Quarter 2 Outside Reading Week 4

Part I
Brevity (213)- Short in duration; brief.

Edwardian (191)- Characteristic of the reign of Edward VII of England.

Part II
At the start of this sixty page section, the author Scott Anderson is detailing the actual specifics of an artillery shell exploding and the effect it has: what areas will be "swept clean", which will leave behind human limbs, and even the slightly morbid tidbit that bees are more attracted to blood than flies are. Using this as a lead into the current events, all hell breaks loose upon the Kutaran capital of Laradan, as the rebels upon the ridge line pour a barrage of deadly explosives on the city, targeting important buildings of transportation and communication sources. Now, I think that, while I could definitely see this occurring somewhere in the story, i think that it is a little out of place right now; there was no provocation for the rebels to attack, and it almost seemed like the story would continue with a secretive evil (the rebels) looming in the distance, but near enough to be felt. Instead, they immediately attack after making it seem like everything was hunky-dory, creating an unpleasant backdrop to the focus of the story: David. This brings another thought to mind; amidst the tragedy of death, casualties, and struggle, I still don't feel that the Rebels are the main issue. They do govern the entire goings-on and daily activities of the main characters, but the situation almost seems like it is just an afterthought. In terms of how the characters at the Moonlight Hotel are acting, it is the most pressing thing they are experiencing, but still is not a tremendous issue.