Final Read Along Post The Stranger Things

This is the final post for me on The Stranger Things. Spoilers abound, of course, so do stop reading now if you don’t want to know. I would definitely go grab the book and read it, though. Definitely worth them money. Fun read and I’m already on to the second one.

I should probably have broken this one up a little bit more, but I didn’t have time to report in. I’ve had a lot going on. I start teaching tomorrow, and the day after Dirty Deeds 2 releases, and my daughter graduates high school Thursday, and my future daughter in-law graduates college on Saturday, and my mom has several appointments this week, and my stomach’s been killing me. I don’t know why. Dinner tonight was yogurt and toast. If I don’t improve soon, going to have to go to the doctor.

Anyhow, when last we left our intrepid heroes, Simon had died and Hanna and Banecroft had gone out the window. I’d forgotten to mention Dr. Carter’s appearance. I imagine her as Kristin Chenowith. She was an awfully convenient lawyer, but obviously from the phone call in the car, she was something more than she seemed. What confused me though is that Banecroft continues to call her the paper’s lawyer, even though Mrs. Harnforth never seems to have heard of her. And that was weird, too, because both women seem to be deeply knowledgeable about the Founders and the Folk and the governmental workings of the Accord and all involved.

I was a little surprised that Stella was revealed as Folk. I expected it to be Ox and/or Reggie and of course, Manny. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of Manny, but it wasn’t a sort of symbiotic relationship of two beings. That’s cool, though. And is the printing press its own being? Looking forward to learning more.

I think the investigation made pretty good sense, though Banecroft seemed to not know that much about magic before talking to Mrs. Hanforth, yet he called Moretti on trying to use it on him. That seemed to be inconsistent story-wise. I happened to be bothered by that because Banecroft knowing about magic made him really interesting at that point, so now I’m not sure how to think about him. He’s smart, for certain, but I’m not sure how much he knows or doesn’t know about the magical world. How much he knows what he publishes is real, how much he knew about Stella, how much he knew about Manny or anybody else, and so on.

I was frustrated with the police, though I think that was the point. They were infiltrated by the Founders and potentially the Folk, which means policework isn’t the priority, protecting the Founders and Folk is. You simply can’t count on or trust them. And then you find out you can’t count on DI Sturgess, which is really sad and awful and I’m wondering how he will be saved, if they can. That said, how horrifyingly cool was it that the eyeball came out of the top of his head? And no doubt is causing his headaches?

I can’t tell you how happy I was that Vera released the were to kill Moretti in the end. The idea that there would be no repercussions bugged the crap out of me. I’m also not a big fan of the Accord and using the Folk to keep the others alive. I’m left with some questions that I’m trying to decide if I really need to know. Who is Xander exactly and who is his employer? Does it only matter that the employer is a founder? And now that the boy can’t be saved, will he try again? I’m not sure that really matters in terms of the story. We’re left knowing that while Moretti is dead, others that could do as he did still exist, the guy who wanted it done still exists, and there’s no reason they have to stop at all.

It also made me wonder how easy it to make weres? And is the threat of being hunted by the folk really enough to hold the Founders in check? Is this event enough to motivate the Folk to hunt the Founders to extinction in order to protect themselves? Or are they organized/powerful enough to do that enough?

I’m really looking forward to learning more about the world situation and how things work.

In the end, I just loved the characters. Even Banecroft. And how fun was it that Simon returned??? I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next!

 

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