Author's Notes
|
Intro - Chapter 7
|
Opening Thoughts: Why is there commentary for this book? I'm one of those guys who watches movies multiple times and if there's a commentary track on the disc of a movie I like, chances are I've watched/listened to it at least once. (There's maybe a 50/50 chance I've watched the making-of and behind-the-scenes extras.) Heck, I even listen to the commentaries on TV shows I own (BSG does it best). Consequently, I always feel kind of cheated when I buy a great movie and find out there's no commentary track. I'm pretty sure I've bought a newer, better version of a movie I already owned JUST for the sake of the commentary. I also own annotated versions of some of my favorite books for the same reason, so when I read one of Brandon Sanderson's books on Kindle that included chapter notes, the idea took hold. Unfortunately, since I'd already committed myself to using footnotes for something else in the text, the only way for me to properly provide this commentary is online.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these extra glimpses into the world, the books, and the often twisted workings of my thoughts.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these extra glimpses into the world, the books, and the often twisted workings of my thoughts.
Introduction and Prelude
The beginnings of these books have been hard to craft, because I set myself up to do something different and for some bizarre reason stuck with it. Each book begins with people speaking first hand, usually to someone recording their account (sometimes posthumously). Later I included a third-person observer section at the end of each, but I opted not to do so for Hunting The Three so I could maintain the final line.
Originally the text being read by Denan Heigan was its own section, but early readers (read: my family) found that confusing, so it was just included as something he was reading out loud.
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter should help you develop a better feel for some of the thoughts and philosophies that exist in this world. Many are historic, others are from contemporary characters and offer an extra glimpse into who they are.
Right off the bat, you see another feature of these books that I hope you'll come to enjoy (if you don't already). The footnotes offer additional details on certain points throughout the books, often with information that didn't seem to fit well with the text, but which I thought was interesting and added to the scope of the world. I wanted this world to breathe its past as well as its present. There is a history to Lokka that goes back millennia, and it's filled with stories I'll never be able to tell. People lived and died, great deeds were performed, philosophy developed and evolved, wars were fought, and even a few atrocities were committed. It's my hope that little details, such as including the year of publication on texts used in chapter quotes, will help this world feel lived in.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
One simple thought from the introduction that should carry through the entire trilogy. "Let all remember the sacrifices made herein." This trilogy is a story of sacrifices, some minor, some life-altering, even some that will have consequences far beyond the scope of these first three books.
There are a few details about Birch's return from Hell that stand out to me. First, the only words he speaks are in an archaic mode of speech. That's not just to sound fancy or pretentious on his part. There's a minor mystery there that is never explained outright, but will be solvable by sometime in the second book.
Next, this scene gives you a starting point for Birch's character - this is a man who has literally fought and clawed his way out of Hell, and he will not allow someone to help him stand when he falls. The obvious implication is his strength of will, but it also hints at his belief that it's all on him. He has to do everything himself and despite working with others, in his mind, it will always come down to him. Of course, he's not entirely wrong.
The last detail here is the Stone he touches. Not the color, just what it is. By the end of the book, you know why these Stones are important, and why they have a place in the opening of the series.
Originally the text being read by Denan Heigan was its own section, but early readers (read: my family) found that confusing, so it was just included as something he was reading out loud.
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter should help you develop a better feel for some of the thoughts and philosophies that exist in this world. Many are historic, others are from contemporary characters and offer an extra glimpse into who they are.
Right off the bat, you see another feature of these books that I hope you'll come to enjoy (if you don't already). The footnotes offer additional details on certain points throughout the books, often with information that didn't seem to fit well with the text, but which I thought was interesting and added to the scope of the world. I wanted this world to breathe its past as well as its present. There is a history to Lokka that goes back millennia, and it's filled with stories I'll never be able to tell. People lived and died, great deeds were performed, philosophy developed and evolved, wars were fought, and even a few atrocities were committed. It's my hope that little details, such as including the year of publication on texts used in chapter quotes, will help this world feel lived in.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
One simple thought from the introduction that should carry through the entire trilogy. "Let all remember the sacrifices made herein." This trilogy is a story of sacrifices, some minor, some life-altering, even some that will have consequences far beyond the scope of these first three books.
There are a few details about Birch's return from Hell that stand out to me. First, the only words he speaks are in an archaic mode of speech. That's not just to sound fancy or pretentious on his part. There's a minor mystery there that is never explained outright, but will be solvable by sometime in the second book.
Next, this scene gives you a starting point for Birch's character - this is a man who has literally fought and clawed his way out of Hell, and he will not allow someone to help him stand when he falls. The obvious implication is his strength of will, but it also hints at his belief that it's all on him. He has to do everything himself and despite working with others, in his mind, it will always come down to him. Of course, he's not entirely wrong.
The last detail here is the Stone he touches. Not the color, just what it is. By the end of the book, you know why these Stones are important, and why they have a place in the opening of the series.
Chapter 1
This is the first and only time you'll see Faldergash for a while, so I had to establish his personality right off the bat whilst simultaneously having him represent the entirety of the gnomish race. If Faldergash seems almost a stereotype of how gnomes are portrayed, there's probably a reason for that. About the only thing that distinguishes him from every man's idea of being a gnome is Fal's portliness, and only Faldergash's final words to Danner break the caricature you see.
The encounter with the dakkan is a passing thing and serves primarily as an introduction to the great beasts. The "runner" shape seen here is spoken of many times, and they'll be around here and there, but you won't really get to see it in action until book three, I'm afraid, and even then only in passing. I imagine runners will have a part in multiple scenes in the subsequent trilogy, at least.
The other key moment in this opening chapter is Danner's time outside the temple. This scene was a late addition when I realized that the more mundane role of religion in everyday life had largely been overlooked. There were plenty of characters and moments of religiosity, but they were plot-centric or character-driven. I needed something that blended in with the background of everyday life going on around the characters. I used this opportunity to nudge Danner a little bit into the column of someone more genuinely good and likable, rather than the thief who mysteriously emerges as a diamond in the rough. He really believes in a moral good, he just has questionable legal values.
The final scene involving the denarae suicide bomber was written before the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent morass in the Middle East. I had mixed feelings about leaving it in the book, given the connotations that suicide bombing has in some circles, but I ultimately opted to leave it in not only to preserve the integrity of my original thought process, but because of the inherently provocative nature of someone willing to kill himself to accomplish his goals. Why is this man willing to blow himself up? Is it a statement like lighting yourself on fire, or was he out to destroy a particular target? (Spoiler: I have no idea.) But nothing says "I hate you" like a willingness to die to see someone else injured, and that offers a pretty solid glimpse into the race relations in Lokka.
As a final note, I actually owe a debt to Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. Sometimes you can go a little overboard trying to make things close enough to the real world that things are identifiable, but different enough that it feels unique and not like everyone in your story has the exact same cultural and lingual background with the English language. (See "cahve" a few chapters later.) Case in point: originally, Danner yelled "Boomer!" instead of "Bomb!" Fortunately, Jar-Jar showed me how idiotic that term sounded, and it was revised not long after I saw the movie.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I have no idea why there is too much cayenne. Neither does Faldergash, it just sounds to him like something a gnome should say. I'm not even certain this gag works the way it's supposed to, but for some reason I just couldn't get rid of it. Danner at least has an inkling that a seasoning has no place in a technological construction designed to cook food, and it speaks to people's utter bewilderment with gnomes and the assumption that anything they do is by its very nature inexplicable and not worth trying to understand. He's pretty close to the truth, of course, since the whole point, of course, is that the cayenne has absolutely nothing to do with anything Faldergash is working on.
Two aspects of Danner's personality begin to manifest here, the first of which picks up from Fal's parting comment. Danner is a risk-taker for the thrill of it. He could make money a hundred different ways (some of which are even legal), but instead he chooses to work for the most xenophobic organization in the world whilst living with a demi-human. The fact that he's robbing them is ultimately secondary to the unforgivable sin of willingly associating with a "lesser" race.
The second aspect of Danner's personality is his treatment of the other thief. It's not enough for him to abide by his own code and refrain from stealing, he goes out of his way to correct the situation when someone is robbed who can't afford it. He's not a Robin Hood by any means, but he turns down the opportunity to sit by and let an injustice happen right in front of him. (If it feels odd for a thief to worry about the "injustice" of something, then first consider whether it is a legal or moral injustice.)
The clock was originally just a method of bringing up the animosity between dwarves and gnomes, but it eventually became the way I touch on the calendar of Lokka. For a more in-depth explanation of the calendar, see Appendix A in the book or the Calendar on this website.
I feel bad that the Coalition didn't play a larger role in the story, there just wasn't room for them. I have plans for them in later books, so they're not gone altogether, but I went through several revisions of the story before I was reasonably satisfied that the Coalition fades away from the plot in a reasonable manner.
The encounter with the dakkan is a passing thing and serves primarily as an introduction to the great beasts. The "runner" shape seen here is spoken of many times, and they'll be around here and there, but you won't really get to see it in action until book three, I'm afraid, and even then only in passing. I imagine runners will have a part in multiple scenes in the subsequent trilogy, at least.
The other key moment in this opening chapter is Danner's time outside the temple. This scene was a late addition when I realized that the more mundane role of religion in everyday life had largely been overlooked. There were plenty of characters and moments of religiosity, but they were plot-centric or character-driven. I needed something that blended in with the background of everyday life going on around the characters. I used this opportunity to nudge Danner a little bit into the column of someone more genuinely good and likable, rather than the thief who mysteriously emerges as a diamond in the rough. He really believes in a moral good, he just has questionable legal values.
The final scene involving the denarae suicide bomber was written before the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent morass in the Middle East. I had mixed feelings about leaving it in the book, given the connotations that suicide bombing has in some circles, but I ultimately opted to leave it in not only to preserve the integrity of my original thought process, but because of the inherently provocative nature of someone willing to kill himself to accomplish his goals. Why is this man willing to blow himself up? Is it a statement like lighting yourself on fire, or was he out to destroy a particular target? (Spoiler: I have no idea.) But nothing says "I hate you" like a willingness to die to see someone else injured, and that offers a pretty solid glimpse into the race relations in Lokka.
As a final note, I actually owe a debt to Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. Sometimes you can go a little overboard trying to make things close enough to the real world that things are identifiable, but different enough that it feels unique and not like everyone in your story has the exact same cultural and lingual background with the English language. (See "cahve" a few chapters later.) Case in point: originally, Danner yelled "Boomer!" instead of "Bomb!" Fortunately, Jar-Jar showed me how idiotic that term sounded, and it was revised not long after I saw the movie.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I have no idea why there is too much cayenne. Neither does Faldergash, it just sounds to him like something a gnome should say. I'm not even certain this gag works the way it's supposed to, but for some reason I just couldn't get rid of it. Danner at least has an inkling that a seasoning has no place in a technological construction designed to cook food, and it speaks to people's utter bewilderment with gnomes and the assumption that anything they do is by its very nature inexplicable and not worth trying to understand. He's pretty close to the truth, of course, since the whole point, of course, is that the cayenne has absolutely nothing to do with anything Faldergash is working on.
Two aspects of Danner's personality begin to manifest here, the first of which picks up from Fal's parting comment. Danner is a risk-taker for the thrill of it. He could make money a hundred different ways (some of which are even legal), but instead he chooses to work for the most xenophobic organization in the world whilst living with a demi-human. The fact that he's robbing them is ultimately secondary to the unforgivable sin of willingly associating with a "lesser" race.
The second aspect of Danner's personality is his treatment of the other thief. It's not enough for him to abide by his own code and refrain from stealing, he goes out of his way to correct the situation when someone is robbed who can't afford it. He's not a Robin Hood by any means, but he turns down the opportunity to sit by and let an injustice happen right in front of him. (If it feels odd for a thief to worry about the "injustice" of something, then first consider whether it is a legal or moral injustice.)
The clock was originally just a method of bringing up the animosity between dwarves and gnomes, but it eventually became the way I touch on the calendar of Lokka. For a more in-depth explanation of the calendar, see Appendix A in the book or the Calendar on this website.
I feel bad that the Coalition didn't play a larger role in the story, there just wasn't room for them. I have plans for them in later books, so they're not gone altogether, but I went through several revisions of the story before I was reasonably satisfied that the Coalition fades away from the plot in a reasonable manner.
Chapter 2
Hoil's character took a while to get right, not just here but in the later books as well, and as things changed later I had to come back and adjust his character a bit. His relationship with Danner wasn't as playful, and he came off as more callous toward his only son. Thankfully that didn't survive long.
Maran eventually became one of my favorite characters, though he originally just started out as Hoil's right-hand man and Danner's sometime teacher. What changed it all was the term "to'vala" - a treasured prodigy. The word and its meaning were pulled from thin air as I was writing it, and it was only a couple weeks later when I looked at his character that I began to wonder who he was and why this relationship was a big deal. I'd already established that Danner's relationship with Hoil was distant, so where did Danner's training come from? The other throw-away idea that came back to mean so much was Maran's missing ear. (You won't find out more about that until the next book, however.) By the end of the book, his role evolved even further, even though I wrote his final scenes without a clear idea of where it was going, but we'll get to that later.
Birch's introduction is the first crack we see in Hoil's boisterous nature, which will only widen as we get to know him more.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
There's not much to say here. As I mentioned above, Maran's role was originally intended to be very minor, but he quickly grew into his current incarnation. The final scenes we see between him and Hoil set up a good portion of the next book, and we find out the details about his past and get a glimpse of his future.
The larger-than-life attitude Hoil portrays is immediately obvious in this scene and continues throughout the series, but you quickly begin to see glimpses of the pain he's hiding inside. True, the revelation that his brother is apparently alive after being presumed dead for a decade might lead anyone to overreact, but you see right away that even Danner has never seen this side of his father and can't read his reaction properly.
Maran eventually became one of my favorite characters, though he originally just started out as Hoil's right-hand man and Danner's sometime teacher. What changed it all was the term "to'vala" - a treasured prodigy. The word and its meaning were pulled from thin air as I was writing it, and it was only a couple weeks later when I looked at his character that I began to wonder who he was and why this relationship was a big deal. I'd already established that Danner's relationship with Hoil was distant, so where did Danner's training come from? The other throw-away idea that came back to mean so much was Maran's missing ear. (You won't find out more about that until the next book, however.) By the end of the book, his role evolved even further, even though I wrote his final scenes without a clear idea of where it was going, but we'll get to that later.
Birch's introduction is the first crack we see in Hoil's boisterous nature, which will only widen as we get to know him more.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
There's not much to say here. As I mentioned above, Maran's role was originally intended to be very minor, but he quickly grew into his current incarnation. The final scenes we see between him and Hoil set up a good portion of the next book, and we find out the details about his past and get a glimpse of his future.
The larger-than-life attitude Hoil portrays is immediately obvious in this scene and continues throughout the series, but you quickly begin to see glimpses of the pain he's hiding inside. True, the revelation that his brother is apparently alive after being presumed dead for a decade might lead anyone to overreact, but you see right away that even Danner has never seen this side of his father and can't read his reaction properly.
Chapter 3
The conversation between the brothers sets up some of the dynamic between them that will continue for the duration of their time together in this book. Birch is reserved and almost uptight, while Hoil deliberately censors himself from certain blasphemous profanities in his brother's presence. Hoil's dislike of the Prismatic Order becomes evident, but it primarily sets up yet another glimpse into the pain he's hiding. He plays it off as "not really practical" for him to understand one of the central influences of his brother's life, but almost immediately you see it's not about the Prism, it's about what it cost Hoil (his supposedly dead brother) and his pain.
The first instance of someone locking eyes with Birch is also the most vivid, mainly because I didn't want to beat a dead horse. It's established what the effect can be, and this idea will be toyed with a little bit across the story. From this point forward, the references to Birch's torture will always be from his own memories and are more fully fleshed out.
One late addition to this chapter was Hoil's mention about Birch now looking "uglier" than he used to. This came about because of the cover art for the book, which turned out awesome, but different than the mental image I had for Birch. The warrior on the cover is... well, more comely than I originally pictured Birch, but since 10 years in Hell will inevitably change a man, it didn't threaten his current appearance, which was really what I had in mind. The modern Birch is weathered and ruggedly handsome, but he's far from the more eye-pleasing man he was when he left. The more youthful Birch could easily have looked just like the man on the cover, and ultimately it ended up being a fun detail to include and something Hoil could use to poke fun at his older brother. And really, what younger brother would pass up a chance like that?
The description of Hell I used here ended up being a critical detail as the trilogy unfolded, and it influenced several major plot developments throughout the series and affected how things will happen in future books. The utter lifelessness of Hell created several logistical problems for me that had to be addressed (such as feeding Birch for 10 years - it turns out eating isn't necessary.... how convenient, huh? Actually, it ends up making perfect sense), but most of that won't come up anywhere in this book except in passing.
Originally the time differential between the mortal world and Hell was a 7-to-1 ratio, but thankfully that didn't survive long. As soon as I started to map out the ages of the characters and when Birch would have had to leave so that Danner would have no memory of his uncle, it struck me that spending 70 years in Hell was a bit much for anyone to survive. I think I'm possibly stretching it at 20, but it's still doable. The time difference was necessary for things that have little to do with this book beyond making Birch's experience that much more horrendous.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I mentioned above that Danner's reaction to locking eyes with Birch is the only one described in any detail. What's more significant is that Danner's reaction is the most intense of anyone in the book, and if you think about the ending, you get an idea as to why that is. Danner's heritage has been dormant for his entire life, and it's not until he meets his uncle that it begins to manifest. You've probably gleaned there's something abnormal about Birch (not subtle is it, when his eyes are on fire and he manifests super powers?), and that's what kicks off Danner's gradual evolution. If you pay attention throughout this and future books, you'll see that any time Danner encounters an immortal presence, his powers usually evolve or manifest further in some way. This awakening process is never addressed in this storyline because Danner is the first person to go through it and only understands things in retrospect (not in real time), but it's set to become a key piece of the subsequent trilogy.
The first instance of someone locking eyes with Birch is also the most vivid, mainly because I didn't want to beat a dead horse. It's established what the effect can be, and this idea will be toyed with a little bit across the story. From this point forward, the references to Birch's torture will always be from his own memories and are more fully fleshed out.
One late addition to this chapter was Hoil's mention about Birch now looking "uglier" than he used to. This came about because of the cover art for the book, which turned out awesome, but different than the mental image I had for Birch. The warrior on the cover is... well, more comely than I originally pictured Birch, but since 10 years in Hell will inevitably change a man, it didn't threaten his current appearance, which was really what I had in mind. The modern Birch is weathered and ruggedly handsome, but he's far from the more eye-pleasing man he was when he left. The more youthful Birch could easily have looked just like the man on the cover, and ultimately it ended up being a fun detail to include and something Hoil could use to poke fun at his older brother. And really, what younger brother would pass up a chance like that?
The description of Hell I used here ended up being a critical detail as the trilogy unfolded, and it influenced several major plot developments throughout the series and affected how things will happen in future books. The utter lifelessness of Hell created several logistical problems for me that had to be addressed (such as feeding Birch for 10 years - it turns out eating isn't necessary.... how convenient, huh? Actually, it ends up making perfect sense), but most of that won't come up anywhere in this book except in passing.
Originally the time differential between the mortal world and Hell was a 7-to-1 ratio, but thankfully that didn't survive long. As soon as I started to map out the ages of the characters and when Birch would have had to leave so that Danner would have no memory of his uncle, it struck me that spending 70 years in Hell was a bit much for anyone to survive. I think I'm possibly stretching it at 20, but it's still doable. The time difference was necessary for things that have little to do with this book beyond making Birch's experience that much more horrendous.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
I mentioned above that Danner's reaction to locking eyes with Birch is the only one described in any detail. What's more significant is that Danner's reaction is the most intense of anyone in the book, and if you think about the ending, you get an idea as to why that is. Danner's heritage has been dormant for his entire life, and it's not until he meets his uncle that it begins to manifest. You've probably gleaned there's something abnormal about Birch (not subtle is it, when his eyes are on fire and he manifests super powers?), and that's what kicks off Danner's gradual evolution. If you pay attention throughout this and future books, you'll see that any time Danner encounters an immortal presence, his powers usually evolve or manifest further in some way. This awakening process is never addressed in this storyline because Danner is the first person to go through it and only understands things in retrospect (not in real time), but it's set to become a key piece of the subsequent trilogy.
Chapter 4
Hoil's brief description of Birch's goatee and "pretty" appearance is another nod to the artwork on the cover. Since Birch pretty much always existed in the "now" of my mental image of him, these elements were easy to address as a younger version of himself.
I occasionally worry that Birch comes off as a little preachy to you, the anonymous reader, instead of coming off as a little preachy toward the characters he's speaking to. Birch is a little stuffy and tends to take things perhaps too seriously, but then again, the guy's been through a lot.
Selti occasionally created problems for me (the little scamp), mainly because he kept disappearing from the story. He plays a supporting role throughout the series, but since he can't talk he's rarely a central figure to what's going on. That makes it easy for him to get lost amidst the action, so I occasionally found fun ways to insert him into the story, and they slowly helped form his persona into the impish creature we see here. This later affected his backstory and ultimate fate, but I'm getting ahead of myself by a couple books there.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Again, no real spoilers to reveal in this section, just a mention of Danner's mother to highlight how much he takes after her. But then, if you've finished the book, you know just how much he takes after her, now don't you? The only broader spoiler here is a combination of the chapter quote (from Birch's memoirs) and the discussion of faith and doubt between the brothers. One of Birch's later conversations (book 2 or 3) with the Voice brings up this idea, specifically that using these doubts to sow seeds of doubt is a prime tool of the denizens of Hell to break the paladins they capture. Part of Birch's resistance to this psychological torture is that he already consistently questions his own faith and draws strength from it rather than viewing it as a weakness.
I occasionally worry that Birch comes off as a little preachy to you, the anonymous reader, instead of coming off as a little preachy toward the characters he's speaking to. Birch is a little stuffy and tends to take things perhaps too seriously, but then again, the guy's been through a lot.
Selti occasionally created problems for me (the little scamp), mainly because he kept disappearing from the story. He plays a supporting role throughout the series, but since he can't talk he's rarely a central figure to what's going on. That makes it easy for him to get lost amidst the action, so I occasionally found fun ways to insert him into the story, and they slowly helped form his persona into the impish creature we see here. This later affected his backstory and ultimate fate, but I'm getting ahead of myself by a couple books there.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Again, no real spoilers to reveal in this section, just a mention of Danner's mother to highlight how much he takes after her. But then, if you've finished the book, you know just how much he takes after her, now don't you? The only broader spoiler here is a combination of the chapter quote (from Birch's memoirs) and the discussion of faith and doubt between the brothers. One of Birch's later conversations (book 2 or 3) with the Voice brings up this idea, specifically that using these doubts to sow seeds of doubt is a prime tool of the denizens of Hell to break the paladins they capture. Part of Birch's resistance to this psychological torture is that he already consistently questions his own faith and draws strength from it rather than viewing it as a weakness.
Chapter 5
Finally we begin to see the threat that will unfold in this book. The titular characters of The Three were set from the beginning, and as so often has been the case with these books, little details I originally included for no apparent reason ended up having a significant influence on the development of the book and the world it inhabits. The scene introducing The Three underwent significant revisions, from the original draft where they nonsensically "rode the wind" back into the mortal world rather than inhabiting mortals, to the types of animals they transform into.
Oh, and for anyone who wonders what happens to Rathamik's body, no, the demon is not possessing him. He gets eaten. Now you know.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The fact that Min changes into a rat in this scene deliberately sets up the dark scene in Demar between Sal and Moreen. It allows you to know what happens in the room even though you're seeing the scene from Moreen's perspective, and she obviously has no idea at first that it's a shapeshifter.
Oh, and for anyone who wonders what happens to Rathamik's body, no, the demon is not possessing him. He gets eaten. Now you know.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The fact that Min changes into a rat in this scene deliberately sets up the dark scene in Demar between Sal and Moreen. It allows you to know what happens in the room even though you're seeing the scene from Moreen's perspective, and she obviously has no idea at first that it's a shapeshifter.
Chapter 6
Glint is kind of a smarmy bastard, and I'm almost sorry he doesn't ever appear beyond this one section of the book. I've got plans to include him in the next trilogy, but I don't know yet if that will pan out or exactly what form it will take. If he appears, rest assured he'll still be a smarmy bastard. The only minor point I feel it necessary to expand on in his scene in his brief mention of trying to sell a man a cooking pan for his wife to use by claiming "she'll reward your thoughtfulness with a tasty meal." In a subtle way, this is a cue about the gender roles in this world. Most of the women you encounter as main characters break the gender roles in some way, and occasionally characters call attention to this in ways that don't flatter them from our modern "Western" world view that is more equitable.
Discerning readers will note that Hoil frequently addresses Birch by his own name, despite his reluctance to call Danner anything other than "boy". This stems from the fact that Birch has, to Hoil's mind, been dead for the last decade - there's been no need for Hoil to create an emotional distance between them. Keep in mind also that Hoil's hang-up with names obviously started after Birch crossed the Merging, or there'd probably be no need for him to explain it here. So to Hoil, Birch has never been known by any other name, and he would naturally call him the same thing he's called him his entire life.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
So this isn't really a note for this book, but something that comes up once or twice across the books and isn't really addressed until the final pages of the trilogy. Just something to keep in mind, the emphasis of Hoil's comment about Birch's name. If you re-read this book after having already finished the whole trilogy, this is one of those little cues that might stick out when you get to it with a little "aha" moment. I'm just saying, is all.
Obviously the discussion of names here sets up the emotional scene between Hoil and Danner a little bit later.
Perhaps the biggest setup here is Hoil's recollections of his wife. Yes, she knew her time with him was limited, and I'll state clearly here that she did love Hoil, but she knew even before they met that she would have to leave him.
Discerning readers will note that Hoil frequently addresses Birch by his own name, despite his reluctance to call Danner anything other than "boy". This stems from the fact that Birch has, to Hoil's mind, been dead for the last decade - there's been no need for Hoil to create an emotional distance between them. Keep in mind also that Hoil's hang-up with names obviously started after Birch crossed the Merging, or there'd probably be no need for him to explain it here. So to Hoil, Birch has never been known by any other name, and he would naturally call him the same thing he's called him his entire life.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
So this isn't really a note for this book, but something that comes up once or twice across the books and isn't really addressed until the final pages of the trilogy. Just something to keep in mind, the emphasis of Hoil's comment about Birch's name. If you re-read this book after having already finished the whole trilogy, this is one of those little cues that might stick out when you get to it with a little "aha" moment. I'm just saying, is all.
Obviously the discussion of names here sets up the emotional scene between Hoil and Danner a little bit later.
Perhaps the biggest setup here is Hoil's recollections of his wife. Yes, she knew her time with him was limited, and I'll state clearly here that she did love Hoil, but she knew even before they met that she would have to leave him.
Chapter 7
This is the first chance to really delve into the Prismatic Virtues, and my hope is that this doesn't fall into the trap of too much exposition. The chapter quotes offer some further glimpses into the philosophies of the virtues, which was my way of expounding on them without bogging down the story. Obviously Danner's relative ignorance of the Prismatic Order provided the perfect vehicle for introducing the concepts that lie behind many of major characters.
The roles of the various Facets are briefly touched upon by Birch here, but there's not much place in the first trilogy for you to see them at work in the world. My hope is for some of this to be revisited in the next trilogy (and/or the one following that), which will get away from Nocka more and bring everyone out into the rest of Lokka.
The virtues were inspired by Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Some of the virtues themselves are drawn from his work, but just as important is the nature of the virtues as a balancing point between vices. As Birch says, it's the "right amount" of the trait that qualifies it as a virtue. You can probably guess that these ideas will be revisited periodically throughout the entire Pandemonium War saga.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Seeing through Selti's mind here for one of the only times in the series, you're given the impression that dakkans are extremely intelligent and even have a society of their own. This is true, but it's perhaps not as robust as you might think. I recently heard on NPR about work being done studying actual languages of certain animals, as we're discovering that other living creatures on our planet are more complex than most people suppose. Dakkans are more intelligent than other beasts, but they're still beasts. Dakkans are highly intelligent and Selti is an exceptional member of his species, to be sure, but ultimately he's still bound by what he is.
The roles of the various Facets are briefly touched upon by Birch here, but there's not much place in the first trilogy for you to see them at work in the world. My hope is for some of this to be revisited in the next trilogy (and/or the one following that), which will get away from Nocka more and bring everyone out into the rest of Lokka.
The virtues were inspired by Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Some of the virtues themselves are drawn from his work, but just as important is the nature of the virtues as a balancing point between vices. As Birch says, it's the "right amount" of the trait that qualifies it as a virtue. You can probably guess that these ideas will be revisited periodically throughout the entire Pandemonium War saga.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Seeing through Selti's mind here for one of the only times in the series, you're given the impression that dakkans are extremely intelligent and even have a society of their own. This is true, but it's perhaps not as robust as you might think. I recently heard on NPR about work being done studying actual languages of certain animals, as we're discovering that other living creatures on our planet are more complex than most people suppose. Dakkans are more intelligent than other beasts, but they're still beasts. Dakkans are highly intelligent and Selti is an exceptional member of his species, to be sure, but ultimately he's still bound by what he is.
|
Intro - Chapter 7
|
