[No spoilers left.] --- "Ruhlen, Rachel Louise (UMC-Student)" <RuhlenR at missouri.edu> wrote: [...] > That's what I mean. He drops clues that he doesn't > know the answer to. Then figures out the answer for > later books, tying up all the loose ends (and > creating more in the process). It seems like he > must have known the answer all along, because there > are so many clues, but he's actually just really > good at picking up several clues and coming up with > a solution that answers several of them. I agree, though, as you've said in a part of your message I deleted, I do think there are some situations where he does set things up. Spellbreaker seems a likely example, though one can never be entirely sure. I personally am terrible at predicting these things. This is one of the ways that SKZB's work reminds me most of Zelazny's -- I wonder, when I come across a particular revelation: "Do you think he was setting that up all along?" Either way, there's a certain fascination at the skill with which he shows us new things about characters, setting (the Dragaerans, their Empire, its culture, its economy, &c.), and plot, while hardly ever twisting any element out of shape to accommodate the others. So far, I think the best example of this particular sort of craftsmanship in the Vlad books is _Orca_, though I'm also partial to _Dragon_ (and _Yendi_, though I know the author isn't). I was a little disappointed by _Issola_, as there are parts of it that read as though the author had been, despite his best efforts, reduced to simple exposition. Thus Vlad's uncharacteristic (and acknowledged as such) demand for background from Sethra, and her uncharacteristic response; compare that with his conversation with Aliera in _Jhereg_, much earlier in the author's development, which seems to arise much more naturally from the interaction of the two characters. I would be pleased to be rebutted if someone can show me why that scene works perfectly, of course. (And I might add that this particular objection has not changed SKZB's status as the current sole occupant of my buy-in-hardcover list.) -- Greg __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/