Tigana discussion! Part Four: The Price of Blood

I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in what section. LOL But The Ring dive was a big part of part four. I was on pins and needles over this part. I was so torn over wanting Dianora to fulfill her quest, but also wanting her to have some much deserved happiness. I was VERY surprised when she surfaced with the ring.

Sadly, the rest of that section is a big blur. *blush*

I hate to contradict you Clam, the Ring Dive was at the start of Part Five... but I agree with your sentiment, that whole bit was handled really well.

Part four, imo, is the "getting to the good stuff" part, this is the section of the story - though, handled well - that basically sets up all of the really good bits for the last section.

One small bit that I remember clearly from this section is the growth of the character Alais, maybe only a small step, but one that I quite enjoyed.. this is where she becomes more than just a coy older sister, she follows in her fathers footsteps, and turns out to be quite good onboard their family ship.

LOLOL! See, if I read a book and then wait two months (and read eight other books in the meantime) before I talk about parts of it... well... it's really easy for me to forget what happened when.

*chuckles*

Do I get points for remembering to start the thread?

Yes, yes you do... and maybe a badge, if I can find one.

:-)

And a cape!

Was the scene with Alessan's mother at the temple/monastary/retreat in book 4? I was really dreading a big mushy reunion, and really enjoyed the fact that she remained a bit of a nasty piece of work right up until the end.

Does the cape have a hood? If it does, I’m jealous! :P

The reunion at the Monastery was in Part IV and yes, she was mean to the end. LOL.

How many people didn't see the whole thing between you know who - the guy who ran the troupe, and you know who - that gal the main character hung out with in the secret closet?

Geez... this stuff does disappear. :S

Well, I was thinking more like the cape that comes along with the remembering-to-start-threads superpower, but... maybe it's got a detachable hood. For when it gets cold in the internet.

And Alessan and Catriana... yeah, I didn't see that coming AT ALL. And I haven't decided if that's a good thing (i.e. not predictable, surprising writing), or a bad thing (not enough hints given, coming out of nowhere). Maybe if I knew to look for it, the hints would be there on a re-read, but on the first time through it did feel somewhat artifically tacked on, like "hmmm... we need a love story... what characters can we pitch together... Alessan and.... eh, Catriana, why the hell not?"

The love affair between Alessan and Catriana did seem a little sudden and unexpected, but then again sometimes that's what happens when you have death and other strong emotional issues.

The issues with Alessan and his mother were interesting, how she percieved how his fight was working. I think it was rather hard for him to deal with the condemnation of his mother but it also made him more determined to get the job done.

I was amazed at how long term Alassan & Co's plans were, how patient they were gethering info, making the plans, lying foundation. This stretched, what was it, 20 years? I'm not good at history. Did/do real life people have this much patience? It seems to me that, people today anyway, want immediate action/relief.

Yes, they do. Which is why they strap bombs to themselves and blow up the men, women and children on the street, or start wars, instead of trying for diplomatic solutions. :o(

Where's that hooded cape!
:o)
Maybe I can change the world...

CHANGE THE WORLD! *and*

....be comfy cozy warm doing it!

:)

AND...
look quite stylish while doing it!
;o)

So... on this reread I viewed the opinion of Alessan's mother to be that of the zealot, and cast so to put what Alessan & co did - which was basically your average act of terror - in a more benign light; also to show that there are different kinds of 'terrorists', and that the patient way sometimes is the best.

In this particular case I don't think the Gandhi way would had worked, and that that's part of the message here - their society was violent (death wheels, dismemberment, torture for the fun of it...) and while it may feel good not to be like the oppressors you're opposing you sometimes have to fight back when kicked, slapped, and generally humiliated.

I think the build up for the ring dive was in this section? Anyway, I think the way Dianora uses 'fate' in the form of the riselka as a crutch for her own faltering conviction, boosting herself, is interesting. Someone gets a religious 'vision', straps some plastic explosives to the body, and blows herself to kingdom come... Not that it was what Dianora planned, literally, but in a figurative way, and we have seen this before, in our own world, haven't we?

#14 - Very interesting, Busifer... I had not thought of it this way at all.

Neither had I but reading through all these 'old' comments worked to catalyse my own thoughts.