So Many Questions: Biting Cold Part One

Hello again, fair Readers. I am back with yet more questions and observations on the Chicagoland Vampires universe. Today, I will be focusing my attention on Biting Cold. In case you missed the previous book, you can find my Drink Deep questions here and here. With that bit of business concluded, let's jump into the questions (and spoilers) after the break.




How many sorcerers are there?

"Unfortunately," Catcher said, "this isn't the world's only magical crisis, and there aren't many sorcerers to go around. They're assigned as they're available."

How many sorcerers are there in the world or even just in the US? We know of six just in the

Midwest. Are they the only ones? They can't be, right? There has to be at least a few more than that. Also, what other magical crises are happening all over the world that require the Order's attention? The US chapter of the Order is very stand-offish with their heads in the sand. What kind of crisis would actually garner their attention? Are the rest of the world's sorcerers the same way? Also, is the whole world under the Order's purview or is that just US sorcerers?

Will we get to see the gnomes again?

The forest floor erupted into a carpet of gnomes. They emerged from open slits in nearby trees and what looked like burrows in the ground, and spilled out around us, probably a hundred in all, all in the same primary-colored uniforms and white caps, long beards extending nearly to their belts.

I'd like to see them again. We saw them so briefly, learned so little about them. Where do they live? Are they located only in the Midwest? Only in Nebraska specifically or are they everywhere? How many of them are there worldwide? What kind of magic can they do, if any? What makes them supernatural?



Poor Paige.

"All my books," she said. "All my writings, completely gone.""Did you save anything useful?"She picked up a book and dusted off the cover. "Each book is just one bit of the whole collection. Six books? That's not even a start."

As readers, I think we all felt Paige's pain at this point. I can't imagine losing not only my beloved books, but my life's work. The Order's archive.....that's untold research and magical knowledge. What did the world lose when those books went up in flames? How much history and knowledge did stupid Dominic destroy? Could Seth possibly help restore it?




How high in Pack rank is Jeff?

Gabriel looked at Jeff. "Could you excuse us for a moment?"When Ethan waved a hand collegially, Gabriel led Jeff a few feet away. Heads together, they began to whisper.

How high in rank is Jeff that Gabriel felt the need to discuss things with him before taking on Mallory? Or, did he just want Jeff's knowledgeable opinion on his friends's girlfriend? Is Gabriel just using the resources he has available to get some intel on Mallory? Or, does he actually value and respect Jeff's opinion? Why didn't he just make a unilateral decision like he normally would? Now that we are talking about it, is there any sort of shifter council or anything? Like a formal group that Gabriel can go to and chat about these kinds of things or do shifters take a feudal king kind of approach to ruling?

Are vampires religious?

There was fear in his eyes. "If you have a preferred god, Sentinel, I suggest you start praying. And soon."

What is the general policy on vampires and religions? Does it depend, like humans, on the individual vampire? What is the GP stance on religions? I feel like they would be against religions. And, while we are on the subject, how do the world's religions feel about the existence of supernaturals? Are they devil spawn or are they part of all God's creatures? 

Are vampires in charge of doing their own laundry?

When the door was locked behind me, I peeled off my leather jacket and filthy clothes and climbed into the shower.

Do Housed vampires have to do their own laundry? We've seen Merit's clothes, her leathers in particular, get magically cleaned and repaired, but what about average every day clothes. Do they have to go to a laundromat or are there machines in house? Is that part of Helen's teams job? Or, is there a housekeeping team that takes care of that? Do they have a laundry service that collects everything and sends it back clean? Or, is Merit finding time in her busy, saving the world schedule to do laundry? Does Ethan do his laundry? I don't think that he does. At least for Ethan, I think, there is a laundry service. Also, does this task vary by House? I could see Navarre having a laundry service, but Grey House doing their own. I could also see Scott using laundry as punishment. Ethan too, for that matter.

Under what circumstances would the GP attack the Rogues?

"For now, it's only a cold war," he said. "The GP believes Rogue vampires will sabotage the Houses, the Rogues believe the Houses exist soley to perpetuate the more fascist tendencies of the GP. The current peace isn't the usual state of affairs.""So the GP might actually attack us?""Should circumstances call for it, yes. Both the GP and the Houses within it."

What could the Rogues do or not do to provoke an attack from the GP? How often has GP/Rogue fighting happened in the past, if the current peace is unusual? Is this an ongoing feud between the two? Or, is it more like the GP trying to oppress and/or House Rogues? How does the defection of the American Houses change this policy from the GP? Would they still risk an attack? European vampires versus American vampires? What is the new Assembly's policy on Rogues? Could there be an Assembly/Rogue civil war? 

What's the full story here, Merit?

"Not if you found out the one who brought you made out after third period with the head of the chess club, who was totally not as cute as you." I felt my cheeks warm. "But, that's a personal issue we don't need to discuss here. The thing is, we can do better. If they don't want us, we find someone who does."

What is up with this story, Merit? Who was this? When did this happen? Was it Nick Breckenridge who did this to you? Or, was it some heretofore undisclosed boyfriend? If the latter, who was he? How long were you together? Did you take him back or drop his ass like a hot potato?




Just a personal note....

There were a number of foods in Chicago that were totally recognizable to tourists, like Chicago-style hot dogs and deep-dish pizza. But those of us who lived here knew some of the other secret delights: rainbow cones, Garrett's popcorn; and Maxwell Street Polishes.

Rainbow cones come from my South Side neighborhood, Beverly or more formally, Beverly

Hills. I love Chloe for including rainbow cones on this list. It's my favorite ice cream and it definitely is a lesser known delight. I Let me explain what rainbow cones are. There is an ice cream parlor in Beverly named Rainbow Cone. They are only open seasonally, approximately April to October. Their specialty is the self-titled Rainbow cone. It consists of a layered cone with chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (vanilla with walnuts and cherries), and pistachio ice cream with orange sherbet as the top layer. It's massive and delicious. I grew up less than a mile from the shop. We used to go there after our summer league soccer games. If you are ever in Chicago at the right time of year, I highly recommend it. But, take some advice from a native and don't take public transportation to the South Side. 



Will Morgan ever grow into his Masterdom?

It's Morgan. I'm with Ethan. He's here. He asked me to talk to you. Do you know where you are?

This Morgan is the Master that Navarre deserves. Actually, I'm not sure they do deserve that Morgan, but that's the Master that the need to become a better House. This is one of the few decent things Morgan does throughout the series. He really needs to start growing into his own and shaking off Celina's influence. He's such a whiny baby and he needs to grow the fuck up. Ok, I'm done. At least he was not so much of a dick that he didn't volunteer to help find Merit. At least there's this. He has this one redeeming moment.

I would love to see the kidnapping from Jonah's perspective.

"Is Jonah all right?" I asked."He's fine. He's the one who called us. He waited here until just before the sun rose, then returned to Grey House. Catcher and Jeff looked for you for some hours. Apparently, you led them on quite a chase.""How's that?""You don't remember?"I shook my head. "He touched me at the lockup and knocked me out somehow. I didn't remember anything until I woke up in that room."

I'd like to get the blanks filled in here from Jonah's perspective. How was Merit taken? How

did the fight end? What happened immediately after she was taken and Dominic was gone? Was there any trouble from the cops or were they ok with Jonah because he was obviously trying to protect the accused? Did he try to follow Merit or did he call Catcher and Jeff and Ethan right away? Did he call Ethan directly or did he go through Luc? What was the House's reaction to Merit being kidnapped? How did Ethan, Malik, Lindsey, etc. respond? I would like to see these things.

How many times has Ethan regretted, either seriously or not, appointing Merit as Sentinel?

His lip curled. "I'm trying to remember my reasons for appointing you Sentinel. Was I attempting to teach you a lesson?""And who has learned the lesson now, Professor?"He growled, so I didn't push him further.

They joke about it quite often, but how much does he think that same thought? Especially after they fell in love, how often does he wish he could have appointed her assistant librarian or something? Obviously, she wouldn't be the same vampire that she is and they wouldn't have fallen in love. But, how often does he think to himself that he shouldn't have put her in such danger? Obviously, that's a huge issue for him, Merit getting into trouble. But, imagine how devastated he would be if something irrevocable happened to her? 

That concludes Part One of Biting Cold. Did I miss anything? Do you want to know the answers to these questions too? Let me know below and stay tuned for Part Two, coming soon!