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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => Topic started by: revan2357 on March 20, 2018, 01:30:04 PM
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Hi all,
I've been lurking around for several years and never have had the chance to attend one of Jim's events. But next week I will be attending the Dog Men Release Q&A/ Signing and I wanted to open the floor up for suggestions. Both my wife and my brother will be joining me so if we are lucky we should be able to ask at least 3. So far I have the following:
What does Harry believe the distinction is, if any, between the Black Council and Nemesis factions? To what extent is he correct?
What did Mouse mean in Changes when he says that he won Harry?
I believe WOJ is that Lea and Mouse intended different meanings of the word won, but I am hoping for some clarification.
If Thomas took up Amoracchius to become a KotC, as a career rather than a one night stand, what would happen to his Demon?
I know Thomas is uncomfortable with all things Holy to begin with but this might shed some light on a pet theory of mine.
Who was Goodman Gray paying rent to in Skin Game?
A little too direct maybe, but one can hope.
Eager to hear your thoughts and/or suggestions folks.
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Well, I have one I've been waiting for years to ask. Since I live in Germany, the chance never came up. My question needs a little set-up, so please bear with me. ^^
"Over the last four books, the urgency of the plot and the intensity of the relationships between the characters have all accelerated considerably. Due to your writing policy of having most of an entire year pass between books, however, all those elements have had to be put on hold for Harry between each of those books, leading to a series of reasons why he can’t contact his friends for a full year. You broke with that mold at the end of Skin Game, with Harry being in a position where he is with friends and family and apparently free to act without too many constraints upon him.
My question is: Going forward, how are you going to resolve this tension between having both an accelerated plot and intensified character interactions and your policy of the one year gap between books, without losing crucial character scenes and plot elements to the time periods between each book?"
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Well, I have one I've been waiting for years to ask. Since I live in Germany, the chance never came up. My question needs a little set-up, so please bear with me. ^^
"Over the last four books, the urgency of the plot and the intensity of the relationships between the characters have all accelerated considerably. Due to your writing policy of having most of an entire year pass between books, however, all those elements have had to be put on hold for Harry between each of those books, leading to a series of reasons why he can’t contact his friends for a full year. You broke with that mold at the end of Skin Game, with Harry being in a position where he is with friends and family and apparently free to act without too many constraints upon him.
My question is: Going forward, how are you going to resolve this tension between having both an accelerated plot and intensified character interactions and your policy of the one year gap between books, without losing crucial character scenes and plot elements to the time periods between each book?"
Apologies if I'm misunderstanding your question, but I'm reading this as in-story years between books, rather than book release dates? If that's the case I'm pretty sure we have confirmation that Peace Talks only takes place 3 months after Skin Game so no need for a contrived reason why Harry hasn't been doing anything for a year.
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Apologies if I'm misunderstanding your question, but I'm reading this as in-story years between books, rather than book release dates? If that's the case I'm pretty sure we have confirmation that Peace Talks only takes place 3 months after Skin Game so no need for a contrived reason why Harry hasn't been doing anything for a year.
This!
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Yeah, for the imminent future that problem I perceive may not turn up, especially since Harry has not been locked away from his allies and loved ones, like after Changes, Ghost Story and Cold Days.
However, there is an approaching apocalyptic trilogy, Harry is getting involved ever more with really, really powerful entities and my concern is that another year passing without something important having happened strains credulity. There has been a huge pile-up of unresolved issues for Harry to deal with because of his forced isolation between books and I can only hope that Peace Talks will deal with a lot of them.
Harry getting locked away on his island after Cold Days already was stretching it quite a bit and the explanations why people didn't visit him seemed weak (to me). Hence, why I think it interesting to ask if Jim still will try to maintain the one year cycle for the other future books before the BAT. I don't think it is particularly good for the story if Harry gets locked away again and then let out only three days for a year to deal with the plot of that particular book.
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It seems to me that something like this has been asked, and Jim said that the interval between in-book installments will be less.
Though I'll admit that it may have been a discussion on here.
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Yeah, I don't think it was asked of him, since I've watched literally every interview posted online of his since at least Cold Days came out.
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It seems to me that something like this has been asked, and Jim said that the interval between in-book installments will be less.
Though I'll admit that it may have been a discussion on here.
Q: Cool, I think a lot of us will be excited to read that then. What, if any, tease can you give us for Peace Talks?
A: Peace Talks is all about the various signatories of the Unseelie Accords are having a convocation in Chicago... This book is only set a couple of months after the end of the previous one [Skin Game]...
http://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/2015-2016-transcripts-from-audiovideo-woj-sources/ (http://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/2015-2016-transcripts-from-audiovideo-woj-sources/)
And I can't find the relevant WOJ but IIRC then Harry is summoned by MM Harry at the end of Peace Talks which obviously kicks off Mirror Mirror. So that would mean that SG, PT, and MM are pretty much back to back stories.
Hope that helps. Any other suggestions for questions??
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Yes, I knew already that Peace Talks is three months after Skin Game. That was disclosed quite some time ago, as you quoted.
What my question is about is how the books after Peace Talks leading up to the BAT will handle this "plot urgency vs. series convention" dichotomy. Rasins a few posts ago was suggesting that Jim had already said in an Q&A that all future books will occur on a shorter interim than one year, which Jim has never stated in any Q&A. Hence my question.
I haven't heard anything about how Mirror Mirror will start directly after Peace Talks, but I'll take your word on it. The problem is, that doesn't make the principal disconnect between one year gaps and the approaching BAT go away for the books after that.
I'd really appreciate it if my question gets asked, since it has been bugging me since basically Cold Days and even more after Skin Game.
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Just trying to provide evidence for the talking points is all. And I do think it's a question worth asking- I'm just wondering if there are any others in play.
Also, what I said with regards to SK, PT & MM was meant to add context to your point (assuming I'm not wrong about the bit about Harry being summoned).
Edit: The problem is, that doesn't make the principal disconnect between one year gaps and the approaching BAT go away for the books after that.
I agree. If true it makes your point more pressing: there are only a couple of case file books left after that (presumed) sequence where unresolved issues can be addressed.
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We've discussed it here but I would love to hear Jim's take:
Q: What happens if a Fae owes a debt to a person who passes away and has no living relatives for the debt to pass to and makes no provision for that debt before his/her death?
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I would ask the following:
We've seen that even mundane objects like the fake Shroud can contain vast amounts of power if they are the focus of enough belief. How much power does something like the Statue of Liberty (i.e. as a symbol of hope to thousands) have?
Morgana Le Fay obviously existed at some point (it's her Athame), and the "Le fay" moniker implies she was well-versed in the Nevernever travel. The original Merlin is reported to be around somewhere. Is Morgana still around? Does she know "Merlin-level" magic?
In Small Favor, the Archive is hiding under a veil right under the nose of half a dozen Denarians, yet she wasn't worried that one of them would use the Sight to find her. Is it that she knew that Tessa and her minions didn't have enough magical power to open up a Third Eye, or was it some "Veil 2.0" spell that is impenetrable to the Sight?
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"Where did the idea for Bob come from?"
"Why Chicago?"
"Where did you get the idea for Harry's names?"
Because I don't like spoilers.
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Just trying to provide evidence for the talking points is all. And I do think it's a question worth asking- I'm just wondering if there are any others in play.
Also, what I said with regards to SK, PT & MM was meant to add context to your point (assuming I'm not wrong about the bit about Harry being summoned).
No problem. I also just was trying to make clear why I feel that this question is worth being asked. :)
Edit: I agree. If true it makes your point more pressing: there are only a couple of case file books left after that (presumed) sequence where unresolved issues can be addressed.
Yeah, exactly. As I said, there has been a huge pile-up since Changes and Harry has been very obviously been locked away from dealing with them out of the bounds of the books. I have this nagging fear that Jim may not be able to unspool all these threads in an orderly manner.
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"Where did the idea for Bob come from?"
"Why Chicago?"
"Where did you get the idea for Harry's names?"
Because I don't like spoilers.
All of those have been answered in past Q&A's. Bob is a literal talking head which Jim put in to make a joke at his writing teacher; Chicago because he couldn't use his original location he wanted to use, since that original location would have been too similar to Anita Blake; Harry's name is an amalgamation of different magician names and Dresden was used for some obscure reason I don't remember of the top of my head.
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"Where did the idea for Bob come from?"
"Why Chicago?"
"Where did you get the idea for Harry's names?"
Because I don't like spoilers.
You are the Devil. :)
Maybe a question about Elaine's parentage and the circumstances of her birth? Jim's said that Elaine has the potential to be a Starborn, so maybe we can use Elaine as a sneaky way to find out more about making Starborns, which could be the key to several fan puzzles (or sink several theories).
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In Small Favor, the Archive is hiding under a veil right under the nose of half a dozen Denarians, yet she wasn't worried that one of them would use the Sight to find her. Is it that she knew that Tessa and her minions didn't have enough magical power to open up a Third Eye, or was it some "Veil 2.0" spell that is impenetrable to the Sight?
Great question. It never even crossed my mind to question that scene. Given what Tessa was throwing around later on, I wouldn't think that power is an issue but still...
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Harry (Houdini)
Blackstone (Harry)
Copperfield (David, but there is some contention about that since Harry was born before David Copperfield took that stage name)
Dresden (A city in Germany. Jim was listening to TV once and heard that name and it stuck with him.)
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Great question. It never even crossed my mind to question that scene. Given what Tessa was throwing around later on, I wouldn't think that power is an issue but still...
If applicable, you can also follow up with the following:
In Cold Days, Bob states that the original Merlin's magic is "the internal combustion engine" to Harry's "stone axes". Given the Archive's abilities, is the Archive able to understand (and use?) Merlin-level magic?
or possibly:
Who would win in a cage match between Kemmler and the Original Merlin, and how much of a RoFL-stomp would it be?
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What kind of implications will there be given that Harry used a branch from the oldest tree on DR, both when he uses his staff on DR, and off of DR?
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"Where did the idea for Bob come from?"
"Why Chicago?"
"Where did you get the idea for Harry's names?"
Because I don't like spoilers.
You can't see me Griffyn; but, I am giving you a pouty face.
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All of those have been answered in past Q&A's. Bob is a literal talking head which Jim put in to make a joke at his writing teacher; Chicago because he couldn't use his original location he wanted to use, since that original location would have been too similar to Anita Blake; Harry's name is an amalgamation of different magician names and Dresden was used for some obscure reason I don't remember of the top of my head.
I've got more.
"How many books will there be?"
You are the Devil. :)
"How did you hear about your first hardcover book?"
You can't see me Griffyn; but, I am giving you a pouty face.
"Why does Harry wear a hat on the covers? He doesn't wear a hat in the books."
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How did you develop your magic system?
Tell me the story about how the Codex Alera was written.
Is there going to be a move/TV series?
How old is Harry?
Will you write any more Codex Alera books?
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*waves white flag*
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Great question. It never even crossed my mind to question that scene. Given what Tessa was throwing around later on, I wouldn't think that power is an issue but still...
Tessa probably has use of the Sight, but I'm not sure how effective a tactic it actually would have been in the aquarium. They had no idea what room Ivy was in, and it risks 'information overload' to use it for a room-by-room search. Plus Ivy probably would have changed plans from hide to throw her hardest punch by surprise if she saw anyone trying that.
In terms of questions, I'd like to nominate for consideration:
- Can blampires just go to sleep in a well-hidden coffin for a few decades to wait out a period of danger, and did any of the Elders try to get through the Stokerlypse like that?
- In the DV, historical authors like Shakespeare, Stoker and Lovecraft were "onto something". Are there any others?
- Since the event is for the Dog Men release, I suppose it's topical to ask what was up with those feds? They didn't seem especially bothered by a couple of wizards learning there are clued feds. So there's the (highly reclusive) Librarians and some other agency that's LTW has some familiarity with?
- What's the actual difference between a Fae ruler and a pagan god? The Fae still seem to depend on belief to some extent (hence Mab inspiring the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney to keep faeries in human cultural mythology). Vadderung / Kringle is straddling the line, and the Erlking also seems to have aspects of some of the pagan hunt gods.
- In Fool Moon, Chauncey the demon told Harry the loup garou curse was "said to" have originally been cast by Saint Patrick. Supernaturally forcing an entire bloodline of people to become involuntary killers seems pretty out of alignment with Heaven's rules on free will. Was Chauncey repeating a false story as hearsay?
- In a previous Q&A about thresholds, Jim said the fetches actually hammered through the Carpenter threshold, making Harry mistaken in assuming they gained an invitation by shapeshifting into a trusted form. Putting together the Scarecrow's seemingly abnormally high resistance to iron with the subsequent information from Cold Days (Cat Sith's explanation of Fae law on thresholds, and that Nemesis releases its hosts from the binding rules of their nature), do we have sufficient basis to confirm the leading three fetches who entered the Carpenter house were N-fected?
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- In the DV, historical authors like Shakespeare, Stoker and Lovecraft were "onto something". Are there any others?
Hmm. Milton would give some serious insight into the BAT if he was right. Mary Shelley would be interesting, but I think everyone's doing Frankenstein right now, so maybe it'd be too popular (though I think it'd be a good fit for necromancy).
Either way, good question.
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Time to ask the important question:
Does Harry buy the Guard Chicago Pizza or Real Pizza?
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Time to ask the important question:
Does Harry buy the Guard Chicago Pizza or Real Pizza?
Neither, he eats at Burger King.
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Neither, he eats at Burger King.
Harry does sure, but my question was about what he feeds the 'Za Lord Guard
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Neither, he eats at Burger King.
Harry does sure, but my question was about what he feeds the 'Za Lord Guard
No, Harry buys (and eats when he does) Pizza'spress Pizza. IIRC he even said he liked it best because that is what he ate a LOT of when he couldn't afford better.
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Harry does sure, but my question was about what he feeds the 'Za Lord Guard
Oops, read that wrongly, sorry!
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No, Harry buys (and eats when he does) Pizza'spress Pizza. IIRC he even said he liked it best because that is what he ate a LOT of when he couldn't afford better.
Living in New York my whole life has really turned me into a pizza snob. I go to conventions a few times a year in Pennsylvania, and the group of friends I have there always order a bunch of pizzas at some point, and I just never have the heart to tell them that they're just eating moist bread with some cheese. It's to the point that I'd rather get Domino's if I'm out of New York, and eating that here is a fast way to ostracize yourself. (Also, a pizza should never be ten slices. I don't understand why other regions do it that way. It's insanity.)
Anyway, I feel for Harry. Not having access to a never-ending bounty of Italian-American feasts for reasonable prices is a fate worse than death.
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LOL ... I actually think that Jim Modeled Pizza'Spress after Little Cesars'. I know that used to be our go-to when budget was slim, but you have to have pizza.
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Jim, could you give us a preview by reading the first 2 (or 3) chapters of Peace Talks?
Ok, I know you can't ask him to do that but he's done things like that in the past, so it would be really cool if he did it now.
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Hi all,
I've been lurking around for several years and never have had the chance to attend one of Jim's events. But next week I will be attending the Dog Men Release Q&A/ Signing and I wanted to open the floor up for suggestions. Both my wife and my brother will be joining me so if we are lucky we should be able to ask at least 3. So far I have the following:
What does Harry believe the distinction is, if any, between the Black Council and Nemesis factions? To what extent is he correct?
What did Mouse mean in Changes when he says that he won Harry?
I believe WOJ is that Lea and Mouse intended different meanings of the word won, but I am hoping for some clarification.
If Thomas took up Amoracchius to become a KotC, as a career rather than a one night stand, what would happen to his Demon?
I know Thomas is uncomfortable with all things Holy to begin with but this might shed some light on a pet theory of mine.
Who was Goodman Gray paying rent to in Skin Game?
A little too direct maybe, but one can hope.
Eager to hear your thoughts and/or suggestions folks.
My speculation is the Mouse won Harry when Mouse competed with his litter siblings for getting to have Harry as his master. Remember the other puppies were in the box and Mouse was hidden out of the box with a notched ear (probably from fighting his siblings for Harry). It was no coincidence that Mouse came to Harry.
My guess is. Goodman Grey was paying rent (doing jobs and favors) to be able to stay on the mortal realm with support probably from Vadderung and or other powers, without problems like the other Naagloshi who are not supposed to be here anymore.
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My speculation is the Mouse won Harry when Mouse competed with his litter siblings for getting to have Harry as his master. Remember the other puppies were in the box and Mouse was hidden out of the box with a notched ear (probably from fighting his siblings for Harry). It was no coincidence that Mouse came to Harry.
My guess is. Goodman Grey was paying rent (doing jobs and favors) to be able to stay on the mortal realm with support probably from Vadderung and or other powers, without problems like the other Naagloshi who are not supposed to be here anymore.
I wonder if maybe he isn't working for Mab, and he's trying to help pay off some of her Debt/Karma by proxy. We know she's trying to balance her books, so there is that possibility.
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Has anyone heard from the original poster? How did the Q&A go? Was he able to ask his questions? Learn anything new?
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Living in New York my whole life has really turned me into a pizza snob.
It's possible to turn into a Pizza snob outside Italy? :o
As to Goodman's Rent, it seemed clearly of the divine variety from how he said it, and with the Naagloshii's heavenly issues, that seems indeed to be something to stay on Heaven's un-smitten side.
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I wonder if maybe he isn't working for Mab, and he's trying to help pay off some of her Debt/Karma by proxy. We know she's trying to balance her books, so there is that possibility.
The emphasis on rent suggests it's not just any old debt; there's some specific element of paying to be somewhere.
It's probably something to do with being able to retain his strength and shape-shifting off of the traditional skinwalker territories. I'd tend to guess the full-blooded skinwalkers might not take too kindly to him living on their turf.
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Yes, but a dollar? How would that pay anything? I'm thinking the dollar was a symbol for something else.
Or maybe, like the Fay, he "charged" a dollar, but is really putting Harry into a bigger debt than Harry knows. (I really doubt this, but hey, as long as we're asking)
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Or maybe, like the Fay, he "charged" a dollar, but is really putting Harry into a bigger debt than Harry knows. (I really doubt this, but hey, as long as we're asking)
I also doubt this because Harry paying him a dollar signified the end of their agreement. Their was an exchange of services for the payment. I don't see a way Gray could come back later and demand more. Especially since Harry has previously shown caution in contracts and agreements.
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It's possible to turn into a Pizza snob outside Italy? :o
Oh yeah. I'll bend the knee to Italy when it comes to pasta, but I'll stack Branchinelli's pizza against anything Italy has to offer.
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I also doubt this because Harry paying him a dollar signified the end of their agreement. Their was an exchange of services for the payment. I don't see a way Gray could come back later and demand more. Especially since Harry has previously shown caution in contracts and agreements.
That was kind of the thought behind him doing things to pay of debts for others.
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Oh yeah. I'll bend the knee to Italy when it comes to pasta, but I'll stack Branchinelli's pizza against anything Italy has to offer.
Especially because italian pizza isn't that good.
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That was kind of the thought behind him doing things to pay of debts for others.
I figured what Grey was really getting out of the matter was mainly from Vadderung in exchange for just being available for Harry to 'hire'. It was probably only a dollar because some aspect of the job appealed to him and he just has to keep up his code of being a mercenary so he has to charge something.
Like, Kincaid would probably not care much about money either if someone was shopping around contracts on Nicodemus. Payment would just be a mercenary excuse for doing something he really wants to anyway. (Actually, with Nic left on the run at the end of SG and Marcone having put a price on him, I wonder if Kincaid will be tempted to leave Ivy's service now that she's older and go head-hunting)
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I could totally see that.
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I figured what Grey was really getting out of the matter was mainly from Vadderung in exchange for just being available for Harry to 'hire'. It was probably only a dollar because some aspect of the job appealed to him and he just has to keep up his code of being a mercenary so he has to charge something.
Like, Kincaid would probably not care much about money either if someone was shopping around contracts on Nicodemus. Payment would just be a mercenary excuse for doing something he really wants to anyway. (Actually, with Nic left on the run at the end of SG and Marcone having put a price on him, I wonder if Kincaid will be tempted to leave Ivy's service now that she's older and go head-hunting)
Disagree about Kincaid. He has a lot of expenses to pay for every job. That equipment doesn't come cheap.
He also seems to have developed a certain degree of fondness for Ivy. Unsure if paternal, fraternal, or just a friend, but we see a dose of it in Small Favor. I think he's sticking with her for the long haul.
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"To pay the rent" reminds me of Midnight Oil song "Beds are Burning."