Today at Veni, Vidi, Legi: Britannia: Why Bother?

Could cute doggies like this one be the real reason why the Romans invaded?

Britannia: Why Bother?

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan: Week 4

If you haven't read the book, or the whole series, why not join in and read along with the rest of us? This week the links to the other posts can be found at the bottom of this post.

This week we read through to the end of Chapter 18

1) Bravery comes up more than once in Chapter 13. Aviendha on the water, Elayne offering to discuss Rand....What do you think about how the ladies measure bravery?

Poor Aviendha: all that undrinkable water and no view of land!

I have always thought that bravery was the ability to deal with something that scares you witless, no matter what that is. It makes perfect sense that Aviendha would struggle with all that water simply because she comes from a desert environment. For her it is not much different from being suddenly dropped onto an alien planet, although then she would not be the only one to be afraid. Personally, I have never been too scared about admitting that I am terrified of something (like dental work), but the Aiel come from such a harsh environment that only the strong can survive. Plus Aviendha’s time as a Maiden has made her even more sensitive to showing fear. I thought she did rather well. At least she hung on to her stomach contents much longer than Nynaeve didi!

2) Within this section, we see Nynaeve and Elayne beginning negotiations with the Sea Folk for info on the Bowl of Winds, and yet Rand is still ignoring the Sea Folk. When the ladies find out Rand ignored the Sea Folk for so long, what do you think they will do? Why are the Sea Folk so interested in Rand? And if they find out the connection between Rand and the ladies, what do you think the Sea Folk will do?

I know what I want to do to Rand becasue he is ignoring the Sea Folk: give him a good slapping! I would hope that the girls would have a similar reaction, because he is ignoring a very powerful potential ally. This is a people that have tried to speak to him on numerous occasions and he is just ignoring them, which is just plain rude if nothing else. We know that Rand fulfills the prophecies of the Coramoor, but I wonder how long he can ignore then before he mortally offends them forever. I hope that someone makes him realize what an idiot he is being and gets him to talk to them soon, because I think they want to offer him their allegiance.

I am not sure that a connection to Rand will make any difference at the moment to the Bargain that the girls are thrashing out. If he had met with the Sea Folk and made a Bargain things might be very different: what an idiot!

3) Mat recognized Darkfriend Shiaine and followed her to White Cloak Inquisitor Carridin. In turn, Carridin recognizes Mat, and then tells Sammael. Do you think this will change Sammael's plans at all?

It certainly confused Sammael quite a bit, presumably because he had thought that Mat was approaching Illian. This might make him disregard the army marching against him to a certain extent, but it is still a huge mass of men, so I doubt that he will alter his plans too much. I noticed that Sammael mentioned sending ‘someone’ to deal with the Aes Sedai. The way he said this made me think that he was not talking about a normal person, and I wondered if he meant the gholam that killed Hedrid Fel. Removing Fel would certainly be in Sammael’s interest and the gholam could also be the “one who no longer is” that we have been wondering about.

Can I just say that Carridin is walking a very dangerous line by ignoring Sammael’s orders? But he seems to be drinking himself to death, so perhaps he will avoid being toasted by a Forsaken or thrown to a Myrddraal.

4) Mat and women and the example they set for Olver. What did you think of Mat's reaction to Queen Tylin's straight-forward interest? Were you amused by Olver imitating Mat in his interactions with women? Foresee Mat changing his ways?

Poor Mat: he really did not know how to cope with Tylin, did he? This is not the first time that we have seen him terrified of a woman determined to chase him, but it is certainly funny. I think this indicates how truly young and immature he is: you would expect a more experienced man to be able to cope with this. Somehow I can never imagine James Bond looking like a startled rabbit in this situation! :D

I suppose it is funny that Olver is trying to pinch the girls’ bottoms, but it is also a little worrying. I hope that Thom has a good sit down with the young man and teaches him a little of how to approach women in a more dignified manner. However, until Mat calms down and sets a better example, I do not see Olver taking much notice . . . and I cannot see Mat changing much in the near future.

5) Why do you think Mat was attacked at the inn and who do you think sent the men?

Following the earlier chapter, it seems likely that the men are agents of Miri / Shiaine or Carridin. However, he did not have such an agreeable meeting with the Aes Sedai sent by Elaida, so perhaps it was them instead . . .

6) Moghedien seems to be back in the game, at least directing folks from the sidelines. Falion doesn't believe there to be a cache of angreal, but Ispan is ready to search for it. However, Falion has another plan. How do you think that will fare?

So far we have not seen the Black Ajah being particularly successful at anything they attempt, so I am not convinced that they will accomplish much. Also, I cannot believe that anyone would be stupid enough to try to capture someone when the person they are trying to impress has not been in touch for a long time. Plus, if they have been given a task, surely they should concentrate upon that if they want to remain alive.

Their idea of torturing the Wise Women is pretty good, although horrible, and could very well lead them to the cache. However, if the Women are at all organized then they know how significant the cache is and will have made sure that it is well secured and protected. They are also likely to notice if their members start to disappear and take precautions.

7) Rand has women problems, and not because he is bedding too many (at least not yet). Between Berelain demanding she stay, Rand's 'tame' Aes Sedai, and now Cadsuane Sedai, he may need a holiday. Why do you think Cadsuane has appeared and has chosen to show the Dragon Reborn such cheek?

I can understand why Berelain is unhappy about giving up the political advantage of being useful to the Dragon Reborn: she fears that Mayene will be forgotten if she leaves his court. However, this fear stems from her lack of understanding of Rand and how he thinks. He will not betray her, but I she is used to always assuming the worst.

I am not sure if we have heard about Cadsuane before this, but I get the impression she is some sort of ancient Aes Sedai of almost mythical status. It is obvious that she has been retired, and growing roses, for many years, probably because she got tired of all the bickering in the White Tower and wanted a rest. She seems like a great candidate for the Amyrlin Seat, personality wise, so I assume that there is a very interesting story about why she does not hold that position.

As she has come out of a very quiet retirement, I can only assume that Cadsuane is not associated with either of the factions in the breaking of the Tower. She has seen that the Dragon has appeared and decided that he needs her to tell him what to do. She probably thinks that he should be grateful for her advice, but her attitude is going to make it very difficult for him to hear anything she says. I hope that they can come to an understanding because she strikes me as someone who could be very useful to him. However, I think that she will find it difficult to offer him any respect because she has spent her long life telling people what to do and capturing male channelers. I cannot imagine how disgusted she will be when she learns that some of the Sisters have sworn fealty to him. I am also expecting some fireworks when she and Sorilea first meet: either that or they will bond like first-sisters within five minutes!

Other Thoughts

Note to self: never, EVER, let Nynaeve do any negotiations! :D

Finally, someone has noticed Fel’s death. I am not sure what impact this will have on Rand, but I doubt that he will be very happy.

Mat is looking to find an Illuminator. I wonder if this has anything to do with the dream that Egwene had last week?

Dab of Darkness   Musings On Fantasia

Sue's Saturday Suggestions #83

Interesting Books

Red Rising by Pierce Brown, review at Addicted 2 Heroines

Darrow is a miner and a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he digs all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of the planet livable for future generations. Darrow has never seen the sky. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better future for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow and Reds like him are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow joins a resistance group in order to infiltrate the ruling class and destroy society from within. He will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear, review at A Dribble of Ink

Re Temur, legitimate heir to his grandfather’s Khaganate, has finally raised his banner and declared himself at war with his usurping uncle. With his companions—the Wizard Samarkar, the Cho-tse Hrahima, and the silent monk Brother Hsiung—he must make his way to Dragon Lake to gather in his army of followers. But Temur’s enemies are not idle; the leader of the Nameless Assassins, who has shattered the peace of the Steppe, has struck at Temur’s uncle already. To the south, in the Rasan empire, plague rages. To the east, the great city of Asmaracanda has burned, and the Uthman Caliph is deposed. All the world seems to be on fire, and who knows if even the beloved son of the Eternal Sky can save it?

I have listed these titles in earlier SSS posts: check out my SSS Books Page for links to more reviews:

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu, review at Fantasy Literature

Written in Red by Anne Bishop, review at Under the Covers

Articles

Best of ’13 at A Dribble of Ink

The Ranting Dragon offers up:

Top 20 Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels of 2013

Top 30 Most-Anticipated Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels Coming in 2014

This Week at Veni, Vidi, Legi

The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

Challenges for 2014

After having only a partially successful year with Challenges in 2013, I have decided to be a little more flexible in my approach this year and set myself targets that I have a better chance of fulfilling. I am also determined to try to include as many titles as possible from the list of female authors that I have compiled from the recommendations give during the Women in SF&F Month at Fantasy Cafe, which has run in April for the last two years. I have added a page to the blog, which lists these authors and my progress working through the list.

Last year I took part in the Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge over at Worlds Without End and this year they are repeating that challenge and offering several more. At the moment I have signed up to two that will allow me to cross more lady writers of my list, although I have had to sneak George R. R. Martin into one of them to fulfill the criteria of the challenge: that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!

2014 Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge

For more information about this Challenge, you can check out this page.

The rules are relatively straightforward: read twelve female authors from their list that are new to you. Write reviews for each of those twelve books.

The books I propose to read are:

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Bold As Love by Gwyneth Jones

Miserere by Teresa Frohock

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

Of Blood and Honey by Stina Lecht

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

Tinker by Wen Spencer

Transformation by Carol Berg

Warchild by Karin Lowachee

2014 Masterworks Reading Challenge

For more information about this Challenge, you can check out this page.

Again, the rules are simple: read twelve titles from three lists, including two from each (hence my need to include dear George). Write reviews for six of the books.

The books I propose to read are:

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress

The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marilier

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Slow River by Nicola Griffith

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Read Along: Week 3

You can head over to Lynn's Book Blog to see what everyone else thinks.

This week we read up to the end of Chapter 19.

1. After the Chasmfiend attack there were a number of altercations.  Two of these that particularly drew my interest were: the little scene where Wit ridiculed Sadeas - which seems to be a dangerous thing to do given that this could result in a dual or assassination - any ideas about why Wit seems to enjoy provoking Sadeas so much and: during the discussion with the King, Dalinar and Adolin - it seemed that the King became fleetingly suspicious - and later in the story the same look of suspicion crossed his features again during conversation with Dalinar.  What do you think is going on in the King’s head in relation to Dalinar?

I am very conflicted about Sadeas, as I cannot decide if he is a good guy or not. In last week’s reading it seemed like he was a bit of a douchebag, but this week we have been given a much more rounded view of him. However, it seems like he has a pretty bad temper and does not tolerate teasing of any type, which is probably why Wit finds him such an excellent target. Also, I seem to remember that Wit is charged with being insulting where the King has to be polite, so this could reflect Sadeas’ standing in Elhokar’s eyes. As I expect the situation to be anything but simple, I imagine that there could even be yet another reason for Wit’s behavior. I wait to be enlightened at a time of Mr Sanderson’s choosing.

I have to say that the King is rapidly becoming one of my least favorite characters in this title: even Gaz has better reasons for being horrid. It seems that Elhokar is incredibly paranoid and his fear of assassination has now spread to everyone, including Dalinar. We know that the idea is completely ludicrous because Dalinar is unswervingly loyal to his nephew, but I can see how Elhokar could suspect an attempt to seize the throne: Dalinar would be the next in the line of succession. I also think that the King is confusing loyalty with unquestioning obedience: he should be able to accept his nobles wanting to discuss and question his orders without seeing this as an indication of something dangerous. I fear that he will alienate Dalinar just when he needs him most.

2. We seemed to get a little more insight about why the bridgemen are not given shields of protection - what did you think of the reasoning behind this and what do you make of Sadeas - is he trustworthy or not?

Having spent quite a bit of time last week bemoaning the whole concept of the bridge crews and the lack of real ‘war’, it was very nice to get some logical explanations for the present situation. Although I do not agree with Sadeas’ tactics, I can now understand why he has chosen to adopt them. I cannot help feeling that he could improve the lives of the bridge crews somehow, but I can also understand that he lives in a slave culture, where he sees slaves almost like livestock. We see this attitude all the time with the parshmen, who are almost invisible to everyone. In Sadeas’ mind he is using the slaves to keep his troops alive and so the waste is justified.

I also appreciated the explanation for all the dashing about to gain the gemhearts. Whilst it does make the whole thing feel a little like a video game, it does explain why the ‘war’ has degenerated into a scramble for glory and resources. However, I do see how this competition is unhealthy and will ultimately turn the Highprinces against each other. We have already seen a little of this with the way that Vamah was complaining about the cost of hiring the King’s soulcasters. The whole thing could become an internal dispute, with the Parshendi sitting back to wait for their enemy to destroy itself. At the moment, it seems like Sadeas does not want this to happen, so I trust him a little more than I did last week . . . but not much. His refusal to duel Dalinar was very telling, I think, although his lack of a shardblade could possibly have been the motive behind that decision.

3. Elhokar has suspicions about attempts on his life - is he paranoid or not and, if not, who do you suspect might be responsible?

I am quite sure that he is paranoid, and with fairly good reason considering what happened to his father. However, I am not sure that we actually have conclusive evidence that anyone has tried to kill him. Yes, the leatherworkers said that the saddle girth had been cut, but they presented a good reason why it could have happened accidentally and did not seem to suggest that it was amazingly unlikely.

If there are attempts on his life, I would have to suspect the Highprinces, other than Dalinar, but no particular names jump out at me just yet.

4. Kaladin is a very intriguing character, what did you make of the latest bridge scene where he put himself at the front of the bridge and then his actions following that?  Did you think it revealed anything more about him?

Although I applaud his decision to lead from the front, I would rather that he did not do it because it is very trying on my nerves! His work with the wounded men made me wonder how many hundreds of bridgemen had been left to die when they could have been treated and patched up instead. Surely they could be still useful in camp, even if they could no longer do bridge duty.

However, I think the most important aspect of this encounter was the revelation that Kal was somehow draining the stormlight from his gems. I assume that he was using this to help protect him from the arrows in the final assault or possibly to aid the healing of the fallen men. It would seem that this is a new feature of Kal’s ‘luck’ in battle, so it may have something to do with his developing bond with Syl.

5. During Elhokar and Dalinar’s later discussion the king said that Dalinar was becoming more like Gavilar near to his end ‘When he began to act … erratically”  It seems like Dalinar is becoming more like his brother.  Do you think this is significant??

It seems that some entity is trying to communicate with Dalinar, so perhaps it had already tried to do the same with Gavilar. Indeed, as Gavilar united the formerly warring Highprinces into a single Kingdom of Alethkar, it is possible that this attempt to unify the people against the coming Desolation has been in progress for a long time. If so, perhaps Gavilar had similar visions that drove him to try to unite the people. This might explain his growing obsession with the old Codes of War and it would certainly give the Parshendi a possible reason for the assassination if they are the agents of the other side in this eternal cycle of conflict.

This would suggest that the entity has switched to communicating with Dalinar now that Gavilar is dead, so it is very significant.

6. We finally witness one of Dalinar’s visions.  Do you think there is any significance about the visions always taking place during a storm and what were your feelings about this particular vision?

Before discussing the chapter itself, I want to very quickly mention the epigraph at the beginning, which strongly suggests that a group of individuals have a nonintervention attitude to something. I doubt that this is insignificant, so I assume that the group has promised not to intervene in the progression of the Desolation cycle on this planet. It also strongly suggests that the writer is determined to ignore this promise. This makes me think that the writer is the person communicating with Dalinar, or that he is at least aware that some communication or prophecy is occurring.

So far we have very little information about what causes the storms and what happens during them. However, we do know that gems left outside during a storm will become infused with stormlight. This suggests that the whole area under the stormfront must be infused with stormlight, which must allow Dalinar to access some internal prophetic power or become open to receiving visions from some unknown location. Having seen the Knights Radiant in this vision, it seems likely that they had powers that are now lost to modern humans, so why not the ability to produce visions?

However, this was more of a shared experience from history, rather than a simple vision because Dalinar was an active participant and possibly even changed the fate of the woman and little girl. How this is achieved, I have no idea. But, to be honesty, there is a great deal about this world that I have not a single clue about!

My immediate response to this vision, as well as to so much about this title, was to be blown away by the total coolness. Bizarre, bag-like, snakey, multi-legged, evil smoke-beasties attacking at night was cool enough . . . but then we had the Knights Radiant falling from the sky like angels of vengeance . . . wow! The fact that the smoke-beasties are identified as Midnight Essence by the Knights makes them seem even more evil and alien. It would appear that they are part of the ‘other side’ in the Desolation, or allied to it in some way, as we are told that a Desolation is approaching at the time that the vision occurs.

Although I am not sure if the woman and girl have any historical significance, this vision communicates a great deal to Dalinar. It shows him some of the things that can be expected to herald the approach of the next Desolation and how to fight them. It also shows the working of the Knights Radiant in a small way – and I hope that the inclusion of a female Knight is taken as a significant hint that women can be warriors as well. Somehow, I can see Jasnah fighting quite efficiently . . . The Knights’ role in guarding the people is also significant, as is their use of shardblades and shardplate. Perhaps the ones that are inherited or found in the modern world are actually ones left behind by the Knights.

It would seem that the entity behind the vision wants to show Dalinar what the world will face and possible ways to counteract it. It seems like a very broad hint that reinstating the Knights Radiant would be an excellent idea, as would trying to rediscover some of the talents they display, such as falling from and to space, healing and even knowing when they are needed. It also makes a very good case for putting aside any petty bickering and uniting to fight off the bad guys.