Book Clubs
Kelli loves speaking to book clubs, either in person or through Skype. If you would like her to speak to yours, please contact Sarah Melnyk at Minotaur, or email publicist at kellistanley.com.
A Reading Guide for club meetings or individual readers of CITY OF DRAGONS is available below or as a downloadable PDF.
CITY OF DRAGONS Extras
Order CITY OF DRAGONS
"Children's Day" - Prequel to CITY OF DRAGONS
City of Dragons
Reading Guide for Book Clubs
- CITY OF DRAGONS has received praise for its evocation of a time and place ... notably, from Robert B. Parker. How does San Francisco emerge as its own character in the novel? Do you think of the city any differently after reading it?
- George Pelecanos and Michael Koryta both commented that CITY OF DRAGONS is at once faithful to classic noir and hardboiled literature and yet highly original. In what ways does it pay homage to the classics, like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, or modern masters like Paretsky? In what ways do you find it unique?
- Miranda Corbie is a complex character, and Stanley has promised to reveal more of her back story in subsequent prequels to CITY OF DRAGONS. What do you think is in store for Miranda? What do you think of her as the protagonist, or--as Stanley has called her--a femme fatale in the hero's role?
- "Hidden" racism is one of the themes of CITY OF DRAGONS ... were you aware of Sino-Japanese war before reading CITY OF DRAGONS? Did reading it make you more interested in the events leading up to World War II?
- Stanley has said that she wanted to write about women feeling like "prey" once they hit puberty. How do the women in CITY OF DRAGONS deal with their sexuality? How are the different levels of sexual threat conveyed in the book?
- Stanley has also stated that she wanted to write about the past in a way that preserved both its beauty and its ugliness ... a way to counterbalance natural nostalgia, but recognize the differences, both good and bad, between our contemporary era and the America of seventy years ago. In what ways does she accomplish this? Did reading the book change the way you feel about the time period?
- 1940 was an audio-based era ... radio, not television, was the mass communication tool. In what ways does the novel convey this sensibility? Were you able to feel this aspect of the period when you read it?
- CITY OF DRAGONS was inspired by film noir, as well as classic literature. What film inspirations do you see reflected in it? And if you were casting a movie, using either ‘40s stars or contemporary actors, whom would you cast and why?
- Miranda refers to herself as a "soldier", and there are a number of references to being at war in the novel. What do you think she is fighting for--or fighting against?
- 1940 was the year of the Dragon in the Chinese horoscope. What are the other dragons of the title?
PDF of Reading Guide for CITY OF DRAGONS
CITY OF DRAGONS Extras
"Children's Day" - Prequel to CITY OF DRAGONS
Nox Dormienda (A Long Night for Sleeping)
Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award winner
Macavity Finalist (Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery)
Reading Guide
Discussion questions for readers, reading groups, and librarians (and anyone else interested in good conversation!)
1.Arcturus feels like an outsider in both Rome and native society. In what ways is he “too Roman” for the natives? How is he “too native” for the Romans?
2. NOX DORMIENDA is the first “Roman Noir.” What similarities does it share with noir or hardboiled literature? How is it like the films noir you may have seen?
3.Who is your favorite character in NOX DORMIENDA? Why?
4. The title of the novel means “a long night for sleeping” … an eternal night. Kelli has described it as “Latin for ‘The Big Sleep.’" What do you think the title means in terms of the book’s events?
5.The countryside and city are contrasted and juxtaposed in NOX DORMIENDA. What are the differences, according to Arcturus? Is one setting more “noir” than the other?
6. Manipulation is a key theme of the novel … how easily people are used. What do you feel true villainy is—committing an act, or persuading others to commit it, as Shakespeare’s Iago did?
7. Who was your favorite secondary character in NOX DORMIENDA?Why?
8. Humor is a way Arcturus deals with the world, even though NOX DORMIENDA is not generally a humorous novel. Did you laugh out loud in any sections? Smile? How did you interpret the humor, and did you enjoy it?
9. After reading NOX DORMIENDA, did you feel you learned more about Roman culture and history? Did you want to discover more? Did you expect that you’d want to?
10. Ken Bruen described NOX DORMIENDA as moving like “a gladiator on speed.” Did you find the pace fast or slow? Was there time for adequate character development?
11. NOX DORMIENDA is the first of the Arcturus Series. What do you think is going to happen in the next novel, MALEDICTUS, to Arcturus, Gwyna, Bilicho and Stricta? What do you think will happen with Agricola?
Read more about NOX DORMIENDA
NOX DORMIENDA Extras
More on THE CURSE-MAKER and the ARCTURUS SERIES