, his thoughtfulness, and how he doesn't take himself too seriously most of the time.