[Dragaera] I reviewed Hawk. :-/

[Jon Lincicum via Dragaera]

On 11/3/2014 6:38 PM, Steve Rapaport wrote:
>
>
> On 3 November 2014 22:09, Jon Lincicum via Dragaera 
> <dragaera at lists.dragaera.info <mailto:dragaera at lists.dragaera.info>> 
> wrote:
>
>
>     > On Sunday, November 2, 2014 4:31 AM, Jon Lincicum via Dragaera <dragaera at lists.dragaera.info
>     <mailto:dragaera at lists.dragaera.info>> wrote:
>
>     > > On 11/1/2014 9:04 PM, Jerry Friedman via Dragaera wrote:
>     >>  P
>     >>  D
>     >>  L
>     >>  Ti
>     >>  H
>     >>  D
>     >>  Is
>     >>  Ts
>     >>  V
>     >>  J
>     >>  Io
>     >>  C
>     >>  Y
>     >>  O
>     >>  Te
>     >>  A
>     >>  P
>     >>
>
>
>
> By the way, 'hamstring' means disable, not 'kill'. And Sethra has 
> overruled both plans and destiny before. She and Vlad seem to have 
> more free will than most of the players.

Well, in the context of the original "hamstring the yendi" quotation way 
back in /Jhereg/, it was heavily implied that once Sethra had hamstrung 
him, Keiron and company would have merrily finished him off. So, while 
not instantly fatal, hamstringing Dolivar would have indeed led directly 
to his demise.

Instead, Sethra let him get away.

What if the entire fate of the Empire since, and the reason the gods 
allowed Sethra to return as an undead, was simply that she had 
"unfinished business"... and that that business was to finally fulfill 
what she had been destined to do 200 thousand years before, and had 
failed to do?

>     One finds it hard to imagine Teldra /as Teldra/ killing anyone. We
>     know there will be a "test of wills" (from Dzur). Perhaps this
>     means that the Teldra/Vlad soul entity will experience a corporeal
>     reversal; Teldra's soul ends up in Vlad's body, and Vlad's soul
>     ends up in Godslayer... And then Verra is /really/ in trouble.
>
>
> This is just weird, Jon! :)

Why, thank you! I'm rather proud of that one.

>     3. Is it just me, or does Aliera's attitude toward Kragar in this
>     book (and his resigned attitude back to her) seem like an "older
>     sister vs little brother who let her down" dynamic? Would explain
>     an awful lot. But would raise all sorts of questions regarding
>     Adron, Verra, Devera, et al.
>
>
> I like the idea of the relationship, but there's no reason to assume 
> an actual familial relationship to make it work. Kragar could have 
> been a protege.

I dunno. I just got that vibe from the things that each one said about 
the other. Like, she puts on a big show about how much she hates Kragar 
and is willing to let him die, but perhaps that's just because Vlad is 
there and she needs to put on an act. In the end, she accomplishes what 
appears to be a minor miracle by saving him... And I'm not really 
convinced that's just because of how much she likes Vlad.

As to whether Kragar could be a protege... Interesting idea. Though I 
have trouble imagining Aliera being interested in having one of those in 
the first place.

I also toyed with the idea that perhaps Kragar could be her son... But 
that seems to be counter-indicated by the fact that Verra was keen on 
"having a grandchild" in /Tiassa/, implying that she didn't already have 
one.

>     4. Diyann will prove to be the most cunning and deadly Jhereg Vlad
>     has ever had to face. Or perhaps we never see him again. There was
>     definitely some foreshadowing-like hints given in his
>     introduction; but this again could prove to be utter red herrings.
>     But certainly, at least one of the Jhereg compromised by Vlad's
>     trickery in this one is likely to attempt to devise a way around
>     the problem of potentially losing all his assets, and my guess is
>     it would be Diyaan.
>
>
> Yeah, legit. That's both easier and harder for Vlad, since instead of 
> having the entire Jhereg to avoid, he's got a subtle and effective 
> single enemy. But he's dealt with those before (Yendi).
>

Of all the possible fates Vlad might face, and in spite of everything, 
getting shined by the Jhereg has always seemed the least likely outcome 
to me.

--Majikjon