MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 277 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Review of ShadowStalker by RUNDLE-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com 2) Re: Question (AFall) by Adrienne York 3) Re: Question (AFall) by mealink-+AT+-syd.au.swissbank.com (Kerry Mealing) 4) Re: Review of ShadowStalker by wdjpej-+AT+-ix.netcom.com (William Jones ) 5) Re: Review of ShadowStalker by Alison Schiff 6) book recomendation(non misty) by gjuka-+AT+-cnw.com (Gjuka) 7) HH&H review respones by Mat Timmerman 8) Re: Review of ShadowStalker by Mat Timmerman 9) RE: Favourite Series by "WILLIAM C. REESE" 10) Re: Favourite Series by dbackhau-+AT+-isou10.estec.esa.nl 11) Re: gods on velgarth by CHONNI ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 14:11:24 -0700 (MST) From: RUNDLE-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Review of ShadowStalker Message-ID: <951220141124.2241ca7e-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com> Review Number 2 - Shadow Stalker This is one of my favorite CD's of the Misty collection that I have. Again I am using Mat's comments as a backdrop for my own. I'll try to review By the Sword hereafter if anyone shows any interest in additional musical reviews. >Windrider Unchained -- 10 > I love this song. Heather Alexander's voice is amazing. _She_ > should have done the Selenay songs on HH&H. Exactly! >Demonsbane -- 9 > Catchy tune. Nice story. Was this story mentioned in LHM? (I > don't think it's the gretshke inicident from MProimise, unless > it's really, really wrong) I consider this another 10. I guess I'm a little more lenient than you. I remember this incident mentioned, when Vanyel turns the demons back on the Karsites. I think this is that incident. >My Lady's Eyes -- 5 > Ok. nothing special. Blech. A 3. I totally agree with Vanyel. Drivel. Sweet tune though. I wonder if some better lyrics could be created with this tune to match the beauty of the melody? And is that supposed to be Stefan singing? It sure doesn't sound like him (at least that's not the way I "see" the voice). >Web of Light -- 7 I really like this song although one line really has me confused: "You were seven years ahead, are those prepared to fight". I must have this line wrong. It makes no sense. Anyone have the songbook? I suppose I should just look it up in the back of the LHM books, but I never think of this then! >The Colddrake -- 8 > Um, Vanyel didn't use nodes to kill the colddrake. He didn't > even know what a node was until he was on his way to find > Krebain (Moondances little Gift explanation on Yfandes' back). Absolutely. But just as Three's on HH&H isn't accurate because the minstrel wasn't present, and had to get the story second-hand, so it would be in this case. In addition the minstrel can (and probably did) often take poetic license. I'll go with your rating, an 8. >Shadow Lover -- 9 > Very nice. Like someone said a while ago, I expected the tune > to be a bit more haunting. True. But I really like it. Nevertheless I would only give it a 7. >Vrondi's Eyes -- 7 I like this one a lot. It gives you a feel for the Vrondi. I also like the melody. I give it a 9. >Shadow Stalker -- 8 This one is one of my favorites on this CD. I give it a 9. It's a little too light given the grim nature of the song. Isn't this (according to LHM) where he caught up to the person who killed Donni and Mardic? >Earth Spirit -- 8 > What's a shin'a'in sounding song doing on _Shadow Stalker_? Tayledras and Shin'a'in are related as someone said, and this could easily be a Tayledras song, as the dances in Winds reminded me of a Native style, so does this song. I love this song. 8. >Nightblades -- 6 It's okay. A show of Vanyel's cleverness. But the song itself isn't terribly interesting. 5 >Hawkbrother -- 8 Is this Moondances song? It seems like it. I'll agree with the 8. >Magic's Price -- 5 > This song is _way_ to upbeat to be Stefen's last tribute to > Vanyel. It should be sad. Heather doesn't do a very > good Stefen either. Is it really Stefen singing? Maybe. Anyway, the song is good, but I agree it's not sad enough. However the song itself is good enough for an 8. >Herald's Creed -- 3 > The only song on the album that I don't really like. When this > song comes on, my family thinks that I'm listening to Church > music or something. Really? I like it. Sort of Heraldic if you know what I mean. Heraldic in the realworld sense, not as in Heralds and Companions. I love the instruments! It's an 8 by me. As I said, I really enjoyed this CD! Some days I feel more critical than this, but today this is it! StarWolf ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 18:27:40 -0500 (EST) From: Adrienne York To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Question (AFall) Message-ID: I was going through my inbox, with all the stuff I meant to answer and didn't. I dont remember if anyone got to this. ;];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];] ;] Adrienne York-Minor ;] ;] "I'd like to believe that, but I'm fresh out of optimism." ;] ;] -Princess Jasmine ;] ;] ayork-+AT+-simons-rock.edu ;] ;];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];];] On Mon, 11 Dec 1995, Sanna Koulu wrote: > I confess, I'm occasionally stupid... I didn't understand in AFall, > when Dirk is talking to Elspeth about the "no one true way" creed, > _why_ Valdemaran clergy were forbidden to pray for a victory in war. > Could someone who knows the answer explain? > Vanyel explained it completely in MPrice, I think, but this is what I think I remember. For one thing, some of the gods in Valdemar are competing gods, like Set and Osiris and the light and dark gods in Zoroastrianism. The battlefield is too good an opportunity to take a swipe at an enemy while helping your side. Second, some of the people on the other side are worshipping the same gods. What would the Sunlord do if some of the renegade Valdemar sects started asking him to destroy Karse? And theres a third reason I dont remember. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 95 10:57:45 EST From: mealink-+AT+-syd.au.swissbank.com (Kerry Mealing) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Question (AFall) Message-ID: <9512202357.AA15076-+AT+-syd.au.swissbank.com> Adrienne wrote: > On Mon, 11 Dec 1995, Sanna Koulu wrote: > > I confess, I'm occasionally stupid... I didn't understand in AFall, > > when Dirk is talking to Elspeth about the "no one true way" creed, > > _why_ Valdemaran clergy were forbidden to pray for a victory in war. > > Could someone who knows the answer explain? > > > Vanyel explained it completely in MPrice, I think, but this is what I > think I remember. > For one thing, some of the gods in Valdemar are competing gods, like Set > and Osiris and the light and dark gods in Zoroastrianism. The > battlefield is too good an opportunity to take a swipe at an enemy while > helping your side. Second, some of the people on the other side are > worshipping the same gods. What would the Sunlord do if some of the > renegade Valdemar sects started asking him to destroy Karse? And theres > a third reason I dont remember. I think the third and most important reason is that it helps prevent religious civil war *inside* Valdemar. Remember, Valdemar is a patchwork quilt of religions and beliefs etc and if you allow priests to pray for victory (especially in a world where results can be tangible and immediate) against other religious orders, then you've set up a tinderbox. Personally I think this has to be the real reason, despite whatever else they might say. (This is more or less what Adrienne said I guess, just approached from a different angle). :) Anyway, Merry Christmas / Yuletide / etc all, and have a safe & happy new year. :) Kerry. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 16:55:34 -0800 From: wdjpej-+AT+-ix.netcom.com (William Jones ) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Review of ShadowStalker Message-ID: <199512210055.QAA22825-+AT+-ix7.ix.netcom.com> You wrote: >"You were seven years ahead, are those prepared to fight". The line is: Few are we who felt the touch of Magic's guiding light Fewer still in years ahead are those prepared to fight - Shadow-Lover Who is too lazy to come up with a real sig at the moment... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 22:30:19 -0500 (EST) From: Alison Schiff To: mercedes lackey Subject: Re: Review of ShadowStalker Message-ID: On Wed, 20 Dec 1995 RUNDLE-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com wrote: > >Earth Spirit -- 8 > > What's a shin'a'in sounding song doing on _Shadow Stalker_? > Tayledras and Shin'a'in are related as someone said, and this could > easily be a Tayledras song, as the dances in Winds reminded me of > a Native style, so does this song. I love this song. 8. > I always understood this to be the song that Stefen wrote for the Kyree, "to go with their special sound" (paraphrase) He thought about it when they were staying in the cave during Vanyel's recovery after his capture and rape )*: and later he sings it in the Forest of Sorrows before he tried to commit suicide. I think it suits the Kyree very well, with haunting howls and the deep drums ("made for the use of paws and tail") -Alison Schiff ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 20:36:51 -0800 From: gjuka-+AT+-cnw.com (Gjuka) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: book recomendation(non misty) Message-ID: for those of you who like diana tregard, i have a couple of recomendations. first is a book i've already seen mentioned here that i only recently managed to read. it is called "Lammas Night" by katherine kurtz and takes place during world war ii. to make it short, it's about the efforts of the brittish occult comunity to thwart hitler in his planned invasion of england. i loved it, but also suggest you keep a box of tissue nearby. i think those of you who like the tregard novels will enjoy this one too. second is a series i have not yet completed. i just started the second book today. (they were given to me by a friend who i gave the vanyel trillogy for x-mas.) they are by brian lumley, and have covers that are even worse (if you can imagine it!) than the tregard books. the first book is called "Necroscope", the second "Vamphyri", and i don't recall the name of the third book. the premise is that the main charecter can converse with the dead, and must work to stop a necromancer, vampires, and russian agents with occult connections. sounds far fetched, but somehow it works. best of all, all the bad guys have real reasons for what they do, and can't just be despised out of hand. -no "they're evil and want to take over the world" as the all encompassing reason for their actions. and last, for those of you who like vampires, i recomend the sonja blue books by nancy collins, first of which is called "Sunglasses After Dark". These are REALLY good. -colette gjuka-+AT+-cnw.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 02:30:46 -0400 (EDT) From: Mat Timmerman To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: HH&H review respones Message-ID: <01HZ1WJ9G68Y9AMYJF-+AT+-vaxc.hofstra.edu> From: RUNDLE-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com > >Note: this is fairly long since I included Mat's original observations >in many cases. My disclaimer is identical to Mat's. The only thing >I know about music is whether I like something or not. That's exactly how I felt (and still do :)) when I wrote the review > >I broke this up into parts, one per CD. First _Heralds, Harpers & Havok_, >then ShadowStalker. Maybe after that I'll try a review of my own on >some of the others I've picked up. I've reviewed all this stuff before >you know. Oh sure, you're saying to yourself "I don't remember reading >a review by StarWolf on these tapes". That's cause I reviewed them on >paper, and they just never made it into the 'puter. So thanks Mat, for >finally getting me to put my thoughts down. I listened to the tapes >while I read Mat's review and wrote mine so that it would be fresh >in my mind. Here goes. > No problem ;) When I did it, it ws kind of spontaneous. I'd just gotten HH&H a few days before and had nothing to do that day. So, I just went down to the computer lab and whipped up the reviews :) >>Disclaimer -- I don't really know anything about music. These are >>just based on how I think the songs sound. All IMHO. :) > >>Rating scale: 0-10 (0 worst, 10 best) > >>_Heralds, Harpers, & Havok_ > >>Holderkin Sheep Song -- 8 > >I would give it a 6. The melody is nice. The voice is good. But I'm >not that terribly fond of lullabies. Neither am I, but I really like the sound of it. I just like hearing it, without actually listening to it, if you know what mean. > >>Meetings -- 8 >> I like this song, but something really bugs me about this and >> "Sun and Shadow". Why is Kris singing them? I know it says so >> in the back of AFall, but in the story, it's Dirk singing them. >> I don't know, but things like that bother me. Kristoph Klover's >> (did Misty write Kris with him in mind or something?) voice >> is a little high pitched for my taste though. >I figure that at various times Kris has sung all the songs, just as >Dirk has. We are shown one specific incident. There are a lot of them. >As far as a rating - I'd give it a 7. The melody is pretty, the voice >is a little too... I don't know, just sounds so off to me. But I like >it anyway. Like I said, I don't know music, so I don't know the term >I'm looking for. I'ts not one of my favorites but it has grown on me >over time. At first I hated it. I think that the reason that KK singing it bothers me is that I like LArry Warner's voice a *lot* better. KK's voice is too high pitched for my taste. I despised this and Sun and Shadow at first, but they grew on me. > >>Threes -- 10 >> I absolutely love this song. Larry Warner sounds very good in >> this song. I also love how the guitar sounds. I can't listen >> to this song without thinking of Tarma's reaction to it. > >One of my favorite songs. I agree, I always think of Tarma and Kethry's >conversation about this song. Hee hee. Definitely a 10. Nothing to add here, but I can't delete a reference to my favorite song on the album -- sorry Mel :) I just finished rereading Vows&Honor, so it seems even funnier to me. > >>Philosophy -- 9 >> At first, Dominic Bridwell's voice really got on my nerves. >> Then, it grew on me. This is one song that sounds much better >> than I thought it would from reading the lyrics. > >I love this song. It's perfectly Skif. This is exactly the way I >picture Skif. Daring beyond reason, doing things for the pure fun >and adrenalin rush of doing. And this voice IS Skif. Ever since >hearing this song, I've heard this voice in my head when reading >Arrows. Except in Winds where he turns into a whining annoying brat >and isn't Skif anymore. - 10 I agree on all points. Since I wrote the review, I've come to like the song even more. I rasie my vote to a10 now too. >>Dark and Stormy Night -- 6.5 >> Not too bad. It's a little to monotone for my taste though. >> And isn't Talia supposed to sing this song? I guess Frak Hayes >> just wanted to sing more than one song. >I love this song! This is an outright 10 to me. This is the song that >I hope someday to play. And again, many people sang many of the songs. >Just because one person sang a song once in the book doesn't give them >"ownership" of the singing. I thought this voice was excellent. >I don't know who is supposed to sing it (don't have the songbook handy) >but I think it's Leslac and if not, I always picture Leslac singing it. At most a 7. According to AotQ and the lyrics in AFall, Talia is supposed to sing it. >>Sun and Shadow -- 8 >> I guess Dirk was wrong. This song doesn't make me hold my >> breath, _or_ bore me to tears. I was dissapionted at first, >> but I've come to like it. I think that it would have sounded >> much better with Larry Warner singing Sunsinger though. > >I despised this at first, now... I'm still not terribly fond of it. >I don't like the melody and not terribly fond of the lyrics. The story >is nice. I'm sure this is my non-musicality showing but - 3 > I waver on this one. It depends on my mood at the moment. >>The Face Within -- 6 >> Ok, not great, but not bad at all. KK's voice grates on me a >> little though. >I really like this song. It shows Alberich very much the way I see him. >One of my favorites - 9. I've upgraded it to an 7.75 after more listening. > >>Herald's Lament -- 6.5 > >Here I disagree with you. I love this song. It's very sad, very >Dirk. He's lost his best friend in the world, and gained his love, >and feels partly responsible even though he knows he shouldn't. It's >a beautiful song. I give it a 9. > Once again, after more listening, it's a 9. >StarWolf Mat -- who's onve more limited to a modem connection with no backspace, unless he can get the other program working ;( accmjt-+AT+-vaxc.hofstra.edu http://ada.hofstra.edu/~mtimme47/ VAX is the source of all evil. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 02:43:28 -0400 (EDT) From: Mat Timmerman To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Review of ShadowStalker Message-ID: <01HZ1XGSNR029AMOA8-+AT+-vaxc.hofstra.edu> From: Alison Schiff >On Wed, 20 Dec 1995 RUNDLE-+AT+-wilma.bcasd.az.honeywell.com wrote: You probaly didn't realize it, but I said the first part. Starwolf was quoting a review of mine from a while ago. >> >Earth Spirit -- 8 >> > What's a shin'a'in sounding song doing on _Shadow Stalker_? >> Tayledras and Shin'a'in are related as someone said, and this could >> easily be a Tayledras song, as the dances in Winds reminded me of >> a Native style, so does this song. I love this song. 8. >> > > I always understood this to be the song that Stefen wrote for >the Kyree, "to go with their special sound" (paraphrase) He thought about >it when they were staying in the cave during Vanyel's recovery after his >capture and rape )*: and later he sings it in the Forest of Sorrows >before he tried to commit suicide. I think it suits the Kyree very well, >with haunting howls and the deep drums ("made for the use of paws and tail") > -Alison Schiff It's funny, becaues when I reread MPrice recently, I was contemplating this. It makes mores sense than it being a Tayledras/Shin'a'in song. Besides, almost every song Misty mentions in a story seems to get made. :) Mat accmjt-+AT+-vaxc.hofstra.edu http://ada.hofstra.edu/~mtimme47/ VAX is the source of all evil. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 95 07:26:51 UT From: "WILLIAM C. REESE" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: RE: Favourite Series Message-ID: Eric asked: > Perhaps this is a question that people don't want to entertain but what > _is_ everyone's favorite book / series? I'd say: favorite book: By the Sword favorite series: storm favorite non-Velgarth book/series: sacred ground/tregarde favorite character: Kerowyn/vanyel ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 95 14:53:23 +0100 From: dbackhau-+AT+-isou10.estec.esa.nl To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Favourite Series Message-ID: <9512211353.AA08372-+AT+-isou10.estec.esa.nl> hola, I am a newbie. Having lurked at the edges for a month or so, wondering if I had anything to contribute, I have decided to dip my toe in while it's quiet - like Elspeth I am slightly awkward about entering a bathing pool full of people who know each other and the rules (just re-read WoF). I'm also about to disappear for a week, so I can slink back in January, having broken the ice, (and, I hope, nothing on the ice given the sudden downward lurch in temperature here in The Netherlands). I have several thoughts - I probably don't have an all time favourite - if I'm in a particular mood, I read The Last Herald Mage (LMH?) trilogy - but it's a fairly downbeat series, and you know there's no happy ending to come. I can get fed up with all the raw weeping that goes on (how come ML never mentions the strings of, well, delicacy leads me to write mucous, that pour from the nose when you're having a proper bawl (anyone who's seen Juliet Stevenson in Truly, Madly, Deeply will know what I mean), so if I feel like shedding the odd tear, and wallowing in gloom, then LHM is the one. However, I am currently re-reading Winds, much more upbeat, I find the Shin'a'in and Tayledras wonderful races, there's humour, lurve and it's quite funny at times. I get confused over Elspeth's age - Gwenna refers to her as "child", Selennay treats her like a young teenager, and the general impression is of someone in their late teens/early twenties, she is in fact late twenties (I think). So, once I've decided to ignore all the facts and 'read' her as 24, I enjoy the series a lot. AoQ I used to really rate, but I think ML's treatment of Velgarth has matured a lot since then. The first, (AoQ), started almost like a book aimed at teenage girls - with lines like "snuggling down into her bed of sweet grass" - yeuch! (awful paraphrasing) - it then ages a few years and improves with the last two. I re-read it recently, and enjoyed it more that I expected. Oathbound and Oathbreakers I like - not read them lately, but liked Tarma a lot - especially at the beginning of the plot to avenge ???Idra??? where she's play acting the bloodthirsty barbarian. By the Sword was good - Kero is a strong character, and the equal roles of males and females in the merc bands is handled so matter-a -factly, it's a pleasure. Has anyone managed to sort the dates of these books out - from the tree at the beginning of my WoC, Roald came to the throne in 1310 - and in Oathbreakers he's a thirtysomething heir. Tarma is, what fortysomething?, with her aches in the cold, Keth maybe less (she's got to get all those kiddiwinks in before her homones give up on her - altho' I suppose she _is_ a mage). I think Kero's mother was one of the later children (???), so add a few years, then 20 or so for her Kero's mum to grow/marry/have the son, then 15 or so for Kero to get to the start of By The Sword, and another 25 to get to the end of it, and you get 68 years. Say Oathbreakers ended in 1305, and you get 1373 - before Selenay even gets on the throne. AotQ must date from around 1385 (Selenay marries while queen (Talias predecessor can't handle a "headstrong young girl" (awful quotes again)), and Elspeth is about 8. Now, (I'm nearly there) at the end of By the Sword, Elspeth is early 20s, which makes it sort of 1396 (from the AotQ dates) - with Kero in her 60's (by the Oathbreakers dates)! I have played with these date loads of times, and have never reconciled them - somone spot my obvious mistake please! Heavens, how the fingers have flown - guess who doesn't have much work to do this week! The jury is still out of Gryphon and Storm (but there's more raw weeping in Storm - some of it from a cat for heavens sake - sorry a ...... nope, the name has gone - all the brain can offer is barquecat which is McCaffrey I think - a whatever Altra (???) is. 'kay, that will be my lot for starters - 's e do bheatha (oh, and a Happy Christmas and New Year as well) Debbi ps is this too long - should I be less verbose in future? Should I be silent in future? Can I come back and play next year? See y'll in '96! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 12:52:55 -0800 (PST) From: CHONNI To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: gods on velgarth Message-ID: On Thu, 14 Dec 1995, Heather Mina wrote: > Seanna wrote: > >More, why would a god need to "prove himself"? > Throughout the sacred literature of our world (I mean *all* of the sacred > literature, from Babylon and Egypt, to Greece, to Scandanavia, to Judaism > and Christianity (and everything else in between)), every god has performed > some supernatural act to demonstrate to his (generic gender used throughout > - no intentions to offend anybody here, just laziness in typing) people that > he is, indeed a superior (if not necessarily supreme - read "head" god) > being. Besides, for a very literal interpreation of the literature, how > would we know that a being is a god unless he gave us some kind of > demonstration of his powes and abilities? sorry to be so far behind in my posts (someone may have already definitively answered this), but a really good literary example of this good/evil, having to prove oneself thing can be found in a series of books by Tanith Lee. I forget most of the names, and only _Delirium's Mistress_ sticks out in my mind, but the book just before that deals with a Loki/Satan like character that is also good, in a prometheus sort of way... *********************************************************************** * Why would I want my mind back? Who knows where it's been! * *---------------------------------------------------------------------* **************************** Chonni Brightwolf************************* ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 277 *********************************