Welcome back to the penultimate day of our book club readalong for OwlCrate's February book, Only A Monster!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 17-20 of Only A Monster, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
The final book club discussion post will be up on MONDAY, APRIL 11th.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box! Don't forget, you can also post about the readalong on Instagram with the hashtag #OCOnlyAMonster for another chance to win!
The story continues...
Chapter 17:
They run. And after a while Joan realizes she’s running alone. She decides to trust that the others will also make it back to the gate, but just then she runs headfirst into Nick. They scuffle and just as she grabs the back of his neck he brings a knife to her side. She can’t bring herself to kill him, and likewise he does not kill her. He asks her if she would have stolen more time had he not killed her family. The answer is no. They go their separate ways, Nick telling her to stay away from him, and Joan makes her way back through the secret passage where she finds Ruth waiting. Someone else enters the room to drop off a gift for the King - a vase she got in Babylon. Something that would have taken thousands of years of time. Ruth tells her they’re stuck - the gate is now swarming with guards.
Chapter 18:
They meet back up with Aaron and Tom, seeing no escape as Conrad and other guards linger by the gate. The rest of the party seems oblivious that anything is amiss. They ask Ruth to again try to make some sort of tunnel out, but she can’t feel her Hunt magic after the last trick they pulled. Tom leads them over the grounds, quietly avoiding guards, and to a small back gate that opens onto the London streets. On the way Joan takes some rope and nails from the stables, and they create a loop over the gate. She hopes that it will work like a smaller version of the rug. Having very little power left, Ruth manages to get them through in flashes, and they find themselves back in 90s London. The gate to Whitehall Palace is gone, but they see Court Guards lingering, along with a Patel, monsters who are able to create mires. They run.
They separate, Joan heading to a meetup spot they planned beforehand. She is soon joined by Tom, and he asks her for what she found in the room. Surprised, Joan feigns innocence but Tom isn’t fooled. She threatens to hide whatever it is using the Hunt power, but Tom says she won’t, because she doesn’t have the Hunt power. He saw what she did to that lock and he knows what she found is a message, a message the prisoner, who was also the archive, meant for Tom. Aaron and Ruth arrive, but Joan tells them to stay back. They are no longer going to the Hathaways. They wouldn’t be safe now that it’s unclear exactly who Tom is. Instead of ratting him out Joan keeps her new questions to herself. Aaron reveals that there’s a safehouse the Court doesn’t know about, one his mother showed him.
Chapter 19:
They need to cross the river to get to the safehouse, but Tower Bridge has a checkpoint with monster guards. Ruth suggests a nearby tunnel, and if they’re quick they could get through before the first train. The problem is, Ruth is so tired from using all her power there is doubt she’ll be fast enough. They head through the tunnel, emerging on the other side just as dawn is breaking.
Tom and Joan fall slightly behind Aaron and Ruth and Tom again asks for what Joan found. In an action that Joan assumed was anger when she refuses to give it to him, Tom shoves Aaron and Ruth against a wall in an alley alcove, pulling Joan into one opposite. They then hear footsteps and voices at the mouth of the alley, discussing them and what happened. Conrad has pulled guards from many eras to search for them - even offering a reward in return for their capture. The guards leave, and Aaron gives her a pressing look, leading the way to the safe house.
Chapter 20:
They arrive at the safehouse, which is oddly homey, but Aaron assures them it is empty. Tom corners Joan in the kitchen and Joan asks who the prisoner was to Tom. He confirms that he went to try to save the person. Joan hands over the message and Tom tells her to come to the sitting room - they’ll need room to watch it.
All four of them are in the sitting room and Tom reveals the prisoner’s name is Jamie Liu, and to his knowledge he’s been locked up for three years. He plays the message, which turns out to be a recording of a younger Nick, being beaten by a monster, parents and siblings being killed, over and over again, a woman off screen saying "again" each time. Eventually they get to a recording of a Nick in the street who does not hesitate and kills the monster without regret. The blonde woman appears, telling him he is ready.
The recording switches to the image of Jamie Liu, talking to Tom. He tells him to stop looking for him and to focus on stopping the hero. He tells Tom that they made a mistake when creating the hero, and he can indeed be stopped.
Questions:
- Do you think Jaime is still alive? How do you think they will search for him?
- Who do you think the blonde woman is and why do you think they created the hero?
- What do you think the mistake in the heroes creation was?
- Do you have any predictions for the last section of the book?
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