Reader’s Guide

A reader’s guide is provided to spark further thought about its relevance to you as you read it.

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Apollo’s Raven

Setting

1. Is the story relevant to you and modern day audiences? If so, how is it relevant and how it is not relevant?

2. What are the similarities and differences between the Roman, Celtic, and modern-day cultures?

Characterization

3. Did the structure of using multiple points of view help clarify the plot and the motivations of the various characters in the story? Were there other points of views that you would have liked to see besides Catrin, Marcellus, Queen Rhiannon, Senator Lucius Antonius, Marrock and Agrona?

4. Which characters did you like the best and why?

5. Although Catrin and Marcellus were from different cultures and were asked to spy on each other, what characteristics did each have that ultimately led them to trust each other and form a romance? Was this a fragile bond and if so, what were specific incidences that sealed their initial infatuation into lasting love?

6. Do you believe that Catrin’s decision to “burn in the moment with Marcellus rather than live the rest of her life in cold ashes in a loveless marriage,” as betrayal to her family and her people?

7. What are the potential dangers of Catrin using the mystical powers of the Ancient Druids on the lives of others and the curse?

8. What is Catrin’s greatest fear and why does she suppress the memory that Marrock tried to transform her into a wolf?

9. What is Marcellus’s greatest fear and how did this impact the decisions he made as an adolescent and as a young man in this story?

10. How does Queen’s Rhiannon’s past love affair with Trystan impact how she treats Catrin? What she unduly harsh with Catrin regarding her love affair with Marcellus?

11. Were there any characteristics of Marrock which you can empathize and, if given a different situation where was not executed before his eyes, could he have turned into a more noble character?

Plot

12. Was the plot immediately engaging or did it unfold slowly to set-up the political situation?

13. Were there any twists and turns that were unexpected, or was the plot formulaic?

Symbolism

14. What did the white and black raven symbolize?

15. What did the Apollo’s amulet symbolize?

16. What was the religious significance of the skull for the Celts?

17. What was the significance of the Wall of Lives on a person’s destiny and the impact that she or he may have on others?

Theme

1. What is the overall theme(s) of the story?

2. Were there any scenes that profoundly affected you and why?

3. Was the ending satisfying? If not, how would you change it?