Author Topic: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3  (Read 135207 times)

Offline Dina

  • Has Collapsed Into a Singularity of Posts (a.k.a, "The Dina")
  • ***
  • Posts: 105314
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #165 on: May 30, 2010, 11:06:12 PM »
And there are at least 10 more planned books.

Apparently, yes. Harry is dead. In october you could check "Aftermath", a new short story that would be published on "Side Jobs", the book that recollects the short stories of the Dresdenverse. Aftermath takes place 45 minutes after "Changes" and it is narrated by Murphy.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

Offline Thanatos

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #166 on: June 01, 2010, 01:26:51 AM »
And there are at least 10 more planned books.

Apparently, yes. Harry is dead. In October you could check "Aftermath", a new short story that would be published on "Side Jobs", the book that recollects the short stories of the Dresdenverse. Aftermath takes place 45 minutes after "Changes" and it is narrated by Murphy.
If he is dead, but is then resuscitated (second time for that trick, so I doubt that's exactly how it plays out), then I guess that technically releases him from Winter Knighthood. There is no "spirit of the law" in Faerie rules, so the technicality stands. It stands, even as crazy as it may make Mab to have finally gotten whom she loves, only to have him independent, unowned again. Really, do you think Maeve or Aurora made such a production to celebrate when they claimed Slate or Reuel? Harry was starting to melt the Ice Queen's heart a little, and since she cannot be other than what her nature makes her, the paradox made her a little nuts. The cold snap after losing him so soon is sure to be horrific. I wouldn't be surprised if all of Lake Michigan freezes solid down to it's bed this winter.

All just speculation of course, and I can't wait to see how it actually develops. This is the first true cliffhanger ending, I think. That's certainly done what it's supposed to do!

Offline jbmdw45

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 289
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #167 on: June 01, 2010, 02:04:14 AM »
Of course, there's also the question of who ends up being the closest vessel of Winter that ends up with the mantle. Toot-toot usually isn't far from Harry, and he considers himself part of winter now, right? That would be hilarious in a way, but also very sad if Mab does something nasty to him in a fit of rage. She's also unlikely to recruit a new Knight anytime soon, as she tries to get Harry back. Whomever ends up holding the mantle may be blocked up in ice for a while.

Only the Queens are eligible vessels for the Knight's power. If just any Summer faerie could receive the power, Harry wouldn't have been able to deduce anything useful from the information the Mothers gave him in Summer Knight--in particular, he wouldn't have known that Aurora did it.

-Max

Offline Thanatos

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #168 on: June 01, 2010, 02:49:05 AM »
Only the Queens are eligible vessels for the Knight's power. If just any Summer faerie could receive the power, Harry wouldn't have been able to deduce anything useful from the information the Mothers gave him in Summer Knight--in particular, he wouldn't have known that Aurora did it.

-Max
Hmm, ok... I just figured Aurora made sure she was near when it happened, but I see your point. Scratch that part, then.

Offline neofyte

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 224
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #169 on: June 01, 2010, 06:48:57 AM »
I love the PowerPuff Girls. Bubbles is my fav

MoJo JoJo for me  :)
My ego is like a kid brother.  He follows me around, gets in the way, and sometimes embarrasses the heck out of me.  But I've learned to love the little guy.  After all, he means well.  And he responds better to my love than my loathing.

Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

  • O. M. G.
  • ***
  • Posts: 39098
  • Riding eternal, shiny and Firefox
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #170 on: June 01, 2010, 03:54:20 PM »
It stands, even as crazy as it may make Mab to have finally gotten whom she loves, only to have him independent, unowned again. Really, do you think Maeve or Aurora made such a production to celebrate when they claimed Slate or Reuel?

"loves " ?

Harry is the strongest wizard of his generation, and Mab may well know about his nigh-unique power over Outsiders; that's plenty of reason to celebrate exceptionally, without an atom of love involved.
Mildly OCD. Please do not troll.

"What do you mean, Lawful Silly isn't a valid alignment?"

kittensgame, Sandcastle Builder, Homestuck, Welcome to Night Vale, Civ III, lots of print genre SF, and old-school SATT gaming if I had the time.  Also Pandemic Legacy is the best game ever.

Offline Aakaakaak

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 3834
  • Kittens taste great and stay crunchy in milk!
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #171 on: June 01, 2010, 04:51:19 PM »
So to play off Ms. Duck's idea a bit...

Is it possible for a pure mortal human (with or without powers) to become fae or sidhe through an ascension or other means?
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Clarke
"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology." - Niven
"Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." - Neurovore
"Sufficiently advanced technology my ass" - Dresden

Offline Thanatos

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #172 on: June 03, 2010, 08:39:16 AM »
"loves " ?

Harry is the strongest wizard of his generation, and Mab may well know about his nigh-unique power over Outsiders; that's plenty of reason to celebrate exceptionally, without an atom of love involved.

Harry has a history of making nonhuman minds a little more human by the way he interacts with them, such as with Bob and Lash. it's almost as if thinking of them in human terms causes his mortal free will to rub off on them a little. Mab is far more powerful, so her core nature would stay the same, but he may have left some scratches on the surface of the glacier. To someone that's never perceived herself in any way outside her own eternally unchanging nature, that might be significant. That may be part of why she's been acting increasingly odd lately.

Offline cass

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2577
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #173 on: June 05, 2010, 03:08:31 PM »
Changes Question....
(click to show/hide)

Offline Thanatos

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #174 on: June 05, 2010, 05:50:14 PM »
I noticed that too, Cass, but I figure that either Jim used the wrong word or the editor changed it to the wrong word. Midsummer/Litha and Midwinter/Yule are indeed solstices. Since so much of Summer Knight is based on that timing, as opposed to the smaller part it plays in Changes, I'll take SK as the dominant reference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year


I think modern Druids tend to focus on the solstice & equinox days (using the "Alban-" names), but since in-between times are supposed to be more significant to witches, Wicca considers the halfway points between a solstice and equinox to be it's greater holidays. Since many Celtic groups considered a new day to begin just after sunset, celebrations for Samhain would have begun on the night of the day before (10/31) according to our current calendar that starts the new day at midnight. Thus, if Harry was born after sundown, he's a Samhain baby.

Offline cass

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2577
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #175 on: June 05, 2010, 07:02:26 PM »
Oh, I'm not doubting that the equinoxes are important to at least *some* denizens of Faerie.  I was just pointing out that Harry's thought process in Changes doesn't match up with our understanding of how that portion of Faerie politics works from SK.

I guess my faith in Jim, Jim's editor and/or the betas is such that I didn't think that using the word "equinox" in place of "solstice" would be unintentional. (I'm paranoid, you say? Why thank you!)  Hence my rambling question about whether it was intended as a clue to an as-yet-untold segment of Faerie politics, or whether it's merely a mistake on Harry's part. (And if my faith in the author and his editing staff is misplaced? Then the second explanation-- "Cut Harry some slack-- he's been through enough to excuse that kind of slip"-- prevails.)

I just want to know if this line is something that should go on my hypothetical corkboard of conspiracy theories.  I also figure that 1) I'm more likely to get an answer if I give Jim an out and 2) if it is significant all Jim has to do in order to cause pain and suffering and rampant speculation (which, I'm told, is pleasing to him) is say, without elaborating, that the word choice was intentional.

Offline Thanatos

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #176 on: June 05, 2010, 08:28:38 PM »
I suppose it could be intentional, meant as a mistake on Harry's part, but I've always thought the books come from his case files. That's the in-character way they're treated in the DFRPG, as well. From the marginalia there, it seems like each was written up at some unspecified time later (much later in the case of Changes, granted) after the case was closed.

Either way, pointing it out can either get it fixed in future editions, or maybe get a confirmation that it was intentional. Arguing about that sort of thing would be pointless and can only screw up the thread.

Thanks for mentioning the equinox/solstice thing, whichever way it turns out. I meant to ask about it myself. In my case, i have the audiobook, so for me there was a third possibility: maybe the draft Mr. Marsters was working from could have been slightly different, if it came from a version prior to the final edit.

Offline Dina

  • Has Collapsed Into a Singularity of Posts (a.k.a, "The Dina")
  • ***
  • Posts: 105314
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #177 on: June 06, 2010, 02:20:22 AM »
I don't think Dresden, as a character, could make such a mistake. Solstices and Equinox days are too important for magic things for that. A wizard, a person who knows things, shouldn't confuse them.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

Offline cass

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2577
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #178 on: June 06, 2010, 03:05:56 AM »
Well, no, he shouldn't-- that's why I wanted confirmation  :D


Let's just say that, given the days leading up to that line, I wouldn't think less of him for having a lapse in vocabulary if, indeed, that's all it was.  ;)

Offline dragon80

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 72
    • View Profile
Re: Questions Specifically for Jim, Part 3
« Reply #179 on: June 06, 2010, 05:14:40 AM »
It doesn't really make a difference because the equinox was still after the solstice, so what he said was correct. He might have used equinox because it would have been the most recent event and didn't want people to confuse what time of the year it was. Of course it could mean everything, a small detail that doesn't come back until the final trilogy and makes everyone go, "Oh, that was what that meant."