Author Topic: Like and like not (major spoilers)  (Read 11757 times)

Offline Dina

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Like and like not (major spoilers)
« on: October 22, 2015, 06:02:17 PM »
What are the scenes you liked the most? and the least? I can't decide one for the first but I am sure of the latter.

Like:
The prologue
Gwen with Kettle helping with the cristals.
Grimm watching Bridget carrying Benedict (and Rowl)
Master Ferus being attacked by 3 men.
(and about a hundred more!)  :)


Don't like
The scenes preceding "Cavendish twitching a finger". Seriously, I understand we needed an excuse to see Cavendish power and why Spira was so wary of her but the excuse itself felt too forced for me. We were told that Aurorans officer are proud of being gentleman with the ladies and here we have a young officer who directly offends the woman who is having tea with his commander. He is being rude even after his commander has told him to leave the room. And he offended a lady, because Cavendish is a not so young woman with fine clothes who is having tea with Spira and protected by custodians. I think his behavior would have been rude in a pirate but was totally out of character in an Auroran officer.
(sorry, I was carried on)
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 Mith

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2015, 06:24:04 PM »
Personally, I interpreted that scene as "foolish green officers with his head full of self importance".  Just because something is expected of people, doesn't mean that they follow.  I do not remember the context of the scene (I'll have to re read the book), but if the officer felt like he was under pressure, stress at being in enemy territory could have made him rash.

From a Doyalist point of view, I am sure that the officer was to serve as a counter point to Cassie's similar and much more controlled, (and effective) disregard of Cavendish.
Mister will never die, because Jim has already been threatened with typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and smog by the betas if he tries to off Mister.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2015, 06:47:12 PM »
From a Doyalist point of view, I am sure that the officer was to serve as a counter point to Cassie's similar and much more controlled, (and effective) disregard of Cavendish.

Uh...what is Doyalist? Who is Cassie? Disregard Cavendish is a foolish mistake.
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 Mith

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2015, 09:18:35 PM »
Doyalist is an out of universe for something to happen in the story (the term comes from Arthur Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes, and is oposite to the in universe reason as Watsonian Reason

Cassie is Ransom (the captain of the Mistshark.  I couldn't recall the proper spelling of her first name, so I took a shortened version.
Mister will never die, because Jim has already been threatened with typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and smog by the betas if he tries to off Mister.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2015, 09:39:18 PM »
I thought it could be related with Conan Doyle but I thought that would be "Doylist". Thanks for the info.
And it's Calliope, which is a very beautiful name I never use for her because I don't like her. I feel that she didn't deserves such a beautiful name  :)
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 Mith

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2015, 04:46:31 AM »
All I knew was that she was named after a Muse.

As for my opinion of her, I feel like she could become a more likable character given time.  We do not yet know what exactly set the divide between her and Grimm.  I'm not saying that she is a nice person now, but the fact that she tried to get Grimm out of the way before hand does put some points in her favour.  She's still better then Invalida.
Mister will never die, because Jim has already been threatened with typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and smog by the betas if he tries to off Mister.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2015, 04:51:56 AM »
Who is Invalida? What an awful name!!!!!!
I am not saying Ransom is not nice, I just think she is a weak character that makes Grimm and Cavendish weaker and I just don't like her.
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 Mith

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2015, 04:54:48 AM »
That was a mispelliling on my part.  I was thinking of Invidia from Codex Alera.  I was remembering the name wrong because I was thinking of her being a "broken" character.
Mister will never die, because Jim has already been threatened with typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and smog by the betas if he tries to off Mister.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2015, 04:58:48 AM »
Ah, all right. I have not read CA. Also, Invidia it's not a nice name either, as it sounds too much to "envidia" (envy)
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 Mith

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2015, 05:14:36 AM »
That does fit her.
Mister will never die, because Jim has already been threatened with typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and smog by the betas if he tries to off Mister.

Offline 2,176,847

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2015, 07:24:39 PM »
Loved:

Ferus and Folly
Captain Grimm as the cook
Rowl's perspective when dealing with other cats (Rowl's POV when dealing with humans less so)

Liked:

Cavendish as nearly as spooky as Mab
Gwen Lancasters bombasity and the trouble it caused
The arial combat was very well done

Did not like:


Not much
The pace seemed to slow here and there but maybe I'm too used to DF's rapid fire pace and a comparisson is unfair?
Super nitpicky but twice (I think) Jim said something to the effect of "This is the point in a story where you would expect "x" to happen, but this is not that story". Jim is too good of a writer to resort to explaining what kind of writer he isn't. Took me outside the book a bit. Like I said though, that's really nitpicky.


Great new adventure for me overall. Will reread it for sure ahead of Cinder Spires two. Also my first steampunk novel and I may just have to seek out some more. Great fun.
"I'm no philosopher, Harry, but here's something for you to think about, at least. What goes around comes around. And sometimes you get what comes around. And, sometimes you are what's coming around." -Michael Carpenter

Offline Aminar

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2015, 04:19:59 PM »
Loved:

Ferus and Folly
Captain Grimm as the cook
Rowl's perspective when dealing with other cats (Rowl's POV when dealing with humans less so)

Liked:

Cavendish as nearly as spooky as Mab
Gwen Lancasters bombasity and the trouble it caused
The arial combat was very well done

Did not like:


Not much
The pace seemed to slow here and there but maybe I'm too used to DF's rapid fire pace and a comparisson is unfair?
Super nitpicky but twice (I think) Jim said something to the effect of "This is the point in a story where you would expect "x" to happen, but this is not that story". Jim is too good of a writer to resort to explaining what kind of writer he isn't. Took me outside the book a bit. Like I said though, that's really nitpicky.


Great new adventure for me overall. Will reread it for sure ahead of Cinder Spires two. Also my first steampunk novel and I may just have to seek out some more. Great fun.
But it is what a character with an understanding of narrative would say.
Too often our characters live in a world where nobody has any sense of story or genre awareness. It's fun to see characters acknowledge the conventions of storytelling versus our more postmodern trope refutation tastes.
As for liked.
Airships.
Cats, although the spurs were... Unnecesary and jarring.
Most of the story.
Dislikes.
Jim making better use of ether as a weatherish function than me.
The prologue up until the twist is revealed.
The strategic long term maladies of characters who would have killed the tension.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2015, 05:47:00 PM »
The strategic long term maladies of characters who would have killed the tension.

Explain, please?
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 Rygar

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2015, 08:06:31 PM »
Explain, please?

I'd venture to guess he means Ferrus becoming incapacitated at a dramatically appropriate moment and things like that.

Offline Dina

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Re: Like and like not (major spoilers)
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2015, 08:15:29 PM »
Ah, thank you. My only problem with that was that they wanted to recovered the things so they couldn't try and blow the Mistshark and Cavendish to Kingdom Come.
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)