tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post3245745531769679258..comments2023-11-05T04:09:53.857-05:00Comments on Something Short and Snappy: The Eye of the World, chapters five, six, and seven, in which the plot beginsErika The Over Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03649072707709302370noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-7540821115532426222014-11-22T17:10:32.110-05:002014-11-22T17:10:32.110-05:00I think you're right. Tairen names always conf...I think you're right. Tairen names always confuse me because they seem like the should be pronounced with a French accent. "Weiramon," "Siuane" is apparently pronounced "swan". But everything else about them is very Spanish. Whereas you're totally right about Cairhien being a Louis Sun King kind of deal, but with "clipped, precise accents". Maybe German French people with some Japanese military customs?<br /><br />Aiel and Seanchan seem like they have different languages, but we never see any of them go full old tongue in conversation. I do remember a mention of Seanchan having multiple accents within the empire that foreigners can't tell the difference on.the thousand lakesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-25683758989379640102014-11-22T13:42:38.958-05:002014-11-22T13:42:38.958-05:00Wait, I thought the people with back banners were ...Wait, I thought the people with back banners were the decadent French nobles and the ones in conquistador armour were Spanish? <br />(And iirc for additional confusion the inexplicably white Fremen have Slavic accents and the Korean/American/Imperial Chinese have Texan accents. Despite the fact that these two cultures have been isolated from almost everywhere for hundreds of years this is still the only linguistic difference.)Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-87231665092758737142014-11-22T13:22:01.867-05:002014-11-22T13:22:01.867-05:00You're thinking of Historical Fantasy Kingdom,...You're thinking of Historical Fantasy Kingdom, which is a much smaller and more interesting place. But even so, there'd need to be a landed aristocracy nearby to enforce horse and sword laws, and the two rivers is more of some Prydain free commot thing. There are nods to similar laws in a few nations of WoT, but it rarely comes to anything.the thousand lakesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-35983767131698408932014-11-22T12:37:58.511-05:002014-11-22T12:37:58.511-05:00I think you're both right. I'm also pretty...I think you're both right. I'm also pretty sure the windows don't have glass yet, but I may be misremembering. Someone makes a big deal about glass windows at some point.the thousand lakesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-88667141356993619242014-11-22T12:35:28.542-05:002014-11-22T12:35:28.542-05:00Plot wise not much (as outlined above). Thematical...Plot wise not much (as outlined above). Thematically it allows for a "technically accurate" virgin birth that is nicely mythic-savior stuff without requiring any actual miracles. And while all that myth-y ness isn't really necessary per se, it provides the series with a certain texture. Like, Tolkien didn't need to put all those fucking poems in, but it does give his books a specific feel <br /><br />(quality may vary, not an excuse from criticism, etc. Conan wouldn't be the same without its civilization vs. barbarism thing, but that doesn't stop it from being hella racist, for example)<br /><br />Inexplicably white Fremen are certainly odd and/or objectionable. But for what it's worth, the decadent Frenchmen live in Not-the-Meditteranean and are dark-skinned beneath their perfume, goatees, and conquistador armor, the obviously Japanese people live in not-Austria and wear European armor, the short pale Italians shave and powder their heads like samurai and wear back banners on their early modern renaissance armor, the Spanish armada is run by Indian people in Southeast Asian costume, and the Empress of the Korean/American/Imperial Chinese Empire is a black woman with a buzz cut. So you get a full color range of weird and occasionally awkward culture swaps. To my mind there are elements of this business that are problematic from a racial politics standpoint (no, the dark-skinned Indian sea people did NOT need to be called exotic quite so often, nor do the women need to have a stereotype for voracious sexual appetite) but other parts range from garden-variety stupid to visually interesting to well-intentioned (Evil Empire is Evil and keeps slaves, but believes in efficient government that actually improves the lives of the common citizens, is fully racially integrated). So I guess my point is magic katanas are risible but a blanket condemnation of cultural appropriation feels too severe. Again, assuming you're willing to wait through 4 or 5 books and 1,000,000,000,000,000 pages for it to grow slowly more complex. Which is not exactly a reasonable assumption.the thousand lakesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-13635899397786878672014-11-21T17:58:37.994-05:002014-11-21T17:58:37.994-05:00Hmm, well, the government analogy could make sense...Hmm, well, the government analogy could make sense here; Authoritarian Follower personality-type people are good at compartmentalizing, and the same people who scream the government is evil are often people who happily take handouts from it (speaking from personal experience >_>). However, this only makes sense if there is some sort of political advantage in having this two facedness towards the Aes Sedai.<br /><br /><br />If the Aes Sedai ruled at one point, the two faced politics could be 'see, we do not need you to rule us! ...now come save us from monsters!'Only Some Stardustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-80417846640448807772014-11-21T10:11:03.817-05:002014-11-21T10:11:03.817-05:00*headdesk**headdesk*Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-35450020919758139662014-11-20T22:53:57.381-05:002014-11-20T22:53:57.381-05:00"Government Aes Sedai isn't (aren't) ..."Government Aes Sedai isn't (aren't) the solution to our problem; government Aes Sedai <i>is</i> (<i>are</i>) the problem."<br /><br /> <br /><br />— Ron al'Reagan<br /><br />The Emond's Fieldsters are Whitbread Farmfolk and they don't live near the center of anything. Rand and Dad Al'Thor live past the periphery of Emond's Field. That these are people who are suspicious of powerful organizations and the members thereof makes sense both in terms of received tropes and RL.bekabotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-21241482000725956752014-11-20T22:39:35.652-05:002014-11-20T22:39:35.652-05:00That he was adopted makes him more like King Arthu...That he was adopted makes him more like King Arthur. King Arthur was adopted.bekabotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-62311929573462035512014-11-20T19:02:46.541-05:002014-11-20T19:02:46.541-05:00I read it as being supposed to be weird one accoun...I read it as being supposed to be weird one account of how there's no ladyperson living there forcing the men to actually ever do anything. He's already spent time on how odd it is that they're two men living without a woman to... woman at them. Or something.<br />But yes, it really shouldn't be weird that people living in a house want that house to be in reasonable repair.boutetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-37767933876288363042014-11-20T15:32:14.408-05:002014-11-20T15:32:14.408-05:00"The house was still in a tidy state of repai..."The house was still in a tidy state of repair, the thatch tightly mended and the doors and shutters well-hung and snug-fitting."<br />This is NOT unusual in this kind of setting. Everyone does it, because of the whole "I don't want the rain, snow, wind, and/or cold to get in" thing.GeniusLemurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-56287409865773176762014-11-18T23:57:13.356-05:002014-11-18T23:57:13.356-05:00That is delightful. Ace ACE. My black heart soars....That is delightful. Ace ACE. My black heart soars.Tanzenlichtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-57271607347291942252014-11-18T14:13:05.855-05:002014-11-18T14:13:05.855-05:00Urgh. Yeah, there are a lot of problems with prop...Urgh. Yeah, there are a lot of problems with prophecies. I keep thinking you could avoid some of them if you made the prophecy more of an active (and probably deeply creepy) thing. Though that might just exacerbate the problem of The One being important because they are The One, rather than because of who they are as a person. Unless the prophecy was also something of an antagonist. Maybe.<br /><br /><br />Or, you know, just skip the prophecies all together.depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-20370458018428932742014-11-18T13:36:55.997-05:002014-11-18T13:36:55.997-05:00I think that's a problem with prophecies in ge...I think that's a problem with prophecies in general - either you end up with a genre-blind Big Bad or you run the risk of presenting your heroes with an arbitrary checklist (I think at least a chapter at the start of book four is devoted to Rand and Moiraine arguing over what the next item to tick off is, and of course there's David Eddings and his bizarre decision to give both sides one of these).Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-36229791079650467372014-11-18T11:48:14.312-05:002014-11-18T11:48:14.312-05:00That's the problem with prophecies and Big Bad...That's the problem with prophecies and Big Bads who've failed to read the Evil Overlord's List. Especially since it seems like it would actually make for a more interesting story if the Big Bad tried to defeat the prophecy by leaving The One's village alone and then circumstances put The One into conflict with the Big Bad anyway. It would seem far more like the prophecy was <i>real</i> then and not just the Big Bad shooting themselves in the foot.depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-68290944674184123192014-11-18T11:27:44.210-05:002014-11-18T11:27:44.210-05:00It's not the Big Bad, just some random minion ...It's not the Big Bad, just some random minion - the Shadow's actions kind of make sense here in a "prophecy is kicking off, may as well try and kill the chosen one before he can do anything", though precisely how the bad guys were able to find Rand - and coordinate this attack given that the Forsaken are only newly-freed iirc (and the fact that there's a whole prequel novel about Team Good and Team Evil both abjectly failing to find Rand as a baby) - is a question I don't think is ever really answered.Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-43714060176067242672014-11-18T09:38:16.662-05:002014-11-18T09:38:16.662-05:00If it's the Shire, what is the Sealed Evil In ...If it's the Shire, what is the Sealed Evil In A Can doing there, especially leading the Orcs personally? He has more important things to do. With Dad al'Thor revealing secret origins later on, we're supposed to believe that justified it, but really, if the true heir is working as a farmer and I'm the Big Bad, I'm going to let him keep working until I have the kingdom firmly in hand, and then go kill him. Unless Dad al'Thor needs a burglar, no reason to leave the Shire.<br /><br />Their attitudes toward Aes Sedai don't track, either. Yeah, they're the backwoods, but they're still connected by stories and travelers and other things, so they should have access to the same pool of nollij as anyone else, and be able to draw similar conclusions.<br /><br />So the Aes Sedai willingly stepped down? That would make them saintly, for getting out in time, or the lowest of the low, for wrecking the kingdom and then running away. It's still a big jumbled mess, and unlike the sources its cribbing from, WoT seems to want to do the exposition up front, which makes it a slog.Silver Adeptnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-85664421323547529672014-11-18T04:12:10.933-05:002014-11-18T04:12:10.933-05:00See also the bit in chapter 2 where Mat claims tha...See also the bit in chapter 2 where Mat claims that Warders spend all their time in the Blight killing Shadowspawn. Aes Sedai are Sith Lords in the stories but their bodyguards kill monsters... maybe Rand just never paid attention when he was listening to the stories.Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-44289040875427673962014-11-17T20:41:09.241-05:002014-11-17T20:41:09.241-05:00The Two Rivers isn't Traditional Fantasy Kingd...The Two Rivers isn't Traditional Fantasy Kingdom, it's more like the Shire, off in a quiet corner without any local knights/nobles/etc. There's no one to enforce weapon restrictions.<br /><br />As for the Aes Sedai, it's complicated, but important to remember that the Two Rivers is a rural backwater which has not seen an actual Aes Sedai in at least a century and it's attitudes are not universal.<br /><br />(And part of Aes Sedai history is that they did, in fact, try the whole 'sick of your shit, taking over everything now' and it didn't go well.)John Bilesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-49837262979706596482014-11-17T19:32:02.488-05:002014-11-17T19:32:02.488-05:00If this is Traditional Fantasy Kingdom, and Dad al...If this is Traditional Fantasy Kingdom, and Dad al'Thor isn't part of the mounted class, then having a sword wouldn't just be impractical, it would be deadly, because peasants owning knight weapons is a fast way to being executed for insurrection. <br /><br />Also, WTF with regard to the Aes Sedai? One would think that with access to magic of all sort, they would not be universally reviled, unless this world has had as effective a campaign of "women bad, magic bad" that Catholicism had (and much of Protestantism took up) for millennia. <br /><br />Or that they would have long ago said "oh, fuckit, we're in charge now, all you boys with your penis substitutes can go away and stop killing each other until we need you to kill what we want killed."Silver Adeptnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-32961553078973197452014-11-17T18:49:49.029-05:002014-11-17T18:49:49.029-05:00*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk**headdesk*<br />*headdesk*<br />*headdesk*depizannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-75503888058697459992014-11-17T18:13:57.337-05:002014-11-17T18:13:57.337-05:00Although I don't think that it really counts a...Although I don't think that it really counts as a Katana, given that all of the art depicts it as more like a sabre. When this was written (1998), was the Katana the Super Awesome Cool Sword yet?Hbardennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-1710112251068116832014-11-17T16:58:56.072-05:002014-11-17T16:58:56.072-05:00I would very much like to read your thoughts on Fa...I would very much like to read your thoughts on Fault in Our Stars. I had a similar good, good, yes, NO, sigh kind of read. <br /><br /><br /><br />-<br /><br />I think I'm understanding why I can't remember basically anything from this book. It's just so much packing peanuts.boutetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-90524684481287310422014-11-17T16:34:01.531-05:002014-11-17T16:34:01.531-05:00"al'Guyvers" made me do a spit take...."al'Guyvers" made me do a spit take. I'm off to write some Richard Dean Anderson epic fanfic.Kelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946534773407276339.post-46063842237305700612014-11-17T11:24:37.876-05:002014-11-17T11:24:37.876-05:00Does it matter that he was adopted, thematically? ...<i>Does it matter that he was adopted, thematically? This story has lots of reincarnation, so you'd think it wouldn't be important for heroes to be Secretly of Noble Birth or anything.</i><br />It helps him get the Inexplicably White Desert-Dwelling Proud Warrior Race on his side and become their leader but given that he's the Messiah and he's also the prophesied leader of the Sea Folk without any descent from them it's really superfluous. (He's also of noble blood and the step-half-brother of one of his love interests but eleven books in no one seemed to have put the pieces together so that seems equally superfluous.)Thomas Keytonnoreply@blogger.com