Mark A. Mandel wrote: >-- Jon Lincicum <lincicum at comcast.net> wrote: > >>in the same way--translation: Vlad knows perfectly well what the deal >is >>with Kragar, but just hasn't chosen to share that information with >the >>silver box he talks to (i.e the reader). > >>Not necessarily. I was thinking today about detective novel tropes. > >The hero(ine) has > - the sidekick, > - the friend on the force or elsewhere in power, > - and various other people with special knowledge or abilities to call >on. > >Kragar is the sidekick, for as long as Vlad is a boss in the Organization, >as well as having resources. I don't know that Vlad HAD the resources to >look into K's past, before K was working for him. That's the kind of work >that he DELEGATES to K. > > Yes, certainly that's the kind of work that Vlad delegated to Kragar--AFTER he decided to let Kragar be his chief lieutenant. But given Vlad's penchant for careful preparation in regards to setting up an assassination (done in the early days BEFORE Kragar was working for him), it seems unusual that he wouldn't take the time to do the same sort of work up on Kragar--detective story conventions aside. As to not having the resources to look into Kragar's past--well, there are two ways to look at that. #1. Certainly Vlad had some good friends at that point (He hadn't met Morrolan or Sethra yet, but he had met /Kiera/, and Nielar was a close associate (who had employed Kragar himself (partnering him with Vlad) prior to that). Secondly, it seems likely that if he HADN'T been able to do a good work up on Kragar, he wouldn't have offered him the job. (Thier friendship up to that point was nice and all, but hardly the kind of thing Vlad would be willing to bet his life on.) I dunno. That's just how I see it. Vlad didn't stay alive in the Jhereg for so long *just* by being lucky. (Although there was certainly a good amount of luck involved.) Majikjon