On 6/13/06, Jon Lincicum wrote: > Jon_Lincicum at stream.com wrote: > > "Davdi Silverrock" > > To > > "Dragaera List" > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 6/13/06, <Jon_Lincicum at stream.com> wrote: > > > > > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Sethra Lavode Spoiler Space (which is to say, for nearly every book out > >> there): > >> > >> 1 > >> 2 > >> 3 > >> 4 > >> 5 > >> 6 > >> 7 > >> 8 > >> 9 > >> 10 > >> 11 > >> 12 > >> 13 > >> 14 > >> 15 > >> 16 > >> 17 > >> > >> > > > > > >>> Sethra is noted by Vlad to be "Tall for a Dragaeran", > >>> > >> Can you point to where it says that? I searched, but did not find > >> (although I suppose the OCR may have been imperfect). > >> > >> Vlad does use the word "tall" when referring to Sethra, but I can't > >> help wondering if that's a general impression rather than a genuine > >> comparative, since all Dragaerans are taller than Vlad, and Sethra is > >> just generally impressive because she's Sethra. > >> > > > > /Phoenix/, Chapter 7. (Page 255, omnibus) > > > > "You haven't met (Sethra) yet, so picture if you will a tall Dragaeran > > wearing... > Hmmm... "Tall for a Dragaeran" vs "a tall Dragaeran". A search for the exact phrase "Tall for a Dragaeran" in /The Book of Jhereg/ does find: "Morrolan was a bit tall for a Dragaeran." For whatever that's worth. > Semantic difference? In this context, negligable. In this case, why > bother saying a Dragaeran is tall at all, if you just mean "tall, like > all Dragaerans are"? Perhaps it was a narrative nudge to remind the readers to vizualize someone around 7 feet tall, definitely over 6 feet. Newer readers might forget that, without the hint. Since SKZB did intend to have each novel be readable standalone, he would therefore presumably re-introduce the idea in each book that Dragaerans are ~7ft tall, give or take, and emphasize it for the main characters. Or so I might speculate, anyway.