Stuff
Product Details
Simon & Schuster, July 2010
Trade Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-10: 1439183422
ISBN-13: 9781439183427
This reading group guide for The Season of Risks includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Susan Hubbard. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
Here is the latest installment of the series “combining the creepiness of Stephen King with the acute social commentary of the Beats, Philip K. Dick, and Don Delillo” (The News-Press). Ariella Montero continues her quest through a turbulent landscape where competing sects of vampires and their vulnerable mortal counterparts must coexist—or perish.
While the Sanguinists advocate peaceful coexistence with humans and nonintervention in mortal affairs, Nebulists favor genetic modification and psychological control of the human population—and they have taken a keen interest in one Ariella Montero.
Set in Florida, Georgia, New York City, and Ireland, the much-anticipated third book in the Ethical Vampire series centers on losing and reclaiming one’s identity, as Ari weighs the possible benefits of change against its potential risks to everyone and everything she loves most.
Questions for Discussion
1. Buddha is quoted in the epigraph with his quote, “To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.” In what ways does this apply to the various characters? Did this metaphor color your interpretations at any point in the book?
2. One of the vampire characteristics that Ari possesses is the ability to read thoughts—and to have her thoughts read. She notes, “Often, listening to thoughts strikes me as justifiable, sometimes necessary.” Discuss the pros and cons of such eavesdropping, both for Ari, and for Cameron as a politician. In what situations would you want this ability?
3. We learn in the prologue that Kathleen wanted to be Ari. Based on what we eventually learn—and what you may already know from the previous books in the series—what reasons does Kathleen have for wanting to be Ari more than “anything in the whole world”?
4. Ari tells us that “Colonists seemed easy to despise, even though I’d never met any.” In what ways do you see this attitude in your own world? At school? At work? In politics?
5. Cameron is more than two hundred and thirty years old. If human beings were capable of living that long, in what ways do you think relationships would change? Marriages? Friendships? Politics? Ethics?
6. Does Cameron seem too old for Ari? Why or why not?
7. Cameron asks Ari to wait for him. Discuss how you would have reacted in her situation. What if he had so many years ahead of him, but was not a politician? What if he had as many years as Ari, but his campaign forced them to keep their relationship a secret? In which contexts would you stay, and in which would you decide to let him go?
8. On the campaign trail, Cameron is willing to make Men-tori signs—even on television. Discuss the pros and cons of taking such a risk when so much is at stake.
9. On page 61, Mãe remarks, “The season is changing, and the cottage knows we’re about to leave it.” What other inanimate objects are given human characteristics in the book? What significance do they have in Ari’s world?
10. Dr. Cho prescribes tonic for Ari, and tells her to “celebrate your true nature.” In your opinion, does she succeed in doing that?
11. How does the atmosphere of Saratoga Springs affect the story? Blue Heaven? Hillhouse College? Dublin?
12. When Ari’s parents travel to Ireland, her mother in particular has trouble saying good-bye. Given Ari’s nature as a half-vampire, what unique concerns might her parents have for her while traveling far away?
13. What characteristics do Sloan and Ari share that make them good friends? Ari and Jacey? Cameron and Ari?
14. Malcolm Lynch uses the concept of utilitarianism—in which an action is deemed morally good or bad based on the extent to which it contributes to the greater good—in order to persuade Ari to consent to his experiments. In his example of the physician and the procedure, discuss your reaction—would you rather the physician didn’t try the experiment? Come up with your own examples of utilitarianism. In what circumstances does group benefit outweigh personal risk?
15. On page 89, Dr. Hyman discusses the ethical issues of editing memories. Given the option to eliminate painful recollections, what would your decision be?
16. Describe what you imagine as the process of becoming other. In what ways is this process similar to becoming a teenager or becoming an adult?
17. When Ari decides to take Septimal to grow older, she chooses twenty-two as the perfect age. Under what con-ditions—if any—would you make the same choice as Ari? What would your ‘perfect age’ be, and why?
18. On page 125, Ari admits that “Every culture has its monsters.” Do you find this statement ironic? What monsters exist in Ari’s world, and in ours?
19. Sloan and Cameron are two very different men in Ari’s life. Discuss what it would have been like if Cameron— instead of Sloan—joined Ari’s family for the holidays?
20. The book is divided into three parts: Becoming, Being, and Knowing. Discuss the different ways these titles relate to the chapters within each section.
Enhance Your Book Club
Ariella Montero is half-human, half-vampire. Together with your book group, come up with a list of other “half-breeds”—for example,mermaids—along with the complications of each. Then, go back and discuss how these complications relate to complications in the real world, such as becoming a half-sibling, or a step-parent.
Ari writes about Victorian shadowboxes for a class assignment on page 110. Have each member of the book club design a shadowbox based on Sloan’s suggestion to recreate her poem “from the viewpoints of the birds.”
On page 127, Sloan discusses his dream journal; in one of his dreams, Jacey’s hair is bleeding, symbolizing “a kind of rebirth.” Given that Ari is a synesthete—a person who can see words and numbers in color and texture—and given the difficulties she has as a half-human, half-vampire, create sample dream journal entries for her based on events in the book.
A Conversation with Susan Hubbard
How did you first become interested in writing? What made you decide to pursue it as a career?
My first memory is of hearing what I later called “the wall of noise.” I must have been two or three years old, listening to the sounds of my parents’ conversation, trying to decipher meaning. In a way, my desire to write began with those early impressions of the power of words and the importance of decoding them. Later, when my sister introduced me to reading, I became enraptured (there’s really no other word for it) by books. And by the age of seven or eight, I knew I wanted to be a writer more than anything else in the world.
What writing skills do you try to instill in your students? Did any of your personal experiences result in your depiction of Professor Warner?
I teach students the art of close reading—of paying attention to every aspect of a story, from characters, theme, and plot down to images, diction, and punctuation. Language is a form of music that too often we tune out or take for granted. Learning how to hear the nuances is essential to writing, as well as reading.
As for Professor Warner, she’s a composite of some aspects of professors I’ve known over the years, with a smidgeon of me thrown in. Teaching creative writing is a delicate dance of its own.
How do you relate with the characters you create? Are there any aspects of yourself that you put forth in your work?
Ari’s voice first came to me in a dream, and three books later, she’s still talking to me. I see elements of my sensibility in some of my characters, but none of them is essentially me. Some of them share my concerns about the way we live now. Watching my two daughters come of age, and being around students most of the year, helped shape the characters of Ari and Kathleen. Ari has the same sort of curiosity and vulnerability that I had when I was her age, and still have to some degree.
What is your writing regime like? Do you outline first or just go where the story takes you? Has your process evolved with the series?
The first book came as a gift, in that I had a sense of the whole very early on. I wrote a detailed outline based on that sense, but I didn’t follow it as I wrote—I let my characters take the lead. Since then I’ve come to depend on a process that I call retrospective mapping: writing a brief summary of each chapter after it’s written. Each chapter is summarized on a sheet of paper, and I stick the sheets up on a wall. The mapping helps me keep track of time, plot, images, setting, and characters, and the display gives me a visual sense of the book’s dramatic arc, and allows me to rearrange chapters if necessary.
The writing process has grown easier as I’ve come to know my characters better. The secret to enjoying writing is to create characters with whom you want to spend time.
Was there any aspect of how The Season of Risks developed that surprised you?
Kathleen surprised me. Originally she wasn’t going to be in this book! She turned out to be more manipulative than I once would have imagined. Cameron surprised me, too. I trusted him more in the previous book. By the way, the genesis of his character was a politician I met years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter.
And the plot took on a weird life of its own, ending up in a place I hadn’t anticipated.
Your books underscore social, environmental, and moral issues raised by immortality. What inspired you to include these issues in your fiction? Are there any issues you’d like to flesh out in future books?
The issues you mention are ones we wrestle with every day. I can’t imagine writing without exploring them. Mortals’ actions can have immortal effects, and we need to take responsibility for them. And yes, there are several other issues I want to write about, among them the profound consequences of materialism and greed, and the extent to which humans truly exercise free will. I have already addressed the latter, but not as fully as I might.
You thank several people in the acknowledgments who helped you with your research during the writing process. Were there any fascinating new facts you learned that didn’t make it into the book?
Yes, but I won’t list them because they may turn up in the next book. Nearly every time I talk to a doctor or scientist, I find out something that astonishes me. For instance, I’d never heard of the blood-brain barrier (mentioned in chapter nineteen) until I was describing the plotline of the book to a physician during a routine checkup.
What made you decide to write books about vampires? Did you ever consider a different supernatural breed of characters?
You know, I never planned to write about supernatural characters at all. The Society of S began with a dream that became a preface that led to a chapter, and Ari was simply a precocious girl trying to figure out her family’s true identity, in a somewhat Gothic setting. When she began to wonder about her father being a vampire, I thought, why not?
And from there it was a short leap to: What if some vampires were the good guys?
Given the supernatural elements, have you ever had any uncanny personal experiences that enhance these mystical undertones?
I’ve admitted before that I believe I met Evil in the form of the devil, or one of his buddies, in Glastonbury, England. Once, in Saratoga Springs, I was visited by a ghost. Several times, I’ve been in places that strike me as haunted—some benignly, others not. And nearly every time I hike, or explore a new place, I sense the presence of others inherent in the natural world. Oddly enough, I’m less unsettled by those experiences than by most of my scary moments with humans.
If Ari had been your daughter, what would your reaction have been to her decision to take Septimal?
I hope I would have intuited that decision long before it was made and talked in depth with her about the reasons behind it and its possible implications. Ironically, Sara, Ari’s mother, most likely would have done the same thing, if she and Raphael hadn’t agreed to not listen to Ari’s thoughts in order to allow her independence.
The book begins “There are some things I know for certain.” What things do you know for certain?
Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is certain but death and taxes. Wittgenstein said that since we can’t live through death, we don’t experience it. So that leaves taxes. But I prefer to believe, as Poe wrote, that “All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream.” In other words, I know nothing for certain, except uncertainty.
You’ve traveled to Ireland several times now; what about that setting made you choose it as a destination in the novel?
Ireland is magical, mystical, otherworldly, haunted, and haunting. Landscape and legend are irrevocably intertwined. What better place for vampires to settle, and to help boost the economy? My great-grandmother was born in County Tipperary, but even without that connection I suspect I’d feel the same way: going to Ireland is like going home.
Was it any easier to write from the twenty-two-year-old Ari’s perspective than from the teenage Ari’s perspective?
No, in most ways it was harder to write the older perspective. It was a tricky business, writing the second section of the book, because the narrator is essentially a different person.
Did any of the characters resonate with you in a particularly strong way after you were finished writing? Did any resonate with you differently than from previous books in the series?
One of the minor characters, Dr. Godfried Roche, was inspired by a loathsome person I met at a literary festival, whose unabashed narcissism demanded caricature. As much fun as it was to write him, it was even more fun to kill him— but now I miss him, in a way. (To clarify: Miss the character, not the actual person.) I’ve already mentioned being surprised by Kathleen and Cameron. Dashay seemed to mature in this book, and yet some aspects of her remain elusive. I see her so clearly, but from the outside in; she tends to keep her secrets to herself. Sloan came into being rather unexpectedly, and I want to get to know him better, too. Surprisingly, while I was writing the book I came to find Sara a bit annoying at times. Raphael is, well, Raphael—but it was fun to watch him lighten up a bit. And Ari, poor Ari. I feel sorry for her. She deserves an easier life than the one I’ve given her so far.
Cameron tells Ari there are “no happy endings in vampire tales.” Is this something you had in mind when crafting the conclusion?
Not consciously. That’s a perceptive question, though. Maybe my unconscious mind was helping me foreshadow the conclusion.
What are you working on next? Do you have plans for another novel in the series?
I’m already visualizing another Ethical Vampire novel, which opens with Raphael and Sara’s vow-renewing wedding ceremony in Ireland. Imagine such an occasion, intended to be perfect, in which absolutely everything goes wrong. This summer I’m teaching a fiction workshop in Ireland, and I’ll be doing some research then.
And I have ideas for two other books that are very different. One of them involves a fairly ordinary woman living in Buffalo, New York, who happens to be a witch.
Introduction
Here is the latest installment of the series “combining the creepiness of Stephen King with the acute social commentary of the Beats, Philip K. Dick, and Don Delillo” (The News-Press). Ariella Montero continues her quest through a turbulent landscape where competing sects of vampires and their vulnerable mortal counterparts must coexist—or perish.
While the Sanguinists advocate peaceful coexistence with humans and nonintervention in mortal affairs, Nebulists favor genetic modification and psychological control of the human population—and they have taken a keen interest in one Ariella Montero.
Set in Florida, Georgia, New York City, and Ireland, the much-anticipated third book in the Ethical Vampire series centers on losing and reclaiming one’s identity, as Ari weighs the possible benefits of change against its potential risks to everyone and everything she loves most.
Questions for Discussion
1. Buddha is quoted in the epigraph with his quote, “To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.” In what ways does this apply to the various characters? Did this metaphor color your interpretations at any point in the book?
2. One of the vampire characteristics that Ari possesses is the ability to read thoughts—and to have her thoughts read. She notes, “Often, listening to thoughts strikes me as justifiable, sometimes necessary.” Discuss the pros and cons of such eavesdropping, both for Ari, and for Cameron as a politician. In what situations would you want this ability?
3. We learn in the prologue that Kathleen wanted to be Ari. Based on what we eventually learn—and what you may already know from the previous books in the series—what reasons does Kathleen have for wanting to be Ari more than “anything in the whole world”?
4. Ari tells us that “Colonists seemed easy to despise, even though I’d never met any.” In what ways do you see this attitude in your own world? At school? At work? In politics?
5. Cameron is more than two hundred and thirty years old. If human beings were capable of living that long, in what ways do you think relationships would change? Marriages? Friendships? Politics? Ethics?
6. Does Cameron seem too old for Ari? Why or why not?
7. Cameron asks Ari to wait for him. Discuss how you would have reacted in her situation. What if he had so many years ahead of him, but was not a politician? What if he had as many years as Ari, but his campaign forced them to keep their relationship a secret? In which contexts would you stay, and in which would you decide to let him go?
8. On the campaign trail, Cameron is willing to make Men-tori signs—even on television. Discuss the pros and cons of taking such a risk when so much is at stake.
9. On page 61, Mãe remarks, “The season is changing, and the cottage knows we’re about to leave it.” What other inanimate objects are given human characteristics in the book? What significance do they have in Ari’s world?
10. Dr. Cho prescribes tonic for Ari, and tells her to “celebrate your true nature.” In your opinion, does she succeed in doing that?
11. How does the atmosphere of Saratoga Springs affect the story? Blue Heaven? Hillhouse College? Dublin?
12. When Ari’s parents travel to Ireland, her mother in particular has trouble saying good-bye. Given Ari’s nature as a half-vampire, what unique concerns might her parents have for her while traveling far away?
13. What characteristics do Sloan and Ari share that make them good friends? Ari and Jacey? Cameron and Ari?
14. Malcolm Lynch uses the concept of utilitarianism—in which an action is deemed morally good or bad based on the extent to which it contributes to the greater good—in order to persuade Ari to consent to his experiments. In his example of the physician and the procedure, discuss your reaction—would you rather the physician didn’t try the experiment? Come up with your own examples of utilitarianism. In what circumstances does group benefit outweigh personal risk?
15. On page 89, Dr. Hyman discusses the ethical issues of editing memories. Given the option to eliminate painful recollections, what would your decision be?
16. Describe what you imagine as the process of becoming other. In what ways is this process similar to becoming a teenager or becoming an adult?
17. When Ari decides to take Septimal to grow older, she chooses twenty-two as the perfect age. Under what con-ditions—if any—would you make the same choice as Ari? What would your ‘perfect age’ be, and why?
18. On page 125, Ari admits that “Every culture has its monsters.” Do you find this statement ironic? What monsters exist in Ari’s world, and in ours?
19. Sloan and Cameron are two very different men in Ari’s life. Discuss what it would have been like if Cameron— instead of Sloan—joined Ari’s family for the holidays?
20. The book is divided into three parts: Becoming, Being, and Knowing. Discuss the different ways these titles relate to the chapters within each section.
Enhance Your Book Club
Ariella Montero is half-human, half-vampire. Together with your book group, come up with a list of other “half-breeds”—for example,mermaids—along with the complications of each. Then, go back and discuss how these complications relate to complications in the real world, such as becoming a half-sibling, or a step-parent.
Ari writes about Victorian shadowboxes for a class assignment on page 110. Have each member of the book club design a shadowbox based on Sloan’s suggestion to recreate her poem “from the viewpoints of the birds.”
On page 127, Sloan discusses his dream journal; in one of his dreams, Jacey’s hair is bleeding, symbolizing “a kind of rebirth.” Given that Ari is a synesthete—a person who can see words and numbers in color and texture—and given the difficulties she has as a half-human, half-vampire, create sample dream journal entries for her based on events in the book.
A Conversation with Susan Hubbard
How did you first become interested in writing? What made you decide to pursue it as a career?
My first memory is of hearing what I later called “the wall of noise.” I must have been two or three years old, listening to the sounds of my parents’ conversation, trying to decipher meaning. In a way, my desire to write began with those early impressions of the power of words and the importance of decoding them. Later, when my sister introduced me to reading, I became enraptured (there’s really no other word for it) by books. And by the age of seven or eight, I knew I wanted to be a writer more than anything else in the world.
What writing skills do you try to instill in your students? Did any of your personal experiences result in your depiction of Professor Warner?
I teach students the art of close reading—of paying attention to every aspect of a story, from characters, theme, and plot down to images, diction, and punctuation. Language is a form of music that too often we tune out or take for granted. Learning how to hear the nuances is essential to writing, as well as reading.
As for Professor Warner, she’s a composite of some aspects of professors I’ve known over the years, with a smidgeon of me thrown in. Teaching creative writing is a delicate dance of its own.
How do you relate with the characters you create? Are there any aspects of yourself that you put forth in your work?
Ari’s voice first came to me in a dream, and three books later, she’s still talking to me. I see elements of my sensibility in some of my characters, but none of them is essentially me. Some of them share my concerns about the way we live now. Watching my two daughters come of age, and being around students most of the year, helped shape the characters of Ari and Kathleen. Ari has the same sort of curiosity and vulnerability that I had when I was her age, and still have to some degree.
What is your writing regime like? Do you outline first or just go where the story takes you? Has your process evolved with the series?
The first book came as a gift, in that I had a sense of the whole very early on. I wrote a detailed outline based on that sense, but I didn’t follow it as I wrote—I let my characters take the lead. Since then I’ve come to depend on a process that I call retrospective mapping: writing a brief summary of each chapter after it’s written. Each chapter is summarized on a sheet of paper, and I stick the sheets up on a wall. The mapping helps me keep track of time, plot, images, setting, and characters, and the display gives me a visual sense of the book’s dramatic arc, and allows me to rearrange chapters if necessary.
The writing process has grown easier as I’ve come to know my characters better. The secret to enjoying writing is to create characters with whom you want to spend time.
Was there any aspect of how The Season of Risks developed that surprised you?
Kathleen surprised me. Originally she wasn’t going to be in this book! She turned out to be more manipulative than I once would have imagined. Cameron surprised me, too. I trusted him more in the previous book. By the way, the genesis of his character was a politician I met years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter.
And the plot took on a weird life of its own, ending up in a place I hadn’t anticipated.
Your books underscore social, environmental, and moral issues raised by immortality. What inspired you to include these issues in your fiction? Are there any issues you’d like to flesh out in future books?
The issues you mention are ones we wrestle with every day. I can’t imagine writing without exploring them. Mortals’ actions can have immortal effects, and we need to take responsibility for them. And yes, there are several other issues I want to write about, among them the profound consequences of materialism and greed, and the extent to which humans truly exercise free will. I have already addressed the latter, but not as fully as I might.
You thank several people in the acknowledgments who helped you with your research during the writing process. Were there any fascinating new facts you learned that didn’t make it into the book?
Yes, but I won’t list them because they may turn up in the next book. Nearly every time I talk to a doctor or scientist, I find out something that astonishes me. For instance, I’d never heard of the blood-brain barrier (mentioned in chapter nineteen) until I was describing the plotline of the book to a physician during a routine checkup.
What made you decide to write books about vampires? Did you ever consider a different supernatural breed of characters?
You know, I never planned to write about supernatural characters at all. The Society of S began with a dream that became a preface that led to a chapter, and Ari was simply a precocious girl trying to figure out her family’s true identity, in a somewhat Gothic setting. When she began to wonder about her father being a vampire, I thought, why not?
And from there it was a short leap to: What if some vampires were the good guys?
Given the supernatural elements, have you ever had any uncanny personal experiences that enhance these mystical undertones?
I’ve admitted before that I believe I met Evil in the form of the devil, or one of his buddies, in Glastonbury, England. Once, in Saratoga Springs, I was visited by a ghost. Several times, I’ve been in places that strike me as haunted—some benignly, others not. And nearly every time I hike, or explore a new place, I sense the presence of others inherent in the natural world. Oddly enough, I’m less unsettled by those experiences than by most of my scary moments with humans.
If Ari had been your daughter, what would your reaction have been to her decision to take Septimal?
I hope I would have intuited that decision long before it was made and talked in depth with her about the reasons behind it and its possible implications. Ironically, Sara, Ari’s mother, most likely would have done the same thing, if she and Raphael hadn’t agreed to not listen to Ari’s thoughts in order to allow her independence.
The book begins “There are some things I know for certain.” What things do you know for certain?
Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is certain but death and taxes. Wittgenstein said that since we can’t live through death, we don’t experience it. So that leaves taxes. But I prefer to believe, as Poe wrote, that “All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream.” In other words, I know nothing for certain, except uncertainty.
You’ve traveled to Ireland several times now; what about that setting made you choose it as a destination in the novel?
Ireland is magical, mystical, otherworldly, haunted, and haunting. Landscape and legend are irrevocably intertwined. What better place for vampires to settle, and to help boost the economy? My great-grandmother was born in County Tipperary, but even without that connection I suspect I’d feel the same way: going to Ireland is like going home.
Was it any easier to write from the twenty-two-year-old Ari’s perspective than from the teenage Ari’s perspective?
No, in most ways it was harder to write the older perspective. It was a tricky business, writing the second section of the book, because the narrator is essentially a different person.
Did any of the characters resonate with you in a particularly strong way after you were finished writing? Did any resonate with you differently than from previous books in the series?
One of the minor characters, Dr. Godfried Roche, was inspired by a loathsome person I met at a literary festival, whose unabashed narcissism demanded caricature. As much fun as it was to write him, it was even more fun to kill him— but now I miss him, in a way. (To clarify: Miss the character, not the actual person.) I’ve already mentioned being surprised by Kathleen and Cameron. Dashay seemed to mature in this book, and yet some aspects of her remain elusive. I see her so clearly, but from the outside in; she tends to keep her secrets to herself. Sloan came into being rather unexpectedly, and I want to get to know him better, too. Surprisingly, while I was writing the book I came to find Sara a bit annoying at times. Raphael is, well, Raphael—but it was fun to watch him lighten up a bit. And Ari, poor Ari. I feel sorry for her. She deserves an easier life than the one I’ve given her so far.
Cameron tells Ari there are “no happy endings in vampire tales.” Is this something you had in mind when crafting the conclusion?
Not consciously. That’s a perceptive question, though. Maybe my unconscious mind was helping me foreshadow the conclusion.
What are you working on next? Do you have plans for another novel in the series?
I’m already visualizing another Ethical Vampire novel, which opens with Raphael and Sara’s vow-renewing wedding ceremony in Ireland. Imagine such an occasion, intended to be perfect, in which absolutely everything goes wrong. This summer I’m teaching a fiction workshop in Ireland, and I’ll be doing some research then.
And I have ideas for two other books that are very different. One of them involves a fairly ordinary woman living in Buffalo, New York, who happens to be a witch.
