[Dragaera] I reviewed Hawk. :-/

[Jerry Friedman via Dragaera]

From: "Jerry Friedman via Dragaera" <dragaera at lists.dragaera.info>


>> On Sunday, November 2, 2014 4:31 AM, Jon Lincicum via Dragaera <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
>>>  Jher
>>>  Io
>>>  C
>>>  Y
>>>  O
>>>  Te
Jheg
>>>  A
>>>  P
>>> 
>>>>And I would like to start
>>>>  seeing more hints about the final plot, as well as developments in
>>>> Vlad's  love life (which the way may be open for now).
>>>
>>> Hmmm. I saw quite a bit of that in /Hawk/. It certainly wasn't as flashy
>>> as it has been in some of the other books.
>>>
>>> But there are times when Steve likes to put the "b" in subtle, I
>>> suppose.
>
>>Could I prevail upon you to do me and others the honor of vouchsafing us
>>one or two examples?
>
>Well, the problem with foreshadowing is that in some cases, the "clues" turn out to be red >herrings. So, I can't readily provide ahead of time anything in /Hawk/ that /I know for a >fact/ will prove to be a clue to his ultimate fate.

>But there were several subtle things in /Hawk/ that stood out to me as possibilites. Again, >they could point to nothing at all. Or they could be the subtle signpost that tells you >exactly where Vlad is going. But at present, it's all completely speculative. How could it >not be, since Steve reserves the right to change any of it at any time if he thinks of >something cooler?

We're pretty sure Pathfinder and Godslayer will be involved.

>But, you asked for examples, and so, I, cheerfully and obligingly, offer up the following >possibilities.

You are the soul of consideration.

>1. It would not be a major shock if Vlad dies of (or at least suffers) a heart attack or
>stroke.
>His heart did an awful lot of "thumping" in /Hawk/, and while one could (and is likely >meant to) read that as just an expression of his nervousness, it's quite possible this is >being merely being *presented* figuratively, as a mask for actual heart-health issues that >will come up later (possibly fatal ones).

An interesting point, though I didn't say so before.

>2. Lady Teldra says "I didn't mean to do that." So, while it seems that the /destiny/ of >both Sethra and Iceflame may end up opposing Vlad/Teldra (Godslayer),

Emphasis on the "may".


> there may well be some say in the matter by the particular soul that inhabits that weapon. 


Indeed.


>One finds it hard to imagine Teldra /as Teldra/ killing anyone.

Except a Jenoine.  But we've been warned that they strike from courtly bow.  Their
m.o. is apparently to make you incapable of imagining it.

>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.


Um... well, I suppose it's possible.

>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.

Another good point, though I agree with Steve that other relationships are possible.
And of course we could always find out what Kragar did to get kicked out.

I appreciate your mentioning it, but this kind of speculation interests me much less
that getting some hints about the final plot, the one with Godslayer and Vlad's
destiny, that will make me interested in the next books.


>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.


I think that's quite reasonable, and of course the Demon tells Vlad that Diyann could
go after him even without being able to protect his assets.

>As a bonus, whichever one of these three /does/ figure out a way to protect his assests >stands to have a good means to bankrupt the other two... (i.e. shine Vlad, and let The >Empire take care of his rivals.) This depends greatly on how closely their "business >activities" are interrelated, of course. My guess is this would take several years to set >up at a minimum.

(You know "the Empire" always has a small t in the books?)

>So, that's four things I noticed that point (potentially) to important directions to come. >There are likely many more I could spot once I've had a chance to re-read more than once, >but I don't want to take all the fun out of it for everyone else.

Thank you!

Jerry Friedman