Philip Hart writes:
>spoilers for _TEoDM_
[and from Vicompte de Bragelonne]
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>again, spoilers for the Pirodessey or the end of the Paarfiad or ...
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>4. On pg 71, Paarfi says the "ball-room" had nearly been a temple - I
>thought the temple had been intended for a ballroom but then a library.
Hmm. May need to re-read LoCB; I remembered the conversation but not
how it came out.
>5. Can't decide how I feel about Aerich's death - coming alone was in
>character, but getting bounced off a wall was a bit, well, unheroic.
Kinda -- it was a necessary death (as a delaying one), but he did
rather get bounced off the wall.
Tazendra's parallel's Porthos's death reasonably well (died after
accomplishing an impossible physical task, while Tazendra did so while
accomplishing an impossible magical one).
>6. I argued a while ago that it was inconceivable to me that Aerich would
>chase a Teckla, so I believe Paarfi's version entirely.
I don't, but there's room for all kinds.
>7. I didn't understand why the Necromancer couldn't function with a God on
>the world. Plus she managed ok in a similar situation at the end of
>_Issola_.
Presumably, the god in question was disabling necromancy as well as
witchcraft -- I don't think there was anyone trying the same in
_Issola_; in fact, I almost think all the gots there were on the
protagonists' side.
>8. Morrolan can't have much to strive for after killing a god. And why
>doesn't he go into battle with the J with one of those vorpal-blade
>enchantment enhancements?
Good question -- they may be made up, or simply pretty difficult to
do. He seems to do OK, certainly.
OTOH, it's possible that he does occasionally get such help -- It's
not certain that Vlad would notice.
>9. There was some confusion in the description in para 4 on pg 289 -
>it seems as if Paarfi thinks Trinagore's death and the defeat of the
>Jenoine are the same event, instead of coincidental. The Warlock's call
>and Morrolan's teleport are unrelated.
I think the indication was that they happened simultaneously, but not
related to one another.
>10. Piro never did much for me - when the soldiers tried to take him,
>in the fight in which Grassfog died, I was rooting for them. During
>the description of the meal early in the book, it struck me that Piro
>refuses to follow society's dictates in questions of marriage while
>happily exploiting the Teckla, who end up eating the nobles' scraps.
>Unpiroic.
Unpiroic?
I like Piro a great deal more than the Vicompte de Bragelone, but
that's not hard.
>11. Grassfog's amulet is a bit of plot device. Actually the plot seemed
>too present at points. On the other hand, the book had a strong impetus -
>I read it in (almost one) sitting. A pleasurable first read, certainly.
Grassfog's amulet does seem to be; plus it doesn't use its other
function, which one might expect to be relevant.
>12. Nice to see Khaavren resigning his position - this is a precho I think
>of a comment in the Vladiad about K turning in his cloak yet again.
It's also taken directly from VdB -- D'Artanian resigns or attempts to
resign early in Louis's reign, to show his disapproval of L's actions.
>13. Morrolan seems to be dead in Paarfi's time - anyway that's the vibe I
>got. Actually I'd guess only K, Piro, and Ibronka live that long.
Really? Interesting; I did not get that vibe myself; where are you
drawing it from?
--
Joshua Kronengold (mneme at io.com) "I've been teaching |\ _,,,--,,_ ,)
--^--him...to live, to breathe, to walk, to sample the /,`.-'`' -, ;-;;'
/\\joy on each road, and the sorrow at each turning. |,4- ) )-,_ ) /\
/-\\\I'm sorry if I kept him out too late"--Vlad Taltos '---''(_/--' (_/-'