On with Temeraire!
Nov. 9th, 2011 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasarielI've been burning (no pun intended) through the Temeraire series, which is both a good and a bad thing: good because it's all kinds of amazing, but bad because I've just finished Black Powder War, and someone else has the next book, Empire of Ivory checked out, and it isn't due until the 26th. *sob* So I've broken down and bought them; they should be here in a few days.
As far as Throne of Jade goes, it's not my favorite, but it's by no means bad. I really grew to like poor Hammond, so obviously waaaaay out of his depth, especially after the battle against the hunhun. He was vastly under-qualified, sometimes a bit of a dick, and, yeah, not overburdened with social graces, but he tried his lil' heart out, and acquitted himself in the aforementioned battle more than well enough to make me like him. Actually, a lot of Hammond moments are some of the funniest: like in Aubrey/Maturin, I rarely, if ever, get tired of "genius civilian is oblivious of social graces & military protocol" humor, although these bits would probably end up more annoying than funny if both Hammond and Maturin weren't dead useful in other areas.
A lot of the book was taken up with sailing, which I admit I wasn't looking forward to all that much. but it turned out not to be that bad. In my previous experience with Age of Sail fiction, if it takes three months to get somewhere, you will read about every damn mile. But here, thankfully, we didn't have to read about every time they took the sails down, which was nice. I liked Captain Riley, but he didn't make much of an impression on me; he was just sort of the "supportive buddy" character who's necessary to the plot, but not all that exciting.
Oddly enough, Yongxing being the villain of the piece was actually a bit surprising. He'd been set up as so thoroughly unlikeable, we were so perfectly set up to hate him, that I was expecting Naomi Novik to pull the usual (if that's the right word) reversal of revealing that Yongxing has at least something approaching a good reason for disliking Westerners, and the real villain would turn out to be someone previously thought trustworthy, or at least neutrally friendly. So by not doing the usual subversion, Novik is actually more surprising, which is interesting on a meta-level.
By far my favorite element of Throne of Jade was the introduction of Lien, who's looking to be a great Big Bad for the series. I do enjoy the standard blustering, frothing, bellowing, Gregor Clegane-like juggernaut o' evil, but I enjoy them because they're so obviously going to lose to the much smarter heroes. This kind of villain is good for one-offs or shorter works, but ultimately, they make you wonder why the heroes don't just outwit him, which is why I like Lien's type of villain better in the long run. Lien, like Littlefinger, like Saruman, like the Master, isn't scary because she's physically intimidating and clearly unstable and (in Lien's case, at least) can stomp you into mush, but because she's so scarily competent. There's no assurance that she'll be defeated by the heroes' superior intellect; she's more than a match for them both physically and mentally. It's because of this, because they have to work so much harder to keep up with her, let alone beat her, that I find her type of villain so much more interesting (as well as sustainable, story-wise). Also, the scene where she quietly, almost pleasantly, informs (informs, not threatens) Temeraire that she's not going to kill him, she's going to destroy everyone and everything he's ever loved, is chilling.
I don't quite know why, but I liked Black Powder War much more than Throne of Jade. Maybe it's because we spent more time with the crew and less time with characters we're more or less sure won't show up again. Maybe it's because BPW is more of a travelouge/Indiana Jones-type adventure, while Throne of Jade is more sedate and concerned with political wrangling, and the characters just seem to have so much more fun with the former than the latter. Like I said, I dunno.
One of the things I liked about BPW was that members of the crew really started to show their own individual personalities, whereas previously they just seemed to be Laurence (of course) Emily Roland, Granby, and...a bunch of other guys. But now they've all started to differentiate themselves, and I'm liking what I see. My favorite of the secondary characters (those who aren't given first names or much character development) is Keynes, the grumbly dragon-surgeon, who gives me some fond memories of Aubrey/Maturin's ever-dissatisfied Killick. But my favorite of the main characters among the crew is harder to decide. Emily Roland, as I may have mentioned, is effing adorable. One of my favorite scenes of hers is when Laurence gets all flustered while trying to explain why she shouldn't bathe naked with a bunch of guys, but she just shrugs it off and tells him that she's already had The Talk. She reminds me strongly of Podrick Payne in a way that makes me d'awww, but I can't quite put my finger on why. Laurence, of course, is ace. I found it very endearing that he tried to dissuade Temeraire from agitating for draconic emancipation not because he thought that dragons shouldn't have rights, but that a lifetime of military service and quasi-political activity has taught him how hard it is for The Powers That Be to grant civil rights to their fellow human beings, let alone big ol' flying lizards, and he doesn't want to see Temeraire's spirits crushed. Of course, one of the many things I'm a sucker for is historical civil rights movements being linked to various fictional groups' struggles for equal rights/independence/not getting killed, and the abolition-dragons' rights link looks like it could go some interesting places.
One thing that really caught my attention in BPW, but has been sneaking up on me for a while, is Granby's development. Laurence, and thus the reader, saw him as just a big meanie poophead throughout a good deal of His Majesty's Dragon, but we (or at least I) started to like him a lot more after the Victoriatus rescue, a liking which solidified during the final battle. In ToJ, he gets even better, and becomes, basically, a "supportive buddy" type, like Cpt. Riley, but more interesting. Not only do we get to find out more about his personal life, but it's also revealed that Granby gave up a shot at one of Observaria's eggs out of loyalty to Laurence and Temeraire, which leads to a very Mal Reynolds-esque, "you're on my crew" vibe, which never fails to give me warm snuggly feelings. And finally, in BPW, he might have become my favorite main (or at least main-ish) character. I love the way he and Temeraire team up in their somewhat exasperated (and usually fruitless) attempts to keep Laurence from haring off and doing something dangerous. Laurence obviously likes him and values his advice, so his internal conflict over whether to wait for the Kazilik (sp?) egg to hatch (which could be seen as self-serving) to urge the crew to go straight to England (which would almost certainly destroy his best chance of becoming a captain himself), feels very realistic and relatable. In that vein, I'm really liking the way his and Laurence's relationship is developing. Early on, I was afraid that Temeraire as a series might run into the old Supernatural problem, where the over-emphasis, to the point of exclusion of all others, on one relationship makes the entire series feel dull and emotionally claustrophobic (because, really, there's only so long you can listen to someone's relationship problems, whether platonic or romantic), but the addition of characters like Granby, Roland (both Rolands, actually), and Tharkay (more on him in a bit) provides some much-needed diversity. But getting back on topic now, I like that Laurence and Granby do seem to really be friends and treat each other as equals, not just "I'm the captain, so everyone has to do what I say!"/"Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir." To top it off, I love meta-y/snarky characters, and Granby's line, after getting wounded/knocked out for about the dozenth time: "I am abominably tired of being knocked on the head," just killed me. I love this especially because getting shot/stabbed/knocked out/otherwise incapacitated in battle is quickly becoming Granby's thing, and it seems very in-character for him to take a sardonic, exasperated view of things rather than whine about it. (Also, this is a trait he shares with Giles, one of my pan-fandom favorite characters, but that's just a personal thing.)
Speaking of exasperated, Tharkay is looking like a worthy addition to the Temeraire dramatis personae. His motivation, forestalling what he sees as inevitable rejection by doing his level best to make everyone dislike him from the get-go, is emotionally compelling without edging into melodrama. Actually, Tharkay is kind of anti-melodrama; everything about him is so subtle and understated. For example, when the crew got caught in the avalanche, one of the most striking moments was one of the quietest: while everyone else is stampeding around, Tharkay is standing off to one side, quietly holding the body of his hawk. We never knew the hawk's name, nor did we see any evidence that he had an unusually strong bond with it, but the quiet grief of that moment, where Tharkay mourns the loss of the one living creature that loved him, was nothing short of tragic. However, I do have one problem with Tharkay's whole loner/"hurt them before they can hurt me" persona: the subplot in Istanbul, where he was apparently in love with the banker's daughter, was kind of a non sequiteur. It came totally out of left field, didn't add anything to his character or the plot in general (we already knew that he faced discrimination due to his mixed parentage and in-between social status and was unhappy about it, which was the only thing that this subplot tells us), and added another, needless layer. It makes a lot of sense that he would leave the crew without telling them in order to sneak around, what with plausible deniability and all that, but adding in the romantic angle just needlessly complicates an already plenty complicated plot. Otherwise, he's a great mysterious Batman-type, and I'm hoping to see a lot more of him in the future.
The other new addition in BPW who looks like she's going to stick around for a while is Iskierka. (Side note: AAAAGGGGHHHH THE SPELLING!!!1!one!! Temeraire! Iskierka! Observaria! The dragons' names are...giving me some trouble, obviously. I'm always reading/spelling Temeraire as Temiaire, or Iskierka as Iskekaria, or Observaria as Obversaria, or something like that. Fail, me. XP) Her willingness to fight is at once kinda endearing, and kinda Scrappy-Doo-like. Whenever Iskierka, who is small enough to be carried by a human, squalls about wanting to fight, I imagine her squeaking "lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" in a Scrappy-Doo voice, swinging her "fists" and being held back by Temeraire. I can see how this could get incredibly annoying in a book or two, especially if she doesn't turn out to be that good of a fighter, but right now it's mostly cute.
I think my favorite part of BPW, plot-wise, was the whole Istanbul bit. Maybe it's because the Indiana Jones theme was running through my head for most of it (especially the midnight chase by the palace guards and theidol egg theft/Daring Escape at the end), but there was nothing in it that I didn't like, with the possible exception of the pointless Tharkay-in-lurve subplot and, of course, the death of Digby. It had sneaky obsequious villains, political intrigue liberally spiced with fisticuffs, a decent mystery, a truly scary encounter with the Big Bad, and was topped off with the aforementioned Daring Escape.
I'm not all that well-versed in Napoleonic history, but I gather that the whole "Napoleon steamrolling Prussia/Poland/Russia" bit is where we really start going off the beaten path, history-wise. The scene with Lien and Napoleon was oddly touching, in that we got to see a slightly softer side of Lien, who is obviously still grieving, and Laurence had his preconception that Napoleon is some sort of psychopathic midget dispelled. This also seems to be where we get to meet a lot more RL historical figures, who are kind of a mixed bag. The Queen kicked all kinds of ass, in a Thayet kind of way, but she was the only one who really made an impression on me. Maybe it's because, like I said, this isn't really my area of expertise, but all the other Generals and Princes and whatnot sort of ran together under the mental heading of "doomed middle-aged/elderly military officer."
As far as the ending goes, Naomi Novik did the now-usual thing where she gives me what I'd expected, but not in the way I expected it, if you know what I mean. I was looking for an eleventh-hour save by Lily's formation, possibly including Hollin on his all-growed-up Winchester (I forget his/her name, if we've heard it yet), but I turned out to be right about the last-minute dragons, but wrong about their identities, so it all works out. Now, I just can't wait for them to get back to England. TBH, I just can't wait for the next book, period. *checks Amazon obsessively*
Just a quick note on another Nerd News front: I finally got my mitts on a copy of Snuff, so my Temeraire-less-induced despair is somewhat alleviated. Awaaaay to the Discworld!
As far as Throne of Jade goes, it's not my favorite, but it's by no means bad. I really grew to like poor Hammond, so obviously waaaaay out of his depth, especially after the battle against the hunhun. He was vastly under-qualified, sometimes a bit of a dick, and, yeah, not overburdened with social graces, but he tried his lil' heart out, and acquitted himself in the aforementioned battle more than well enough to make me like him. Actually, a lot of Hammond moments are some of the funniest: like in Aubrey/Maturin, I rarely, if ever, get tired of "genius civilian is oblivious of social graces & military protocol" humor, although these bits would probably end up more annoying than funny if both Hammond and Maturin weren't dead useful in other areas.
A lot of the book was taken up with sailing, which I admit I wasn't looking forward to all that much. but it turned out not to be that bad. In my previous experience with Age of Sail fiction, if it takes three months to get somewhere, you will read about every damn mile. But here, thankfully, we didn't have to read about every time they took the sails down, which was nice. I liked Captain Riley, but he didn't make much of an impression on me; he was just sort of the "supportive buddy" character who's necessary to the plot, but not all that exciting.
Oddly enough, Yongxing being the villain of the piece was actually a bit surprising. He'd been set up as so thoroughly unlikeable, we were so perfectly set up to hate him, that I was expecting Naomi Novik to pull the usual (if that's the right word) reversal of revealing that Yongxing has at least something approaching a good reason for disliking Westerners, and the real villain would turn out to be someone previously thought trustworthy, or at least neutrally friendly. So by not doing the usual subversion, Novik is actually more surprising, which is interesting on a meta-level.
By far my favorite element of Throne of Jade was the introduction of Lien, who's looking to be a great Big Bad for the series. I do enjoy the standard blustering, frothing, bellowing, Gregor Clegane-like juggernaut o' evil, but I enjoy them because they're so obviously going to lose to the much smarter heroes. This kind of villain is good for one-offs or shorter works, but ultimately, they make you wonder why the heroes don't just outwit him, which is why I like Lien's type of villain better in the long run. Lien, like Littlefinger, like Saruman, like the Master, isn't scary because she's physically intimidating and clearly unstable and (in Lien's case, at least) can stomp you into mush, but because she's so scarily competent. There's no assurance that she'll be defeated by the heroes' superior intellect; she's more than a match for them both physically and mentally. It's because of this, because they have to work so much harder to keep up with her, let alone beat her, that I find her type of villain so much more interesting (as well as sustainable, story-wise). Also, the scene where she quietly, almost pleasantly, informs (informs, not threatens) Temeraire that she's not going to kill him, she's going to destroy everyone and everything he's ever loved, is chilling.
I don't quite know why, but I liked Black Powder War much more than Throne of Jade. Maybe it's because we spent more time with the crew and less time with characters we're more or less sure won't show up again. Maybe it's because BPW is more of a travelouge/Indiana Jones-type adventure, while Throne of Jade is more sedate and concerned with political wrangling, and the characters just seem to have so much more fun with the former than the latter. Like I said, I dunno.
One of the things I liked about BPW was that members of the crew really started to show their own individual personalities, whereas previously they just seemed to be Laurence (of course) Emily Roland, Granby, and...a bunch of other guys. But now they've all started to differentiate themselves, and I'm liking what I see. My favorite of the secondary characters (those who aren't given first names or much character development) is Keynes, the grumbly dragon-surgeon, who gives me some fond memories of Aubrey/Maturin's ever-dissatisfied Killick. But my favorite of the main characters among the crew is harder to decide. Emily Roland, as I may have mentioned, is effing adorable. One of my favorite scenes of hers is when Laurence gets all flustered while trying to explain why she shouldn't bathe naked with a bunch of guys, but she just shrugs it off and tells him that she's already had The Talk. She reminds me strongly of Podrick Payne in a way that makes me d'awww, but I can't quite put my finger on why. Laurence, of course, is ace. I found it very endearing that he tried to dissuade Temeraire from agitating for draconic emancipation not because he thought that dragons shouldn't have rights, but that a lifetime of military service and quasi-political activity has taught him how hard it is for The Powers That Be to grant civil rights to their fellow human beings, let alone big ol' flying lizards, and he doesn't want to see Temeraire's spirits crushed. Of course, one of the many things I'm a sucker for is historical civil rights movements being linked to various fictional groups' struggles for equal rights/independence/not getting killed, and the abolition-dragons' rights link looks like it could go some interesting places.
One thing that really caught my attention in BPW, but has been sneaking up on me for a while, is Granby's development. Laurence, and thus the reader, saw him as just a big meanie poophead throughout a good deal of His Majesty's Dragon, but we (or at least I) started to like him a lot more after the Victoriatus rescue, a liking which solidified during the final battle. In ToJ, he gets even better, and becomes, basically, a "supportive buddy" type, like Cpt. Riley, but more interesting. Not only do we get to find out more about his personal life, but it's also revealed that Granby gave up a shot at one of Observaria's eggs out of loyalty to Laurence and Temeraire, which leads to a very Mal Reynolds-esque, "you're on my crew" vibe, which never fails to give me warm snuggly feelings. And finally, in BPW, he might have become my favorite main (or at least main-ish) character. I love the way he and Temeraire team up in their somewhat exasperated (and usually fruitless) attempts to keep Laurence from haring off and doing something dangerous. Laurence obviously likes him and values his advice, so his internal conflict over whether to wait for the Kazilik (sp?) egg to hatch (which could be seen as self-serving) to urge the crew to go straight to England (which would almost certainly destroy his best chance of becoming a captain himself), feels very realistic and relatable. In that vein, I'm really liking the way his and Laurence's relationship is developing. Early on, I was afraid that Temeraire as a series might run into the old Supernatural problem, where the over-emphasis, to the point of exclusion of all others, on one relationship makes the entire series feel dull and emotionally claustrophobic (because, really, there's only so long you can listen to someone's relationship problems, whether platonic or romantic), but the addition of characters like Granby, Roland (both Rolands, actually), and Tharkay (more on him in a bit) provides some much-needed diversity. But getting back on topic now, I like that Laurence and Granby do seem to really be friends and treat each other as equals, not just "I'm the captain, so everyone has to do what I say!"/"Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir." To top it off, I love meta-y/snarky characters, and Granby's line, after getting wounded/knocked out for about the dozenth time: "I am abominably tired of being knocked on the head," just killed me. I love this especially because getting shot/stabbed/knocked out/otherwise incapacitated in battle is quickly becoming Granby's thing, and it seems very in-character for him to take a sardonic, exasperated view of things rather than whine about it. (Also, this is a trait he shares with Giles, one of my pan-fandom favorite characters, but that's just a personal thing.)
Speaking of exasperated, Tharkay is looking like a worthy addition to the Temeraire dramatis personae. His motivation, forestalling what he sees as inevitable rejection by doing his level best to make everyone dislike him from the get-go, is emotionally compelling without edging into melodrama. Actually, Tharkay is kind of anti-melodrama; everything about him is so subtle and understated. For example, when the crew got caught in the avalanche, one of the most striking moments was one of the quietest: while everyone else is stampeding around, Tharkay is standing off to one side, quietly holding the body of his hawk. We never knew the hawk's name, nor did we see any evidence that he had an unusually strong bond with it, but the quiet grief of that moment, where Tharkay mourns the loss of the one living creature that loved him, was nothing short of tragic. However, I do have one problem with Tharkay's whole loner/"hurt them before they can hurt me" persona: the subplot in Istanbul, where he was apparently in love with the banker's daughter, was kind of a non sequiteur. It came totally out of left field, didn't add anything to his character or the plot in general (we already knew that he faced discrimination due to his mixed parentage and in-between social status and was unhappy about it, which was the only thing that this subplot tells us), and added another, needless layer. It makes a lot of sense that he would leave the crew without telling them in order to sneak around, what with plausible deniability and all that, but adding in the romantic angle just needlessly complicates an already plenty complicated plot. Otherwise, he's a great mysterious Batman-type, and I'm hoping to see a lot more of him in the future.
The other new addition in BPW who looks like she's going to stick around for a while is Iskierka. (Side note: AAAAGGGGHHHH THE SPELLING!!!1!one!! Temeraire! Iskierka! Observaria! The dragons' names are...giving me some trouble, obviously. I'm always reading/spelling Temeraire as Temiaire, or Iskierka as Iskekaria, or Observaria as Obversaria, or something like that. Fail, me. XP) Her willingness to fight is at once kinda endearing, and kinda Scrappy-Doo-like. Whenever Iskierka, who is small enough to be carried by a human, squalls about wanting to fight, I imagine her squeaking "lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" in a Scrappy-Doo voice, swinging her "fists" and being held back by Temeraire. I can see how this could get incredibly annoying in a book or two, especially if she doesn't turn out to be that good of a fighter, but right now it's mostly cute.
I think my favorite part of BPW, plot-wise, was the whole Istanbul bit. Maybe it's because the Indiana Jones theme was running through my head for most of it (especially the midnight chase by the palace guards and the
I'm not all that well-versed in Napoleonic history, but I gather that the whole "Napoleon steamrolling Prussia/Poland/Russia" bit is where we really start going off the beaten path, history-wise. The scene with Lien and Napoleon was oddly touching, in that we got to see a slightly softer side of Lien, who is obviously still grieving, and Laurence had his preconception that Napoleon is some sort of psychopathic midget dispelled. This also seems to be where we get to meet a lot more RL historical figures, who are kind of a mixed bag. The Queen kicked all kinds of ass, in a Thayet kind of way, but she was the only one who really made an impression on me. Maybe it's because, like I said, this isn't really my area of expertise, but all the other Generals and Princes and whatnot sort of ran together under the mental heading of "doomed middle-aged/elderly military officer."
As far as the ending goes, Naomi Novik did the now-usual thing where she gives me what I'd expected, but not in the way I expected it, if you know what I mean. I was looking for an eleventh-hour save by Lily's formation, possibly including Hollin on his all-growed-up Winchester (I forget his/her name, if we've heard it yet), but I turned out to be right about the last-minute dragons, but wrong about their identities, so it all works out. Now, I just can't wait for them to get back to England. TBH, I just can't wait for the next book, period. *checks Amazon obsessively*
Just a quick note on another Nerd News front: I finally got my mitts on a copy of Snuff, so my Temeraire-less-induced despair is somewhat alleviated. Awaaaay to the Discworld!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 04:46 am (UTC)One of the things I really like about Granby and Emily and everyone else is how they grew up in the Corps and so consider things normal that outsider-Laurence can't get his mind around, and they're just kind of lovingly going, "Yep, that's Laurence being all weird, what're you gonna do" when he starts in on some of his unusual ideas.
(There's a great-but-spoilery Granby-through-the-books doodle that addresses one of your favorite aspects of him, btw :)
Much as I love Laurence and the Rolands and Granby and, well, everyone, Tharkay is probably my favorite human character. (I do agree the banker's daughter subplot seemed to sort of come out of nowhere.)
OMG LOL, I never made the connection, but Iskierka is so totally Scrappy! XD
And I love Napoleon and Lien as a team of really, really competent antagonists. I've always had a bit of a historical crush on Napoleon, and the addition of a really scary dragon to his team can only make me like him more :)
I haven't read Snuff yet, so I'm jealous!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 05:35 am (UTC)Yup! I admit I was a little afraid of the series veering into melodrama territory, what with all the tragic backstories and death and angst and so on, but one of the things that really anchors the series, at least for me, is Keynes. I just love it whenever Laurence is spazzing out because "OMG TEMERAIRE IS HUUUURT", and Keynes just shoves him out of the way and tells Temeraire not to be such a big baby. XD
(There's a great-but-spoilery Granby-through-the-books doodle that addresses one of your favorite aspects of him, btw :)
I've run across this before (the Temeraire fandom, as I'm finding out, is a small world), and it's my favorite Temeraire fanwork that I've seen so far (although, naturally, I'm avoiding fic and spoilery art until I'm caught up). I love the look on his face in the "When is my hair *not* on fire?" panel. Hee!
OMG LOL, I never made the connection, but Iskierka is so totally Scrappy! XD
Inorite? Now every time she speaks, I hear Scrappy's squeaky voice. But that leads to Temeraire speaking in Scooby-Doo's voice, and Laurence in Shaggy's, and then things just get silly. XD
And I love Napoleon and Lien as a team of really, really competent antagonists.
Oh, these two kick so much ass (as well as make a weird sort of [entirely sexless!] power couple). I sincerely hope we'll get to see more of them...
no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 06:00 am (UTC)Exactly! :D Actually, I generally agree with your sentiments ont he melodrama -- there are definitely characters with a tendency to descend into it, as is the sub-genre convention anyway, but then there are these great level-headed characters like Keynes and the Rolands and Tharkay who will call them out on the melodrama, and I love that dynamic.
The "When is my hair *not* on fire?" is hands down my favorite bit of that art. That's actually how I tried searching for it first, 'cos that's the way I think about it. XD
But that leads to Temeraire speaking in Scooby-Doo's voice, and Laurence in Shaggy's, and then things just get silly. XD
Oh my god, this is one of those cannot unsee things! But, but, who's everyone else? Harcourt is obviously Daphne, but I'm not sure about Fred and Velma...
As for Napoleon and Lien, my favorite bit with them is actually the Lien short story I mentioned, "In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks over the Wide River" (in the Wings of Fire anthology, or apparently the newer 3-in-1 omnibus reprints of the first three books, although my omnibus predates it).
no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 09:29 pm (UTC)Hmm...Roland as Velma, maybe? She's often the smartest one around, and she isn't afraid to tell other people when they're dead wrong (from what I've seen of her, at least). Although, of course, YMMV, since there have been so many different versions of Velma. As for Fred, I could see Berkley or Admiral Lenton. Berkley is the genial-if-slightly-out-of-touch type, but Lenton is the authority figure who's forced to split the gang up at inopportune moments...
the Lien short story I mentioned, "In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks over the Wide River" (in the Wings of Fire anthology
Does this have spoilers past BPW? I'm looking for something to fill the gap until the rest of the series arrives. XD
no subject
Date: 2011-11-12 02:18 am (UTC)I don't think the Lien short story has spoilers past BPW, at least not for any actual events. It was attached to the end of the HMD/TOJ/BPW omnibus at one point, so I figure it's safe after BPW.