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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What danger confronts the thing that attempts to visit Kin and the others?

2. What is unusual about the ship that Jago has arranged for the expedition?

3. What does the bartender request from Kin?

4. Kin wrote a popular book on what subject?

5. What are the Spindle Kings credited with creating?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does a watcher do, and what is required of a watcher?

2. What happens to the ship during its approach to the surface, and what is the result of this?

3. Describe the steps Kin goes through to get to the ship after she arrives at Kung.

4. What things are unusual about the ship that Jago arranged for the expedition?

5. Why does Kin feel conflicted about going with Jago?

6. What are Kin's interests, outside of her work?

7. What does the Company provide for humanity as a whole and, specifically, for its employees?

8. What is Marco's background, and what does he believe about himself?

9. For whom does Kin Arad work, and what does she do?

10. How did the strata machine chance human history?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The raven is a large unknown in the novel. Its nature is never fully explained. It is certainly not a normal raven, since it can burn through a metal cage, appear to be intelligent, and can keep up with Kin and the others as they fly across the flat planet. It could easily have been built by the creators of the flat planet, since it is not obviously more advanced than other robotic constructions that the explorers discover on the planet. However, it was given as a "gift" to Jago on the distant Kung, making its origins mysterious.

Part 1) What is known about the raven? How does it join the group, and what are its apparent motives? What are its known or probable capabilities?

Part 2) Explore the mission of the raven. At the end of the novel, was that mission a failure or a success?

Part 3) Speculate as to what group created the raven, and why.

Part 4) How is the raven connected to Kin and the others, and what will its creators do with it now?

Essay Topic 2

The Company is an organization of enormous power. It literally has power over life and death, and wields enormous influence in human culture. Kin's loyalty to the Company affects significant parts of the story.

Part 1) Describe the Company, it's history, and its goals.

Part 2) How well has the Company succeeded in its goals? Have its aims changed at all from the time of its founding?

Part 3) Why is the Company so large and influential? How is the Company's power seen in the story?

Part 4) Explain some of the consequences, both positive and negative, of the Company's enormous influence. Has it changed human society for the better, or for worse?

Essay Topic 3

Terry Pratchett is an author known for his unusual sense of humor, and humorous events often play a critical role in his novels.

Part 1) Describe the general presence and use of humor in the novel. What dramatic purpose does it generally serve?

Part 2) What are some examples of humorous characters or situations that serve no other purpose than to be entertaining? Do these sections contribute in a positive way to the general mood and tone of the story?

Part 3) Describe some humorous characters or situations which drive the plot forward in important ways, or at important times. How does the use of humor affect these situations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 984 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample