--- Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote: > > > On Tue, 23 Mar 2004, Jerry Friedman wrote: > > > --- Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote: > > Sorry, what I wrote was unclear. I meant that at the end of _Jhereg_, > > one of the good guys should be able to find Vlad and help him fight > > Mellar, since Vlad would presumably be cooperating with the search. > > Aliera was indisposed, Vlad couldn't be distracted, and witchcraft isn't > a quick science... But where were Cawti, Daymar, Sethra (we now know, but Vlad didn't), the Necromancer, Kragar, Fentor, the Left Hand? And Vlad couldn't be distracted, but he could have previously contributed a lock of hair so someone could do a location spell, or made a homing amulet with witchcraft+sorcery so someone could find him with some quick sorcery and teleport in. Slice, dice, no need to make friends with wild jhereg. ... > > M. and A. aren't supposed to be all that intelligent, outside of > > fighting and sorcery. > > Is this accurate? A at least should be hyperintelligent based on her > lineage. Why? Though she is supposed to be better at intrigue and dinner- table conversation than most Dragons. > Vlad might be a bit smarter, and a rather more flexible > thinker > due to his training, but I don't buy Paarfi's M-is-dim (or perhaps > obsessively tunnel-visioned to the point of dimness) schtick. I think it's a Dragon thing, like "You're a Tiassa--think of something!" and the answer, which I don't quite remember. > > > > > > Sethra, yes, but have Morrolan and Aliera been thwarting them at > all? > > > > > > Sethra says GW-wielders are important, I believe S. > > > > Right. But I didn't get the impression that that made M. and A. > > formidable enough not to be cute--and in fact they and their > > weapons damage the Jenoine less than a kitten can damage a person. > > > This is imo a failing of the plot, not M/A. The J are practically > invulnerable, so they can't be shown being mowed down. Though perhaps > with the amorphia-link severed, they will appear more vulnerable in > future. I'd be pleased if several things about them made more sense. > > > > > I think Vlad is altered in _I_, as opposed to growing. Ok, he > has > > > > > learned some things - things he might have been expected to know > > > > > before the novel. > > > > > > > > I think having a little more consideration for others counts as > > > > growing. > > > > > > But does he have that? Before the Issola injection? > > > > In some ways, especially in _Phoenix_, _Athyra_, and _Orca_. Also > > _Taltos_, come to think of it. But he doesn't seem to connect it > > with manners (despite his ability to piss off Morrolan when > > necessary), or with planned public spirit. > > > I meant, becoming more considerate in the course of _I_ under Teldra's > instruction. He's still stepping on M/A's toes and lauding his skills > as a jongleur before the battle, still acting like a child in front of > Verra... Only the remark about organizing the Eastern defenses, as far as I noticed. -- Jerry Friedman __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html