Wednesday, August 31, 2011

LHoD, darkness

Back to talk about about shadows in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.

SPOILERS

 "[...] due to the influence of the Dark Cult [...]" (159)

Here we see the Handdara referred to as "the Dark Cult."

"An admirable outcome, were this world one Fastness of the Handdara, but alas we must walk forward troubling the new snow, proving and disproving, asking and answering" (159-60).

Underlining is my doing, to emphasize the reference to shadows.

This puts me in mind of when Goss says "Behold, we must sully the plain snow with footprints, in order to get anywhere" (57). Snow is white, so it could be seen as representing the light, and by walking across it your footprints cause shadows. So if light is knowledge, and your footprints cause shadows...huh? Well, if we can't see anything in the blinding light, then the shadows make it possible to see something.

So blinding light is the same as utter darkness? Or am I interpreting this wrong?

"Who will see it in the darkness of my leaves? [. . . .] In the Eye of Meshe are all the stars, and the darknesses between the stars: and all are bright" (163).

The chapter devoted to Meshe, Ch 12, which provides contrast to the Handdara.

First, Meshe finds a leaf hidden in the darkness of the rest of the leaves. So, Meshe sees things hidden in the darkness, perhaps because he shines with light?

Then...the next bit is either emphasizing that darkness and lightness are ultimately the same, or it's saying that Meshe can see everything, whether dark or light. Not sure which.

Page 164 

I ought to spend one post looking at this, and maybe the previous page as well.

"It was the second time I had been locked in the dark with uncomplaining, unhopeful people of Orgoreyn. [. . .] I had ignored that black cellar and gone looking for the substance of Orgoreyn above ground, in daylight. No wonder nothing had seemed real. [. . . .] Darkness was total inside our steel box" (167-8).

Even though Orgoreyn appears to be so bright and sunny there are deep shadows...and in the shadows that Orgoreyn casts, things are really not great. Unlike the shadows in the Handdara, apparently.

"It was so cold outside, so cold and so glaring with white sunlight on white snow [. . . .] our night-entity exposed to the bright cruel daylight. [. . . .] all seemed to shake and glitter with excess of light" (174).

After being pent up in the dark for so long they find it difficult to head out into the light, where they can actually see things.

"Night had fallen and the greater darkness, the payment for the voluntary summoning of the body's full strength, was coming hard upon me; to darkness I must entrust myself, and him" (193).

After using dothe strength Therem has to entrust himself to the "dark."

"Yes; thangen, it's called, the dark sleep" (196).

So that darkness is also known as "thangen," and is the dark sleep.

"The dark secret face was laid bare to the light, to my gaze" (200).

Therem's face is dark, and Genly's gaze is light.










 

WebMage

I bought a new book last night.

I generally don't buy books unless

1) I've read it and loved it, or
2) It's an author I know

However, I got a good deal on it and the title itself was a fascinating concept: using the internet to practice magic.

Ok, so it's not our own internet...it's an internet that connects into an alternate reality. Which is totally awesome. I've learned more interesting details in the first few chapters of the book, but I won't go into that at the moment. Suffice it to say that I think my money was well spent, and I am looking forward to really getting into this book.

Oh, and there is something else that makes this book particularly interesting to me, but which I didn't notice until after I bought it...

If you look at the cover, you'll notice that it is referred to as a science fantasy book.

Science fantasy? Huh?

I've heard of science fiction. I've heard of fantasy. I've even heard of historical fantasy! But not science fantasy. And yet, having read just the first few chapters of this book, that seems to be the best description for it.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

LHoD -- Shadows!

You didn't think that I'd forgotten that I was writing about Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Shadows, did you? Well, I hadn't forgotten, I just got slightly side tracked.

I'm back to look at more references to shadows!

SPOILERS

"Dark, in dark clothing, still and shadowy, he sat at my elbow, the specter at the feast" (122).

Description of Estraven.

"Rich land is scarce in Kerm, and a Domain's pride is in the length of its borders, and the lords of Kerm Land are proud and umbrageous men, casting black shadows" (124).

In the chapter "Estraven the Traitor" chapter 9. I'm not sure what to make of it.

"Each of htem was comely, strong of frame and fine of features, straight and dark" (125).

Same chapter as before...Arek and Therem are described as dark. CH 9

Fire... (126)

The fire of kemmer. Casting shadows, I guess. Chapter 9.

"[...] he was dark of nature and silent [...]" (128)

The young Therem in chapter 9.

"The bleak even light from outside fell on his dark face" (131).

No longer chapter 9.

This is the light of Orgoreyn falling on Therem's face...Orgoreyn being light, and Therem being naturally dark.

"Everything had gone all right, I thought, until Estraven had appeared shadowlike at my side last night. [. . . .] I saw that in the light of our brief morning interview it wasn't very odd" (145).

Again, Therem described as being dark, and then the "interview" being described as being in the light. Sorta.

"The great buildings [. . .] were so blurred by rain in the liquid glare of the high streetlights that they looked as if they were melting" (146).

This seems to be indicating that even though light can enlighten someone, it can also blind or wash away things. Might it also suggest a connection between light and the element of water?

"It was, I thought, as if they did not cast shadows" (147).

Perhaps, if they're so surrounded by light, they don't cast shadows...and what are shadows...what makes life possible to live.

"[...] perhaps I do not really want Orgoreyn to prove more enlightened than Karhide, to take the risk and win the priase and leave Karhide in the shadow" (150).

Surprising, considering that those of the Handdara seek out the shadows.

"He is infinitely a stranger, and I a fool, to let my shadow cross the light of the hope he brings us" (151).

So Therem definitely seems to be seeking out the light...maybe that's why on page 233 he refers to the Handdara as "they" and not "we"? That might finally be making sense to me now...and it gives his character a whole new angle.

"To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not tot answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness" (153-4).

Here we see darkness being listed alongside stress. Does that mean that there's a connection?

Twokinds -- manga

I've never really liked manga before. It's not that I had anything against it, it's just that I didn't like anything I read.

Then I discovered (or rather, rediscovered, since a friend introduced it to me years ago but I lost interest quickly) Twokinds.

Twokinds is an online manga by Tom Fischbach. In the first panel we meet Trace, who has amnesia and can't remember who he is, but who is known by everyone he runs into. And it seems that in his previous life he may not have been such a great guy...

This is one of those stories that starts out with a small cast of characters just trying to live their own lives, but eventually snowballs into a proper adventure with love, betrayal, and everything else that makes a good story.

The first comic. Licensing info may be found here.

One of the awesome things about Twokinds is that it's another way of looking at racism, but it does so by adding non-human characters to the cast. This was no accident, as I found out when reading Fischbach's FAQ: "I wanted to write a story involving issues of race and what it means to be a person. I decided using non-humans would cause a greater contrast for the issues and make things more interesting." And believe me, he does a really good job at examining issues around racism.

But why take my word for it that Fischbach does a great job? You can check it out for yourself in the following links.

The first comic -- http://twokinds.keenspot.com/archive.php?p=1
Home page -- http://twokinds.keenspot.com/index.php

You can also find it by Googling "Twokinds comics."

And I just thought I'd mention, I seem to have developed a crush on the character Keith...

Predictions, updated

Predictions for the final book in the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini.

I have slightly expanded on #2, adding in the bit about the rings.

1) I think that Roran is a Moses figure, and that he will either a) die, or b) become king of Alagaësia and be unable to return to his former life as a farmer. Why? I explain here why I think he's a Moses figure. Also, we already know that Nasuada will die (see prediction #3) so she can't become queen, and Roran is proven to be one heck of a leader. I don't think he would want to become king, but I could see people cornering him into accepting the crown.

2) Katrina will come face to face with Galbatorix, and there will be a need for her and Roran to use the rings that Eragon gifted them with. Why? Because in Eldest she makes Roran promise "that you will never make such a request again. You must promise me that even if we faced Galbatorix himself and only one of us could escape, you would not ask me to leave" (180). This somehow looks like a foreshadowing to me. Also, if this is the case, then the rings will definitely be put to use.

3) Nasuada will die. Why? Because we already know from Angela's fortune telling that Eragon will leave Alagaësia forever...but that's something he can't do if he owes fealty to someone in Alagaësia. Therefore, Nasuada must die.

4) That in the end of the book Eragon leaves Alagaësia with a green dragon and that dragon's rider. And Roran stands on the shore screaming in despair. Or screaming in something. Why? Because of the dream Eragon had in Eragon. And I'm just guessing about the guy on the shore being Roran.

5) That the new green dragon hatched just outside of Ellesméra, at the Stone of Broken Eggs. Why? Because Eragon happens across "a fragment of a green dragon egg" at that location (Eldest, 449). It seems like an important detail once we know that the next dragon will be green. Besides, the new dragon won't be of much help unless they wait for it him to mature, or unless they force him to grow prematurely like Galbatorix did to Thorn. And I can't see any of the good guys doing that to a dragon.

6) That in the end it will be a matter of who has the most Eldunarí and that Eragon must find the Vault of Souls. At the Vault of Souls Eragon must speak either his own true name or the true name of the Ancient Language -- probably his own true name. Why? We already know that Eragon must find a Vault of Souls, and that the Vault of Souls will hold the Eldunarí seems most likely. We also know that Eragon must speak a name, and we know that he wants to find his own name, so he will probably find his own name, and hence it seems likely that he must speak his own name.

7) Certain persons of interest will play important parts. Why? This is discussed further in this post.

8) Galbatorix will come dangerously close to finding the true name of the Ancient Language. Why? The last Ra'zac tells Eragon that "He has almossst found the name" (Brisingr, 65). The Ra'zac will not, or cannot, clarify what name he's talking about, but I'm sure it's a pretty important name. Elsewhere it's said that whoever knows the name of the Ancient Language will have complete power over the speakers of that language, and since Galbatorix is sort of power hungry it seems like something he'd go after. I'm pretty sure that it's also mentioned somewhere in Brisingr that he's had a project that has kept him occupied recently, and I think that project is finding the name.

The sun dude

Ok, so I'm listening to Christopher Paolini's Brisingr and have been thinking about it...and there's a certain connection with Frank Herbert's Dune books...

SPOILERS

We don't have a name for a guy I mention in this post, and who can be found on pages 350-2 of Brisingr. However, I find it quite interesting that he suddenly starts seeing things just as he is blinded.

Remember Maud'dib? He seems to gain more power when he becomes blinded.

We already know that Paolini was influenced to some degree by Frank Herbert.

1) Maud'dib spelled backwards is Bid'duam, the name of the first Eragon's dragon. Oh and there's the werecat named Maud.

2) Elva. She's a lot like Alia in that she's aged at a very young age.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to this sun dude (and hopefully we'll learn his name!!) in the fourth book of the Inheritance cycle.

Names in "Inheritance"

I think it's about time that I looked at the use of names in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle...

SPOILERS for the first three books (the fourth isn't out yet lol)!

Angela -- Named for Paolini's sister. She originally wasn't in the story, but she apparently inserted herself into it. Which isn't surprising, knowing our character Angela. But I don't know anything about Paolini's sister Angela, so I can't say anything else.

Argetlam -- The dwarves' (agh! I don't know how to spell that properly!!) word meaning "silver hand", used to refer to a dragon rider's gedwëy ignasia. It sounds supiciously like Airgetlám, which is another name for Nuada, from Irish mythology. Airgetlám, according to Wikipedia*, means "silver hand/arm."

Nuada was king of the Tuatha dé Danann, and lost his arm in battle. Because a king must be perfect he lost his kingship (and was forced to make way for someone who was not a great king) but eventually got a new arm made of silver.

Bid'duam --The first Eragon's dragon was named Bid'duam, which is the name -- spelled backwards -- of Frank Herbert's character Maud'dib. It's been so long since I've even read those books though, I'm not going to try to figure out why Paolini used that name at the moment.

Eragon -- This is "dragon" with the d replaced with an e. Yes, this was intentional on Paolini's part. I guess it's to emphasize Eragon's connection with the dragons, and that his proper place in life is as a dragon rider?

Hrothgar -- In Beowulf Hrothgar* is king of the Danes. He dies, just like our Hrothgar dies. Killed by the "monster." Hmm.

Maud -- A werecat. Obviously, "Maud" is part of Maud-dib's name. Hey, might there be a connection between this werecat and Bid-duam? Hmm...

Naegling* -- A sword in Beowulf! This is also the name of Oromis's sword. In Beowulf, the sword fails Beowulf in his final fight against the dragon, not because the sword was too weak but rather because of Beowulf's strength. In Inheritance, however, it failed Oromis because of his infirmity, which caused him to drop Naegling.

Note: It's spelled Naegling in the book (Brisingr, 734), though in the Wikipedia article about Beowulf's sword it is spelled Nægling.

*I know that Wikipedia isn't accepted as a source in academic writings but I'm not writing this for school, and anyways this is info that I know I've read elsewhere. It's just easier to use Wikipedia as my reference rather than looking through my other books.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Predictions about Beka Cooper

Ok, so since I seem to be in the mood for making predictions, here's one about Beka Cooper from Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper quartet.

Prediction number one: Beka will not marry. Ever.

Why? Because we already know that her surname will be handed down, because her descendants 200 years later (George Cooper and Eleni Cooper) have the name Cooper. I'm pretty darned sure that if she married that she and her kids would take her husband's last name.

That takes me to the next prediction...We already know that she's going to have kids, since she has descendants. So, who's going to be the father?

Prediction number two: Rosto will be the father.

Why? (SPOILER ALERT!!) So far, Beka has been head over heels for two guys: Dale, and Rosto. I think that Dale is out of the running, and although I suppose another guy could come into the picture I'm going to assume that one won't.

At the same time, I can't see her getting into a long term relationship with Rosto because of certain reasons she outlines in the first entry of Bloodhound. Therefore, their getting together will be a very temporary thing and...how to put this? Things *ahem* will happen so quickly that she won't have time to think about grabbing her anti-pregnancy charm, and she'll wind up pregnant as a result.

But if another guy comes into the picture in Mastiff I may revise this prediction. :)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Predictions, updated again!

I've updated my predictions, combining two (which really ought to be together) and getting rid of some others.

These are predictions for Christopher Paolini's final book in the Inhertiance cycle: Inheritance.

1) I think that Roran is a Moses figure, and that he will either a) die, or b) become king of Alagaësia and be unable to return to his former life as a farmer. Why? I explain here why I think he's a Moses figure. Also, we already know that Nasuada will die (see prediction #3) so she can't become queen, and Roran is proven to be one heck of a leader. I don't think he would want to become king, but I could see people cornering him into accepting the crown.

2) Katrina will come face to face with Galbatorix. Why? Because in Eldest she makes Roran promise "that you will never make such a request again. You must promise me that even if we faced Galbatorix himself and only one of us could escape, you would not ask me to leave" (180). This somehow looks like a foreshadowing to me.

3) Nasuada will die. Why? Because we already know from Angela's fortune telling that Eragon will leave Alagaësia forever...but that's something he can't do if he owes fealty to someone in Alagaësia. Therefore, Nasuada must die.

4) That in the end of the book Eragon leaves Alagaësia with a green dragon and that dragon's rider. And Roran stands on the shore screaming in despair. Or screaming in something. Why? Because of the dream Eragon had in Eragon. And I'm just guessing about the guy on the shore being Roran.

5) That the new green dragon hatched just outside of Ellesméra, at the Stone of Broken Eggs. Why? Because Eragon happens across "a fragment of a green dragon egg" at that location (Eldest, 449). It seems like an important detail once we know that the next dragon will be green. Besides, the new dragon won't be of much help unless they wait for it him to mature, or unless they force him to grow prematurely like Galbatorix did to Thorn. And I can't see any of the good guys doing that to a dragon.

6) That in the end it will be a matter of who has the most Eldunarí and that Eragon must find the Vault of Souls. At the Vault of Souls Eragon must speak either his own true name or the true name of the Ancient Language -- probably his own true name. Why? We already know that Eragon must find a Vault of Souls, and that the Vault of Souls will hold the Eldunarí seems most likely. We also know that Eragon must speak a name, and we know that he wants to find his own name, so he will probably find his own name, and hence it seems likely that he must speak his own name.

7) Certain persons of interest will play important parts. Why? This is discussed further in this post.

8) Galbatorix will come dangerously close to finding the true name of the Ancient Language. Why? The last Ra'zac tells Eragon that "He has almossst found the name" (Brisingr, 65). The Ra'zac will not, or cannot, clarify what name he's talking about, but I'm sure it's a pretty important name. Elsewhere it's said that whoever knows the name of the Ancient Language will have complete power over the speakers of that language, and since Galbatorix is sort of power hungry it seems like something he'd go after. I'm pretty sure that it's also mentioned somewhere in Brisingr that he's had a project that has kept him occupied recently, and I think that project is finding the name.

Updated predictions

I am listening to Brisingr by Christopher Paolini and I would like to update my predictions for the book. My new predictions start at #8.

1) Roran will either die or will find that his duties prevent him from returning to a farmer's life. Why? I explained that here.

2) Katrina will come face to face with Galbatorix. Why? Because in Eldest she makes Roran promise "that you will never make such a request again. You must promise me that even if we faced Galbatorix himself and only one of us could escape, you would not ask me to leave" (180). This somehow looks like a foreshadowing to me.

3) Nasuada will die. Why? Because we already know from Angela's fortune telling that Eragon will leave Alagaësia forever...but that's something he can't do if he owes fealty to someone in Alagaësia. Therefore, Nasuada must die.

4) That in the end of the book Eragon leaves Alagaësia with a green dragon and his rider. And Roran stands on the shore screaming in despair. Or screaming in something. Why? Because of the dream Eragon had in Eragon. And I'm just guessing about the guy on the shore being Roran.

5) That Arya becomes the new rider somehow, falls in love with Eragon, and that at the end of the book they fly away to live happily ever after. Why? No real reason...maybe it's just wishful hoping. In truth I can come up with nothing to support this prediction, and I can come up with plenty of reasons why it couldn't happen. lol

6) That the new green dragon hatched just outside of Ellesmera, at the Stone of Broken Eggs. Why? Because Eragon happens across "a fragment of a green dragon egg" at that location (Eldest, 449). It seems like an important detail once we know that the next dragon will be green. Besides, the new dragon won't be of much help unless they wait for it him to mature, or unless they force him to grow prematurely like Galbatorix did to Thorn. And I can't see any of the good guys doing that to a dragon.

7) That the green dragon makes friends with Arya, and in the end she, the green dragon, and Eragon/Saphira fly away together into the sunset. Why? I'm trying to find a way to get Eragon and Arya together...go ahead, laugh.

8) That in the end it will be a matter of who has the most Eldunarí and that Eragon must find the Vault of Souls. At the Vault of Souls Eragon must speak either his own true name or the true name of the Ancient Language -- probably his own true name. Why? We already know that Eragon must find a Vault of Souls, and that the Vault of Souls will hold the Eldunarí seems most likely. We also know that Eragon must speak a name, and we know that he wants to find his own name, so he will probably find his own name, and hence it seems likely that he must speak his own name.

9) Certain persons of interest will play important parts. This is discussed further in this post.

10) Galbatorix will come close to finding, or he will find, the true name of the Ancient Language. Why? The last Ra'zac tells Eragon that "He has almossst found the name" (Brisingr, 65). The Ra'zac will not, or cannot, clarify what name he's talking about, but I'm sure it's a pretty important name. Elsewhere it's said that whoever knows the name of the Ancient Language will have complete power over the speakers of that language, and since Galbatorix is sort of power hungry it seems like something he'd go after. I'm pretty sure that it's also mentioned somewhere in Brisingr that he's had a project that has kept him occupied recently, and I think that project is finding the name.

11) That Roran will become king. My brother actually suggested this, and I think there's a good chance of it happening. Why? We already know that Roran is one heck of a leader, and that Nasuada will die (see prediction #3). And if Roran is a Moses figure, as discussed in prediction #1, then this is a wonderful duty to keep him from returning to Carvahall. Roran is such an excellent leader that I could see him getting cornered into being a king even though I don't think he'd want that position.

You know, I'll probably have to eventually narrow these down to what I think is the most likely to happen...

Persons of interest

I can think of exactly three people introduced in Christopher Paolini's Brisingr (no wait, make that four...I was counting two of them as one) who I expect to be in Inheritance, and whose roles I'm pondering.

SPOILERS

And they are...

1) Tenga -- Eragon meets Tenga (pgs 133-6) while returning to the Varden, and we later learn that Tenga was Angela's teacher. It is such a bizarre encounter and does not seem to do anything for the plot...but I don't think that Paolini is being random here. Therefore, I think we can expect to see Tenga in Inheritance. Probably making trouble. Hey, random idea! Maybe the answer he's looking for is the name of the Ancient Language? Just a thought. And I think that's also the name that Galbatorix is really close to finding (the final Razac mention on page 65) so maybe Galbatorix hooks up with Tenga?

2) Bladesinger and the teenage girl -- We don't actually know their names. Maybe Angela does, but they refuse to tell Eragon. Eragon meets them after Angela has cast the bones for them (254-7) and Angela requests that Eragon bless them. Again this is a seemingly random thing, and they are such odd characters, but I don't think that they can just be in there randomly. Therefore, they must play a part. My guess is that one or both of them turn out to be great warriors and that they play a pivotal part in defeating Galbatorix.

Bladesinger. I like that name! If I were a swordsman I would like that for my nickname. :) (Hey actually if I get into SCA and learn the sword there...)

3) The sun guy -- His name isn't given! But he talks about suns so I'll call him the sun guy. Eragon meets him (pgs 350-2) while visiting the wounded, and this guy knows all kinds of stuff. Stuff that he shouldn't know. He also describes the Hearts that Murtagh carries, though he doesn't know what he's describing and neither does Eragon until later. I'm guessing that this guy will be able to provide information in Inheritance that will help Eragon defeat Galabtorix.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

More on darkness!

Again, about Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.

SPOILERS

All about darkness! And shadows! We'll see how much I can cover in this post.

"But my brother's shadow followed me. I had done ill to speak of him" (75).

It's as though speaking about Arek summoned his "shadow". I don't know what to make of this...

"Darkness lay behind my back, before the boat, and into darkness I must row" (77).

Ignorance? Is darkness ignorance here?

"The Orgota coast came gray out of the morning fog [. . .]" (78)

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a shadow quote, although shadows do come in shades of gray...

Assuming this does qualify...then I don't know.

"I must learn to live without shadows as they do in Orgoreyn; not to take offense; not to offend uselessly. But I did not give him my land-name, which is no business of any man in Orgoreyn" (79).

Since he's talking about not taking offense and not offending (or anyways, not uselessly) I'm assuming that by shadow he's talking shifgrethor. Hmm, I think I'll run with that theory.

"In my part of Mishnory they broke the streetlamps, to keep their doings in the dark. But the inspectors' cars were forever snooping and spotlighting those dark streets, taking from poor men their one privacy, the night.

The new Alien Registry Law enacted in the month of Kus as a move in the shadow-fight with Karhide [. . .]" (81).

Why did they want things dark? So that they could move about in secrecy (and in doing so break the law, I assume). So the dark allows privacy, and secrecy. It allows people to keep things hidden, because it hides things for them.

And then there's something about a "shadow-fight". I guess it means a fight that...that what? Maybe it's to do with shifgrethor? Or maybe, following so closely on the previous usage of the word "dark", maybe it means a fight that is taking place overtly. If that makes sense...

"Our shadow grows too long. It will cover Karhide too. A feud between two Clans, yes; a foray between two towns, yes; a border dispute and a few barn-burnings and murders, yes; but a feud between two nations?" (85)

Obsle says this to Therem. Apparently the consequence of a long shadow will, in this case, result in war.

So what is a shadow? Power? Authority? It doesn't seem to be shifgrethor here...

"I felt as if I had come out of a dark age, and wished I had not wasted two years in Karhide" (115).

I think this supports my idea that Karhide is deeply influenced by the Handdara, and its "darkness."

So what does it mean to come out of darkness? To come into the light, where everything is visible? That's what Genly thinks is happening, although as he soon finds out he is totally wrong.

"This, at least, is the accepted explanation, and though like most economic explanations it seems, under certain lights, to omit the main point.

Commensal Slose's fiercely-lighted, high, white reception room [. . .]" (120).

First Genly uses "lights" in a way that we might. And then we see that the reception room is brightly lit. No, fiercely lit. The wording implies possible violence, or a readiness for violence, which indicates something about the Orgota government?

But of course, even though we see Orgoreyn described in terms of light, their practices aren't so visible. Maybe that's to show that too much light (or too much knowledge?) blinds a person?

...

Enough for now! I think I'm off to play with my ratties. :) I'll be back soon.

Darkness

This post is about Ursula K. Le Guin's book The Left Hand of Darkness, and I really don't recommend reading beyond the big bold "spoilers" unless you've read the book.

But first...

I finally, FINALLY realized that the "l" is supposed to be capitalized in her name, making it Ursula K. Le Guin, not Ursula K. le Guin, as I'd been typing it. Darn it darn it darn it darn it...my apologies to Le Guin, if she ever happens across this blog. And if I ever have copious amounts of time I will go back through all my posts about her books and fix the tags.

SPOILERS

So, I'm going to start examining all the references to shadows! I doubt I'll talk about each and every reference in one post -- it's a pretty formidable task.

"I'm not anyone's servant. A man must cast his own shadow. . . ." (20)

The first reference to shadows. It doesn't really tell us much.

"[...] for murder is a lighter shadow on a house than suicide" (23).

Here we see it implied that something which is bad is a shadow.

" 'Tell them at Shath I take back my name and my shadow.' Not many days after this Getheren took sick and died. [. . .] they say that from that time on the domain prospered again [. . .]" (26).

So when Getheren took back his name he also took back his shadow, and he soon died. It's not stated that he died because of taking back his shadow, but I think the implication is there.

Why?

"The Foretellers gathered and went together into the darkness. At the end of the darkness Odren spoke the answer [. . .]" (43)

(I'm highlighting references to Handdara so that I can find them again easily.)

So, the Handdara go into the darkness. But what is the darkness?

"As I went on along the path I realized that a whole village or town was scattered about in the shadow of that slanting forest [. . .]" (55)

 The village of the Fastness is in shadow.

"Behold, we must sully the plain snow with footprints, in order to get anywhere" (57).

I'm including this here because we see footprints due to the shadows in them.

This has been a favorite quote of mine for some time, and...and even though I think I know what Goss is saying I can't explain it!

"All at once his white shirt blazed out, and I came out after him from shadow into full sunlight on a wide green meadow" (57).

I noticed during my last reading that Faxe seems to be made of light. Sort of. Anyways, where Therem is always described as dark, Faxe is described as bright and almost as though he provides light.

"In that noon sunlight he shown of his own light" (58).

Again, Faxe.

"Under that nation's politics and parades and passions runs an old darkness, passive, anarchic, silent, the fecund darkness of the Hnaddara" (60).

This tells us not only that Handdara has shaped Karhide as a nation, but also that the darkness (if Genly understands it correctly, which I think he does..sort of) is part of the Handdara tradition.

"[...] and in the center of all darkness Faxe: the Weaver: a woman, a woman dressed in light. [. . .] The light burned sudden and intolerable, the light along her limbs, the fire, and she screamed aloud in terror and pain, [. . . .] There was a movement in the darkness [. . .] 'Light, light,' said an immense voice in vast syllables once or innumerable times. 'Light. Log ont he fire, there. Some light' " (66).

This is at the end of the Foretelling.

The Handdara are most comfortable with the dark, and yet doing a Foretelling seems to require letting in light. The Weaver even seems made of light, even when he is not doing a Foretelling. And the light seems to come out of the darkness...

I notice that, in the end, the physician requires light, so that he can see to the Zanies. I'm not sure what to make of that, though it seems important.

"For that instant I saw him as I had seen him in the dark, as a woman armed in light and burning in a fire, crying out, 'Yes--' "(67)

Faxe, again.

"The energy builds up and builds up in us [. . .] once said that if the Weaver could be put in a vacuum at the moment of the answer, he'd go on burning for years" (67).

 Faxe, explaining things.

" 'In the darkness,' he said, 'there were ten; not nine' " (68).

Here we see that even though Faxe was burning bright, he sees himself as coming from the darkness, which tells us something about the Handdara.

"Light fell gray among dark branches [. . .]" (69).

Light turning into darkness in the Fastness... Interesting, and this brings to mind the implication that ignorance can be gained, as we see on page 56.

"I may be sent to Erhenrang to the kyorremy; well, if I go, I take back my status and my shadow, but my foretelling's at an end" (70).

Ok, I wasn't going to jump ahead of myself, but I can't resist...

We already know that shifgrethor comes from an old word for shadow, so my guess is that by taking back his shadow is stepping back into the world of shifgrethor.

Or wait, could it actually have something to do with the fact that Faxe is so full of light, and that he'd be giving that up? But I know that he's still full of light at the end of the book...

"Within the white hood Faxe's face was tired and quiet, its light quenched" (71).

So we see that Faxe doesn't always radiate light. Hmm...

...

Enough for now. I'll write more in another post, and I'm sure that I'll get into references again that are not directly related to the Handdara.

Rerererereading...

Well, I just finished rereading Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness for the second time this summer, and I've lost track of how many times I've read it total.

The first time I read it this summer I made note of any reference to the following subjects:

*Shifgrethor
*Handdara
*Nusuth

That gave me plenty to write about, but I knew that once I finished writing I would need to read it again and examine other aspects of the book. So this time when I read it I decided to examine:

*Meshe/Yomeshe
*Shadows
*Therem and his bro
*Therem and Ashe

Then as I read it I wound up also taking notes on these subjects...

*Death
*Shifgrethor (since I'd missed a few references)
*Handdara (I'd missed two references)
*Having a name or discarding one's name
*Patriotism

That's gonna give me plenty to write about. But I've already got a list ready for the next time I read it! lol

*Time, the perception and understanding thereof
*Exile
*Traitor
*Gender?
*Tibe's teeth?

Sometime down the road I might study in depth the current events at the time that this novel was written since I think it will give me a better understanding of it. After all, le Guin makes it very clear in the intro to my edition of the book that this book is not about the future -- it's about the world as she sees and understands it.

I have one last comment...

SPOILER

When I read this book I can't help but feel that the time that Therem and Genly spend on the ice is really what the story is leading up to -- everything else is just preparation for that, and everything after (not that there's much after) is just a wrap up. Hmm...

Thursday, August 11, 2011

I finished "Darke" !!

I finished Angie Sage's book Darke today. It. Was. Really good. And I look forward to the next book in the series.

Darke is the sixth book in the Septimus Heap series by Sage. It's a fun young adult (or juvenile?) fantasy with witches and wizards and DRAGONS!!! A fun read. :)

SPOILERS

There's an interesting bit that I didn't really puzzle over until after I'd finished the book and was discussing it with my brother. In the Dark Halls Septimus tells Tertius Fume that he is "The Apprentice of the Apprentice of the Apprentice of DomDaniel" (524). A few pages later, and after some thought "From a shortlist of seven, he had worked out who Septimus was" (527).

So here's the question: Who would be the other six "Apprentice[s] of the Apprentice of the Apprentice of DomDaniel"???

Trying to work it out, and because I'm a very visual person, I made the following chart/diagram/whatever:

My awesome Apprentice Tree

We know of three of DomDaniel's apprentices: Alther, Merrin, and Simon. Merrin and Simon haven't had any Apprentices, so we don't need to worry about them. Alther has had two apprentices that we know of: Silas and Marcia. We know that Septimus is the only apprentice Marcia has ever had, but we don't know anything about Silas. At a guess, might the other six "Apprentice[s] of the Apprentice of the Apprentice of DomDaniel" be his sons, who he has given an informal education in magyk to? I could be wrong, but I don't think that Silas had any formal Apprentices.

Other possibilities are that Alther had other Apprentices who we don't know of, and/or that DomDaniel also had other Apprentices who had their own Apprentices, and so on and so forth. There could be other branches to this "Apprentice tree" that we know nothing about, but which Tertius Fume does know.

Maybe we'll find out in the next book. Maybe not.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

First line of "Darke"

"It is a Darke and stormy night."
I burst out laughing when I read this. But then I stopped laughing, considered it, and burst out laughing again -- this time for a completely different reason.

Thing is, the line "it was a dark and stormy night" is so cliche, and yet that's not what this line is. The word used here is Darke (and yes it also appears as bold and in a different font in the book), and it has a whole different meaning than "dark". So, it's no so cliche after all.

Pretty awesome, huh? :D

Darke is the sixth (and most recent) book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. Septimus is a seventh son of a seventh son, and...let's just say that interesting things happen around him. The first book in the series is Magyk. It's fun lighthearted (but also serious) fantasy, and a good read. I'm pretty sure that there will be seven books total in this series.

And as illustrated above with the play on words, Sage is a brilliant writer.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

The original notebook

Ok, so I'm not sure if this is really the original notebook, but I expect it was one of the earliest.



In the above photo you can see that I drew a smiley face and that I wrote the name of my home state.


I discovered this in the SCA tents at the Skagit Valley Highland Games about a month ago, and I got one of the SCA people to tell me about it.

The "book" is made up of three pieces of wood with wax on the inside sides of them. A person can take notes or compose a letter in this notebook, and then transfer what they've written to a scroll or paper. This had two advantages that I was told of:

1) A person could draft a letter on the wax before writing it down on expensive paper.
2) If a doctor-type person wanted to take notes on herbs found in the forest s/he could use this rather than taking an expensive book (which would be expensive because they couldn't be mass produced like they are these days) into the field and risk damaging it.

Once the notebook is full a person can hold it so that a flame heats the wax and smooths it out. Then -- ta da! -- the notebook can be reused. :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

LHoD: Chapter one sets it up nicely!

I started rereading Ursula K. le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness tonight. I don't think I've really properly appreciated before just how much the first chapter sets up the book -- I think it's something you have to have already read the book a few times to really get.

SPOILERS, because even though I'm talking about chapter one I'll also be talking about the rest of the book.

Firstly there's the matter of patriotism. It seems like it's a simple word, but it is used by so many people to mean so many different things that it really isn't. We get our first glimpse of what it means in this book when Genly tells us that "Death walks behind the king" (3). Later Therem discusses patriotism with Genly after they have had dinner, and observes both that his own actions have not been very patriotic (16) and that the king "is, of necessity, the perfect patriot" (19).

 This brings us to Therem's own actions. Why isn't he being very patriotic?

Therem values the lives of his people over his own shifgrethor, and the shifgrethor of his country. Because of this he moves his people out of harms way. But in so doing, he gives in to those who his people have been feuding with. Not particularly patriotic. (15-6)

In explaining the situation at Sinoth Valley to Genly, Therem introduces shifgrethor. He also sets the story up for the parallels between himself and the Therem and Arek in the legend of "Estraven the Traitor" -- an ancestor (I assume) of his who he has much in common with. The fact that Therem might be perceived by some as a traitor is set up when Tibe casually says to Genly "Indeed Lord Estraven is famous for his kindness to foreigners" (9). But as we later find out, it's not that Therem is necessarily being kind of foreigners, it's that he's looking after his own people.

Handdara itself is referenced, vaguely, in chapter one. After looking at Therem, Genly says "Can one read a cat's face, a seal's, an otter's? Some Gethenians, I thought are like such animals, with deep bright eyes that do not change expression when you speak" (15). I take this as a reference to the Handdara because later on Therem explains to Genly that "Maybe they are less aware of the gap between men and beasts, being more occupied with the likenesses, the links, the whole of which living things are a part" (233). That being the case, would it be so surprising for one of the Handdara (as we know Therem to be) to take on the characteristics of a non-human animals at times?

Of course, I could be reading meaning into this that was not intended.

However, something else that I am certain is a clear reference to the Handdara is "It wasn't until later in that year that I discovered the Gethenians have perfected the technique not only of perpetually stuffing, but also of indefinitely starving" (11). I think it's safe to say that Genly is definitely referring to the Handdara practice of fasting here, although he does not say so explicitly.

Also introduced is the concept of shifgrethor, and the fact that Genly does not properly understand the people he lives among. It's all in: "No doubt this was all a matter of shifgrethor -- prestige, face, place, the pride-relationship, the untranslatable and all-important principle of social authority in Karhide and all civilizations of Gethen. And if it was I would not understand it" (14). Shifgrethor is mentioned again when Therem mentions that his own actions hurt his country's shifgrethor (16) and Genly's ignorance is driven home when he does not understand why Therem assumes that he will be leaving Ehrenrang (20).

Finally, there seems to be a theme of death, and that it is through people's deaths that a civilization arises, or that a country is formed. This is a theme that I only picked up on tonight, but we can see it in the red cement used to put a keystone in place (5). As I recall, after Therem's death at the end of the book, Genly writes "[...] I must accomplish the thing he died for. I must set the keystone in the arch" (289). That's a line that has stayed with me.

Oh yes, and the theme of shadows! I'm not entirely sure what the importance of shadows are in the book, but I'm studying the references to them and right towards the end of chapter one Therem says "A man must cast his own shadow. . . ." (20) They seem to have something to do with shifgrethor and Handdara.

To recap, chapter one introduces us to these themes in the book:

Patriotism
Shifgrethor
Therem and Arek
"Estraven the Traitor"
Handdara
Genly's ignorance
One's death for the greater good
Shadows

Monday, August 1, 2011

Inheritance!!!

The final book in the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini is coming out soon. With that in mind, I would like to make a few predictions!

1) Roran will either die or will find that his duties prevent him from returning to a farmer's life. Why? I explained that here.

2) Katrina will come face to face with Galbatorix. Why? Because in Eldest she makes Roran promise "that you will never make such a request again. You must promise me that even if we faced Galbatorix himself and only one of us could escape, you would not ask me to leave" (180). This somehow looks like a foreshadowing to me.

3) Nasuada will die. Why? Because we already know from Angela's fortune telling that Eragon will leave Alagaesia forever...but that's something he can't do if he owes fealty to someone in Alagaesia. Therefore, Nasuada must die.

4) That in the end of the book Eragon leaves Alagaesia with a green dragon and his rider. And Roran stands on the shore screaming in despair. Or screaming in something. Why? Because of the dream Eragon had in Eragon. And I'm just guessing about the guy on the shore being Roran.

5) That Arya becomes the new rider somehow, falls in love with Eragon, and that at the end of the book they fly away to live happily ever after. Why? No real reason...maybe it's just wishful hoping. In truth I can come up with nothing to support this prediction, and I can come up with plenty of reasons why it couldn't happen. lol

6) That the new green dragon hatched just outside of Ellesmera, at the Stone of Broken Eggs. Why? Because Eragon happens across "a fragment of a green dragon egg" at that location (449). It seems like an important detail once we know that the next dragon will be green. Besides, the new dragon won't be of much help unless they wait for it him to mature, or unless they force him to grow prematurely like Galbatorix did to Thorn. And I can't see any of the good guys doing that to a dragon.

7) That the green dragon makes friends with Arya, and in the end she, the green dragon, and Eragon/Saphira fly away together into the sunset. Why? I'm trying to find a way to get Eragon and Arya together...go ahead, laugh.

I'll doubtless expand (and maybe alter) this list as I finish Eldest (I'm on page 524) and read Brisingr.

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