1. What are the techniques Beagle uses to create and develop character in The Innkeeper's Song? Which are the most effective? How do they work?

2. We know from the novella that Soukyan survives into old age, ever the wanderer. Write a story about what happened when he returned to his monastery and how he survived the experience.

3. Compare Arshadin to Doctor Faustus in Marlowe's play The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus (1592). Do they have similar desires? Do they make similar mistakes?

Where does each go wrong?

4. What are the most beautiful three (or more) passages in the novel? What makes them beautiful? How do they enhance the narrative?

5. How have Lal and Soukyan changed in the novella Lal and Soukyan? (Find it in the collection Giant Bones.) Are they what you would have expected? Has Beagle been true to their characterization as...