If you have discussion points for Chapters 1-2 you wish to bring up but which include spoilers, please post them here. Then link your comment in the general post, so those who want to avoid being spoiled can do so!
One other thing that my rereading perspective gave me:
4. Bren's still a baby at this job in a lot of ways -- seems uncomfortably perched between humans and atevi. He's not at all comfortable with atevi violence, security, assassination, lack of convenience food, or -- sometimes -- manners (he lets his face show his emotions, he gets snappy/impolite when tired, ). On the other hand, he uses atevi vocabulary unconsciously (he mentions reading the junk mail he gets as being a chance to think in English), isn't uncomfortable with servants, has done years of work to reach this position, which is definitely no sinecure: Bren mentions "studying and competing for years to be the paidhi, and becoming, in sum, fluent in a language in which human words and human thought didn't neatly translate", so we know his skill level and talents are out of the usual already.
And he's not surefooted on the human side, either -- he's dangerously close, I felt, to considering Tabini a friend after their little outing in the countryside, and he's willing to keep his own superiors in the dark regarding some actions/requests of Tabini's... and even refrains from telling them about his current situation until it's too late...
It's been really dissonant to read after just reading the last three novels, I gotta say - he goes from baby paidhi to Lord of the Heavens and I'm pretty sure it's a nice, gradual change (having Jase around undoubtedly helped a lot) but it's still really jarring to go back to the beginning.
And, yeah, it might have been wise for him to let his Mospheiran superiors at least know that Intent was filed on his behalf, even if they did then say it was time for him to have a vacation. (Do we ever learn what Mospheira means? Is it somebody's name? Is it the atevi name of the island?)
I know! There are these flashes of the brilliant, patient diplomat of the most recent trilogy... and then there's these sequences of a blundering n00b who can't hold a conversation with his own guard without offending her and insulting the staff.
(This is not to say that I don't love salad the n00b! I just find myself gnashing my teeth and thinking, Pull it together, Bren-ji! You can do this! before reminding myself that he actually hasn't done this before.) :D
Hahaha, Jase! Jase probably helped mostly by giving us someone to look at and say, "Wow, at least Bren isn't doing that!" Come to think, maybe it worked that way for the atevi, too! "Bren-ji must be a good paidhi -- he's never had a tantrum and refused to speak Ragi, and he somehow manages to live with Jase-ji and not file Intent once a week! He must be a very polite and reasonable human!" Wonder what they thought of Deana Hanks...
ever learn what Mospheira means?
I think it's the atevi name for the island? At least, I think I remember Manadgi thinking of it by that name? It looks like an atevi word, rather... Don't think anyone ever has a discussion about the name, though.
Edited (corrected html) Date: 2011-06-08 01:19 am (UTC)
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 09:58 pm (UTC)4. Bren's still a baby at this job in a lot of ways -- seems uncomfortably perched between humans and atevi. He's not at all comfortable with atevi violence, security, assassination, lack of convenience food, or -- sometimes -- manners (he lets his face show his emotions, he gets snappy/impolite when tired, ). On the other hand, he uses atevi vocabulary unconsciously (he mentions reading the junk mail he gets as being a chance to think in English), isn't uncomfortable with servants, has done years of work to reach this position, which is definitely no sinecure: Bren mentions "studying and competing for years to be the paidhi, and becoming, in sum, fluent in a language in which human words and human thought didn't neatly translate", so we know his skill level and talents are out of the usual already.
And he's not surefooted on the human side, either -- he's dangerously close, I felt, to considering Tabini a friend after their little outing in the countryside, and he's willing to keep his own superiors in the dark regarding some actions/requests of Tabini's... and even refrains from telling them about his current situation until it's too late...
no subject
Date: 2011-06-08 12:09 am (UTC)And, yeah, it might have been wise for him to let his Mospheiran superiors at least know that Intent was filed on his behalf, even if they did then say it was time for him to have a vacation. (Do we ever learn what Mospheira means? Is it somebody's name? Is it the atevi name of the island?)
no subject
Date: 2011-06-08 01:17 am (UTC)I know! There are these flashes of the brilliant, patient diplomat of the most recent trilogy... and then there's these sequences of a blundering n00b who can't hold a conversation with his own guard without offending her and insulting the staff.
(This is not to say that I don't
lovesalad the n00b! I just find myself gnashing my teeth and thinking, Pull it together, Bren-ji! You can do this! before reminding myself that he actually hasn't done this before.) :DHahaha, Jase! Jase probably helped mostly by giving us someone to look at and say, "Wow, at least Bren isn't doing that!" Come to think, maybe it worked that way for the atevi, too! "Bren-ji must be a good paidhi -- he's never had a tantrum and refused to speak Ragi, and he somehow manages to live with Jase-ji and not file Intent once a week! He must be a very polite and reasonable human!" Wonder what they thought of Deana Hanks...
ever learn what Mospheira means?
I think it's the atevi name for the island? At least, I think I remember Manadgi thinking of it by that name? It looks like an atevi word, rather... Don't think anyone ever has a discussion about the name, though.