The audience was very split on who liked and didn’t like the book. A vote was taken on whether or not Quentin was a "twat" – many agreed he was soft, indecisive, not happy and a whiner. One commenter seemed to praise Lev’s tactics, “The less a writer insists on the significance of what’s happening, the better; and the more he insists, the more you go, “no!”
This meeting was packed, by the way. Books & Bars generally gets about 75 at a meeting, and the room comfortably holds 85. This meeting was packed to the fire code restriction of 98. Many were there for the first time. And for a beautiful Tuesday evening in July, that’s a feat. Said one newcomer, Sarah, “I have two other clubs but I really like the forum aspect. There’s an intimacy and an anonymity. I’ll be back.”
Now we will have to wait for the sequel, which is going to be called The Magician King. It should appear sometime in 2011, as Lev says, “With any luck.”
Note: This is not a complete transcript, nor is it meant to be. It is merely meant to give you highlights of the chat. You can view a video of the chat in three parts on the Moustacherobots channel of YouTube. And anyone is welcome to come on in to a Books & Bars meeting, on the second Tuesday of most months, without any prior warning. Check the website for current reads and any anomalies; check here for a profile of Books & Bars if you want to know more about it, and here for a Q&A with the moderator, Jeff Kamin.
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