Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Council and the Black Swan

This is a summary of how the Council's view of the Black Swan has shifted from book to book.  It also tracks what the Council knows.

#1 Keeper of the Lost Cities

The Council bring Sophie to the Lost Cities.  Bronte is angry that Sophie exists, and he's annoyed that he didn't know about her.  Kenric and Oralie are supportive of Sophie.

Two tribunals are ordered when Sophie bottles Quintessence, which is forbidden, and later Everblaze.  Sophie is found innocent and is allowed to continue at Foxfire.

The Councillors are in denial about the serious problems faced by the Lost Cities.  They refuse to believe that Fintan tried to exterminate the human race with his fires.

#2 Exile

The Councillors ask Sophie to assist Alden in Fintan's mind break.  She later heals Alden after his mind break.  This shows that the Councillors do trust Sophie to some degree.

#3 Everblaze

After Sophie attempts to probe King Dimitar's mind, the Council, led by Alina, turn against Sophie.  The Council place an ability restrictor on Sophie.  The only Councillors who appear to be against Sophie's punishment are Bronte, Oralie, and Terik.  The Councilors vow to hunt down and punish every member of the Black Swan.

#4 Neverseen

Sophie and her friends become fugitives and go into hiding with the Black Swan.  They are joined by Della, who swears fealty to the Black Swan.  The Councillors nearly capture the Collective and the kids when they attempt to rescue Prentice.  The Council grant the Black Swan a temporary reprieve to allow them to trade their captive, Gethen, for Prentice.

Sophie and her friends half destroy Ravagog.  The Councillors seem impressed, and they once again view Sophie favorably.  Sophie will be allowed to return to Foxfire.

#5 Lodestar

The Council have decided that skills are important and that everyone will be trained to use their skills. 

Oralie helps to set up a meeting between the Black Swan and Gethen.  Sophie and Forkle are allowed to attend the peace conference as representatives for the Black Swan.  Emery comments that the "Black Swan have proven themselves to be both resourceful and reasonable."

Oralie tells Forkle that she has an idea about who he is.  I assume that she is thinking of Leto.

Granite makes a slip in front of the Council, and they figure out that he is Tiergan.

#6 Nightfall

Bronte is now aligned with the Black Swan and is friendly—in his own way—with Sophie.  He asks if the Collective are willing to drop their disguises.  Mr. Forkle said that they might someday if "the Council continue to make the right decisions."

#7 Flashback

The Neverseen go to Everglen to open up a secret troll hive.  They are confronted by Sophie and her friends.  The Neverseen broadcast the fight to the Celestial Festival, where everyone in the Lost Cities sees what happens.  It doesn't turn out the way the Neverseen want, since they decide to flee after the hatched trolls attack.  Sophie and her friends fight off the newborns as the entire Lost Cities watch.  Opinion of the Black Swan order turns positive throughout the Lost Cities.  Sophie is now respected.

#8 Legacy

Sophie learns that Gethen has read Tam's mind and knows everything that Tam knows.  This means that the Neverseen know that there were two Forkles and that only one is dead.  They also know that Magnate Leto is Mr. Forkle.  This means that anyone could end up knowing that Leto is Forkle, since the members of the Neverseen could tell anyone.

The Council appoint Sophie as a Regent in the nobility.  Sophie is now officially working with the Council.  Sophie is told by the Council that they are on the same side.

Forkle and the Council realize that they haven't been upfront with each other and agree to share information.

Livvy drops her disguise in front of the Council.

The Council and the Black Swan make a joint statement.
 
#8.5 Unlocked

Noland comments that the goals of Project Moonlark remain unclear.

#9 Stellarlune

Sophie uses her Imparter to demand to speak to Forkle, using his name as well as Leto and Astin.  The book states that Sophie also called for Forkle using all three names while in Oralie's mind map room.  If so, then Oralie knows that Leto and Astin are Forkle.

Both Lord Cassius and Bronte know that Leto is Forkle, since each of them is with Leto while discussing various affairs tied to the Black Swan.

At this point in the series, the Council and the Black Swan are allies.  All Councillors know that Tiergan is in the Collective, and some of the Councillors know that Leto is Forkle.  The secrets are being exposed, and it shouldn't be much longer before everything is revealed.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

New Paperback Editions of the First Four Trixie Belden Books

This post was written in November 2024 as the second of two related posts.  I planned to publish both posts in November 2024.  I had to wait because this post contained proprietary images that had not at that time been shared outside of Edelweiss, which is a site used by publishers to list their catalogs.  I didn't want to get into trouble by sharing proprietary images.  I delayed publishing the posts until the images were finally released to public view.  I left the text of this post exactly as it was written in October 2024, with the exception of a note about the images.  I have written another post with additional thoughts, and it will be published next.

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New paperback editions of Trixie Belden #1, 2, 3, and 4 will be published by Random House in June 2025.  As I stated in my previous post, this is GREAT news.  

The news was posted to Facebook on November 1 with a link to the Barnes & Noble site.  This is what the site shows.  Click on images in order to see them better.

The initial reaction was mostly positive.  The images depict the Cameo edition artwork, so this makes it appear that the paperbacks will have the Cameo artwork.  Since fans like the Cameo editions, the comments were almost all positive.  The only negative comment was the person who said that they weren't interested if they couldn't purchase an entire matching set.

On November 2, someone else found the new cover art online.  [Note:  I have swapped out the images from Edelweiss that had banners on them and switched them to what now show on Amazon.]

Random House has this to say about the books:  "We have four brand-new covers that refresh this series for modern audiences, and the interior retains the original black-and-white full-page illustrations making for a stand-out package!"

Before I get into what transpired, I want to give my reaction.  I apparently look at cover art differently than most people do.  When I first see new artwork, I view it as an entire image without looking closely at details.  I react to the overall aesthetic appeal of the image.  I react to the colors and the presentation and how the image makes me feel.

When I first saw these images, I was pleased to see something new.  I felt happy.  I saw bright, attractive colors.  I saw a fun assortment of colors.  I saw images that are reminiscent of the older cover art, most especially the Cello editions.  The cover art is a marriage of the original cover art to the modern animated style of all current children's books.

That's not what everyone else saw.

The negativity commenced.  Here, I paraphrase some of the complaints.

The price is too high at $8.99.  The old paperback books were more affordable at $0.95 to $1.95. 

Um, that was 38 to 47 years ago.  Books now cost much more than they did back then.

The girls look too young on the covers.

The current trend is to depict youth as looking very young on book covers.  Think of how Nancy Drew looks on the Nancy Drew Diaries books.  Besides, Trixie Belden looks very young on many of the old Trixie Belden books.  Seriously, she does!

I paid $2,000 to replace my books a few years ago.  It's frustrating that now they reprint them.

My comment isn't about the person who spent $2,000 on their books but about the person who jumped on them, saying that they couldn't have spent that much.  I noted that the person who spent $2,000 lives in Canada.  They likely had to pay international shipping to acquire many of the books.  If they purchased all formats, then they ended up purchasing multiple sets.  I did some rough figuring with values like $10 to $15 each for many of the books.  I came up with around $1,700 for a set of all formats, and I knew that my estimate was going to be low.  How dare people question what someone paid for their set!

The covers are too cartoonish.

Most of the complaints were about the covers being too cartoonish or similar to anime.  That's just the modern style.  Honestly, these Trixie Belden covers are much better than most of what is on the covers of current children's books.  To prove my point, I went to Amazon's bestsellers list for middle-grade books (or approximately middle-grade, since tween and teen books get mixed together).  I took screen captures of what I found.  Remember to click on the images in order to see them better.

I personally feel that the new Trixie Belden covers are more attractive than nearly all of these covers.  Modern books are by and large unappealing to those of us who like old books.  The new Trixie Belden covers capture the essence of the old books but modernize them.  Random House's promotional text even says that the books "have four brand-new covers that refresh this series for modern audiences."  In my opinion, Random House did a great job accomplishing that.

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #7 Map of Elysian

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I will indicate any additional thoughts by adding comments in brackets.

Page 267   And the more she studied the symbol, the more her brain seemed to prickle with a strange sort of familiarity.  Somehow she knew she'd seen it before—even though she was also positive that she hadn't.  Which could only mean one thing.  A long time ago—before she knew about elves or caches or the giant conspiracies she was caught up in—the Black Swan planted that same image into her brain, along with all their other secrets.

Page 270   It'd been years since she'd triggered any of the secrets that Mr. Forkle had planted inside her brain.  In fact, she often forgot that there was still information tucked away.  And sometimes she worried the reason the memories never popped up was because the Black Swan hadn't properly prepared her for the problems they were facing.

Page 271   If the Black Swan knew the symbol was important, why hide it in her mind and never bother telling her anything about it?  What good did that do for anyone?

Here we find out that Kenric had a map of Elysian, which he placed in his cache.  But of course Forkle had the map as well (which is just more evidence that Kenric is Forkle), and he implanted the map in Sophie's mind.

[Elysian scares Kenric, which is evident from the conversation with Oralie in Forgotten Secret #4.  He cached the memory because of its importance, but possibly also because it scared him.]

Page 293   "Then why would Kenric save the map in his cache?" Sophie argued.  "Probably the same reason I gave the memory to you."  Mr. Forkle turned away, staring out the window, where Edaline was now riding the Spinosaurus around one of the pastures.

Mr. Forkle knows why, and he speaks the truth when he says it was for the same reason.  I also find it noteworthy that after making this statement Forkle turns and stares out the window in kind of an evasive action.

On page 253 in Forgotten Secret #5, Kenric says, "My training as a Washer has taught me how to hide memories in a very specific way, where the person holding them remains completely unaware—but the memories can easily be triggered if the need arises."

The key word from the above statement is triggered.

On page 270, Sophie thinks, "It'd been years since she'd triggered any of the secrets that Mr. Forkle had planted inside her brain."  There's that key word again: triggered.  Sophie has all the clues she needs, but she's got to put them together to form the answers.

All of this taken together, I believe that Kenric is alive, that he's Forkle, and that he's Sophie's biological father.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

Kenric placed a map of Elysian in his cache.  Forkle placed a map of Elysian in Sophie's brain.  When Sophie sees Forgotten Secret #7, it triggers the memory of the map placed in her brain by Forkle.  This is such an interesting coincidence.

I want to go back to Forgotten Secret #4.  Both Oralie and Kenric are present for all of Forgotten Secret #4, but one part went in Kenric's cache and the other part in Oralie's cache. 

One part of Forgotten Secret #4 reveals Oralie's role in Project Moonlark, as in it reveals that Oralie is Sophie's mother.  Most of the secrets in Kenric and Oralie's caches pertain to the Black Swan and Project Moonlark in some fashion.  Kenric placed the part pertaining specifically to Oralie in Oralie's cache.  Everything else went in Kenric's cache.

If Oralie's cache provides evidence that Oralie is Sophie's mother, then we can conclude that Kenric's cache provides evidence that Kenric is Sophie's father/Forkle.  In short:

FS #1 Kenric counts the seconds, an odd habit that he shares with Sophie.
FS #2 Kenric verifies that he and Oralie are number one matches for Project Moonlark.
FS #3 Kenric is a good liar like Forkle and disappeared during a dinner, probably to change places with his secret twin.
FS #5 Kenric recruits Prentice to be Keeper of the Black Swan.
FS #7 Kenric had the same map that Forkle implanted in Sophie's brain.

These coincidences plus everything else in these memories all add up to the same conclusion.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

As Series Books' Popularity Declines...

This post was written in October 2024 as the first of two related posts.  I planned to publish both posts in November 2024.  I had to wait because the second post contained proprietary images that had not at that time been shared outside of Edelweiss, which is a site used by publishers to list their catalogs.  I didn't want to get into trouble by sharing proprietary images.  I delayed publishing the posts until the images were finally released to public view.  

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We need good news on the series books front.  When we get good news, series book fans gripe and moan about how it's not the way they want it to be.  It never changes.

I've mentioned before that we have now entered at least the beginning of the end of series book fandom.  We might be further along than we realize.   

I'm one of the younger series book fans, and I'm 52.  I'm younger, but I'm not young.  I feel it's worth quoting something I wrote on Facebook on October 21, 2023:

Earlier today in a post outside this group, I made an observation about eBay.  Series books in general (with notable exceptions like the Three Investigators) are not selling very well at this time.  I have seen scarce books priced very reasonably go unsold in recent weeks.  I have seen some of these books relisted multiple times.

I hope this has more to do with inflation and the rising cost of living than anything else.  My fear is that series book fandom has passed the beginning of the end, and fewer people are interested in collecting the books.  If this has started to happen, then it is due to the average age of series book fans. 

I have always been one of the younger collectors.  Back when I first came online I was just 24.  You would think now that I'm 51 that I wouldn't be one of the younger collectors.  And yet, I still am one of the younger collectors, even though I'm not young.  Around 60% of the membership of this group is older than me.

Here is the breakdown of group membership by age:

18-24  1%

25-34  7%

35-44  14%

45-54  19% 

55-64  26%

65+  32% 

I'll be blunt:  Many series book fans will pass on in the not-so-distant future.  Our fandom will transform dramatically in the coming years. 

Let's talk about the current situation.  Nancy Drew is the only series with new titles ongoing ever since its inception in 1930.  The Hardy Boys series, until 2023, was the only other series with new titles ongoing since its inception in 1927.  The Hardy Boys Adventures series, the current incarnation of the Hardy Boys, is currently in hiatus, and we can't be certain that it will return.

[Note from February 2025:  I have believed for over a year that the Hardy Boys Adventures series has been cancelled.  Since we've heard conflicting information, I've kept my statements open-ended.  However, it's now nearly certain that the series is done.  It's been over two years since the last book was published.  Nothing shows in the pipeline on Edelweiss.  I very much doubt that we will ever see another Hardy Boys Adventures book.]

The Happy Hollisters and Judy Bolton series are currently in print.  The first 10 Three Investigators books are back in print.  I think that's it.  All other series are out of print except for the print-on-demand copies of books in the public domain.  

We need series back in print and offered by major publishing houses.  The Happy Hollisters, Three Investigators, and Judy Bolton series are not offered by major publishing houses.  This means that their reach is limited since their publishers don't have the large footprint of the major publishers.

In June, I shared photos of the shelves at Barnes & Noble.  There were very few Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books in stock.  I checked that same store again on October 26.  This is what they had.

While better than in June, the selection is still rather poor.  Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys are not in demand in new copies.  The older books remain in demand, and they are popular at secondhand book stores.  Eventually, that will change as well.

If any other series could go back into print by a major publisher, then youth would be exposed to those books.  Any exposure to youth can help extend the longevity of our hobby.  We want the books to be available to youth.  Editions offered to youth might not appeal to us in their presentation, but that is unimportant.  We want the books to appeal to youth, and we want them to be read by youth. 

This is of utmost importance.  The books need to be available to youth.

I reflected on the situation after I visited Barnes & Noble on October 26.  My thoughts went something like this:  It's too bad that the Random House reissues of the Trixie Belden series went out of print.  If those books were still in print, then at least a few more of our vintage series books would be available to the public. 

It's really interesting that my thoughts went in that direction.  Just one week later, I learned that Random House plans to reprint the first four Trixie Belden books in new paperback editions with new cover art.  This is GREAT news!  I will provide details in my next post and will also include my thoughts regarding the rather negative reaction of the fandom.

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #6 Kenric and Oralie in Elysian

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I will indicate any additional thoughts by adding comments in brackets.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 260   "But I remember the jerkin Kenric's wearing.  Look at those stripes—have you ever seen anything so hideous?"

Page 260   Kenric told her, "I can't tell you that."  "That's absurd," Oralie's projection snapped.  "If you can bring me here, then surely—"  "Honestly?" Kenric interrupted.  "I'm not even supposed to be here.  No one is.  According to every map and record I've checked, this place doesn't exist.  It doesn't even have a name."

Page 262   Kenric nodded.  "That was one of the details that helped me find this place.  Something had mentioned 'whispering rapids,' so when I found this river, I followed it here."

Page 264   "I've heard stories," she told Kenric as turned to scan the meadow, "that there are certain rare forms of energy that can mess with our senses.  Perhaps one of them is here and that's what we're both picking up."

I find it interesting that on page 487 of this book Forkle says, "But I've lost far too many years searching for rivers that do not exist."  Odd, since Kenric seems to have been the one chasing after rivers.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

Page 262:   Kenric nodded.  "That was one of the details that helped me find this place.  Something had mentioned 'whispering rapids,' so when I found this river, I followed it here."  "And I'm assuming you won't tell me where you uncovered this information," Oralie's projection said.  "It's classified," Kenric agreed.

On this reading, my thought is that the "something" mentioned by Kenric is what he found when he probed Fintan's memory in Forgotten Secret #4.  There's also this:

Page 263:   "But see how they have red on their faces?  I found a mention about that, too—'butterflies kissed with red.' "  Dex chuckled  "Whoever wrote these descriptions was trying way too hard to sound deep and poetic."  Sophie nodded, wishing she had any idea who that could've been.

I think it could have been Fintan.  In Book 2, Sophie finds this in Prentice's memories:

Book 2, Page 239:   Glowing eyes peeked through bushes covered in blue ears, and butterflies with bright red lips whispered sounds like mush.

It's not quite the same description, but Fintan has been to Elysian, so he's a candidate for being Kenric's source.  

[Note from June 2024: Upon reading Book 2 again, I reflected on the memory from Book 2, Page 239 being from Prentice's mind.  Kenric could still have gotten the memory from Fintan as I stated above and then saved it in Prentice's mind, since Prentice was his Keeper.  It's also possible that Kenric saved his own memory of Elysian in Prentice's mind.]

Page 266:   "Why can't we see who it is?"  "I think they're wearing an addler," Dex told her.  The real Oralie groaned.  "You're probably right.  Which means it must be the Washer Kenric called to make sure I wouldn't remember any of this.  They often wear addlers to protect their identities."

I believe that the Washer is Kenric's twin.  He probably showed up as Astin or Leto, but he had to wear an addler so that Oralie wouldn't figure anything out.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

The Final Original Text Printing of Nancy Drew #22 Crumbling Wall

I have purchased several bulk lots lately, including a near-complete set of Nancy Drew books.  I always go through the books, checking to see if any books are special printings or have anomalies.  I found one book of special interest that stood out.

A picture cover of Nancy Drew #22, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall, grabbed my attention because it had the original text and was quite thin.  I have written about how easy it is to tell at a glance whether a picture cover Nancy Drew book has the original text.  The lettering style on the spine is a key indicator.

Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #9

I could see immediately that Crumbling Wall had the original text, and I was struck by how thin the book was.  I believe it is the thinnest original text picture cover that I have ever seen.  I also thought that the tint was a little different from most other copies that I have.  I collect picture covers with tint variations, and original text Crumbling Wall is one of the titles with the greatest variation in tint.

I flipped through the book twice to make sure that pages weren't missing.  They were all there.  I examined everything about the book and everything tallied with what would be expected of an original text copy except for the book being so thin.  I knew that the book had to be from near the end of the run of the original text printings of Crumbling Wall and that it had been printed in the 1970s.

I first checked on the tint.

Here are my six original text copies of The Clue in the Crumbling Wall.  The first four copies (top row and first book on the left of the bottom row) are first picture cover books.  The large variance in tint in the first picture cover printing makes it apparent that the first picture cover printing was likely several printings.

The middle book in the bottom row lists to Spider Sapphire on the back cover.  Its tint is lighter than the first picture cover printings.  The last book in the bottom row is my new acquisition.  It has a slightly different lighter tint and lists to The Double Jinx Mystery followed by The Nancy Drew Cookbook.

Checking Farah's Guide verified my suspicion that this new acquisition is the very last printing of the original text.

Take a look at the spines of all six original text books, pictured in the same order as the above picture, followed by the first revised text printing.

Once I looked at the spines, I noticed the volume number.  The "22" on my new acquisition, second from the right, is in the same style as the "22" on the first printing of the revised text.  It's interesting that the volume number changed to the revised text style before the first printing of the revised text.  

"Crumbling" on the spine of my new acquisition wraps around slightly to the front cover of the book.  The book is too thin for the lettering style.  Also, the book is the same thickness as the first printing of the revised text.  The wraparound effect of "Crumbling" can be seen in the next photo of it along with the first printing of the revised text.

Both the last printing of the original text and the first printing of the revised text list to The Double Jinx Mystery followed by The Nancy Drew Cookbook on the back cover.  The two printings have several external characteristics in common, but the insides are completely different.

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #5 Kenric and Prentice

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I want all of my thoughts in the same post, and it will be easier for me to find what I need if I separate the Forgotten Secrets into separate posts.  My new thoughts are at the end.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 244   There was Kenric, sitting in a cluttered library.  And in the armchair across from him sat Prentice.

Page 247   Kenric propped his feet on what looked like a polished tree stump.

Page 247   Kenric downed his drink in one gulp.  "Because I have a proposition of sorts, for the most talented Keeper I've ever met."  "The most talented," Prentice repeated, tucking several of his dreadlocks behind his ears.  "That is some heavy flattery.  Sounds like this is going to be a big proposition."  "It is," Kenric agreed.

Page 248   Sophie frowned, trying to do the mental math.  "Wait—if Wylie was three, wasn't Prentice already working with the Black Swan during this memory?"  "I'm not sure that we know exactly when he swore fealty," Oralie told her.  "But he might've been, since he was arrested a few years later."

Page 250   "You're right—and there's no subtle way of saying this, so I'll just have to put it out there.  I brought you here because I'm hoping you'll be willing to serve as my Keeper."  He let that sink in before he added, "Off the record."

Page 253   "My training as a Washer has taught me how to hide memories in a very specific way, where the person holding them remains completely unaware—but the memories can easily be triggered if the need arises.  And I, as your partner, would know the triggers.  They would be carefully selected words or phrases containing enough of a clue about the secret that I'd be able to recognize any need to call for it, yet remain completely in the dark otherwise."

Page 254   Prentice shook his head.  "We all know how easily information can leak."  "Not if you and I are the only ones who know we're working together.  I'd tell the Council that I have a Keeper—but not your identity.  And I would sooner let my sanity shatter than expose you."

Page 255   What if Kenric was the reason Prentice was arrested?  Or part of it, at least?

Page 255   And either way… Kenric was yet another person who should've come to Prentice's defense and didn't.

Page 255   Kenric was dead.  Prentice's memories were gone.  And nothing would ever change that.  "Seriously, are you okay?" Dex asked, pointing to Sophie's white-knuckled fists.  She relaxed her grip.  "Yeah. I just… wish we knew if Prentice agreed to Kenric's plan.  But with the way these memories are going, I have a feeling it's going to cut off before we get that answer."

Page 258   "Are the Councillors using Keepers now?  Don't say you can't tell me—"  "We're not," Oralie cut in.  "As far as I know, Kenric never made the suggestion.  I'm assuming that means Prentice chose not to take him up on his offer—or that their tests to protect his sanity failed."

Page 259   "But remember:  Kenric recorded each of these memories for a very specific reason.  We just need more time to understand why."

This memory unpacks some very important clues.  I was a bit puzzled by the memory the first two or three times that I read it.  I then had a lightbulb moment when I realized the context.  Remember that these memories are problematic due to the lack of context.

I at first took the memory at face value and accepted that Kenric wanted Prentice to be his personal Keeper as stated.  I didn't understand, since I knew that Prentice actually became the Keeper of the Black Swan.  I finally realized that Kenric wasn't saying what he really meant.  Kenric was requesting that Prentice be the Keeper of the Black Swan.  Kenric is Forkle.  It all makes sense.  He just wasn't going to mention his little rebel group the Black Swan until after Prentice agreed to be his Keeper.

On page 253, Kenric specifies that he knows how to hide memories so that they can be retrieved with a word or phrase.  Forkle has mentioned doing exactly this with Sophie.  In Book 3 page 377, we learn that this is called "implanting" and that it is "a super-hard skill only a few people can really pull off."  How curious that few people can do it, yet both Kenric and Forkle have this ability.

This Forgotten Secret also confirms that Kenric was a Washer.  Forkle is a Washer as well, since he has erased some of Sophie's memories.  It's strange how much Kenric and Forkle have in common.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

Page 244:   There was Kenric, sitting in a cluttered library.  And in the armchair across from him sat Prentice.

Sophie blinks several times when the memory begins, because she can't believe that she sees Prentice with Kenric.  I didn't see it as shocking at all when I first read this memory, just because I didn't understand.  In fact, it seemed odd to me that Prentice's name is even italicized.  That's how clueless I was. 

It took me several readings over a number of weeks to figure out that Prentice is being recruited as the Keeper of the Black Swan.

One aspect continued to bother me.  Kenric makes the request as himself.  If Prentice should accept, then Prentice would know that Councillor Kenric is in the Black Swan.  That seems like too big of a secret to entrust to anybody.  I believe that nobody in the Black Swan knows who Forkle really is. 

So something just didn't add up.  Recently, I put it all together when I read the memory yet again and noticed one passage that I hadn't thought about carefully during my previous readings.

Page 249:   Everyone assumed he'd used the Black Swan's code for imminent danger because he'd somehow uncovered the Lodestar symbol and feared the Neverseen would be coming after him.  But the explanation didn't totally make sense, as Prentice could've told someone what he'd learned—both to help prove his innocence and to make sure the information didn't get buried if he ended up in Exile.  Instead, he had kept everything to himself.  Almost as if he hadn't known who he could trust.

Ah-ha!  Kenric must have washed Prentice's memories of anyone involved in the Black Swan.  Prentice had no idea who had recruited him, and he likely didn't know the names of anyone involved in the order.  That's why he hadn't known who he could trust.  This all makes sense now!   

This next passage immediately follows the one quoted above.

Page 249:   And now Sophie was watching Prentice sit with Kenric in a secret library, about to discuss some sort of "big proposition."  "You okay?" Dex asked.  Sophie blinked, realizing he was staring at her—and that she was breathing very, very fast.  "Yeah, I'm just... trying to decide if I should tell Wylie and Prentice this story."

Sophie is beginning to hyperventilate as she thinks about this, then she lies to Dex about what she is thinking.  Sophie fears that Kenric is responsible for what happened to Prentice, which means that she is on the cusp of figuring out that Kenric recruited Prentice to be the Black Swan's Keeper.  This would then lead to her realizing that Kenric is Forkle.  She is just not quite there yet.

Page 257:   Instead he stepped closer and told Kenric, "No amount of talent will ever make me infallible."

I wonder...  Is this a clue as to why Prentice called swan song?  Did Prentice make a mistake that led to his capture?

Here are my recent thoughts.

Prentice tells Kenric that Wylie is 3 years old.  Wylie is now around 20, so this memory is from around 17 years before.  Sophie is around 16 at this time, so this is from around the time that Sophie was born.

On page 256, Prentice points out that there aren't enough highly-skilled Keepers for all 12 Councillors to choose one.  Even if they did find 12 Keepers, everyone would know who they are.

Kenric doesn't address the shortage of Keepers, but he says that no one would know if the Keeper program were kept secret.  Kenric is just lying.  He knows that his story makes no sense, but he's not going to tell Prentice the truth, at least not at this point in time.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

eBay Auction for the 1st Known 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock Book and Dust Jacket

Books from a deceased Nancy Drew fan's collection have come up for sale on eBay, among them a 1930A-1 Old Clock book with dust jacket.  The book sold for $6,877.00.  Click on images in order to view them at a higher resolution.

This 1930A-1 Old Clock book and jacket was the first copy in dust jacket that ever surfaced.  It first sold in 1996 and has passed through more than one owner since that time.  The latest owner recently passed on, resulting in it coming back up for sale.

The jacket is in rough shape, but there are only 13 of them known to exist.  It's been six years since the 13th example surfaced.  That could mean that no additional examples exist.  We will only know of additional examples if any ever surface.  There's no guarantee.

In my post about the 13th known 1930A-1 dust jacket, I wrote:

I have been thinking a lot about the 1930A-1 Old Clock dust jacket in the last year.  I reflected on how no new known copies had come up for sale since 2014 and wondered whether I should consider paying a higher price so that I could finally acquire one.  The dust jacket is not getting any easier to find.  A few copies are probably still in the wild unknown to us, but even the existence of just a few more copies has little effect on the scarcity and value.  Hundreds of people would love to own the first printing dust jacket, and fewer than 15 are known to exist.  Most people will never have one.

And now, six years later, I am less hopeful that additional examples will surface.  I feel like there could be one or two more out there, but that's probably it.  Likely no more than 15 examples exist.

I suspect that more people are realizing what already guided my decisions back in 2010 when some people criticized my buying habits.  

In October 2010, I wrote:

The dust jackets that list to Bungalow Mystery are so extremely scarce that collectors have to settle for whatever condition dust jacket comes up for sale. There are only eight known examples of the Old Clock first printing dust jacket in existence, and two of them are the ones that just sold on eBay.

People criticized me back in 2010, saying that I was wrong to purchase water-damaged books in order to get first printing dust jackets.  No, I got rid of the books, paired the jackets with nicer first printings, and I have the matched first printing book/jackets of #2 and #3.  The jackets are currently in the same condition as they were in when I purchased them over 15 years ago.  Mold and mildew are not growing on them.

You must take what you can get, and the getting has never been good.  I believe more people now understand this better.

You can't wait for a pristine copy in dust jacket to show up for sale before you consider trying to win one of these auctions.  You must try for each copy that surfaces and trust that you will finally win an auction when it's your turn.  You must be aggressive as it's the only way to beat out the Hollywood dealer.  You can't wait for that perfect copy that probably doesn't exist.

That said, not all examples that surface will be for everyone.  Some people will continue to wait it out until they finally see the auction for the one they will purchase.  Each person knows when it's the right time.  I knew in my heart that the February 2019 auction was the one for me while the final seconds ticked down.  And it was.

This auction placed me in a situation with a bit of a moral dilemma.  I feel strongly that eBay auctions should be allowed to run to completion with as little interference as possible.  The seller's lack of knowledge paired with the characteristics of the books offered at auction led to a situation where it wasn't possible to avoid all auction inference.

To backtrack, when auctions featuring the 1930A-1 Old Clock book with dust jacket appeared on eBay during the 2000s and early 2010s, a certain enthusiastic Nancy Drew collector posted in the Nancy Drew Sleuths group about each auction, saying that everyone needed to know!!!  That person's actions guaranteed that people like me had no chance of getting the book. 

The Hollywood dealer was a member of the Nancy Drew group, no doubt so that they'd know if a first in jacket came up for sale.  I remember one time that they bid on one of the auctions immediately after the enthusiastic fan notified the group.  That fan was unwittingly helping the Hollywood dealer who was going to drive the price up by a considerable amount.  I found it all quite annoying.

Coupled with that, many people tried to get the auctions shut down so that they could buy the book direct from the seller at a bargain.  It was stressful waiting each of those auctions out, worrying that they could be ended at any time due to trickery.  

All of those early auctions were circuses.  That is why I have very strong feelings about avoiding auction interference.  So....

Coming back to the present, the very last thing I would ever do is interfere in one of these auctions, especially the first one to run on eBay after I finally got my copy.  Interference on my part would make me a hypocrite.  Sigh....

The problem was this: The seller had another auction running for a 1930A-1 Old Clock book, but that book had a reproduction dust jacket.  Several of us were suspicious about that one and verified it, but many other fans would be fooled.  We were concerned about those fans.  Jennifer Fisher, and likely a few others, were in communication with the seller, who added information to those listings.  I planned to warn people about the reproductions.  Then, the seller listed the book with the real 1930A-1 dust jacket.  Now what to do?

After much mental debate, I finally wrote a quick post about the situation.  I included the one thing I didn't want to mention towards the end of the post.

Current Nancy Drew Auction Warning, Store Hiatus, and Other Updates

I created a post that combined more than one topic.  I first mentioned my stress and why I closed my stores abruptly.  I then mentioned the Larkspur Lane reproduction wrapper and the reproduction Old Clock dust jacket.

Another listing has a 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock book that has a reproduction 1930A-1 dust jacket.  The jacket is off in appearance in several ways.  We have determined who made the copy jacket for the collector whose book is for sale.  There is no doubt that the jacket is a reproduction.

Finally, I mentioned the one thing I didn't want to mention but I had to mention.

And yes, the same seller has a 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock book with an authentic 1930A-1 dust jacket up for auction.  I have moved back my upcoming posts, since all of this is going on right now.

And so I did the one thing I never wanted to do: I told people about the latest 1930A-1 dust jacket while the auction was still running.  I knew that I needed to get the warning out the best I could about the reproductions.  I knew, and a few others knew.  But lots of people would be fooled.  We had to try since the seller wasn't handling the situation in an optimal fashion due to their inexperience with high-end Nancy Drew books.

By warning about the reproductions, I was inadvertently interfering in the auction for the book with the real 1930A-1 jacket.  Some people would misunderstand and think that the real 1930A-1 dust jacket was a reproduction.  I didn't want to hurt the seller by causing people not to bid.  I also didn't want to keep someone from bidding who might have been the future winner of the auction.

After wrestling with the dilemma for at least one day, I concluded that I had to warn people about the reproductions but also had to clarify that a real 1930A-1 dust jacket was also in the mix.  So, that's what I did. 

Unfortunately, the winning bidder of the auction with the reproduction jacket didn't find out the truth until after they won.  The winning bid was $2,015.10, and they backed out.  Think of how unhappy that buyer was.  They thought they'd finally won an auction for the 1930A-1 jacket and then they learned that it was a reproduction.  That is why the seller should have ended that listing and relisted it.  It would have spared someone the disappointment.

Meanwhile, I worked on my more detailed post about reproduction dust jackets.  

Identifying Whether a Dust Jacket is a Reproduction

The real 1930A-1 dust jacket was also mentioned in that post, which was also published while the auction was still running.  I knew that my post was getting the word out about the real 1930A-1 jacket auction to all the people who aren't on Facebook.  It was potentially going to impact the auction.

So, did it?  Fortunately, I am confident that my actions had zero impact on the final auction price.  I am able to determine in most cases who the bidders are on these high-end Nancy Drew auctions.  Those of us who are well-connected in the Nancy Drew collecting community typically can figure out who the bidders are.  As the auction ran, I kept track of who was bidding since it concerned me about what impact I was having on the auction.

I have identified every bidder for this auction.  Obviously, I'm not sharing that information.

The Hollywood dealer had already bid before I mentioned the auction, so I didn't tip him off.  He keeps a close watch on eBay and misses nothing.  The other bidders were the usual players.  I didn't tip them off, either.

I am certain that every bidder would have known about the auction regardless, through either their own eBay use or through looking at the seller's other auctions as a result of the discussions on Facebook about the reproductions.  All of the other bidders are active on Facebook.  I had no impact on the final auction price.

The top two bidders were the winner and the Hollywood dealer.  The top four bidders in the last auction from 2019 were me, someone who didn't bid this time, the winner of this auction, and the Hollywood dealer.  Next time, the highest bidders will likely be the Hollywood dealer and the third-highest bidder on this auction. 

Another person has joined the ranks of the very few who have the dubious honor of being able to say that they actually outbid the Hollywood dealer in an auction.  It's a mixture of "Yay!  I beat the Hollywood dealer!!!" and "Ouch.  I beat the Hollywood dealer."
 
I heard that people did try to get this auction closed so that they could buy the book outright.  Some things never change.