Despite my criticisms of _The Viscount of Adrilankha_, I count _The Pheonix Guards_ as one of my favorite Dragaeran novels. It's one of those rare books that I can read front-to-back, then start over and read again immediately with as much enjoyment as the previous effort. Since I just recently finished up the Vladiad again it was only natural to start in on the Paariad. As is often the case, I noticed some things that I hadn't picked up on before and that might be worth a bit of discussion. * I've never really given the cover art more than a cursory glance. When I first picked up the book (A lucky find in hardcover on the bargain-priced shelf) I was too excited about finding an unknown Brust book to worry about the cover. Later visits were just cursory examinations. "Look, it's a statue of phoenix rising and a guardsman, probably Khaavren standing in front of it ready for battle." This time, I took a closer look because something was odd about it. I realized that the supposed "phoenix" in fact had a long tufted tail. Since it resembled a lion's tail, I at first presumed it to be a griffon. After studying it for a bit, it became apparent that it is, in fact, a "tolerably long" serpentine body and the tip of the tail is actually crowned with a tuft of feathers rather than fur. Likewise, the tongue protruding from the beak of the "phoenix" is a forked snake's tongue. Given that Steve has deliberately kept the descriptions of the various House animals somewhat vague, I'm wondering, what does this statue represent? Is it an accurate depiction of a Dragaeran phoenix? Is it artistic license (like the depictions of Loiosh as a four-legged dragonnete)? Is it something else entirely? (Maybe Tor just hired someone and said "Put a guy in front of a big bird" and this is what amused the artist enough to create it.) * In describing the decline of the fortunes of Khaavren's family line, Paarfi tells us that his family managed to supply Khaavren an education, though he was taught along with the Jhegalla and Chreotha children. The implication here is that Jhegalla and Chreotha are considered to be lower in social ranking than the other noble Houses. In our terms, his family are fallen aristocrats who have had to send their children to the best public schools they could manage rather than the exclusive private schools or tutors that they would otherwise have preferred. At one or two other points, Paarfi makes other remarks about the fact that the Houses are not strictly equal in terms of social standing. In the various Dragaeran novels, Jhegalla are invariably depicted as merchants while Chreotha are invariably depicted as Tradesman (that is, craftsmen of various sorts). It appears that the Jhegalla and the Chreotha represent the middle class who are only really "noble" by virtue of being Dragaeran and not being Tekla. If Paarfi is correct and the general public hold merchants of various sorts in just slightly higher regard than bandits, then it follows that the other nobility probably consider the Jhegalla and Chreotha to be "wannabe" aristocracy and treat them only slightly better than they treat Tekla who are mere peasants. It would be interesting to discover whether the Jhegalla and/or Chreotha have a guild-structure to their Houses along the lines of similar social organizations in Restoration/Rennaissance Europe. * Based on Vlad's notions, I'd never questioned my belief that Dragaeran's are naturally able to control their conception. During this last pass over _The Phoenix Guards_, however, I paid rather more attention to something that I'd not noticed before. When Adron is given the message about his daughter, Paarfi takes it upon himself to discuss just why this is something to be concerned about. In a nutshell, he says that "the protections and safeguards" available to his readers were not available in those earlier times (or at least not as widely available). Therefore, bastards and half-breeds happened occasionally and a gentleman receiving a message about a child that he'd heretofore been unaware of was likely to find himself in an embarassing position. This explanation provides a backdrop for Khaavren and his friends to speculate on the bit of news that Adron has received, before deciding it's none of their business and proceding on their way. The implication here is that Dragaeran birth control is not something inherent to the species. Rather, it's something that's possibly sorcerous in nature or possibly something else, but it's definitely something that requires a Dragaeran to be proactive in its application. While I tend to view Paarfi with a jaundiced eye, I trust him rather more than Vlad in this area.