>>SPOILER SPACE >> For Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune >> short story by Steven Brust >> The Man from Shemhaza > melalvai (Rachel) wrote on Tue, 22 Feb 2005 14:06:26 -0600 > >>Mr. Brust usually does us the kindness to put in clues for the >>unexpected, which are meaningless at the time but after you get >>surprised you suddenly go "ah ha! That's what that meant!" > Linda wrote: > Hi, > > Thank you for putting the word SPOILER in the subject line. I did > not even risk opening the emails. Seems like that particular warning helped out others. I sure knew it was necessary! > The Song "The Man from Shemhaza" is a study in contradictions, > impossibilities and two-sidedness (Is that a word?). Plenty of clues > there...if they mean anything. Ah. Now it all makes perfect sense. Now I feel like the person who has to have the joke explained to her. > Does that help, Rachel? Immensely. > I thought it was nice that Steven had created a character whose short > name was a registered trademark...then at the end I thought it was > not so nice. I wondered what it meant. I wonder if those at > the registered trademark wondered too. I caught that! I did!! Ok, I have to tell an embarrassing story about my legendary (and inherited) obtuseness. My daughter & I participated in a Toddler Injury Study years ago (when she was a toddler). Part of the study required us to visit them for an interview. They put us in a waiting room that was clearly not designed with toddlers in mind for 20 minutes. Turns out, that WAS the interview. We were videotaped and it was designed to be as boring as possible and contain many things that would be dangerous for a toddler to play with (only they had been modified so they weren't really dangerous). I was so excited because I had noticed one of them! There was a lamp with a huge lightbulb and I thought that would be awfully hot if it were turned on. My pride was deflated enormously when I learned there were FIFTEEN dangerous things, including a big old butcher knife (with its edge dulled--but it didn't matter; I hadn't even SEEN it). It's a wonder either of us survived so long (like I said, I came by my obtuseness fairly, and have done my duty in passing it along). > Hopefully, Steven will write further stories about The Man from > Shemhaza. Based on Liavek, there is a good chance that may happen > and therefore you should really read this story sometime. I have the Liaveks, and will read them now. Thanks! Rachel