I told the folks on rasfw that I was going to do a very
meticulous re-read where I'd take such copious notes that
I'd never have to look up anything in the actual books.
That was last fall, and I figure if I don't do it now, I
never will.
I'm prefacing the subject with "Notes:" so people who aren't
interested in this much detail can easily ignore these
posts.
[cover]
Nice artwork. Who is doing the covers for Viscount?
[page i]
Lousy choice of an excerpt
[page vii]
Acknowledgements name David, anyone else here?
[page ix]
Neat way of expressing the dates, too bad they're wrong.
The first one should be either the last year of the 17th
Athyra reign, or the first year of the 18th Phoenix, but
instead it looks like the first year of the 17th Phoenix.
What I think it was meant to be was:
Year Phoenix, Turn Phoenix, Phase Phoenix, Reign Phoenix,
Cycle Phoenix, Great Cycle Dragon.
The second one also leaves out the Turn (Dragon), and also
the Reign (Phoenix) but is correct otherwise. I think.
[I love number games, but this stuff is driving me nuts.]
Odd that the the days of the month aren't named after the
Houses.
[pages xi-xii]
Surprisingly terse descriptions of the cast.
[page xiii]
Time: Paarfi's first draft rejected: ~269PI ("mere two score
years")
[page xiv]
Time: begining of refining for publication of TPG: 288PI
Entries for the Invisible Library:
_Survivors of the Fall_ Master Kesselroi
"Return to Me, My City" Mistress Fornei
Time: Paarfi read maunscript of SotF "some decades" before
pub.
The lines quoted from the poem seem to contradict comments
made later by Sethra.
[page xv]
"yet more work, some of which is of a nature we are not
prepared to discuss..." in other words, he admits to
stealing Khaavren's letters.
Sethra Lavode is listed as a "chronicler", so why hasn't
anyone else mentioned her books?
Duke of Y_____, Baroness of D______ ? I've heard
speculation that the latter is Tazendra.
[page xvi]
More numbers! Paarfi is still omitting the Turn and Reign,
and it looks like Dragaerans haven't invented the zero yet
(despite having mastered compound interest).
[page 3]
Time: sixth day of spring
Map: [village Newmarket]
sixty leagues from DC
Three Forts (from War of the Barons) visible from west
end of town
valley between Yendi and Shallow Rivers known for
wheat, maize, and odor of kethna farms
County Sorannah
Duchy Luatha
[page 4]
Map (cont)
one street, unpaved
near Imperial Highway
inn opposite livery stables [page 8]
Pondview a few leagues away [page 19]
Time: Tortaalik's reign began on seventh to last day of
winter
Inaugural festivities last 17 days (surprise surprise)
Description of Khaavren
[page 5]
Map: [The Three Forts inn]
one side: host at table
other side: one large room with four long tables
[page 8]
Time: Khaavren is 95
Description of Aerich
[page 9]
Khaavren of Castlerock (where is that? far out in the
country [page 8])
[page 11]
Description of Tazendra
Quaysh
[page 13]
Tazendra lives nearby
[page 14]
Map: Marquisate Khaavren is largest district in County
Shallowbanks
Time: County Shallowbanks sold to Empire "nearly a thousand
years ago"
[page 15]
Jhereg smell
[page 17]
Digression on coaches of that period
Map: Lonely Ridge is in Kanefthali Mountains
[page 18]
Map: light steady rain typical for that country and season
[page 19]
Rovers?
[page 24]
I never quite figured out what was up with those candlebuds
East side of a hill is the west side of a valley. Probably
should have been "east-facing slope".
--KG