> SPOILERS BELOW > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 2) Aerich was, in fact, the Duke of Arylle who arrived to inquire > pf Paresh what had occurred. Intriguingly, however, Paarfi's > account differs from Paresh's in several manners; first, Aerich > gives no indication of being a sorceror; second, Paresh (who is > not named in Paarfi's account) similarly gives no indication of > sorcerous ability; third, as described by Paarfi, the encounter > between the two was exceedingly brief and had no nature of combat > about it; fourth, if Paarfi's account can be considered accurate, > the behavior of Paresh is extremely typical of a Teckla. > > I am not sure who to believe. I tend to believe Paarfi's account more (there's a first). Paresh had too much at stake in his telling of the story--he was trying to make a point. Paarfi, on the other hand, was just filling space. :) Then again, who did Paarfi hear this story from? Perhaps he found out Aerich went there, and made up the details. I still can't get past the fact that Paresh had a stake in how the story was told, though. > 5) There was very little in this book about Sethra. This was > disappointing. Neither title for the novel really made any sense to me... then again, I still don't understand why the series is titled "The Viscount of Adrilankha"; is this another Dumas joke? > 7) Loraan apparantly summoned a Jenoine despite remaining > entirely offstage. Odd. Why he remains an active player > backstage I have no idea. So, when did he become undead, anyway? I always thought it was after he was killed in Taltos, but now I think he was undead even before this novel--I can't imagine him dying later, and the gods sending him back to the real world after the role he played in SL. > 8) Grita appears to have died. Depending on Paarfi's accuracy, > this may have some effect on whether Grita was an invented > character to fill Mellar's role in Jhereg, about which there was > brief speculation earlier. And no Ibronka-Grita sister spat, either. I was really expecting that one. > 13) We get to see the origins of Morrolan's eternal party. Heh. One of my favorite moments in the novel, oddly. I don't know why I, but I loved Morrolan's logic. > 15) Why hasn't Vlad met Arra? Well, even more than that, I don't believe Vlad has met ANY of Morrolan's witches... Speaking of Arra... Morrolan only sees one window in his tower, while Arra saw many. Vlad also sees many. Do all Dragaerans see one window, and all Easterners see many? Do the windows represent choices or viewpoints? Dragaerans are very much typecast by House, whereas Easterners come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Two words: I think this is an obvious inference to make, but just in case anyone missed it, I believe the reference on page 339 to "unsavory characters" at Castle Black is a possible Vlad sighting. Bryan