Hi All, I joined your mailing list a couple of weeks ago, but so far haven't really had much to add to your conversations - I've just been using you all as my personal daily dribble of Dragaera to whet my appetite and keep the boredom blues at bay whilst I sit here coding away. Anywho, this morning I received this from a friend of mine that I recently loaned the first few Vlad books to and thought I'd share with you all. Take a trip down memory lane to the time when you first happened to come across the blessed goodness that is Vlad and his adventures... (heh, and you should also note the time the email was sent). by the way - not sure on the list's general view of language in emails, apologies if the couple of expletives below offends anyone, I thought the impact and obvious sincerity would be lost if i started playing with it (although i have removed the names to protect the seemingly innocent). cya, rafe -----Original Message----- From: A... Sent: Monday, 6 December 2004 2:36 AM To: Rafe Hatfield Subject: you suck Hello Rafe. Just to let you know that I hate you - you suck. How dare you expose me to the evil that is Steven Brust. I know now that I will never read another of your recommendations again. First Zhereg: Such intrigue, such subtlety, such kick-ass plotting and scheming in a world which was painted oh so perfectly. Great, loved it. It impressed me profoundly, and retaught me the art of enjoying the story for itself and not its crafting. Then came Yendi: By now, I'd realised that Roger is a comparative hack, and that the vast majority of what I've read in my life I now know to be utter crap. At bizarre moments throughout my day, I would find myself imagining what it would be like to be a guest at Morrolan's eternal party at Castle Black. I wanted a familiar on my shoulder too. I wanted Spellbreaker, and to have friends like Aliera to call upon. I fell completely in love with Cawti, so much did she embody the woman of my dreams, even more than Vlad himself!! In short, I had been effectively set up for the plummet to the deepest depths of despair and desolation that was Teckla. If only I'd learnt to be more suspicious like Vlad... Right now, with a couple of chapters left, Cawti is in the midst of the rebellion (read communist uprising) and has turned her back on Vlad. The slow death of their love twists a knife in me as it does Vlad and Cawti. I have to admit, I have had tears well up on several occasions today. I usually pride myself on being immune to tear-jerking manipulation, but this shoddy conman Brust has blown that away. How he could he fuck with their perfect match like that? How he could set them up through-out a whole book so blissfully to tear it all away. (Don't be a smart-ass and answer those questions by the way - I know I've been expertly manipulated - I just don't like it. And to top it all off, the only chance at saving what they have is to abandon his life as an assassin? I, for one, think Vlad to be in a fine and honourable profession, the only one he's known. Who the fuck is Cawti to force him from that, especially when she kept her role in the rebellion away from him? Fuck that shit. So I vainly kept waiting for Kelly to be exposed as a fraud, or for the peasants to get massacred by the Imperial Guard. But did Steven oblige? No, he brings Vlad's grandfather in as a supporter of these crack-pot rebels! So, I feel like I have been emotionally raped and I am now in desperate need of 'Taltos'. I might die if I don't get it soon. Like a dealer pushing hammer in a Kings-X alleyway, you've shamelessly got me hooked, knowing I'd be back for more. How do you sleep at nights? A... Attention: The information contained in this message and or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any system and destroy any copies.