Gnomestress Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I read it, but found it to be...unmemorable. That is, I don't even remember exactly what it was about. The series that introduced me to fantasy--and made me a lifelong subscriber--was the Earthsea Trilogy (it was a trilogy back then). If you haven't read it, you're missing out on a classic.-VMI haven't read it. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Sweeney Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Are you sure? Jorah didn't give birth to a healthy baby either, and as I undertand it, will never be able to in the future...Too silly? Okay, how 'bout this: I have a pot of boiling water, and I tell John not to stick his head in it. However, John's wife approaches with their baby and trips over a slithy tove on the ground beside the pot. In the subsequent pratfall, John, his wife, and the baby all dunk their heads in the boiling water. John and his wife live, but the baby dies. Since John and his wife lived, does that mean that the boiling water is not responsible for the baby's death?Too bizarre? I'll just say this: The fact that Jorah did not suffer any obvious ill effects (for all we know, he's sterile, now) does not force me to conclude that entering the tent would harm no one. I could list a lot of reasons that an unborn fetus might be more "susceptible" to blood magic than an adult, but I don't see the point.Too theoretical? Alright. I don't know the answers to your questions. Why did MDD say that she only needed a horse for the blood magic rite, when she knew that she really needed the life of Daeni's fetus? Why did she claim that Daeni should have known what she really meant? Why would anyone expect Daeni to be an expert on the requirements of blood magic spells?Since the events in question are ambiguous, we can both pose unanswerable questions about each other's scenarios, and we can both scramble to come up with theoretical "answers" that fit in with our understanding of the events. And the exercise will get us exactly nowhere.-VMThis entire post seems like slithy tove, whatever that is. The price of Drogo was the baby. She called for the horse so that the Dothraki didn't cut her throat right then and there before she was able to finish her spell. And she didn't say she 'needed' the spell, she said bring me the horse. If the baby wasnt the price, then why did she tell Dany "You knew"? It's not ambiguous at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I haven't read it. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!I'm happy to share...of course, speaking of classics, anything by Stephen R. Donaldson qualifies, especially the 3 Covenant series. In my personal pantheon of writer gods, he occupies the position of Zeus. I guess Ursula LeGuin would be Athena (Wisdom). Which means that GRRM would be...Haephaestus?If you delve into Donaldson, though, be warned: I never attempt to read any of his books without having my giant unabridged dictionary (or web browser) handy.-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Sweeney Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I haven't read it. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!The Prydain Chronicles were the first fantasy books I read in 3rd grade, 1980 or so. But it was the Chronicles that I read in 84-85 that sunk the hooks. And I re-read them every year or two... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 This entire post seems like slithy tove, whatever that is. The price of Drogo was the baby. She called for the horse so that the Dothraki didn't cut her throat right then and there before she was able to finish her spell. And she didn't say she 'needed' the spell, she said bring me the horse. If the baby wasnt the price, then why did she tell Dany "You knew"? It's not ambiguous at all.Ah, shit. Those questions were meant to be rhetorical. We've covered this, a number of times.Look my only goal in this was to understand how you came to the conclusions you did. I feel that I understand now; I just don't agree. I have no idea whether you understand how I came to the conclusions I did, but you resist the ideas so strenuously, I doubt it.We have examined each other's evidence, but have not come to any agreement. Barring the introduction of any new evidence, all we can do is continue to disagree. I would settle for a tie, but since you clearly will not, I yielded (several posts ago). Admittedly, I did it in a sarcastic way, but I yielded nonetheless. Now, my question for you is this: How many times must I yield to you before you stop swinging your sword at me, Ser Gregor?Can you not just walk away and declare yourself the victor? Or must you lop my head off in order to relax in the comfort of knowing that I will no longer be thinking thoughts that are offensive to you?After all these years, can we not rise above our self-righteous desire to silence the infidels? It's a waste of time, you know. At some point, you're going to realize that there are a whole lot of people, besides me, who are wrong on the Internet.-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The Prydain Chronicles were the first fantasy books I read in 3rd grade, 1980 or so. But it was the Chronicles that I read in 84-85 that sunk the hooks. And I re-read them every year or two...Is this referring to the Prydain Chronicles from the first sentence, or some other Chronicles?-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 This entire post seems like slithy tove, whatever that is....Are you saying that you haven't read Jabberwocky? Ye gods, what are they teaching in Lit 101 classes these days?-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion of Venice Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I've finally watched the episode and this is one of my favourites, almost every scene was perfect.The dragons birth was probably my favourite scene, togheter with the scene of Joffrey being horrible to Sansa, which by the way is doing a very good job in showing the changes in her character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Sweeney Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Is this referring to the Prydain Chronicles from the first sentence, or some other Chronicles?-VMSorry, Dragonlance for the second one. And I'm a little off on the first. Technically it's the Chronicles of Prydain. I also tore through Lloyd Alexander's other works when I was a tyke. I can actually still picture the shelves on the library in Phx and the summer reading checklists I filled out every year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryFenril Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Donaldson is the master of the unusual synonym. Why call it black or yellow or red when you can call it ebon, ochre, or incarnadine, lol? But his Haruchai do indeed kick butt. The man may write like a lawyer, but he sure did have a good story to tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Plissken Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 No.Am I missing something, Sweeney, but wasn't Dany's baby dead waaaaay before she walked into the inferno?Her unborn child was payment for zombie-Drogo, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Donaldson is the master of the unusual synonym. Why call it black or yellow or red when you can call it ebon, ochre, or incarnadine, lol?Well, that's one I certainly can't answer, but, if nothing else, he's enriched our vocabularies. I find it hard to imagine any person who could read one of his books and know every word on first try, particularly the existing books of the Last Chronicles.Then again, I could say that he doesn't mean generic "yellow"; rather, he means a very specific shade of yellow. I'd be talking out of my ass, though (as I would be any time I claimed to speak for Donaldson's intentions). Sadly, none of my dictionaries provide color chips to allow me to appreciate these distinctions, if they exist.For what it's worth, I have always felt that many of his polysyllabic constructions add a certain poetry to his descriptions. It is undeniably a very rich and precise version of English that he speaks.-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beehives Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm so in love with Emilia after this episode. /girlcrushReally minor complaints here:What did everyone think of the design of the dragons? (the nerdiest question I think I've ever asked) While unbelievably realistic looking, something just seemed "off" about their anatomy. Then I realized that they're missing tails! Long tails that could be wrapped around Dany's arm, like in the miniature. Maybe when they get bigger they'll grow one? Its hard for any flying object to get off the ground without a tail.Also, I wished they could have used the full finale song from Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack, but they cut the music short. It's absolutely stunning music, even better in its entirety! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Donaldson is the master of the unusual synonym. Why call it black or yellow or red when you can call it ebon, ochre, or incarnadine, lol? But his Haruchai do indeed kick butt. The man may write like a lawyer, but he sure did have a good story to tell.I apologize for the double post, but this just triggered a gush of memories for me...I picked up Lord Foul's Bane as a teenager, and I remember feeling blitzkrieged by all the mystery words and unexpected descriptions. Specifically, I remember spending quite a bit of time wondering where exactly Lena's "loins" might be. To this day, I can point to a general anatomical region, but I can't say I'm sure of the exact location...I also remember thinking it odd that Covenant never rubbed his eyes. Instead, he would do something like "dig his hands into his orbs." Who thinks of their eyes as "orbs"? ...and then it just hit me, I always assumed that "orbs" referred to his eyes...I hope he was referring to his eyes. Somehow, the idea of Thomas Covenant grabbing at himself like a gangsta rapper is...unsettling.-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryFenril Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Well, that's one I certainly can't answer, but, if nothing else, he's enriched our vocabularies. I find it hard to imagine any person who could read one of his books and know every word on first try, particularly the existing books of the Last Chronicles.Then again, I could say that he doesn't mean generic "yellow"; rather, he means a very specific shade of yellow. I'd be talking out of my ass, though (as I would be any time I claimed to speak for Donaldson's intentions). Sadly, none of my dictionaries provide color chips to allow me to appreciate these distinctions, if they exist.For what it's worth, I have always felt that many of his polysyllabic constructions add a certain poetry to his descriptions. It is undeniably a very rich and precise version of English that he speaks.-VMLol, oh, don't get me wrong, I love his work. His vocabulary is stunning. It's just very dense, and he makes you pay close attention to every word lest you get confused. Reading him can actually make me tired afterward, lol. But in a good way. Brain cells all buffed up, y'know... mental workout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryFenril Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Tomm-C, representin'! :lmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowl o' Brown Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 What did everyone think of the design of the dragons? (the nerdiest question I think I've ever asked) While unbelievably realistic looking, something just seemed "off" about their anatomy. Then I realized that they're missing tails! Long tails that could be wrapped around Dany's arm, like in the miniature. Maybe when they get bigger they'll grow one? Its hard for any flying object to get off the ground without a tail.Yeah same here.I remember Dany describing them looking almost like flying snakes when they started flying around. I've always pictured them with long necks, long tail, and slim torso. Though I'm very fond of the little chubby baby dragons we got. HBO needs to make plushies that come in plastic eggs!!I'm hoping the neck, tails, wings will grow out as they mature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryFenril Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The dragons were, perforce, a little vague - the only one we saw clearly was Drogon, and that just for a few seconds. It was a perfect cliffhanger - show us something good, but just a taste, so we want more and come back for it later. Having said that, I think their design (while a smidgen different from the visual we got from the books) was great. Big chunky heads (for big strong jaws) and long, slim, fragile-looking wing structure. Strong solid feet, and a flexible "finger-claw" at the elbow for grasping and pulling with the wing, much like a bat. The tails and bodies may indeed get longer and more 'serpentine' with time, or they may decide to go with the more classical depiction of a big stout beastie with a lot of muscle. After all, keeping physics in mind, if they are truly as lithe and delicate as we're led to expect in the books, they'd have to be beyond enormous to bear the weight of a rider. A more muscular creature could carry weight at a smaller size. Which may solve the problem of "growing them out" during the series... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Lol, oh, don't get me wrong, I love his work. His vocabulary is stunning. It's just very dense, and he makes you pay close attention to every word lest you get confused. Reading him can actually make me tired afterward, lol. But in a good way. Brain cells all buffed up, y'know... mental workout.Couldn't agree more. We lesser mortals should not expect understanding to come easily.-VM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryFenril Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I remember distinctly having to look up "chiaroscuro" and "gibbous", lol... and that's before we even met the Elohim, who just complicated things all to heck and back... Just to give you pleasant memories: An actual, honest-to-goodness website. I swear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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