More on Keeper of the Lost Cities

This post contains no spoilers.

The Keeper of the Lost Cities series is written in an engaging and interesting style.  It has lots of action along with great character development and a compelling story.  Best of all, the series has an intriguing mystery that has completely captivated me.

I spent a month reading through the set, staying away from online forums so as to avoid spoilers.  I figured out an important anagram on my own, discovering the clue to a big secret.  After I finished reading the latest book, I went online, expecting to see it all hashed out.  I found hardly anything.  How strange...

Since then, I have kept looking for people's theories.  People do have theories, and many people are thinking exactly what I am.  What's strange is that when these people mention that theory in a discussion forum, they get shot down immediately.  Everyone else says that it's not possible. 

I'm perplexed.  This seems so obvious to me, and there is plenty of chatter about it.  However, many other fans just don't see it.  The author has placed clues throughout all of the books, yet readers are missing these clues.

I think this is because most fans are children.  While these books are children's books, the detailed information and clues are above their level.  They will miss most of the subtext.

For instance, many fans find the first half of book 9 to be boring.  That is where the flashback memory scenes are detailed.  I have now read some parts of the first half of book 9 at least four times while looking for clues.  Since many fans find that part boring, this means that they are missing all of the clues and have no idea what is going on.

These books are definitely books that adult readers should consider.  I love searching for clues.  The only other series where I actively searched for clues was Harry Potter during the years in which that series was first being published.  The Keeper series has captured my attention in the same way that Harry Potter did. In fact, my obsession with the Keeper series goes far beyond what I felt about Harry Potter.
 
Going back to my theory, apparently fans have asked Shannon Messenger.  She's denied it.  But that's what J. K. Rowling did with Snape.  The author is the last person to ask about a theory.  They aren't going to spoil the ending since that would take all the fun out of it.  We don't need to know for sure.  It's fine just to follow the clues, think about it, and discuss with other fans.  It's fun.  So.  Much.  Fun.

I think about what I have read online since I finished reading the set.  If I had made the mistake of reading online content while reading for the first time, my reading experience would have been ruined.  This is because the comments would have led me away from my theory.

By not reading anything online about the series for a month, I focused on figuring out the mystery myself.  I was not influenced by anyone.  It was just me and the books.  It was a brilliant, wonderful experience.  I feel like a super sleuth.  Nancy Drew would be so proud of me.

Now, I am reading through the Keeper of the Lost Cities series for the second time.  I want to find more evidence to support my theory, and the fans who have posted online are no help since they don't see it.  I must do this myself. 

My rereading of the books is nonlinear.  While I am currently reading the fifth book for the second time, I am also jumping around and rereading certain passages from other books.  In some cases, I am rereading passages for the third, fourth, or fifth time.

A few days ago, I reread the lengthy flashback passages from book 9 slowly and was still unable to figure out what a certain scene really meant.  I let it rest and went back to reading the fourth book, which was where I was at the time.

Yesterday, I thought of that certain scene again and came to a realization.  Oh!  Now it makes sense, and it tallies with all the other clues.

There are two aspects to the major mystery in these books.  The first mystery involves the elf who created Sophie through donated DNA.  We do not know what this elf's true identity is.  We know him by three different names, but we don't know his true identity.  I think I do know.

The second mystery is who Sophie's biological parents are.  Late in the set, one of the biological parents is revealed.  Before the reveal, the author began to drop more obvious clues. 

We are still completely in the dark about the other parent, except that I'm certain that I've figured it out.  Today I came to another realization about one of the flashback memories.  I already knew that one memory was a clue to the other biological parent.  I have now realized that another memory contains a significant clue to that elf's identity.  Oh yes, clues are everywhere, and they aren't necessarily obvious.

Sophie has asked her creator point-blank several times about the second biological parent, and he tells her that she is wrong.  I suspect that one of her guesses was correct, and I believe I know which one.  

Of course, there are passages in which Sophie's creator makes lengthy specific comments that negate the possibility that what Sophie thinks could be true.  For that reason, fans feel certain that Sophie's other biological parent cannot be the elf that readers are most likely to suspect.  Therefore, everyone thinks that Sophie's guesses are wrong because her creator has explained exactly why they are wrong.

I think there's a trick.  Fans are taking everything this character says at face value, not realizing that he could be lying.  In fact, he has admitted that he has lied to Sophie.

In book 4, Sophie complains to her creator that he isn't telling her anything.  She tells him how another elf has been more open with her.  Why can't he?

From book 4, page 290:

"Have you considered that it's easier for her because she's just met you?" [Sophie's creator] asked.  "She's never had to lie straight to your face."

This means we can't be sure of anything that he has told Sophie.  While I believe that the vast majority of what he has said is true, I am certain that he has lied about all of the important secrets, like Sophie's parents.

Many people who discuss this series online are either children who aren't catching the clues or are people who just haven't read the books very closely.  I have highlighted probably hundreds of lines in my Kindle books.  The evidence is there, if readers would pay attention.  I'd like to discuss this with people who see what I do.

Since that is currently unattainable, I'm just going to hash out my theory in a series of blog posts.  The people who think like me should find me eventually.  Those posts will be marked as spoilers for the rest of you.

I suspect that fans of this series must skew pretty young.  It is a children's series, after all.  It also doesn't help that the series is about elves, and that might be a turnoff to adult readers. 

It shouldn't be!  These elves are great.  Many adults do read children's books for pleasure, and these books are worthy of being read.  Many adults read other fantasy series like Harry Potter and the ones by authors such as Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull.  And yet, I'm not sure that many adults have read Keeper of the Lost Cities.

On one of my recent searches in my umpteenth attempt to find a serious discussion about my theory (I failed), I found a discussion about inception.  This is what the elves call the moment of conception, which is when they begin counting age.  This means that each elf is nine months older than what the corresponding human age would be, since humans count age from birth.

In that discussion thread, lots of fans posted what their age would really be if they were an elf.  The answers were all numbers like 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.  They were all children.  So I just don't see evidence of many adults participating in discussions of these books. 

I'm sure that adult readers have spotted the clues, but they aren't in the discussions.  I'd love to read discussions with participants who have noticed what I have.  I just have to finish rereading the set and pondering this by myself, since other fans are on a different wavelength.

This series is continuing to keep a stranglehold on my life.  I've been obsessed since March 13.  This is an odd situation for me, and it's driving me crazy.  In all of my past experiences, other fans who are smarter and more observant than me end up noticing everything and posting it online.  In this case, I can't find any of the fans who see every minuscule detail.  I guess it's me this time.