Reading roundup: more Kate Daniels + a Dragaera reread
34. Ilona Andrews, Magic Burns (Kate Daniels #2) -- I continue to blaze through the book in a little over a day while not actually feeling the series that much. I think the latter is mostly on account of Kate's lone hero schtick Spoilers from here! where "oh, I can't have a family or any friends because anybody who gets to know me would be in terrible danger due to my super-special blood". It does look like this book is working on changing that, with Julie, to whom Kate becomes guardian, and Curran's little prank at the end, but, like, it doesn't need to be treated as some subversive novelty. Maybe once it becomes normalized I will enjoy things more.
Also, is the bit where Kate seems very clearly implied to be Roland's biological daughter supposed to be some kind of mystery still, or is there some sort of twist where that isn't actually the case, or is it just that she's loath to acknowledge the relationship openly even in private (narration)?
Also also, alpha were lover thing is still really boring. I actually *like* Curran the person, but between the Mercy Thompson books and the Parasol Protectorate books, and the various were lover waystops in the Sookie books, I'm just so incredibly over all of these tropes, it's a waste of a character who could've been somewhat interesting otherwise (and no, making him a lion instead of a wolf in no way makes him more interesting).
I think one of the things that's causing me to be meh on the series is the magic -- the profusion of it which doesn't seem to have any logical organization. I love series with an abundance of magic, but the abundance of varieties needs to make sense to me for me to love it. Like, Matthew Swift books -- I don't think I've ever encountered a more varied magical world, but it's very clear *why* there are so many different varieties of magic, and people naturally gravitate towards something and specialize. Or the Alex Verus books, where the individual magical powers may not always seem "justified" to me, but the different flavors of magic are well defined and circumscribed. Something like the Dresden Files, where we get gradually exposed to different types of magic works, too. But here, Kate and associates have access to all kinds of magical stuff -- words of power, necromantic piloting, herbal magic and spells, magic derived from worship of gods (but only some gods), the thing the Oracle does where Kate gets to see what's going on somewhere else, the "living m-scanner" thing Julie is -- there is so much, and I have very little feeling for what sort of magic is accessible in what circumstances and to whom -- there don't seem to be any clear limitations for what Kate *can't* do, magically speaking (other than shape-shift), which makes things much less interesting.
Meanwhile, I liked Bran (and was sad he'd died, in a way which did feel appropriate, even if rather too pat/moralizing). I continue to like Ghastek (I think he might be my favorite; and I was impressed by his ability to reproduce his signature exactly while signing via vamp), and Saiman. The hyena weres were pretty cool, and Andrea seems like she could be interesting, too (I guess, as beastkin, she's immune to Lyc-V?).
The writing continues to be weirdly uneven in spots -- like, there are bits where quite obvious logical connections are belabored while other connections are made with leaps of logic that come out of nowhere. Like, there's that page that goes "Red gave the monisto to Julie, who gave the monistor to me. At first the reeves attacked Red, then they started hunting Julie, then they went after me. But what could be the reason for them switching targets like that?!!" -- I mean, she figures it out within the page, but, really, this is one case where there's no need to show your work. Conversely, the way Kate guesses that Red is a descendant of a Hound of Morrigan who had deserted... how? There was no logical connection I could discern at all. Also, was I missing something, or where did the Myong the were-mink/Crest thing come from? Had they interacted at all in a previous book? I had no idea how Kate even knew Myong was talking about Crest with her favor -- I saw zero context there.
But I am enjoying the bits of Russianness that are starting to make it into the books -- no whistling inside the house, and possibly sleeping on a hard surface as well, and calling the amateur witches "Bestoloch", and the Mother part of the Oracle being Russian, or at least addressing Kate in Russian, and complaining about her rusty language skills. (Oh, also, "monisto" -- is the word even used in English? I'm familiar with it from Ukrainian, but searching for the term written in Latin characters seems to mainly lead to a Finnish mathematical term...) And there are some other amusing bits, like Kate referencing Rambo -- a reference lost on Bran -- and then admitting she hasn't actually watched the movie all the way through herself.
35. Steven Brust, Dragon (re-read) -- back when I was going on my Dragaera re-reading spree a couple of years ago, I got to the middle of Dragon and then left off there -- I actually remember exactly when/where I was when I read it last, 'cos this was the book I took with me to the hotel in Anaheim for the conference and was reading it in the bath there. So, I kind of skipped Dragon in my mostly-chronological reread a little while back (along with Jhegaala, which I'm just not that fond of), but recently I've been feeling Dragaera withdrawal very much -- I think it's that Hawk has an actual publication date now, so I know what I'm counting down to, which makes the wait feel more acute -- and I figured that, instead of reading Taltos for the Nth time, I might as well finish Dragon, and then I ended up starting it from the beginning because the beginning is my favorite part, so, anyway, here we are. Spoilers!
Dragon is such a weird book for me, because I really like the (chronological) beginning, Vlad and Morrolan hanging out and getting to know each other, and Vlad meeting Daymar for the first time. And the interludes, which are chronologically the latest, are quite interesting, too -- I don't enjoy them as much, but they're intriguing. And then there's the actual meat of the book, wherein Vlad goes soldiering, and it's quite interesting, from a character perspective (because it's such an odd situation to put Vlad into, and he keeps reacting in ways that surprise himself and Loiosh) and a worldbuilding perspective (Dragonlord insight and battle magic insight and military tactics) and I quite like the characters (especially Virt), but, honestly, I would be a hundred times happier (unsurprisingly) if it was all Vlad and Morrolan visiting each other and traveling to odd locations by Verra's Window. Alas, earwax.
My favorite thing about Dragon is where it falls in the development of Vlad and Morrolan's relationship. The UST fighting with and beside each other in Taltos is wonderful, and the bickery friendship we see as early as Yendi is great, but the chronologically-first parts of Dragon is all about them getting to know each other and finding the acceptable boundaries of their interaction, and it's great.
Some of my favorite scenes along those lines:
M: "More important, however, is that the Count of Fornia be taught a lesson."
V: "A lesson? I hope you aren't going to ask me to kill him, because--"
Morrolan's nostrils flared and he started in on a glare whichdied on the vine. "You are jesting, I presume. Please do not make such jests in the future."
I shrugged. I hadn't been, but there was no reason to tell him that.
(I wonder if Morrolan really decides Vlad is joking -- later on in their relationship, I could see him making that into a joke just to troll M, or if he's trying to give Vlad the benefit of the doubt, or if he's just decided it's easier for all concerned if he assumes everything that comes out of Vlad's mouth is a joke. The latter is my favorite explanation, I admit. Especially since this exchange is followed right after by:
M: I don't suppose you have any experience in military reconnaissance?
V: I assure you, in the small fishing village I come from it forms the sole topic of conversation.
M: I hadn't thought so. Still, you may prove useful.
and several other examples where I'm pretty sure Morrolan has just decided to just ignore 80% of the words coming out of Vlad's mouth.)
V: For starters, what were the circumstances of his [Baritt's] death
M: I'm afraid I can't tell you that.
V: Great.
M: If your task were to be easy, you would't be earning such a large fee for it.
V: Don't play games, Morrolan.
M: "It's not a game," he snapped, and looked at me through narrowed eyes; I suppose the look was intended to intimidate me. It worked. He started to say more, then, I guess, decided that he'd cowed me enough and didn't have to.
And the scene where Vlad asks to sit (in Morrolan's tower room) to settle his stomach after a teleport and Morrolan asks, "Feeling better?" and "I looked for traces of a sneer and didn't notice any. 'Yes, thanks. Lead on.'"
Or:
M: Then meet me... no offense, Vlad, but are you able to receive a teleport location?
V: Yeah, just barely, if you give me a lot of time to fix it.
M: Then I'll give you one. Are you ready?
V: Yeah, go ahead.
Compare and contrast the two scenes where Morrolan and Vlag each interrupt the other at something, initiating psionic contact (for the first time without a pre-arrangement, IIRC).
M: [who was apparently gearing up for some witchcrafting] Who is it?
V: Vlad.
M: Yes?
V: Am I reaching you at a bad time?
M: Not as bad as ten minutes later would've been. Which reminds me: Do you prefer the blood of a reptile or a mammal when you want to set up a room so that you know if it's been violated?
and
V: [who had been thinking about "finding a nice Eastern girl to share wonderful food with"] "What the fuck do you want?" I said pleasantly as soon as I realized who had invaded my mind.
M: Have I had the misfortune to interrput something?
V: You have interrupted nothing; that's why I'm so irritated. What do you want?
M: If you are available, I should appreciate your company on a short journey.
Vlad, buddy, when a recent acquaintance contacts you telepathically and, sensing your irritation, politely but neutrally inquires if they've reached you at a bad time, replying with, essentially, "I wish I was getting laid right now" is an odd choice. I don't judge, but I'm just saying.
And I love that by the time of the Interludes, the conversation goes like this:
"I concentrated hard and, very quickly, reached Morrolan.
M: What is it, Vlad?
V: A favor.
M: Oh?
V: Grab Blackwand and get your ass over here. Now
"He didn't ask why, or what was going on, or anything else."
Scenes that I was super happy to revisit: Morrolan's letter to Vlad (which Vlad can't tell whether Morrolan is genuinely trying to be polite or trolling; Morrolan offering to let Vlad borrow the books about the East (and "I should warn you, however, that I have several volumes devoted to curses for people who don't return books." "I'd like to borrow those, too."); Vlad and Morrolan go to meet the Serioli (and Morrolan is still very much "please get to the point" with long-winded people, apparently); Morrolan asking to see Vlad's office (since he's already seen Vlad's house, presumably, when picking him up after the Ori thing) and "So, you need more time to pay me back. Well, maybe we can work something out."; Morrolan and Vlad trolling Fornia ("In the desert culture of my people, to spit in a man's presence is to demonstrate loyalty. Am I to assume that you are my vassal?" and "You stand with a Jhereg at your heel and speak to me of theft?"/"You stand with a thug at your elbow and speak to me of Jhereg?". I also find it really amusing that Vlad is suddenly finding Dragonlords being polite to him, now that he's working with/for Morrolan, when he's prepared to be a smartass at them.
Scenes that stood out more to me on this reread, because I had better context for them:
Vlad starting to recall things about Deathgate Falls that he'd forgotten. There are 8 years between Dragon and Dzur... I wonder if SKZB was planning it all along and seeding it in Dragon, or if Dragon had a throwaway line and he just ran with it in Dzur... (Also, is there more to the "embarrassing ritual" than kneeling in front of the statue of Kieron the Conqueror, or would Vlad judge that embarrassing enough?)
"There are stories that, in his youth, during the Interregnum, he [Morrolan] had entire villages put to the sword in sacrifice to the Demon Goddess that she might grant him knowledge of the Elder Sorcery." -- interesting to see that this is how the Tri'nagore incident (presumably) is now known in Dragaera. Teldra explains why Morrolan doesn't bother correcting this view in Issola, but still.
Another thing that jumped out at me -- while Vlad (and Loiosh, and Kragar) are concerned that Morrolan is manipulating Vlad into participating in the war against Fornia -- and to some degree there's probably some truth in that -- Morrolan is certainly very careful to ask Vlad, several times, at various points, whether Vlad still wants to be involved. Now, it's entirely possible that Morrolan has figured out Vlad well enough to know that Vlad would never back down from a challenge, so the asking might be just for show, but I'm not sure Morrolan is that great at reading people, even when he's being extra-subtle on campaign, so I suspect it's probably a genuine question.
We get the most thorough description of Morrolan in the books, I think: "I closed my eyes and thought about Morrolan. I pictured him, tall, thin, rather dark, a very slight hook in the nose, eyes deep and rather close together, a bit of slant to his forehead, and I imagined his voice, a smooth baritone, mellow, and forming words with an assumed elegance" -- but what makes me curious is the last bit about "forming words with an assumed elegance", because, well, Morrolan is a showy bastard in general, but also this reminds me that he learned to speak Dragaeran, presumably, as a (young) adult, from Lady Teldra, so I imagine he's got a bit of that "learned speaking" pronunciation that marks non-native speakers who speak without an accent. It's headcanon, obviously, but I'll just toss it on the pile of other Morrolan headcanons I have.
And there's just a whole lot of Vlad-Morrolan goodness throughout:
M: I should appear at the ceremony. Would you like to come along?
V: Is that a joke? As what?
M: My retainer. I have the right to have anyone I choose in my suite.
V: An Easterner? A Jhereg?
M: Certainly.
V: You have something in mind, don't you?
M: Of course.
V: Want to let me in on it, in my capacity as the device to be exploited?
M: I'd rather surprise you.
V: I'm not all that fond of surprises.
M: I understood that you wanted to exact payment from our friend Fornia for what he did to you.
V: Yeah.
M: Well then, come along and let's do so.
V: All right, lead on. But... skip it.
"Morrolan, who had brought me, after all, was wearing the dexter half of a smile. I said, 'You enjoy being talked about, don't you?' He smirked outright, but gave no other answer."
M: Some covet power, some are threatened by others coveting power.
Vlad: Which are you?
M: The former.
V: I knew that. I didn't expect you to admit it.
M: Why not?
And speaking of ambition:
V: Hiring a general? You're not going to lead the army yourself?
M: Would you assassinate someone yourself if you could get Mario to do it?
Actually, I probably would, but--
Morrolan seems perfectly happy to delegate things to people, and not at all threatened to admit when somebody's better than him -- Vlad has a chip on his shoulder that makes him want to prove himself, while Morrolan has this casual arrogance, which apparently makes it very easy for him to ask for help -- he also asks Vlad for witchcraft advice, which is another favorite scene of mine.
(Also, Morrolan wouldn't tell Vlad how he knows Mario, and I'm wondering myself, Did he meet him just recently, through Aliera? Was Mario part of the search for Aliera, and presumably Morrolan and Mario were then introduced by Sethra, who must've retrieved Mario at some point from wherever it was he'd gone when she saved him from disintegration at the time of Adron's Disaster.)
Scenes I want fic of: Loiosh contacting Morrolan after Vlad passes out from the beating. Also, Morrolan and Aliera finding out that Vlad's been hurt by sorcery the day before the big battle -- I wonder if they did find out (the book says nothing about this, and they don't talk after the battle. I mean, there's unlikely to have been a concerned bedside scene, but still... (and I do wonder how/why the Necromancer found Vlad on his dreamwalk later -- was that a coincidence, or does Morrolan have her looking out for Vlad?
Things I have renewed curiosity about:
Baritt and Morrolan's relationship. Baritt is a jerk to Morrolan on the Paths of the Dead, although I suppose being dead does not improve one's disposition. And M does seem kind of taken aback by the attitude, or at least Vlad thinks so. Maybe they've never liked each other but feigned politeness? And what *did* happen to Baritt, anyway? (Morrolan starts to answer Vlad's question about that and then stops and says it's not important...)
Similarly, I really, really wonder about Morrolan's relationship with Sethra the Younger, too. When we see them interacting for the first time in the Paarfi books, he seems to be kind of "let's agree to disagree" with her (about everything -- Easterners, ambition, etc. etc.). In Yendi, he seems to be willing to let her do as she likes in terms of trying to conquer the East, because he doesn't think it'll work. But in the Interludes in Dragon, after the events of Yendi, StY seems to be living at Castle Black, or at least when Vlad needs to reach her, he does so through Morrolan, and Vlad says "why don't you get your things, including that" (meaning StY, lying unconscious), and the only reason she gives for asking Aliera for Kieron's sword through Vlad rather than Morrolan is that "Aliera's relationship with Morrolan is such that she will automatically react with hostility to anything he suggests", not that he might be opposed to helping her. They don't seem to be *friends*, as such, but...
Also, what's the story behind Morrolan and Kragar having met?
Random stuff I noticed and thought about:
A little detail I noticed that seems quite indicative is that Fornia's associates, when they show up to beat up Vlad, pronounce Vlad's name "Taltos", i.e. incorrectly, having only seen it written, while Morrolan's teleport guy says it right.
Morrolan taking charge of logistics personally while having Sethra lead the overall forces and the Necromancer take charge of sorcery. You can't do better than Sethra as general, presumably, and the Necromancer is a demon, which seems to imply god-level sorcerous ability, and, as he points out, has skills he doesn't in the case of retreat being necessary. Is it just there's no similarly exalted logistics specialists, or does Morrolan just like dealing with logistics?
What does travel through Verra's Window involve? Vlad says, "I've seen sorcery, and I've seen witchcraft, and this didn't look like either one." It certainly seems to be taking a lot of strain on Morrolan's part. Is it Elder Sorcery? Or simply sorcery so advanced that Vlad has never seen anything of that caliber.
Bowing -- it sounds like Morrolan bows and Fornia acknowledges / Morrolan bows lower, because Vlad thinks it goes by age, and Fornia is old. That's interesting if/that it goes by age, but I guess it does, since Morrolan outranks Fornia by title (Duke vs Count) and presumably by relative position within House of the Dragon, since he's one step removed from being Dragon Heir at this point, and that very recently. Or is it by something really obscure that Dragonlords would care about that correlates with age, like number of martial victories or man-hours on the battlefield or something?
This time when we see Fentor, Vlad correctly identifies him as a stocky Dragonlord (we got Tsalmoth in Yendi and Jhereg, which makes no sense at all...) Morrolan actually asks Fentor if he can take orders from a Jhereg, which is quite nice of him. And, heh, M works fast when he wants someone in his cadre -- I wonder if he's learned from Zerika.
Oh, and so this is the book where we find out that the dragon painting from The Phoenix Guards is at Castle Black (I wonder how it came to be there, actually... maybe Aliera brought it back from some of the family holdings?)
Necromancer's wish to Vlad to "Dream of bearded women" XP
Comparison between Sethra's horse tossing its head and snorting and Morrolan.
And a couple of random quotes:
Vlad to the Serioli: "I trust the Lord Morrolan completely as long as he has nothing to do with my business." (which prompts the Serioli to laugh)
M: Well, Vlad. Are you prepared to strike another blow for freedom?
V: Is that what we're doing?
M: No, but it sounds better than helping a wealthy and powerful aristocrat maintain his wealth and power.
Aliera: "Morrolan claims to have an idea what it [the sword Fornia stole] is, but Sethra the Younger claimed it, and he didn't have the-- well, he chose not to dispute it."
V: You're not going to send me back into battle as punishment for desertion?
Sethra: The punishment for desertion is beheading. Being sent into battle is a reward.
And this gem: '"For one thing," said Sethra, "we don't know any thieves."'
I'm also 2/3 done with Cloud Atlas at this point, and have rather a lot to say about it (and more to come, no doubt), and have also started Kate Daniels #3, but I'm really not in a patient mood at the moment, so don't feel like waiting to have more books to post, and this post has already gotten pretty long anyway, so.
Oh, also, I was playing with Akinator to pass the time a couple of days ago, and:
- It eventually guessed Morrolan -- Tom Bombadil was its first guess, but then it managed to guess correctly.
- It guessed Vlad on first try, after 19 questions.
- It did not guess Galeni -- its first guessed Ivan (after I said "No" to is your character known as the brains of the group), and was clearly thinking about Miles several times, and then Aral was on the list of "do you see your character here?", but Galeni wasn't even an option.
- It guessed Zoe from Firefly on first try, and very quickly
- Guessed Londo Mollari in 25
- Guessed Kvothe after 13 questions, and was clearly thinking of him even earlier (red-haired, magical, musician were all questions I got)
- Guessed Peter Grant in 23 questions (one of which was "Is your character a shadowhunter"), but did not have Nightingale on its list at all.
Also, is the bit where Kate seems very clearly implied to be Roland's biological daughter supposed to be some kind of mystery still, or is there some sort of twist where that isn't actually the case, or is it just that she's loath to acknowledge the relationship openly even in private (narration)?
Also also, alpha were lover thing is still really boring. I actually *like* Curran the person, but between the Mercy Thompson books and the Parasol Protectorate books, and the various were lover waystops in the Sookie books, I'm just so incredibly over all of these tropes, it's a waste of a character who could've been somewhat interesting otherwise (and no, making him a lion instead of a wolf in no way makes him more interesting).
I think one of the things that's causing me to be meh on the series is the magic -- the profusion of it which doesn't seem to have any logical organization. I love series with an abundance of magic, but the abundance of varieties needs to make sense to me for me to love it. Like, Matthew Swift books -- I don't think I've ever encountered a more varied magical world, but it's very clear *why* there are so many different varieties of magic, and people naturally gravitate towards something and specialize. Or the Alex Verus books, where the individual magical powers may not always seem "justified" to me, but the different flavors of magic are well defined and circumscribed. Something like the Dresden Files, where we get gradually exposed to different types of magic works, too. But here, Kate and associates have access to all kinds of magical stuff -- words of power, necromantic piloting, herbal magic and spells, magic derived from worship of gods (but only some gods), the thing the Oracle does where Kate gets to see what's going on somewhere else, the "living m-scanner" thing Julie is -- there is so much, and I have very little feeling for what sort of magic is accessible in what circumstances and to whom -- there don't seem to be any clear limitations for what Kate *can't* do, magically speaking (other than shape-shift), which makes things much less interesting.
Meanwhile, I liked Bran (and was sad he'd died, in a way which did feel appropriate, even if rather too pat/moralizing). I continue to like Ghastek (I think he might be my favorite; and I was impressed by his ability to reproduce his signature exactly while signing via vamp), and Saiman. The hyena weres were pretty cool, and Andrea seems like she could be interesting, too (I guess, as beastkin, she's immune to Lyc-V?).
The writing continues to be weirdly uneven in spots -- like, there are bits where quite obvious logical connections are belabored while other connections are made with leaps of logic that come out of nowhere. Like, there's that page that goes "Red gave the monisto to Julie, who gave the monistor to me. At first the reeves attacked Red, then they started hunting Julie, then they went after me. But what could be the reason for them switching targets like that?!!" -- I mean, she figures it out within the page, but, really, this is one case where there's no need to show your work. Conversely, the way Kate guesses that Red is a descendant of a Hound of Morrigan who had deserted... how? There was no logical connection I could discern at all. Also, was I missing something, or where did the Myong the were-mink/Crest thing come from? Had they interacted at all in a previous book? I had no idea how Kate even knew Myong was talking about Crest with her favor -- I saw zero context there.
But I am enjoying the bits of Russianness that are starting to make it into the books -- no whistling inside the house, and possibly sleeping on a hard surface as well, and calling the amateur witches "Bestoloch", and the Mother part of the Oracle being Russian, or at least addressing Kate in Russian, and complaining about her rusty language skills. (Oh, also, "monisto" -- is the word even used in English? I'm familiar with it from Ukrainian, but searching for the term written in Latin characters seems to mainly lead to a Finnish mathematical term...) And there are some other amusing bits, like Kate referencing Rambo -- a reference lost on Bran -- and then admitting she hasn't actually watched the movie all the way through herself.
35. Steven Brust, Dragon (re-read) -- back when I was going on my Dragaera re-reading spree a couple of years ago, I got to the middle of Dragon and then left off there -- I actually remember exactly when/where I was when I read it last, 'cos this was the book I took with me to the hotel in Anaheim for the conference and was reading it in the bath there. So, I kind of skipped Dragon in my mostly-chronological reread a little while back (along with Jhegaala, which I'm just not that fond of), but recently I've been feeling Dragaera withdrawal very much -- I think it's that Hawk has an actual publication date now, so I know what I'm counting down to, which makes the wait feel more acute -- and I figured that, instead of reading Taltos for the Nth time, I might as well finish Dragon, and then I ended up starting it from the beginning because the beginning is my favorite part, so, anyway, here we are. Spoilers!
Dragon is such a weird book for me, because I really like the (chronological) beginning, Vlad and Morrolan hanging out and getting to know each other, and Vlad meeting Daymar for the first time. And the interludes, which are chronologically the latest, are quite interesting, too -- I don't enjoy them as much, but they're intriguing. And then there's the actual meat of the book, wherein Vlad goes soldiering, and it's quite interesting, from a character perspective (because it's such an odd situation to put Vlad into, and he keeps reacting in ways that surprise himself and Loiosh) and a worldbuilding perspective (Dragonlord insight and battle magic insight and military tactics) and I quite like the characters (especially Virt), but, honestly, I would be a hundred times happier (unsurprisingly) if it was all Vlad and Morrolan visiting each other and traveling to odd locations by Verra's Window. Alas, earwax.
My favorite thing about Dragon is where it falls in the development of Vlad and Morrolan's relationship. The UST fighting with and beside each other in Taltos is wonderful, and the bickery friendship we see as early as Yendi is great, but the chronologically-first parts of Dragon is all about them getting to know each other and finding the acceptable boundaries of their interaction, and it's great.
Some of my favorite scenes along those lines:
M: "More important, however, is that the Count of Fornia be taught a lesson."
V: "A lesson? I hope you aren't going to ask me to kill him, because--"
Morrolan's nostrils flared and he started in on a glare whichdied on the vine. "You are jesting, I presume. Please do not make such jests in the future."
I shrugged. I hadn't been, but there was no reason to tell him that.
(I wonder if Morrolan really decides Vlad is joking -- later on in their relationship, I could see him making that into a joke just to troll M, or if he's trying to give Vlad the benefit of the doubt, or if he's just decided it's easier for all concerned if he assumes everything that comes out of Vlad's mouth is a joke. The latter is my favorite explanation, I admit. Especially since this exchange is followed right after by:
M: I don't suppose you have any experience in military reconnaissance?
V: I assure you, in the small fishing village I come from it forms the sole topic of conversation.
M: I hadn't thought so. Still, you may prove useful.
and several other examples where I'm pretty sure Morrolan has just decided to just ignore 80% of the words coming out of Vlad's mouth.)
V: For starters, what were the circumstances of his [Baritt's] death
M: I'm afraid I can't tell you that.
V: Great.
M: If your task were to be easy, you would't be earning such a large fee for it.
V: Don't play games, Morrolan.
M: "It's not a game," he snapped, and looked at me through narrowed eyes; I suppose the look was intended to intimidate me. It worked. He started to say more, then, I guess, decided that he'd cowed me enough and didn't have to.
And the scene where Vlad asks to sit (in Morrolan's tower room) to settle his stomach after a teleport and Morrolan asks, "Feeling better?" and "I looked for traces of a sneer and didn't notice any. 'Yes, thanks. Lead on.'"
Or:
M: Then meet me... no offense, Vlad, but are you able to receive a teleport location?
V: Yeah, just barely, if you give me a lot of time to fix it.
M: Then I'll give you one. Are you ready?
V: Yeah, go ahead.
Compare and contrast the two scenes where Morrolan and Vlag each interrupt the other at something, initiating psionic contact (for the first time without a pre-arrangement, IIRC).
M: [who was apparently gearing up for some witchcrafting] Who is it?
V: Vlad.
M: Yes?
V: Am I reaching you at a bad time?
M: Not as bad as ten minutes later would've been. Which reminds me: Do you prefer the blood of a reptile or a mammal when you want to set up a room so that you know if it's been violated?
and
V: [who had been thinking about "finding a nice Eastern girl to share wonderful food with"] "What the fuck do you want?" I said pleasantly as soon as I realized who had invaded my mind.
M: Have I had the misfortune to interrput something?
V: You have interrupted nothing; that's why I'm so irritated. What do you want?
M: If you are available, I should appreciate your company on a short journey.
Vlad, buddy, when a recent acquaintance contacts you telepathically and, sensing your irritation, politely but neutrally inquires if they've reached you at a bad time, replying with, essentially, "I wish I was getting laid right now" is an odd choice. I don't judge, but I'm just saying.
And I love that by the time of the Interludes, the conversation goes like this:
"I concentrated hard and, very quickly, reached Morrolan.
M: What is it, Vlad?
V: A favor.
M: Oh?
V: Grab Blackwand and get your ass over here. Now
"He didn't ask why, or what was going on, or anything else."
Scenes that I was super happy to revisit: Morrolan's letter to Vlad (which Vlad can't tell whether Morrolan is genuinely trying to be polite or trolling; Morrolan offering to let Vlad borrow the books about the East (and "I should warn you, however, that I have several volumes devoted to curses for people who don't return books." "I'd like to borrow those, too."); Vlad and Morrolan go to meet the Serioli (and Morrolan is still very much "please get to the point" with long-winded people, apparently); Morrolan asking to see Vlad's office (since he's already seen Vlad's house, presumably, when picking him up after the Ori thing) and "So, you need more time to pay me back. Well, maybe we can work something out."; Morrolan and Vlad trolling Fornia ("In the desert culture of my people, to spit in a man's presence is to demonstrate loyalty. Am I to assume that you are my vassal?" and "You stand with a Jhereg at your heel and speak to me of theft?"/"You stand with a thug at your elbow and speak to me of Jhereg?". I also find it really amusing that Vlad is suddenly finding Dragonlords being polite to him, now that he's working with/for Morrolan, when he's prepared to be a smartass at them.
Scenes that stood out more to me on this reread, because I had better context for them:
Vlad starting to recall things about Deathgate Falls that he'd forgotten. There are 8 years between Dragon and Dzur... I wonder if SKZB was planning it all along and seeding it in Dragon, or if Dragon had a throwaway line and he just ran with it in Dzur... (Also, is there more to the "embarrassing ritual" than kneeling in front of the statue of Kieron the Conqueror, or would Vlad judge that embarrassing enough?)
"There are stories that, in his youth, during the Interregnum, he [Morrolan] had entire villages put to the sword in sacrifice to the Demon Goddess that she might grant him knowledge of the Elder Sorcery." -- interesting to see that this is how the Tri'nagore incident (presumably) is now known in Dragaera. Teldra explains why Morrolan doesn't bother correcting this view in Issola, but still.
Another thing that jumped out at me -- while Vlad (and Loiosh, and Kragar) are concerned that Morrolan is manipulating Vlad into participating in the war against Fornia -- and to some degree there's probably some truth in that -- Morrolan is certainly very careful to ask Vlad, several times, at various points, whether Vlad still wants to be involved. Now, it's entirely possible that Morrolan has figured out Vlad well enough to know that Vlad would never back down from a challenge, so the asking might be just for show, but I'm not sure Morrolan is that great at reading people, even when he's being extra-subtle on campaign, so I suspect it's probably a genuine question.
We get the most thorough description of Morrolan in the books, I think: "I closed my eyes and thought about Morrolan. I pictured him, tall, thin, rather dark, a very slight hook in the nose, eyes deep and rather close together, a bit of slant to his forehead, and I imagined his voice, a smooth baritone, mellow, and forming words with an assumed elegance" -- but what makes me curious is the last bit about "forming words with an assumed elegance", because, well, Morrolan is a showy bastard in general, but also this reminds me that he learned to speak Dragaeran, presumably, as a (young) adult, from Lady Teldra, so I imagine he's got a bit of that "learned speaking" pronunciation that marks non-native speakers who speak without an accent. It's headcanon, obviously, but I'll just toss it on the pile of other Morrolan headcanons I have.
And there's just a whole lot of Vlad-Morrolan goodness throughout:
M: I should appear at the ceremony. Would you like to come along?
V: Is that a joke? As what?
M: My retainer. I have the right to have anyone I choose in my suite.
V: An Easterner? A Jhereg?
M: Certainly.
V: You have something in mind, don't you?
M: Of course.
V: Want to let me in on it, in my capacity as the device to be exploited?
M: I'd rather surprise you.
V: I'm not all that fond of surprises.
M: I understood that you wanted to exact payment from our friend Fornia for what he did to you.
V: Yeah.
M: Well then, come along and let's do so.
V: All right, lead on. But... skip it.
"Morrolan, who had brought me, after all, was wearing the dexter half of a smile. I said, 'You enjoy being talked about, don't you?' He smirked outright, but gave no other answer."
M: Some covet power, some are threatened by others coveting power.
Vlad: Which are you?
M: The former.
V: I knew that. I didn't expect you to admit it.
M: Why not?
And speaking of ambition:
V: Hiring a general? You're not going to lead the army yourself?
M: Would you assassinate someone yourself if you could get Mario to do it?
Actually, I probably would, but--
Morrolan seems perfectly happy to delegate things to people, and not at all threatened to admit when somebody's better than him -- Vlad has a chip on his shoulder that makes him want to prove himself, while Morrolan has this casual arrogance, which apparently makes it very easy for him to ask for help -- he also asks Vlad for witchcraft advice, which is another favorite scene of mine.
(Also, Morrolan wouldn't tell Vlad how he knows Mario, and I'm wondering myself, Did he meet him just recently, through Aliera? Was Mario part of the search for Aliera, and presumably Morrolan and Mario were then introduced by Sethra, who must've retrieved Mario at some point from wherever it was he'd gone when she saved him from disintegration at the time of Adron's Disaster.)
Scenes I want fic of: Loiosh contacting Morrolan after Vlad passes out from the beating. Also, Morrolan and Aliera finding out that Vlad's been hurt by sorcery the day before the big battle -- I wonder if they did find out (the book says nothing about this, and they don't talk after the battle. I mean, there's unlikely to have been a concerned bedside scene, but still... (and I do wonder how/why the Necromancer found Vlad on his dreamwalk later -- was that a coincidence, or does Morrolan have her looking out for Vlad?
Things I have renewed curiosity about:
Baritt and Morrolan's relationship. Baritt is a jerk to Morrolan on the Paths of the Dead, although I suppose being dead does not improve one's disposition. And M does seem kind of taken aback by the attitude, or at least Vlad thinks so. Maybe they've never liked each other but feigned politeness? And what *did* happen to Baritt, anyway? (Morrolan starts to answer Vlad's question about that and then stops and says it's not important...)
Similarly, I really, really wonder about Morrolan's relationship with Sethra the Younger, too. When we see them interacting for the first time in the Paarfi books, he seems to be kind of "let's agree to disagree" with her (about everything -- Easterners, ambition, etc. etc.). In Yendi, he seems to be willing to let her do as she likes in terms of trying to conquer the East, because he doesn't think it'll work. But in the Interludes in Dragon, after the events of Yendi, StY seems to be living at Castle Black, or at least when Vlad needs to reach her, he does so through Morrolan, and Vlad says "why don't you get your things, including that" (meaning StY, lying unconscious), and the only reason she gives for asking Aliera for Kieron's sword through Vlad rather than Morrolan is that "Aliera's relationship with Morrolan is such that she will automatically react with hostility to anything he suggests", not that he might be opposed to helping her. They don't seem to be *friends*, as such, but...
Also, what's the story behind Morrolan and Kragar having met?
Random stuff I noticed and thought about:
A little detail I noticed that seems quite indicative is that Fornia's associates, when they show up to beat up Vlad, pronounce Vlad's name "Taltos", i.e. incorrectly, having only seen it written, while Morrolan's teleport guy says it right.
Morrolan taking charge of logistics personally while having Sethra lead the overall forces and the Necromancer take charge of sorcery. You can't do better than Sethra as general, presumably, and the Necromancer is a demon, which seems to imply god-level sorcerous ability, and, as he points out, has skills he doesn't in the case of retreat being necessary. Is it just there's no similarly exalted logistics specialists, or does Morrolan just like dealing with logistics?
What does travel through Verra's Window involve? Vlad says, "I've seen sorcery, and I've seen witchcraft, and this didn't look like either one." It certainly seems to be taking a lot of strain on Morrolan's part. Is it Elder Sorcery? Or simply sorcery so advanced that Vlad has never seen anything of that caliber.
Bowing -- it sounds like Morrolan bows and Fornia acknowledges / Morrolan bows lower, because Vlad thinks it goes by age, and Fornia is old. That's interesting if/that it goes by age, but I guess it does, since Morrolan outranks Fornia by title (Duke vs Count) and presumably by relative position within House of the Dragon, since he's one step removed from being Dragon Heir at this point, and that very recently. Or is it by something really obscure that Dragonlords would care about that correlates with age, like number of martial victories or man-hours on the battlefield or something?
This time when we see Fentor, Vlad correctly identifies him as a stocky Dragonlord (we got Tsalmoth in Yendi and Jhereg, which makes no sense at all...) Morrolan actually asks Fentor if he can take orders from a Jhereg, which is quite nice of him. And, heh, M works fast when he wants someone in his cadre -- I wonder if he's learned from Zerika.
Oh, and so this is the book where we find out that the dragon painting from The Phoenix Guards is at Castle Black (I wonder how it came to be there, actually... maybe Aliera brought it back from some of the family holdings?)
Necromancer's wish to Vlad to "Dream of bearded women" XP
Comparison between Sethra's horse tossing its head and snorting and Morrolan.
And a couple of random quotes:
Vlad to the Serioli: "I trust the Lord Morrolan completely as long as he has nothing to do with my business." (which prompts the Serioli to laugh)
M: Well, Vlad. Are you prepared to strike another blow for freedom?
V: Is that what we're doing?
M: No, but it sounds better than helping a wealthy and powerful aristocrat maintain his wealth and power.
Aliera: "Morrolan claims to have an idea what it [the sword Fornia stole] is, but Sethra the Younger claimed it, and he didn't have the-- well, he chose not to dispute it."
V: You're not going to send me back into battle as punishment for desertion?
Sethra: The punishment for desertion is beheading. Being sent into battle is a reward.
And this gem: '"For one thing," said Sethra, "we don't know any thieves."'
I'm also 2/3 done with Cloud Atlas at this point, and have rather a lot to say about it (and more to come, no doubt), and have also started Kate Daniels #3, but I'm really not in a patient mood at the moment, so don't feel like waiting to have more books to post, and this post has already gotten pretty long anyway, so.
Oh, also, I was playing with Akinator to pass the time a couple of days ago, and:
- It eventually guessed Morrolan -- Tom Bombadil was its first guess, but then it managed to guess correctly.
- It guessed Vlad on first try, after 19 questions.
- It did not guess Galeni -- its first guessed Ivan (after I said "No" to is your character known as the brains of the group), and was clearly thinking about Miles several times, and then Aral was on the list of "do you see your character here?", but Galeni wasn't even an option.
- It guessed Zoe from Firefly on first try, and very quickly
- Guessed Londo Mollari in 25
- Guessed Kvothe after 13 questions, and was clearly thinking of him even earlier (red-haired, magical, musician were all questions I got)
- Guessed Peter Grant in 23 questions (one of which was "Is your character a shadowhunter"), but did not have Nightingale on its list at all.