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silverflight8) wrote2022-06-21 05:39 pm
silverflight8) wrote2022-06-21 05:39 pm
Entry tags:
Tiassa: Steven Brust
I RETURN to my Dragaera read!! And try not to read everything super quickly.
*I must begin by non-chronologically screaming about Devera's father, who is, and this was not a joke, KIERON!? I mean I guess he's Aliera's great x something grandfather and that many generations I guess technically isn't incest, but it's one of those things where your intuition is simply not reliable, because it's absolutely impossible, so then you try to examine what "incestuous" actually means, and I've come out with the answer that it's not really? But it sure feels like it. Also Aliera's mom arranged it. After she was like "I want a grandchild", Aliera retorted she only really felt like banging one dude, and then her mom was like "ok no problem". WHAT.
*Also Aliera only met Kieron once, and they almost came to blows, and they only didn't because Aliera couldn't even walk by herself at that point. Newly raised from almost-death!!
*This is definitely meddling in your daughter's affairs taken to the highest level.
*How can I be like 14 books in and still be regularly screaming about some of the revelations?
*Does this mean Devera will start appearing more regularly in the flow of time? I know she's in all the books but she'll be born at some point, right? I wonder if she will then be able to time hop. Aliera can't, maybe once Devera is born she won't have those powers either. I love that she totally goes to play with Vlad Norathar (but does not tell Vlad).
*I think it's more than simply ballsy and straight into "suicidally overconfident" to attempt getting a fix on Vlad by baiting the Empress with a Jenoine invasion. I suppose it would be incredibly difficult otherwise, but still. Reborn Phoenix or not, I can't imagine there being much leniency. Like threatening aliens coming with like, idk, supernova levels of civilization-ending weaponry, to settle an internal House issue. Yikes!
*To be fair to him, Dathaani tries to get Rynend to protect him, but at some point...you play with fire so hot that there is no one who can protect you, man. Rynend cracked as soon as Norathar put pressure on him!!
*I guess if you have this attitude, you don't join the mob, though.
*I feel like if House Jhereg was a little less fanatically devoted to the one-person-assassin model, they could just do a proper manhunt. Surely that's more effective?!
*Is the guy that Sethra wants Vlad to talk to, the guy who wants to know about the Empire and wants Vlad to tell him everything legal and illegal, the framing device in...I think...Dragon? Where he's narrating events to a silver box? Or maybe the whole series, lol.
*One thing I love about these books is the unreliable narrator aspect, and sometimes I almost forget about part of it. Like Vlad often elides things, and so do other characters (like when Kiera was narrating!), and it's sometimes subtle and sometimes not. But I'd gotten mostly used to their way of speech, which is modern and transparent to me, and Paarfi's prose just knocked me right out. It was rather amazingly obscure and kept making runs around itself, and it made me suddenly question if Vlad's transcription of conversations were also as filtered. Maybe all the Dragaerans talk like Paarfi, and Vlad just got tired of writing it out like that and simplified it for us, lol. Who knows!
*Devera's sense of time is so insane it makes Dragaeran lifespans also a bit ridiculous. Like she goes 300 Real Years (her words) ahead in time and tries to find the silver tiassa again and she goes, Paarfi still has it. I had to remind myself that that would be quite a normal time for him. That's like maybe a tenth of a lifespan? So perhaps a decade. Not very long at all to keep a beautiful silver trinket!
*I am totally a sap and even though I understand Cawti and Vlad have irreconcilable differences I am charmed that Cawti will also go to a lot of difficulty and danger for Vlad. It didn't seem right he would and she wouldn't, and I'm glad it's not the case.
*Mostly Vlad chooses to narrate directly Loiosh's comments when Loiosh is being sarcastic (often at Vlad's expense). But sometimes he gives us glimpses of Loiosh's other comments, like when Vlad is all "I think I'll walk into this trap" and Loiosh just starts lecturing him. But condensed.
*Vlad continues to be a terrible patient. A hospital escape! Really?
*Poor Loiosh must have been going nuts when Vlad was in the river. What could he and Rocza do?
*I must begin by non-chronologically screaming about Devera's father, who is, and this was not a joke, KIERON!? I mean I guess he's Aliera's great x something grandfather and that many generations I guess technically isn't incest, but it's one of those things where your intuition is simply not reliable, because it's absolutely impossible, so then you try to examine what "incestuous" actually means, and I've come out with the answer that it's not really? But it sure feels like it. Also Aliera's mom arranged it. After she was like "I want a grandchild", Aliera retorted she only really felt like banging one dude, and then her mom was like "ok no problem". WHAT.
*Also Aliera only met Kieron once, and they almost came to blows, and they only didn't because Aliera couldn't even walk by herself at that point. Newly raised from almost-death!!
*This is definitely meddling in your daughter's affairs taken to the highest level.
*How can I be like 14 books in and still be regularly screaming about some of the revelations?
*Does this mean Devera will start appearing more regularly in the flow of time? I know she's in all the books but she'll be born at some point, right? I wonder if she will then be able to time hop. Aliera can't, maybe once Devera is born she won't have those powers either. I love that she totally goes to play with Vlad Norathar (but does not tell Vlad).
*I think it's more than simply ballsy and straight into "suicidally overconfident" to attempt getting a fix on Vlad by baiting the Empress with a Jenoine invasion. I suppose it would be incredibly difficult otherwise, but still. Reborn Phoenix or not, I can't imagine there being much leniency. Like threatening aliens coming with like, idk, supernova levels of civilization-ending weaponry, to settle an internal House issue. Yikes!
*To be fair to him, Dathaani tries to get Rynend to protect him, but at some point...you play with fire so hot that there is no one who can protect you, man. Rynend cracked as soon as Norathar put pressure on him!!
*I guess if you have this attitude, you don't join the mob, though.
*I feel like if House Jhereg was a little less fanatically devoted to the one-person-assassin model, they could just do a proper manhunt. Surely that's more effective?!
*Is the guy that Sethra wants Vlad to talk to, the guy who wants to know about the Empire and wants Vlad to tell him everything legal and illegal, the framing device in...I think...Dragon? Where he's narrating events to a silver box? Or maybe the whole series, lol.
*One thing I love about these books is the unreliable narrator aspect, and sometimes I almost forget about part of it. Like Vlad often elides things, and so do other characters (like when Kiera was narrating!), and it's sometimes subtle and sometimes not. But I'd gotten mostly used to their way of speech, which is modern and transparent to me, and Paarfi's prose just knocked me right out. It was rather amazingly obscure and kept making runs around itself, and it made me suddenly question if Vlad's transcription of conversations were also as filtered. Maybe all the Dragaerans talk like Paarfi, and Vlad just got tired of writing it out like that and simplified it for us, lol. Who knows!
*Devera's sense of time is so insane it makes Dragaeran lifespans also a bit ridiculous. Like she goes 300 Real Years (her words) ahead in time and tries to find the silver tiassa again and she goes, Paarfi still has it. I had to remind myself that that would be quite a normal time for him. That's like maybe a tenth of a lifespan? So perhaps a decade. Not very long at all to keep a beautiful silver trinket!
*I am totally a sap and even though I understand Cawti and Vlad have irreconcilable differences I am charmed that Cawti will also go to a lot of difficulty and danger for Vlad. It didn't seem right he would and she wouldn't, and I'm glad it's not the case.
Kragar made a grunt, indicating he believed me about as much as Loiosh did. This is a reaction I’m used to from those who know me.
Kragar left, and Loiosh started in. Did I really know what I was doing? Did I care that I was walking into a trap? Did I this? Did I that? Blah blah blah.
*Mostly Vlad chooses to narrate directly Loiosh's comments when Loiosh is being sarcastic (often at Vlad's expense). But sometimes he gives us glimpses of Loiosh's other comments, like when Vlad is all "I think I'll walk into this trap" and Loiosh just starts lecturing him. But condensed.
*Vlad continues to be a terrible patient. A hospital escape! Really?
*Poor Loiosh must have been going nuts when Vlad was in the river. What could he and Rocza do?