On Tue, 8 Jun 2004, Scott Schultz wrote: #Oh, and I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that "Sleep and dream of #bearded women." was an underhanded hommage to Goldman's "The Princess #Bride". (Wesley defeats Fezzig and tells him "Sleep, and dream of large #women." Seems we can make all sorts of games out of a reading of a Taltos #story...) I think it's an allusion to _Lord Valentine's Castle_ but it's been so long since I read it that I can't give you anything more specific. #One strong feeling I've come away with thanks to having re-read the series #is that it's really not so much a series about a cool assassin as it is an #exploration of the human condition. Yeah! I've been getting much the same feeling, but you have crystallized it and expressed very nicely. #Assuming that Vlad visits Cawti, it will be interesting to see her reaction #vis-a-vis his having a Great Weapon. If Vlad is like the other owners of #such weapons we've encountered, he'll have it with him of the time. Vlad has #describe many times how uncomfortable Blackwand made him just being nearby. #Being around it unsheathed was a frightening experience, moreso because #Easterners are apparently more sensitive to the auras of Morganti weapons. Are you so sure? Blackwand is very fierce. Do Iceflame and Pathfinder have anything like that effect on Vlad or on others? I'm sure Lady Teldra wouldn't want to disturb people unnecessarily. -- Mark Mandel [This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]