Reading roundup: Tiassa (and some Vlad rereads)
Bunch of stuff at work, bunch of stuff at home (nothing terrible, but... stuff that occuppies mental real estate, if you know what I mean), so I really needed to take a break and think about something other than RL for a bit. Thus:
26. Steven Brust, Dzur (reread) -- still makes me hungry. Still not my favorite book plot-wise, though I was able to follow the plot a lot better this time around (my first full reread, though I had skimmed it once before). I did find myself liking Telnan more this time around, maybe thanks to the "Desecrator" story, since now I have an internal voice for him and it's easier to get a fix on him that way. SPOILERS! And, of course, it also helped me enjoy the book that I knew the Mario and Aliera backstory now (though I still wonder about how Kragar knows Mario; he says they met 90 years ago and a mutual friend (implied? to be Aliera) introduced them. Huh.)
Notes:
The reason Vlad doesn't want to stay at Castle Black is "I'm not in the mood to start another Dragon-Jhereg war."
Morrolan likes "wines that tingle on your tongue."
Recalling what must be the "embarrassing ritual" mentioned in Dragon, with Morrolan kneeling before the statue of Kieron ("It was strange seeing Morrolan on his knees.") More fully explained us Morrolan "prostrated himself before the statue. Then, a little later, he started talking, mumbling, like he was having a conversation with it. Then he got up, and said he knew how to get through the Paths, which he hadn't before."
Also, speaking of Paths of the Dead, Vlad remembers Verra collecting some of his blood "in a sort of vial or something. I don't know what she did with it." Hmmm.
After Kiera told Vlad how she found him, via Loiosh, which "requires a skill in witchcraft":
Vlad: "Speaking of witchcraft, how is Morrolan?"
Kiera: "I don't know him that awll."
I felt myself flushing a little. "When you said witchcraft, I assumed--"
"You were right, but it was a favor for my friend Sethra [...] I'm told that Morrolan is still in mourning for his friend Lady Teldra. he took her death hard."
In response to Sethra asking if he can use his people to help: "Sethra, you are my people now. You, and Morrolan, and Aliera. And Kiera, of course."
Aliera kisses Sethra on the cheek in greeting.
Sethra: "I know of at least three times when the wielder of a Great Weapon had his sould taken by a Morganti weapon."
Speaking of Great Weapons: "I had been in the room when Blackwand was unsheathed, and I had always thought of that as being some sort of limit -- that nothing could strike the mind as more vicious, more powerful. But this [Nightslayer] was something new."
Vlad on being a lousy houseguest: "this was Sethra, whom I called a friend, but I still dreaded the thought of getting up and rummaging through her kitchen for klava."
"Aliera had been killed by a simple, old-fashioned dagger to the heart, while Pathfinder was with her." (When's this?)
Daymar makes a joke: "Do you know, I think I understood some of that." "I'm sorry. I'll try again." (And encounters a sorceress who is as good as he at psychic stuff, which hurts his feelings.)
Kragar had a tunnel built especially for Vlad, aww!
"Five years ago there would have been blood on the floor. Ten years ago, there would have been a body. I guess I'd changed."
Vlad thinking 'Sandor' thoughts: "He'd grow carrots, peas, and onions, and he'd find a fat little wife and raise children whom he would teach to respect the Empire above all [...] and he would never exactly tell his children that the poverty all around them was the fault of the poor, but he would talk a great deal about personal responsibility. Not, you understand, that I particularly give a damn about the poor; but at least I can be a bastard without hypocrisy."
My favorite conversation:
"Boss? You have something?"
"Yeah. [...] I think I do."
"Is it something stupid?"
"Oddly enough, no."
27. Steven Brust, Phoenix (reread) -- so, I have to say, this is at least my third time reading Phoenix, and the first time I really enjoyed it. I think it's largely because, having read the Khaavren Romances, the Empire and Zerika are no longer just random political entities to me, about which it's difficult for me to care, so there's actual tension rather than the SPOILERS unmitigated gloom of Vlad's marriage continuing to fall apart, bloody and brutally put down revolt, and Vlad preparing to die. (And speaking of the paarfi books, Khaavren apparently still resigns on a fairly regular basis to demonstrate his displeasure with Zerika's policies.) On a less serious note, I actually found Aibynn amusing rather than annoying this time around, too,because I remembered he wasn't really there *for* anything, and could just enjoy his cloud cuckoolanderness without being irritated by it.
In retrospect, the "Cawti is pregnant" foreshadowing is not that subtle, between Vlad asking Loiosh if Rocza is pregnant and Noish-Pa saying his life "is not complete until you have given me a great-grandchild" and at the end, when Noish-Pa throws the sands, "they said I would live to hold a great-grandchild in my arms". (Speaking of which: by Dzur, about 4 years later, Cawti says Noish-Pa knows about Vlad Norathar, but it doesn't seem like they'd actually met -- she'd just informed him by post. I wonder when/if that happens, between Dzur and Iorich, say.)
I also noticed, during this book and the reread in general, that both Aliera and verra are frequently accompanied by cats. Hm.
Of course, no Vlad book review is complete without me talking about Morrolan.
"Morrolan's cloak whipped about him in a frenzy of romantic appeal. I was still wearing the shapeless robe I'd been given while imprisoned, or I'd have been romantic, too. Sure."
"Aliera, who holds her glass like she's holding a bird, bottom two fingers properly under the stem, takes tiny lady-like sips at dinner, but when out in the field, as I happen to know, she'll slug it down like anyone else. Morrolan always holds the glass by the bowl, as if it were a stemless tumbler, and takes long, slow sips, his eyes looking across at his dinner partner, or the person with whom he is speaking."
Speaking of wine, Morrolan spent most of the book plying Vlad with wine, offering to pour him wine, drinking wine with him. And of course Morrolan wants to experiment on him (and Loiosh) with the Phoenix stone.
Prompted by Vlad's questions about gods:
"Do you wish to become a god?" asked Morrolan.
"Not particularly," I said. "Do you?"
"No. I don't care for the responsibility."
And later, on Verra: "She is responsible, though. She's unpredicatble, and capricious, but she rewards loyalty, and she wont cause a servant to act in a way that will harm him." -- but does admit the danger of Verra making a mistake.
And then, of course, there's the scene where Vlad asks for sanctuary at Castle Black:
M: "where are you? Are you all right? The whole city--"
V: "i know. I'm in the thick of it, but I'm all right. I request sanctuary, Lord Morrolan. For myself and for my grandfather."
"Your grandfather? What happened?"
"Phoenix Guards tried to burn his shop down. He prevented them from doing so."
"I see."
"Where are you now?"
"The Imperial Palace, but I'll be leaving soon."
"What are you doing there?"
"I was preparing to defend the Empress, if necessary. But the siege was broken."
"Siege?"
"Your Easterners, Vlad."
"Oh. Who's with you?"
"Aliera, Sethra."
"Sethra? That must have made quite a stir."
He chuckled. "I wish you could have seen it. What about you? Is everything all right?
"Yes, as far as the rebellion goes, but I've got Jhereg troubles. That's why I need sanctuary."
"I seem to recall another Jhereg--"
"Yeah, me, too. But we're in a hurry, Morrolan. There may be some goldcloaks coming back, and--"
"Very well, Vlad. You have sanctuary for at least seventeen days. Probably forever. And your grandfather as well, of course. I'll inform Teldra."
"Thanks. See you soon."
And then, when Morrolan enters the library where Vlad and Noish-Pa are waiting, is one of my favorite passages in the book: "We both stood and bowed, but he motioned us to sit. He bowed deeply to my grandfather, rising in time for Loiosh to land on his shoulder. [...] We all sat down again, and Lady Teldra poured us all wine, giving the first glass to my grandfather. I said, 'On behalf of my grandfather, Morrolan, thank you. We--' || 'Never mind that,' he said. 'Of course you're welcome here as long as you want to stay. But do you know about Cawti?'"
I wish there had been more interaction between Morrolan and Noish-Pa, but what there was of it was pretty great. Morrolan showing Noish-Pa around his witch workshop, having Eastern food prepared for him ("When he tasted the Bazian pepper stew, he smiled in amazement and no longer had to pretend [to be at ease]. Morrolan smiled at him. 'Your grandson gave my cook the recipe'" -- although that credit probably goes more to Teldra than Morrolan himself), and at the end, when saying good-bye to Vlad: "This is good-bye, for a while." "So I had gathered," said Morrolan. "I wish you well on your travels. I shall watch over your grandfather for you."' I wonder if that means Morrolan drops by Lake Szurke to visit Noish-Pa and talk about witchcraft with him. *wants fic*
And as far as Noish-Pa in general, I continue liking the detail that he could dispatch three Phoenix Guards with no issues but couldn't bring himself to kill the female one.
Re: how Sethra the Younger ended up in command of the Phoenix Guards:
M: "The brigadier* of the Phoenix Guards resigned yesterday over some dispute with the Empress. I don't know the details."
V: "Maybe he didn't like the idea of slaughtering thousands of helpless Easterners."
"Helpless? Vlad, weren't you listening? There were attacks on the Imperial Palace. They laid siege to it. They actually threatened the Empress--"
"Oh, come now. She could have teleported out anytime she wanted to."
"That isn't the point, Vlad. Threatening the sanctity of--"
"Can we change the subject?"
"You asked," he said stiffly.
"Yeah. Sorry." Loiosh [who as far as I can tell had been perching on Morrolan's shoulder still] flew back to my shoulder and nuzzled my ear.
(*I guess this was before SKZB decided there was a difference between Khaavren's duties as Captain of the Phoenix Guards and Brigadier of the Specials Tasks group. Or maybe before Vlad learned the difference and started paying attention to which was which. Or maybe Morrolan just doesn't care about the distinction and used them interchangeably.)
Also, Morrolan signs up to help Vlad get Cawti back before he knows any details, but his only real qualm when he learns more is that "In the first place, I do not perform assassinations" (suspecting that Vlad means to assassinate the new king).
I also found it interesting the different reactions Vlad got in response to his "plan" to break Cawti out of the Imperial Dungeons. Kragar shoots him down in no uncertain terms, the only time I think he's ever flat out said no to Vlad ("I said no. [...] A few weeks ago you lost control and almost got yourself killed. If you lose control again you're on your own. [...] But I'm not going to cut wood for your barge."). Aliera is up for it. Morrolan is reluctant, and the way he goes about understanding why Vlad wants to do so was pretty cool. He suggests going through Norathar (and I think once again that's an indication of how much more willing Morrolan is to "outsource" and/or ask for help, by natural inclination, than Vlad is). And then when that falls through, he actually goes "exploring" in the Imperial Dungeons, bribes a guide so that he can check up on Cawti.
Do we ever hear anywhere else about the Ash Mountain uprising? I couldn't find it on the Wiki, but Aliera says, "They [Greenaere] attacked during the Ash Mountain uprising, and we had to negotiate a peace. A common ancestor of ours was beheaded for that fiasco, Morrolan" (so, presumably it was some e'Kieron that mishandled that?)
Oh and also, I had forgotten where Vlad had gotten the idea to use minstrels for information, but it's clear now that it was because Aibynn's contacts proved so useful here.
28. Steven Brust, Tiassa -- so, I really enjoyed it! Although I think I can safely say that I enjoyed part 1 > part 2 >> part 3, confirming previously held beliefs about Vlad's narration and young Vlad vs late Vlad. So, not a surprise. But the whole thing was pretty delightful. Spoilers
I'm really, really confused by who has what position at Zerika's court. So... section 2 of Tiassa takes place between Dzur and Iorich, right? About a year after Issola, if the previous incursion of the Jenoine that's mentioned is the one in Issola, and it certainly seems to be. Aliera is Warlord (so far so good). And Kosadr is Court Wizard and "has held this post for twenty years", by his own words... but when? Morrolan was Court Wizard in Issola, having taken over from Sethra the Younger (though Vlad could be confused on the score of his predecessor, I suppose). It makes sense that Morrolan would step down after the events in Issola, and seems to still be grieving/retired from public life, since Sethra, the Necromancer, and Aliera are immediately engaged but Morrolan is merely asked to make himself available. (On that note, I find it interesting that, a year after Issola and with the imminent threat of Jenoine invasion, Morrolan doesn't get involved, but he did help Sethra/Kiera with a witchcrafty way to get to Vlad -- or at least so Vlad guesses and Kiera says he's right -- in Dzur, mere days after Issola. I don't know if that's a comment on Morrolan's relative priorities re: his friends vs the Empire/the world, and/or a reflection that he realizes Sethra and Aliera are as well or better equipped to handle the Jenoine threat whereas he is Sethra's only source for witchcraft (presumably). And/or maybe an indication that Morrolan's growing up a bit, viz Teldra's comment to Vlad about seeing himself at the center of the world, and knows he doesn't always need to get involved. Anyway, that was a pretty long digression.) So, to get back to my original point, where did this Kosadr guy come from? Was the Court Wizard before Sethra the Younger, and Zerika tapped him again when Morrolan stepped down and Sethra the Younger no longer could hold an imperial post?
The other thing that puzzles me in all this is that Morrolan is totally omitted from any mention of that previous Jenoine incursion. Sethra and Aliera are known to have stopped it, and Pel, at least, knows that Vlad was also involved. But nobody ever mentions Morrolan. That's just strange, especially since he did hold an Imperial position at the time. Or he and Vlad, at least, think so. Does Zerika keep redundant Court Wizards, just in case? If she can have a secret Prime Minister (in Pel), then I suppose she can do that, too.
It's just very odd. I suppose having a Yendi running the court rubs off in terms of general convolution... (And speaking of Pel, I really enjoyed his quote about, essentially, having transcended ambition by achieving it:
K: "What do you want, Pel?"
Pel: "Whatever is best for the Empire, of course."
Khaavren laughed. "I forget sometimes that you are without ambition, my lord the Prime Minister."
"I have had ambition, Khaavren, as you well know. But I have found that, having gratified it, my goal now must be to prove myself worthy of the position to which my ambition led me."
The whole scene between him and Khaavren ("I think the more significant question is, do you have the reports on the investigation I ran?" and so on) was really great. (And I like that what jumped out at Khaavren and Pel in the reports were two different things.)
Speaking of imperial positions, it was kind of neat to see Khaavren and Aliera having to work together, after all the arresting and near-arresting of her he had to do in 500YA.
It's neat to see the new loveyness of Vlad and Cawti (and it's so nice to see them happy after slogging through Teckla and Phoenix, and especially Vlad newly besotted with her and buying her things and being generally AWW) and the old married coupleness of Khaavren and Daro back to back. Especially when they have the same brief non-argument with the guy trying to protect the woman and the woman having none of it (and also Daro's line on the subject, "He would try to protect me, and that would be inconvenient"). Also, this is a great line: "His [Piro's] hand was under the table; so was Ibronka's. If we were going to be romantic, I wanted Cawti there. If we were going to be violent, I wanted Cawti there for that." I also really liked the moment when Vlad is first puzzled by how well Cawti knows which brothels he owns and then realizes it's because of the homework she did on him when she was working to kill him.
Speaking of Vlad and Cawti, Vlad breaking the news to Kragar was priceless:
K: "I didn't mean to say you shouldn't do it, just that it's stupid."
V: "Not as stupid as getting married to the girl who killed you."
[...]
K: "Vlad, have you lost it completely?"
V: Pretty much."
"Uh, congratulations, I guess."
"Thanks, I think."
And speaking of Kragar, best line in the book is his:
Kragar: "And he could be that sure you'd figure it out?"
Vlad: "Yeah. He studied me enough to know I'm not an idiot."
Kragar: "I guess I should study you more."
Other Kragar-related stuff: Kragar makes a joke about sending flowers (for a funeral), and Vlad doesn't get it until he sais, "I thought that was the Eastern custom." I do like these little bits of evidence about how Vlad is disconnected from certain Eastern things while identifying so strongly with others. It makes sense, I guess, since the only Easterner funeral he is likely to have seen would be his father's, who made sure not to associate with any Easterners.
(But I did notice that Loiosh wasn't present/snarking as much as usual in Part 1, because there were so many other people for Vlad to play off of, Kragar and Piro and Ibronka and Cawti still in possession of her sense of humour.)
And speaking of Vlad and Cawti some more, so, Morrolan was (presumably) Vlad's best man, or whatever the Eastern wedding equivalent ("who will stand for you")? Which involved making up rhymes. How badly do I want to see fic of this? I imagine you can guess :P (It did raise the question for me of whether there's an equivalent role for the bride. Cawti doesn't mention one, but I couldn't tell if it's because no such role exists or because of course there's no question that Norathar would be filling it even if she does not know the Eastern customs.) I love this whole conversation so:
C: "Who will stand for you?"
V: "I'll ask Morrolan. He probably knows some of the customs."*
"How is he with rhymes?"
"I don't know. I'll write them for him, if I have to."
"Will I get to hear them?"
"Of course not. It's bad luck."
"After the wedding?"**
"All right. What rhymes with Aliera?"
*Now, this is before Issola, so before Vlad realized (or remembered?) that Morrolan grew up in the East. Is he assuming M knows the customs because he's studied witchraft / has books on Easterners in his library (as we saw in Dragon). Or did Vlad know more about M's past than he is remembering in Issola?
**So... whatever the rhymes are for, the bride does not get to hear them during the wedding? Is that 'cos it's part of the ceremony before the bride enters, or part of some pre-wedding custom instead? Puzzled...
I realize I haven't actually said anything about the plot yet. It was a fun plot? Or at least the first two stories were; I was less enamored of part 3, partly because of Paarfi's narration, partly because the whole mystery where it's Sara's family that wants to beat up Vlad wasn't as gripping as the caper or the reverse caper.
I'm a little fonder of Piro in Vlad's narration than in Paarfi's (and was amused by Vlad's nicknames for him; and the fact that Piro still/also drinks Khaav'n; also LOL, Piro thinks Sticks is cute XD), though still not overfond, and less fond of Ibronka, whom I had liked quite a lot in Viscount, but I liked this line of hers, to Vlad: "Why do you work so hard to make yourself disliked? [...] I should think you'd find it happens enough on its own without putting yourself to any extra trouble." I rather liked Olmo, the tag who decides he wants to be an actor, and really liked Dathaani, the Jhereg behind the fake Jenoine incursion scheme (I was kind of sorry he had to die, but I liked his attitude about it, too: "You'll either be rich, or you won't need to worry about it."), and also the Dragonlord Sahomi, for all that he only showed up in one scene. I very much enjoyed seeing Cawti and Norathar's interaction in situ for the first time (I espeically liked the exchange about Cawti's revolutionism and Norathar being all, "I know it's important to you" but also apologizing for it. I also enjoyed witnessing Khaavren and Zerika's interaction a couple of hundred years onward. Oh, and when I got to the third section, I kept waiting for Timmer to show up and be competent, and was so glad when she did.
It was interesting to see the Dragaeran characters we know from Paarfi interact with Easterners, the way normally shrewd Khaavren and his Special Tasks cohorts can't be sure how to read Easterner reactions, how open-minded Daro is leery about going into Cawti's house and accepting a drink from her because she thinks Easterners are unclean. This is one of the reasons I'd really love a Morrolan and/or Zerika POV story, to see what their view of Easterners is like.
Random note: Kiera greets Vlad by kissing him on the mouth. Huh, OK then. Another random note: So now we have a word for johns as well as prostitutes, which we had before (nums (short for numbers), tags (and the made-up etymology here)) as well as what sounds like an STD (the drips).
And speaking of worldbuilding that amuses me, I will never get tired of Brust playing with the gender of titles, like the Lord Mayor of Adrilankha being a woman. It makes sense, though, because of course the Dragaerans would have non-gendermarked titles for this stuff, and all Brust is doing is treating "Lord" as non-gender-marked, but it works very well in that it never fails to elicit a double-take.
I do wonder what Dragaerans use petroleum for, though, since they have a refinery for it... Also, it appears that Easterners use opium for pain but Dragaerans are not aware of it, because they don't need it.
The Whitecrests are so weirdly formal with one another... I wonder if it's a pre- vs post- Interregnum thing... (And it's not just Paarfi's narration, since Daro remarks on how informally Vlad Norathar addresses Cawti.)
Cawti. I just don't know. This book fills in some blanks, of course, but if anything, I think it makes me like her less as a person (and I'm not yet sure if it makes me like her more as a character). She just has... issues. She jumps to the conclusion that Daro sees herself as wholly secondary to Khaavren because when making small talk Daro asks (admittedly quite awkwardly, but she doesn't know anything about Cawti) about her domestic rituals while referencing her own. Of course, it's quite clear (from Paarfi previously and here) that Daro is by no means a housewife or someone who sees herself as Khaavren's shadow or anything even close. But I guess it's kind of like the thing where Vlad will do almost anything to avoid looking stupid or not in control in front of people while Morrolan doesn't seem to care about admitting ignorance or being proven wrong, etc. -- to me it comes across as, Daro is basically secure enough to run the county of Whitecrest, do freelance investigative work for the Empire when needs be, *and* be all, "how was your day, honey?" when Khaavren comes home, rubbing his feet and whatnot, because it seems like she has nothing to prove. Of course, it's a lot easier for a noblewoman to have nothing to prove than for an Eastern girl from the Jhereg, but the fact that Cawti has good reasons for being the way she is doesn't actually make me like her more as a person. And the fact that she doesn't want to "owe" Vlad a rescue doesn't endear her to me, either.
I did find it interesting that the second example Cawti mentions is Laszlo, who she says thinks of himself as Zerika's lover. I like it because it flips the genders, and because the three couples thinks of in this context are Dragaeran, Easterner, and mixed, it's not a Dragaerans vs Easterners thing, either. Also, that apparently Norathar has met Laszlo, and Cawti appears to have talked with him at some depth. Still not sure if Vlad has met him. He says, "No, everyone else calls him that" when Piro references the Warlock, but it's not clear if Vlad knows him personally or just knows OF him. It certainly appears that Zerika is making a let less of a secret out of the whole Eastern lover thing than she was back at the beginning of her reign (understandably, since her position is a lot more secure now).
Other plot bits: I'm wondering if what Vlad guessed Piro and Ibronka's motivation to be was really their motivation (it seems rather odd...), and/or if we will see/hear more about that in either case. I'm glad to see the Savn loose end wrapped up, or at least taken to the next level. Not thrilled with the development with Sara, mostly because I don't have a feel for her at all as a character, 'cos we've only really seen her in Athyra and thus from non-Vlad POV. I'm also confused as to whether the epilogue means that Tiassa part 3 takes place before Iorich, so that Sara is the Dragaeran lover Vlad tells Cawti about, or after Iorich (because, IIRC, Issola and Iorich are about 4 years apart chornologically, Tiassa 2 takes place a year after Issola, and Tiassa 3 "some years"/"several years" after Tiassa 2, so there isn't much room for it before Iorich, in which case... was Vlad even telling the truth? Or sharing wishful thinking instead?
The interlude of Devera's conception was hilarious, especially the scene with Aliera and Kieron (I wonder if SKZB took the unlikeliest fan theory and just decided to make it happen for the lulz, or if Devera's paternity was actually preplanned), and Devera's narration of the first chapter was fun (and LOL at Paarfi hogging the silver tiassa XD).
Note to self: SKZB confirmed the idea that Sara had brought Lady Teldra with her when she came to visit him under Khaavren's observation, and it was the Great Weapon that healed him enough to be able to escape through the window. I really want to know through whom the 3rd person sections (the middle part here and Athyra) are filtered. They must be through someone, but who/how?
Quotes:
"We'd settled on a Dragonlord named Feorae, because he was perfectly placed within the Imperial hierarchy and because I felt he had too many vowels in his name."
Kragar: "Who do you want me to grab for this?"
Vlad: "We'll need a sorcerer who specializes in light extraction from candlebud, a smith who can fabricate a four-foot surgical quality needle, an acrobat who can do both wide-spar and high-rope, a swimmer who is fluent in Serioli, a--"
"You can stop now, Vlad. I saw that play, too."
"Good. I couldn't remember the other two."
Cawti asks Daro to speak to Zerika:
D: "I am to simply ask Her Majesty to wait before locating your husband?"
C: "Estranged husband. Yes."
D: And if she asks for how long?"
"Be vague."
"And if she asks why?"
"Be evasive."
"And if she doesn't agree?"
"Be convincing."
Khaavren: "It is dangerous to make assumptions--"
Palaniss: "That is true, Brigadier. You have often said that when you assume, you are thinking like a fish.*"
* In the Northwestern language, the word "assume" consists of syllables that, when broken apart, are not dissimilar to the sound for "fish" followed by the symbols that form the word "thought".
Oh, and we finally get a pretty thorough Vlad description: "His cheekbones are high, like those of a Dzurlord. His ears are found, and close to his head. He has thick eyeebrows and long lashes, and his chin has a crease, as if it were cut, but there is no scar. He does have a faint scar to the left of his nose and another beneath his right ear, and he is missin the fifth finger of his left hand."
Still have my Dragon reread to finish up, and then I suppose I shall be forced to take a break from Vlad and company, because I'm out of books. It's probably healthy for me, too. But, man, I so wish there was fandom for this one, because there's so much meta and fic I want to read for these books.
26. Steven Brust, Dzur (reread) -- still makes me hungry. Still not my favorite book plot-wise, though I was able to follow the plot a lot better this time around (my first full reread, though I had skimmed it once before). I did find myself liking Telnan more this time around, maybe thanks to the "Desecrator" story, since now I have an internal voice for him and it's easier to get a fix on him that way. SPOILERS! And, of course, it also helped me enjoy the book that I knew the Mario and Aliera backstory now (though I still wonder about how Kragar knows Mario; he says they met 90 years ago and a mutual friend (implied? to be Aliera) introduced them. Huh.)
Notes:
The reason Vlad doesn't want to stay at Castle Black is "I'm not in the mood to start another Dragon-Jhereg war."
Morrolan likes "wines that tingle on your tongue."
Recalling what must be the "embarrassing ritual" mentioned in Dragon, with Morrolan kneeling before the statue of Kieron ("It was strange seeing Morrolan on his knees.") More fully explained us Morrolan "prostrated himself before the statue. Then, a little later, he started talking, mumbling, like he was having a conversation with it. Then he got up, and said he knew how to get through the Paths, which he hadn't before."
Also, speaking of Paths of the Dead, Vlad remembers Verra collecting some of his blood "in a sort of vial or something. I don't know what she did with it." Hmmm.
After Kiera told Vlad how she found him, via Loiosh, which "requires a skill in witchcraft":
Vlad: "Speaking of witchcraft, how is Morrolan?"
Kiera: "I don't know him that awll."
I felt myself flushing a little. "When you said witchcraft, I assumed--"
"You were right, but it was a favor for my friend Sethra [...] I'm told that Morrolan is still in mourning for his friend Lady Teldra. he took her death hard."
In response to Sethra asking if he can use his people to help: "Sethra, you are my people now. You, and Morrolan, and Aliera. And Kiera, of course."
Aliera kisses Sethra on the cheek in greeting.
Sethra: "I know of at least three times when the wielder of a Great Weapon had his sould taken by a Morganti weapon."
Speaking of Great Weapons: "I had been in the room when Blackwand was unsheathed, and I had always thought of that as being some sort of limit -- that nothing could strike the mind as more vicious, more powerful. But this [Nightslayer] was something new."
Vlad on being a lousy houseguest: "this was Sethra, whom I called a friend, but I still dreaded the thought of getting up and rummaging through her kitchen for klava."
"Aliera had been killed by a simple, old-fashioned dagger to the heart, while Pathfinder was with her." (When's this?)
Daymar makes a joke: "Do you know, I think I understood some of that." "I'm sorry. I'll try again." (And encounters a sorceress who is as good as he at psychic stuff, which hurts his feelings.)
Kragar had a tunnel built especially for Vlad, aww!
"Five years ago there would have been blood on the floor. Ten years ago, there would have been a body. I guess I'd changed."
Vlad thinking 'Sandor' thoughts: "He'd grow carrots, peas, and onions, and he'd find a fat little wife and raise children whom he would teach to respect the Empire above all [...] and he would never exactly tell his children that the poverty all around them was the fault of the poor, but he would talk a great deal about personal responsibility. Not, you understand, that I particularly give a damn about the poor; but at least I can be a bastard without hypocrisy."
My favorite conversation:
"Boss? You have something?"
"Yeah. [...] I think I do."
"Is it something stupid?"
"Oddly enough, no."
27. Steven Brust, Phoenix (reread) -- so, I have to say, this is at least my third time reading Phoenix, and the first time I really enjoyed it. I think it's largely because, having read the Khaavren Romances, the Empire and Zerika are no longer just random political entities to me, about which it's difficult for me to care, so there's actual tension rather than the SPOILERS unmitigated gloom of Vlad's marriage continuing to fall apart, bloody and brutally put down revolt, and Vlad preparing to die. (And speaking of the paarfi books, Khaavren apparently still resigns on a fairly regular basis to demonstrate his displeasure with Zerika's policies.) On a less serious note, I actually found Aibynn amusing rather than annoying this time around, too,because I remembered he wasn't really there *for* anything, and could just enjoy his cloud cuckoolanderness without being irritated by it.
In retrospect, the "Cawti is pregnant" foreshadowing is not that subtle, between Vlad asking Loiosh if Rocza is pregnant and Noish-Pa saying his life "is not complete until you have given me a great-grandchild" and at the end, when Noish-Pa throws the sands, "they said I would live to hold a great-grandchild in my arms". (Speaking of which: by Dzur, about 4 years later, Cawti says Noish-Pa knows about Vlad Norathar, but it doesn't seem like they'd actually met -- she'd just informed him by post. I wonder when/if that happens, between Dzur and Iorich, say.)
I also noticed, during this book and the reread in general, that both Aliera and verra are frequently accompanied by cats. Hm.
Of course, no Vlad book review is complete without me talking about Morrolan.
"Morrolan's cloak whipped about him in a frenzy of romantic appeal. I was still wearing the shapeless robe I'd been given while imprisoned, or I'd have been romantic, too. Sure."
"Aliera, who holds her glass like she's holding a bird, bottom two fingers properly under the stem, takes tiny lady-like sips at dinner, but when out in the field, as I happen to know, she'll slug it down like anyone else. Morrolan always holds the glass by the bowl, as if it were a stemless tumbler, and takes long, slow sips, his eyes looking across at his dinner partner, or the person with whom he is speaking."
Speaking of wine, Morrolan spent most of the book plying Vlad with wine, offering to pour him wine, drinking wine with him. And of course Morrolan wants to experiment on him (and Loiosh) with the Phoenix stone.
Prompted by Vlad's questions about gods:
"Do you wish to become a god?" asked Morrolan.
"Not particularly," I said. "Do you?"
"No. I don't care for the responsibility."
And later, on Verra: "She is responsible, though. She's unpredicatble, and capricious, but she rewards loyalty, and she wont cause a servant to act in a way that will harm him." -- but does admit the danger of Verra making a mistake.
And then, of course, there's the scene where Vlad asks for sanctuary at Castle Black:
M: "where are you? Are you all right? The whole city--"
V: "i know. I'm in the thick of it, but I'm all right. I request sanctuary, Lord Morrolan. For myself and for my grandfather."
"Your grandfather? What happened?"
"Phoenix Guards tried to burn his shop down. He prevented them from doing so."
"I see."
"Where are you now?"
"The Imperial Palace, but I'll be leaving soon."
"What are you doing there?"
"I was preparing to defend the Empress, if necessary. But the siege was broken."
"Siege?"
"Your Easterners, Vlad."
"Oh. Who's with you?"
"Aliera, Sethra."
"Sethra? That must have made quite a stir."
He chuckled. "I wish you could have seen it. What about you? Is everything all right?
"Yes, as far as the rebellion goes, but I've got Jhereg troubles. That's why I need sanctuary."
"I seem to recall another Jhereg--"
"Yeah, me, too. But we're in a hurry, Morrolan. There may be some goldcloaks coming back, and--"
"Very well, Vlad. You have sanctuary for at least seventeen days. Probably forever. And your grandfather as well, of course. I'll inform Teldra."
"Thanks. See you soon."
And then, when Morrolan enters the library where Vlad and Noish-Pa are waiting, is one of my favorite passages in the book: "We both stood and bowed, but he motioned us to sit. He bowed deeply to my grandfather, rising in time for Loiosh to land on his shoulder. [...] We all sat down again, and Lady Teldra poured us all wine, giving the first glass to my grandfather. I said, 'On behalf of my grandfather, Morrolan, thank you. We--' || 'Never mind that,' he said. 'Of course you're welcome here as long as you want to stay. But do you know about Cawti?'"
I wish there had been more interaction between Morrolan and Noish-Pa, but what there was of it was pretty great. Morrolan showing Noish-Pa around his witch workshop, having Eastern food prepared for him ("When he tasted the Bazian pepper stew, he smiled in amazement and no longer had to pretend [to be at ease]. Morrolan smiled at him. 'Your grandson gave my cook the recipe'" -- although that credit probably goes more to Teldra than Morrolan himself), and at the end, when saying good-bye to Vlad: "This is good-bye, for a while." "So I had gathered," said Morrolan. "I wish you well on your travels. I shall watch over your grandfather for you."' I wonder if that means Morrolan drops by Lake Szurke to visit Noish-Pa and talk about witchcraft with him. *wants fic*
And as far as Noish-Pa in general, I continue liking the detail that he could dispatch three Phoenix Guards with no issues but couldn't bring himself to kill the female one.
Re: how Sethra the Younger ended up in command of the Phoenix Guards:
M: "The brigadier* of the Phoenix Guards resigned yesterday over some dispute with the Empress. I don't know the details."
V: "Maybe he didn't like the idea of slaughtering thousands of helpless Easterners."
"Helpless? Vlad, weren't you listening? There were attacks on the Imperial Palace. They laid siege to it. They actually threatened the Empress--"
"Oh, come now. She could have teleported out anytime she wanted to."
"That isn't the point, Vlad. Threatening the sanctity of--"
"Can we change the subject?"
"You asked," he said stiffly.
"Yeah. Sorry." Loiosh [who as far as I can tell had been perching on Morrolan's shoulder still] flew back to my shoulder and nuzzled my ear.
(*I guess this was before SKZB decided there was a difference between Khaavren's duties as Captain of the Phoenix Guards and Brigadier of the Specials Tasks group. Or maybe before Vlad learned the difference and started paying attention to which was which. Or maybe Morrolan just doesn't care about the distinction and used them interchangeably.)
Also, Morrolan signs up to help Vlad get Cawti back before he knows any details, but his only real qualm when he learns more is that "In the first place, I do not perform assassinations" (suspecting that Vlad means to assassinate the new king).
I also found it interesting the different reactions Vlad got in response to his "plan" to break Cawti out of the Imperial Dungeons. Kragar shoots him down in no uncertain terms, the only time I think he's ever flat out said no to Vlad ("I said no. [...] A few weeks ago you lost control and almost got yourself killed. If you lose control again you're on your own. [...] But I'm not going to cut wood for your barge."). Aliera is up for it. Morrolan is reluctant, and the way he goes about understanding why Vlad wants to do so was pretty cool. He suggests going through Norathar (and I think once again that's an indication of how much more willing Morrolan is to "outsource" and/or ask for help, by natural inclination, than Vlad is). And then when that falls through, he actually goes "exploring" in the Imperial Dungeons, bribes a guide so that he can check up on Cawti.
Do we ever hear anywhere else about the Ash Mountain uprising? I couldn't find it on the Wiki, but Aliera says, "They [Greenaere] attacked during the Ash Mountain uprising, and we had to negotiate a peace. A common ancestor of ours was beheaded for that fiasco, Morrolan" (so, presumably it was some e'Kieron that mishandled that?)
Oh and also, I had forgotten where Vlad had gotten the idea to use minstrels for information, but it's clear now that it was because Aibynn's contacts proved so useful here.
28. Steven Brust, Tiassa -- so, I really enjoyed it! Although I think I can safely say that I enjoyed part 1 > part 2 >> part 3, confirming previously held beliefs about Vlad's narration and young Vlad vs late Vlad. So, not a surprise. But the whole thing was pretty delightful. Spoilers
I'm really, really confused by who has what position at Zerika's court. So... section 2 of Tiassa takes place between Dzur and Iorich, right? About a year after Issola, if the previous incursion of the Jenoine that's mentioned is the one in Issola, and it certainly seems to be. Aliera is Warlord (so far so good). And Kosadr is Court Wizard and "has held this post for twenty years", by his own words... but when? Morrolan was Court Wizard in Issola, having taken over from Sethra the Younger (though Vlad could be confused on the score of his predecessor, I suppose). It makes sense that Morrolan would step down after the events in Issola, and seems to still be grieving/retired from public life, since Sethra, the Necromancer, and Aliera are immediately engaged but Morrolan is merely asked to make himself available. (On that note, I find it interesting that, a year after Issola and with the imminent threat of Jenoine invasion, Morrolan doesn't get involved, but he did help Sethra/Kiera with a witchcrafty way to get to Vlad -- or at least so Vlad guesses and Kiera says he's right -- in Dzur, mere days after Issola. I don't know if that's a comment on Morrolan's relative priorities re: his friends vs the Empire/the world, and/or a reflection that he realizes Sethra and Aliera are as well or better equipped to handle the Jenoine threat whereas he is Sethra's only source for witchcraft (presumably). And/or maybe an indication that Morrolan's growing up a bit, viz Teldra's comment to Vlad about seeing himself at the center of the world, and knows he doesn't always need to get involved. Anyway, that was a pretty long digression.) So, to get back to my original point, where did this Kosadr guy come from? Was the Court Wizard before Sethra the Younger, and Zerika tapped him again when Morrolan stepped down and Sethra the Younger no longer could hold an imperial post?
The other thing that puzzles me in all this is that Morrolan is totally omitted from any mention of that previous Jenoine incursion. Sethra and Aliera are known to have stopped it, and Pel, at least, knows that Vlad was also involved. But nobody ever mentions Morrolan. That's just strange, especially since he did hold an Imperial position at the time. Or he and Vlad, at least, think so. Does Zerika keep redundant Court Wizards, just in case? If she can have a secret Prime Minister (in Pel), then I suppose she can do that, too.
It's just very odd. I suppose having a Yendi running the court rubs off in terms of general convolution... (And speaking of Pel, I really enjoyed his quote about, essentially, having transcended ambition by achieving it:
K: "What do you want, Pel?"
Pel: "Whatever is best for the Empire, of course."
Khaavren laughed. "I forget sometimes that you are without ambition, my lord the Prime Minister."
"I have had ambition, Khaavren, as you well know. But I have found that, having gratified it, my goal now must be to prove myself worthy of the position to which my ambition led me."
The whole scene between him and Khaavren ("I think the more significant question is, do you have the reports on the investigation I ran?" and so on) was really great. (And I like that what jumped out at Khaavren and Pel in the reports were two different things.)
Speaking of imperial positions, it was kind of neat to see Khaavren and Aliera having to work together, after all the arresting and near-arresting of her he had to do in 500YA.
It's neat to see the new loveyness of Vlad and Cawti (and it's so nice to see them happy after slogging through Teckla and Phoenix, and especially Vlad newly besotted with her and buying her things and being generally AWW) and the old married coupleness of Khaavren and Daro back to back. Especially when they have the same brief non-argument with the guy trying to protect the woman and the woman having none of it (and also Daro's line on the subject, "He would try to protect me, and that would be inconvenient"). Also, this is a great line: "His [Piro's] hand was under the table; so was Ibronka's. If we were going to be romantic, I wanted Cawti there. If we were going to be violent, I wanted Cawti there for that." I also really liked the moment when Vlad is first puzzled by how well Cawti knows which brothels he owns and then realizes it's because of the homework she did on him when she was working to kill him.
Speaking of Vlad and Cawti, Vlad breaking the news to Kragar was priceless:
K: "I didn't mean to say you shouldn't do it, just that it's stupid."
V: "Not as stupid as getting married to the girl who killed you."
[...]
K: "Vlad, have you lost it completely?"
V: Pretty much."
"Uh, congratulations, I guess."
"Thanks, I think."
And speaking of Kragar, best line in the book is his:
Kragar: "And he could be that sure you'd figure it out?"
Vlad: "Yeah. He studied me enough to know I'm not an idiot."
Kragar: "I guess I should study you more."
Other Kragar-related stuff: Kragar makes a joke about sending flowers (for a funeral), and Vlad doesn't get it until he sais, "I thought that was the Eastern custom." I do like these little bits of evidence about how Vlad is disconnected from certain Eastern things while identifying so strongly with others. It makes sense, I guess, since the only Easterner funeral he is likely to have seen would be his father's, who made sure not to associate with any Easterners.
(But I did notice that Loiosh wasn't present/snarking as much as usual in Part 1, because there were so many other people for Vlad to play off of, Kragar and Piro and Ibronka and Cawti still in possession of her sense of humour.)
And speaking of Vlad and Cawti some more, so, Morrolan was (presumably) Vlad's best man, or whatever the Eastern wedding equivalent ("who will stand for you")? Which involved making up rhymes. How badly do I want to see fic of this? I imagine you can guess :P (It did raise the question for me of whether there's an equivalent role for the bride. Cawti doesn't mention one, but I couldn't tell if it's because no such role exists or because of course there's no question that Norathar would be filling it even if she does not know the Eastern customs.) I love this whole conversation so:
C: "Who will stand for you?"
V: "I'll ask Morrolan. He probably knows some of the customs."*
"How is he with rhymes?"
"I don't know. I'll write them for him, if I have to."
"Will I get to hear them?"
"Of course not. It's bad luck."
"After the wedding?"**
"All right. What rhymes with Aliera?"
*Now, this is before Issola, so before Vlad realized (or remembered?) that Morrolan grew up in the East. Is he assuming M knows the customs because he's studied witchraft / has books on Easterners in his library (as we saw in Dragon). Or did Vlad know more about M's past than he is remembering in Issola?
**So... whatever the rhymes are for, the bride does not get to hear them during the wedding? Is that 'cos it's part of the ceremony before the bride enters, or part of some pre-wedding custom instead? Puzzled...
I realize I haven't actually said anything about the plot yet. It was a fun plot? Or at least the first two stories were; I was less enamored of part 3, partly because of Paarfi's narration, partly because the whole mystery where it's Sara's family that wants to beat up Vlad wasn't as gripping as the caper or the reverse caper.
I'm a little fonder of Piro in Vlad's narration than in Paarfi's (and was amused by Vlad's nicknames for him; and the fact that Piro still/also drinks Khaav'n; also LOL, Piro thinks Sticks is cute XD), though still not overfond, and less fond of Ibronka, whom I had liked quite a lot in Viscount, but I liked this line of hers, to Vlad: "Why do you work so hard to make yourself disliked? [...] I should think you'd find it happens enough on its own without putting yourself to any extra trouble." I rather liked Olmo, the tag who decides he wants to be an actor, and really liked Dathaani, the Jhereg behind the fake Jenoine incursion scheme (I was kind of sorry he had to die, but I liked his attitude about it, too: "You'll either be rich, or you won't need to worry about it."), and also the Dragonlord Sahomi, for all that he only showed up in one scene. I very much enjoyed seeing Cawti and Norathar's interaction in situ for the first time (I espeically liked the exchange about Cawti's revolutionism and Norathar being all, "I know it's important to you" but also apologizing for it. I also enjoyed witnessing Khaavren and Zerika's interaction a couple of hundred years onward. Oh, and when I got to the third section, I kept waiting for Timmer to show up and be competent, and was so glad when she did.
It was interesting to see the Dragaeran characters we know from Paarfi interact with Easterners, the way normally shrewd Khaavren and his Special Tasks cohorts can't be sure how to read Easterner reactions, how open-minded Daro is leery about going into Cawti's house and accepting a drink from her because she thinks Easterners are unclean. This is one of the reasons I'd really love a Morrolan and/or Zerika POV story, to see what their view of Easterners is like.
Random note: Kiera greets Vlad by kissing him on the mouth. Huh, OK then. Another random note: So now we have a word for johns as well as prostitutes, which we had before (nums (short for numbers), tags (and the made-up etymology here)) as well as what sounds like an STD (the drips).
And speaking of worldbuilding that amuses me, I will never get tired of Brust playing with the gender of titles, like the Lord Mayor of Adrilankha being a woman. It makes sense, though, because of course the Dragaerans would have non-gendermarked titles for this stuff, and all Brust is doing is treating "Lord" as non-gender-marked, but it works very well in that it never fails to elicit a double-take.
I do wonder what Dragaerans use petroleum for, though, since they have a refinery for it... Also, it appears that Easterners use opium for pain but Dragaerans are not aware of it, because they don't need it.
The Whitecrests are so weirdly formal with one another... I wonder if it's a pre- vs post- Interregnum thing... (And it's not just Paarfi's narration, since Daro remarks on how informally Vlad Norathar addresses Cawti.)
Cawti. I just don't know. This book fills in some blanks, of course, but if anything, I think it makes me like her less as a person (and I'm not yet sure if it makes me like her more as a character). She just has... issues. She jumps to the conclusion that Daro sees herself as wholly secondary to Khaavren because when making small talk Daro asks (admittedly quite awkwardly, but she doesn't know anything about Cawti) about her domestic rituals while referencing her own. Of course, it's quite clear (from Paarfi previously and here) that Daro is by no means a housewife or someone who sees herself as Khaavren's shadow or anything even close. But I guess it's kind of like the thing where Vlad will do almost anything to avoid looking stupid or not in control in front of people while Morrolan doesn't seem to care about admitting ignorance or being proven wrong, etc. -- to me it comes across as, Daro is basically secure enough to run the county of Whitecrest, do freelance investigative work for the Empire when needs be, *and* be all, "how was your day, honey?" when Khaavren comes home, rubbing his feet and whatnot, because it seems like she has nothing to prove. Of course, it's a lot easier for a noblewoman to have nothing to prove than for an Eastern girl from the Jhereg, but the fact that Cawti has good reasons for being the way she is doesn't actually make me like her more as a person. And the fact that she doesn't want to "owe" Vlad a rescue doesn't endear her to me, either.
I did find it interesting that the second example Cawti mentions is Laszlo, who she says thinks of himself as Zerika's lover. I like it because it flips the genders, and because the three couples thinks of in this context are Dragaeran, Easterner, and mixed, it's not a Dragaerans vs Easterners thing, either. Also, that apparently Norathar has met Laszlo, and Cawti appears to have talked with him at some depth. Still not sure if Vlad has met him. He says, "No, everyone else calls him that" when Piro references the Warlock, but it's not clear if Vlad knows him personally or just knows OF him. It certainly appears that Zerika is making a let less of a secret out of the whole Eastern lover thing than she was back at the beginning of her reign (understandably, since her position is a lot more secure now).
Other plot bits: I'm wondering if what Vlad guessed Piro and Ibronka's motivation to be was really their motivation (it seems rather odd...), and/or if we will see/hear more about that in either case. I'm glad to see the Savn loose end wrapped up, or at least taken to the next level. Not thrilled with the development with Sara, mostly because I don't have a feel for her at all as a character, 'cos we've only really seen her in Athyra and thus from non-Vlad POV. I'm also confused as to whether the epilogue means that Tiassa part 3 takes place before Iorich, so that Sara is the Dragaeran lover Vlad tells Cawti about, or after Iorich (because, IIRC, Issola and Iorich are about 4 years apart chornologically, Tiassa 2 takes place a year after Issola, and Tiassa 3 "some years"/"several years" after Tiassa 2, so there isn't much room for it before Iorich, in which case... was Vlad even telling the truth? Or sharing wishful thinking instead?
The interlude of Devera's conception was hilarious, especially the scene with Aliera and Kieron (I wonder if SKZB took the unlikeliest fan theory and just decided to make it happen for the lulz, or if Devera's paternity was actually preplanned), and Devera's narration of the first chapter was fun (and LOL at Paarfi hogging the silver tiassa XD).
Note to self: SKZB confirmed the idea that Sara had brought Lady Teldra with her when she came to visit him under Khaavren's observation, and it was the Great Weapon that healed him enough to be able to escape through the window. I really want to know through whom the 3rd person sections (the middle part here and Athyra) are filtered. They must be through someone, but who/how?
Quotes:
"We'd settled on a Dragonlord named Feorae, because he was perfectly placed within the Imperial hierarchy and because I felt he had too many vowels in his name."
Kragar: "Who do you want me to grab for this?"
Vlad: "We'll need a sorcerer who specializes in light extraction from candlebud, a smith who can fabricate a four-foot surgical quality needle, an acrobat who can do both wide-spar and high-rope, a swimmer who is fluent in Serioli, a--"
"You can stop now, Vlad. I saw that play, too."
"Good. I couldn't remember the other two."
Cawti asks Daro to speak to Zerika:
D: "I am to simply ask Her Majesty to wait before locating your husband?"
C: "Estranged husband. Yes."
D: And if she asks for how long?"
"Be vague."
"And if she asks why?"
"Be evasive."
"And if she doesn't agree?"
"Be convincing."
Khaavren: "It is dangerous to make assumptions--"
Palaniss: "That is true, Brigadier. You have often said that when you assume, you are thinking like a fish.*"
* In the Northwestern language, the word "assume" consists of syllables that, when broken apart, are not dissimilar to the sound for "fish" followed by the symbols that form the word "thought".
Oh, and we finally get a pretty thorough Vlad description: "His cheekbones are high, like those of a Dzurlord. His ears are found, and close to his head. He has thick eyeebrows and long lashes, and his chin has a crease, as if it were cut, but there is no scar. He does have a faint scar to the left of his nose and another beneath his right ear, and he is missin the fifth finger of his left hand."
Still have my Dragon reread to finish up, and then I suppose I shall be forced to take a break from Vlad and company, because I'm out of books. It's probably healthy for me, too. But, man, I so wish there was fandom for this one, because there's so much meta and fic I want to read for these books.