--- Jerry Friedman <jerry_friedman at yahoo.com> wrote: > --- Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote: > > > > 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. I don't know if it is based on her lineage, but at one point V does describe A as being extremely intelligent. I can't check the books right now because I am at work, but I think it is in the beginning of either Yendi of Jhereg. V is going to visit Castle Black and starts describing people. For what it's worth, neither A nor M has ever stuck me as being dim in the Vladiad. They are stubborn about hanging onto their own ideas of honor, but never stupid. A good example is in Jhereg when Sethra calls them both on trying to kill each other over Mellar. They were both trying to goad the other into killing them so that one or the other can avenge the Mellar's insult to the house of the Dragon. Clever, yet stupidly honorable. > > > 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. > This is what I got, too. It is repeatedly implied in the books that young Dragons are obsessive and tunnel-visioned. I think it is clearly illustrated in LoCB, when Morrolan starts learning sorcery. He starts reading everything he can put his hands on and trying all kinds of experiments, even to the point that Sethra has to take him aside and have a little chat because she is afraid he will teleport himself into little pieces or something. Also, in LoCB (pg. 199 according to Amazon), Paarfi says that "Morrolan. . . for the first time, showed some signs of what he would become" during Morrolan's conversation with Fentor (this is when Fentor did something to Castle Black that M didn't like and, after flying off the handle a little, M actually takes the time to listen to him). It seems to me that Paarfi's intention so far has been to show that M started out as a typical young dragon (stubborn and obsessive to the point of seeming dim-witted), but that, like most Dragons, he will grow into something more. In regards to V, I have always thought his greatest strength is creative problem-solving and mental agility. He is able to work things around in his mind to a phenomenol degree and come up with conclusions that most people can't even follow, much less arrive at on their own. This, to me, is a sign of V's greatest talent, not of anyone else's weakness. Alot of very bright people could be made to look a little dim upside of Vlad. > > > > 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. Agreed. I was extremely confused when Verra told V that the GW's should be good leverage to convince the J to let everyone go, but then it turned out that the J were about as intimidated as a store clerk watching a five year old wave a cap gun around and yell "give me your money." Amy __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html