The First One Hundred: My Top Ten Favorite Chapters So Far

I thought about putting my top 10 favorite posts from the Prologue- Chapter 100 in some kind of an order, but realized that a lot of them would tie. My initial selection of favorites included 23 posts. I narrowed it down from there. (It was really hard!) So here they are in no order at all. I chose these chapters for a lot of different reasons. For most, it was the quality of the writing and the aspects of the characters that are revealed. Images are also taken into consideration, but let’s face it-- most of the images are old and pixelicious. Without further ado (and with some never before seen images):



Chapter 83: Jorge Could Promise Anything

Jorge has had to contend with some pretty heavy baggage over the course of his life. I think that there is a lot of need in him to feel especially close to the people that he cares about while at the same time, there is a lot of fear and revulsion associated with that same need. He grew-up in a dysfunctional atmosphere that often bordered on the hostile. He was the second to last child. By the time he came into being, his parents’ sham of a marriage was unraveling at the seams (they’re still married but can probably count the number of times that they’ve seen one another in the past 18 months on one hand). Jorge grew-up on a battleground and spent half of his life caught in the crossfire. He became introverted and incredibly, incredibly lonely. Donna was the only person that he could really have claimed to be close to without all the complication. When Donna left for Pleasantview in protest of the state of Townie rights in Veronaville, Jorge was right on her heels. Then of course, they both fell in love with Pleasantviewers and married, making Pleasantview their permanent home.

Kelly Horne was not like anyone that Jorge had ever met. She was bold and impulsive, even a bit intimidating. He worshiped her, shied away from her, and on one occasion he burst into tears out of sheer nervousness at having to hold a fully blown conversation with her. I won’t say too much just in case this comes up in the story. ;) Kelly was everything, and if Jorge is still alive today, it’s because he clung to Cully early on in his grief.

Then there was Lavinia-- poor, unlucky Lavinia who had to suffer while Jorge worked out his many conflicting feelings at having her in his life. In a lot of ways, he saw her as usurping the position of the woman that he thought he would never stop grieving for. The weirder and more strained relations became in his house, the more he drank. The more he drank, the weirder and more strained relations became in his house. In the end, he may have ruined his relationship with Lavinia forever. In Chapter 83, we finally get the sense that Jorge is not going down without a fight.

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Chapter 32: Tara Makes A Potentially Enormous Mistake

If love’n him is wrong, Tara doesn’t want to be right. I’m such a sucker for their story. She the young, virtuous princess, pure as the driven snow and he the nastiest jackass in the universe—Tara spends her girlhood standing beneath his balcony in poetic yearning while he closes the blinds and calls security. ROMANCE! This is an early chapter but I still sigh over just how far Kvornan is willing to let his defenses down for Tara’s sake, and just how much faith he puts in her strength of character. By the same token, I love that she is willing to weather the storm with him. Tara is innocent, but she’s not naïve. She knows her limits, and she knows that she will need to surpass them sometime in the future just to keep him from crumbling like the ancient edifice that he is.

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Chapter 60: Imina Is Less Than Nothing

Some of the strongest moments in the story for me have to be the ones where the characters see into each other’s souls, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a literal DBL sense. I mean moments where thoughts and emotions are running high, causing the characters to reveal things about themselves to one another that they otherwise would not have done. In Chapter 60, the tables are turned when a very defeated Imina reveals the paternity of her unborn son, thereby finding her strength against Kvornan who in turn finds himself paralyzed with shock over his lack of supreme control. He may yet be the cause of his own undoing.

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Chapter 48: Enoch Is Strangely Exposed

Oh, Enoch! I think Laurie and Madeline might have seen into his soul here, and what they found was flipping hilarious. I’ll admit to a certain affection for Enoch. In this chapter, we see him from his own perspective, and discover that he is much what you would expect but still somewhat surprising. I think that Cully (of all people) probably has the most accurate conscious read on the near-masochistic appeal of Enoch’s personality. From Chapter 94:

Even Enoch had his moments of virtue, which were made all the more poignant for his widespread priggishness.

In Chapter 48, we get to know Enoch as he is beneath all of the sneering and posturing—just a kid with all the same insecurities and weaknesses that other kids deal with in their teenage years.

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Chapter 71: Lawrence Is Ignited

More teen drama is up ahead in Chapter 71. With all of the anticipation that lead up to this chapter, there is no way that it could have escaped this list. A dramatic rescue. Love at first sight. And then at last, bad news spurs Cully to just go for it. I would not be surprised to find out that this kiss was in no way premeditated, right up to the instant that it happened. In fact, I’m pretty sure that Cully had been waiting for Laurie to make a move. We may never know for sure unless Cully weighs in later. All in all, a moment of celebration tinged with a bit of sadness.

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Chapter 69: Sita Dampens The Ink

Who doesn’t like a good villain? I chose this chapter because it is an example of Orion at his slimeball finest. Also, it’s such a great introduction to the more contemporary sci-fi aspects of the plot. Though the images have not aged well, the color palate felt very striking to me at the time. Also that long, narrow corridor gave me the absolute willies. In this chapter, we are introduced to Sita Tvaud who is, in her own words, “death by design”. Sita has spent her entire life in a cinder block prison, pondering just what and why she is. In this chapter, she comes face-to-face with the creature that spawned her, albeit against his will. From this chapter:

The military base in Idylewilde existed only as interior space like an oubliette or a womb. It was a self-contained universe-- A snow globe draped in mortar. Sita Tvaud was bred and raised here-- a child of science and atrocity and hush money. At twenty-three, she had scarcely left the facility. Countless hours were spent watching one copper door oxidize while guarding another. Her world was four feet in front of her, five inches behind and sixty feet on either side.

Effing creepy stuff.

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Chapter 67: Troy Walks A Road Paved With Pedestrians

This was a very brief, very revealing look into Troy’s head. I remember being disappointed that I couldn’t eek more out of this chapter but in retrospect, I think the brevity is working in its favor. This is Troy’s space to vent. Naturally, it is going to be a brief space but still impactful because Troy is nothing if not efficient. Here, Troy takes a good look at his personality and without the need to say so explicitly, he comes away with an unfavorable impression. He knows that his greatest failing has been in betraying his wife. Troy finds himself at a crossroads, and he still has the option to turn back if he wants to. He has everything to lose if he gets caught and yet, the temptation is still there. Maybe Sabina is right. Maybe he wants to get caught. Likewise, I think that he thinks of himself as impervious to all things. Troy is one of my favorite characters because at the root of everything that he does is his most pervasive and unyielding flaw—his constant attempt at perfection.

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Chapter 79: Addison Hears A Plea

This chapter was hard to write. Hard, hard, hard. It was almost as hard to re-read as it was to write. Hollis and Rosie Dalton were two of the most, if not THE most, unfortunate victims of Orion’s escapades. In Orion’s mind, he is constantly reenacting the tryst that he had with his twin sister over 200,000 years ago. Here we discover that Orion’s insane desire to be reunited with his sister has forced a decent young man to do the unthinkable.

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Chapter 59: Vincent Matches Fire Against Water

Vince is a fascinating character who really does not see his due amount of screen time. His father was murdered right in front of him in a botched attempted robbery. His mother died in the hospital holding his hand. He has demonstrated incredible levels of strength and resilience throughout his short life. In this chapter, he decides to finally let go of the reigns. This is also a great candid look at Kvornan, who we rarely see in casual conversation with anyone outside of Alexei.

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Chapter 63: Alexei Is A Vessel of Brass

Speak of the devil-- Here is a huge turning point in Kvornan and Alexei's lives. Kvornan makes a brash decision that just fucks everything up in a permanent and lasting way. This is pivotal and has many unpredictable consequences, including the Kelly LeCroix murder. This chapter has some of my favorite images of the story. Indeed, Kvornan and Alexei's life together is one of my favorite subplots of the story. The love so strong that nothing short of eternity would satisfy either of them, come what may.