Whew, I *just* finished KoA. I was waiting until I was done to reply to this.
Great questions!! And great answers to your own questions!!
"Revealed in All His Glory." I love this, because it sort of puts a spin on the same thing Teleus said, "You are revealed at last." And how funny it is, because it's the first time they're seeing him undressed.
I think I've made it super obvious that Irene is my favorite character in this series :). Here, I see her slowly coming to accept that she is worthy of love, not just the necessary evil to keep her people alive and as fairly ruled as possible. Seeing her through Relius's eyes, as well as Costis and Aris, has fleshed her out - one sees her as both daughter figure and beloved, terrifying sovereign, one loves her as the embodiment of strength and justice, and one is fiercely loyal while also regarding her as completely alien, if necessary. Seen from below, Irene is just as awesome as seen from Gen's perspective in the second half of The Queen of Attolia.I love that entire paragraph. I love
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Oh, interesting, I don't think I've seen those complaints before about Erondites in particular. I did hear of "telling-not-showing" complaints in QoA, the most common of which was that all the characters were talking about how awesome Gen was, but some readers didn't see it. I agree with what you're saying; I think it was deliberate. It also adds to the subtlety we all like about the books. There were so many things I thought I was being "told" in the narrative, when I was actually being "shown" something else.
I think the whole "telling instead of showing" is actually silly - it all depends on what you want told and what you want shown. I think MWT got the perfect balance of reader desire to be shown some things and told others.
Great questions!! And great answers to your own questions!!
"Revealed in All His Glory." I love this, because it sort of puts a spin on the same thing Teleus said, "You are revealed at last." And how funny it is, because it's the first time they're seeing him undressed.
I think I've made it super obvious that Irene is my favorite character in this series :). Here, I see her slowly coming to accept that she is worthy of love, not just the necessary evil to keep her people alive and as fairly ruled as possible. Seeing her through Relius's eyes, as well as Costis and Aris, has fleshed her out - one sees her as both daughter figure and beloved, terrifying sovereign, one loves her as the embodiment of strength and justice, and one is fiercely loyal while also regarding her as completely alien, if necessary. Seen from below, Irene is just as awesome as seen from Gen's perspective in the second half of The Queen of Attolia.I love that entire paragraph. I love ( ... )
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You should, because Irene deserves more love =P
Oh, interesting, I don't think I've seen those complaints before about Erondites in particular. I did hear of "telling-not-showing" complaints in QoA, the most common of which was that all the characters were talking about how awesome Gen was, but some readers didn't see it. I agree with what you're saying; I think it was deliberate. It also adds to the subtlety we all like about the books. There were so many things I thought I was being "told" in the narrative, when I was actually being "shown" something else.
Ahh yes, good point about the trust!
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I think the whole "telling instead of showing" is actually silly - it all depends on what you want told and what you want shown. I think MWT got the perfect balance of reader desire to be shown some things and told others.
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(I lol'd at poor lil Costis, rocking in his corner.)
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Haha, yes, "Poor Costis." Come to think of it, that should probably be the title of every chapter in this book.
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