MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 308 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: Firesong---> illustrations by "James T. Yardley" <73201.745-+AT+-compuserve.com> 2) role-playing games by "James T. Yardley" <73201.745-+AT+-compuserve.com> 3) Re: New thread!: Characters by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 4) Re: Cut and Paste by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG 5) Too Much Misty & Queens Own by AliFarr-+AT+-aol.com 6) Re: Anne McCaffrey by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG 7) re: multiple personalities by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG 8) Re: The Eastern Empire by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG 9) speaking of historical questions by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG 10) Re: YKYBRTMMLW: by McCaffrey's White Dragon 11) Re: YKYBRTMMLW: by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 12) ROLE PLAYING GAMES (was Re: YKYBRTMMLW: (Games)) by Staci Schoenfeld 13) Re: Snow by Staci Schoenfeld 14) Swords and Sorcery (only one sorceress :) by Rosario Holsen-Baker 15) Re: re: Eastern Empire by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 16) Re: re: Eastern Empire by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 17) Re: Firesong---> illustrations by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 18) Re: FW: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 19) Re: Way off topic! (was Re: Robert Jordan (off topic)) by Tammy Harris 20) Coconuts, Xanth, pics & Re: 1996 ML by CHONNI 21) Re: Vanyel and the Vales by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 22) Re: Firesong, Andesha, and Silverfox by "Patrick S. Waterlander" 23) Re: illustrations by "Katherine M. Brielmaier" 24) Re: Snow by "Katherine M. Brielmaier" 25) Re: Snow by Rosario Holsen-Baker 26) Re: YKYBRTMMLW: by Mary Temple 27) Re: YKYBRTMMLW: by Mary Temple 28) In Celebration of Lammas Night by EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 11 Jan 96 11:51:01 EST From: "James T. Yardley" <73201.745-+AT+-compuserve.com> To: Mercedes Lackey Mailing Subject: Re: Firesong---> illustrations Message-ID: <960111165101_73201.745_JHE65-2-+AT+-CompuServe.COM> Stephanie agrees with me: >>Interestingly, I believe that means I do not like a single piece of art by Larry Dixon ... >>These pictures look nothing like my mental pictures! The cover illustrations, >>OTOH, do, at least for all of the books based in Velgarth (Jody Lee's work I >>believe). Characters which are described as handsome should *look* >>handsome! Or pretty! Or lean! Sheesh... my sentiments exactly! if you're going to describe someone as being drop-dead gorgeous, their pictures should reflect that. i do like the cover pictures, especially the Magic's Promise one. and i feel slightly guilty saying mean things about Larry Dixon's work, given that he's ML's husband, but i just don't think it reflects the characters accurately. - Meg ------------------------------ Date: 11 Jan 96 11:57:26 EST From: "James T. Yardley" <73201.745-+AT+-compuserve.com> To: Mercedes Lackey Mailing Subject: role-playing games Message-ID: <960111165725_73201.745_JHE65-3-+AT+-CompuServe.COM> ok, maybe someone on the list can help me. for years i've been hearing about these "role-playing games." role-playing games this, role-playing games that. etc. etc. now, i personally wouldn't know a role-playing game if it jumped up and bit me on the heel, so maybe someone could describe them for me. what is the format? how exactly does it work? signed, Confused in Morristown NJ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 09:10:37 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: New thread!: Characters Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Sanna Koulu wrote: > Mannaheim wrote: > > > I've been working on a list of characters. The following is a list of > > characters that I have come up with from The Black Gryphon. -Mannaheim > > Ok, I know you said to e-mail this but I thought some others might > want to comment... > > I think it might be helpful for those of us with few remaining memory > cells :) to describe the situation where we first met the person > (especially when talking of minor characters). Like: > > (snip) > > Characters: > > Aubri (Broadwing gryphon) > > How about "Aubri (Broadwing gryphon who shared a tent with Skan while > recovering from burn damage)" or something? Any opinions, anyone? > Is it too long? > > > -Seanna > Excellent idea! I did forget Kili(sp?) and I might have forgotten some others. I tried making a more complete list at home yesterday. The posted list is off the top of my head, so it probably isnt all there. Now I have another question. Should I do a list for each book? or for each series of books? Such as one list for the gryphon series, one for the LHM series, one for AOTQ series, etc. I thought this might be easier since there are a lot of characters that appear in two or all three of the books in each series. Comments gladly accepted. -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:08:54 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Cut and Paste Message-ID: <960111130854.33d4-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> Here's a solution for those of us who don't have the manuals that tell them how to run the system. Quote the essential material by hand, and then trust to the rest of the list to have been following the commentary so far. It does make you read carefully for the shortest bit to copy! Actually, the twin questions of citing your quotes, and deleting down quotations to a more elegant length seem to be coming up frequently. Perhaps they should be included in the FAQ? Mel, what say you? I'll compose a paragraph or two if you'd like. Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:17:00 -0500 From: AliFarr-+AT+-aol.com To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Too Much Misty & Queens Own Message-ID: <960111131659_87913580-+AT+-emout05.mail.aol.com> "Sanna Koulu" wrote: >... I think it's been mentioned that Valdemar has >judges and magistrates (or something that serves those functions). >Montesquieu would have a fit at Valdemar's government otherwise >(Think about it: the same group of people makes the laws, enforces >them, and passes sentences .) No, Not wince. The point of being a Herald and able to dispense justice, is that you can find the perpatrator, ascertain the truth directly from the minds of the accused and victim, detemine if they truly are insane (as in deranged minds - not just so cruel and evil that any moral person would see their acts as insane) then immediately dispense justice in accordance with the law of Valdemar. No need for juries that can be swayed, appeals by the not so innocent acclaiming they are innocent, and there goes the biggest argument against the death penalty; accidently executing an innocent person.. Would that we had heralds on earth - we might be able to take back the streets! Note that Circuit Heralds did not handle large scale justice - as in the town caught cheating on their taxes. But I would still expect that a Herald would accompany the Guard and whoever came to investigate, to ascertain who was really guity. On another Thread..... >Speaking of which, has anyone here got persona's of different sexes? Or is >everyone who has one in the "official" fanclub always stuck to their own >sex? >Just curious. I tend to stick to being female in whatever persona's I may >create, and I was wondering if others are less... conservative? >This is NOT a formal poll. I'd just as soon not get dozens of messages >but if anyone wants to respond to the list, I'm sure others would be interested, >and this is VERY Misty related. The persona I am working on is female (same sex mundane and Valdemar) primarily because I expect to go to on-line gathers as my persona, and its hard enough to keep a persona up in a real time conversation without also expecting "it" to think and talk as a man! AliFarr No sig ... no time ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:22:11 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Anne McCaffrey Message-ID: <960111132211.33d4-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> Mat (in digest 306, Jan 11, 96) said "in the US, _The Lady_ is known as _The Carradine Touch_ (or maybe it's _The Lady_ here and TCT elsewhere?)" It's _The Lady_ in the US. My library has the hardback and I've got it in paper. McCaffrey has done several romances, of which _Stitch In Snow_ is my favorite. It's set in a blizzard in Denver. _The Lady_ and _Stitch_ are sometimes available seperately, _The Mark of Merlin_ and two other books _The Kilternan Legacy_ and _Ring of Fear_, are sometimes found in a collection called (I think) _Three Women_. She has one other, _The Year of the Lucy_, which is probably the best done -- and most autobiograph ical of all of them. Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:31:27 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: re: multiple personalities Message-ID: <960111133127.33d4-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> Ashke suggested a while back that Urtho might have come back as Firesong or Vanyel, and I weighed in with a vote for Vanyel on the basis of the communication between Van and Leareth. Becky has protested that the communication is probably Van's foresight, and Urtho wasn't "the kind of person who would take someone's body over like Ma'ar did." (end summation! begin commentary! wheeeeee! :-) Actually, I don't think Urtho came back in the same sense that Ma'ar has. I'm suggesting the possibility that Urtho has reincarnated as Vanyel. I think that he and Leareth do communicate based on Leareth's reaction to meeting him at the end of MPrice (not exactly surprised). Urtho's personality seems to me to also be the sort of personality which would volunteer to spend four hundred years or more guarding a border. Reincarnation theory isn't my strongest point, I grant you. But reincarnation is different from what Ma'ar devised, (and indeed, different from what the Companions seem to do. They retain memories of their past lives, but the "bodies" they are reborn into are devised for the purpose of holding those "dead" personalities.) Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:35:57 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: The Eastern Empire Message-ID: <960111133557.33d4-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> I think that the Eastern Empire has been run by a series of dictators, but that it is not necessarily "evil" as Mannaheim suggested on 10 Jan. It's origins as a bunch of mercenaries explain it's insistence on obeying the chain of command. Anybody wonder if Ma'ar spent some of his lives as the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, which might explain why conditions were so bad when Valdemar picked up his people and left? Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:40:16 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: speaking of historical questions Message-ID: <960111134016.33d4-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> Can anyone figure out what happened to Highjorune? In MPromise it is described as an important city. But it has completely vanished from the maps we see in Talia's time. What are the major population centers of Valdemar? Why do the Heralds tolerate slums? Which nearby kingdom provided the miserable conditions which at least one or two of the Herald-candidates had to be rescued? How big is Valdemar? How big was the High King's territory before Ma'ar started after it? (no, no, no, I'll go quietly!) Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 11:11:39 -0800 (PST) From: McCaffrey's White Dragon To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Todd Kungas wrote: > At 15:44 10/01/96 GMT, you wrote: > > >> > >> You might try Anne McCaffery, Books:[Pern series],[The Ship who Sang], or > >>[The lady] > > > >OK, OK, OK - I've been reading McCaffrey since the late 70's (I found > Dragonflight > >in my (very) small local library and have been hooked ever since - although I > >think she's got a bit barrel scrapish lately) and thought I'd read the lot. So > >what, please, pretty please, is [The lady]? > > > >I'll second the recommendation tho' - I suspect that a lot of ML readers have > >their dedicated McCaffrey shelves as well - am I right or am I right?? > > > >Debbi > As the name suggests, I do have a McCaffrey collection. Too bad I don't have any shelves to put them on. ________________ Insanity takes it's toll. ________________ |\________________\ |\________________\ || | Jake Gipple (360)-887-3676 || | || PEAT MOSS | Please have exact change || REPEAT MOSS | \|________________| when replying. \|________________| a.k.a. McCaffrey's White Dragon |\_____/| Pete >0 0< the ) V ( AMAZING ( ___ ) E-mailing =||===||= OWL! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 11:32:05 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, William Jones wrote: > *Shadow-Lover grounds, centers and tosses a big, oily levin bolt > through Jaguar's shields giving her a crispy tail...* Chemstry 101: > Lipids will pass through sticky things ;) > > - Shadow-Lover > > *Preparing another bolt for the next smart alec* ;) > > heheheh > What's this "oily" thing goin on here? I thought a levinbolt was just a nice big piece of portable lightining type stuff. Oily makes it sound, well, disgusting. Like throwing boiling cooking oil on someone, and THAT hurts (although a levinbolt would probably be worse) *Declan grounds, centers, puts up his bouncy shields, and begins tossing huge amounts of rubber balls and balloons full of cheez-whiz(TM)* Taste my wrath! but dont worry, the cheez-whiz is still good. -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:05:41 -0800 From: Staci Schoenfeld To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: ROLE PLAYING GAMES (was Re: YKYBRTMMLW: (Games)) Message-ID: <199601112005.MAA25630-+AT+-stealth.romoidoy.com> At 02:20 PM 1/11/96 GMT, Seanna wrotein response to: >Starwolf who wrote: > >> 4. You desperately wish that Misty, would come out with a series of Valdemar >> related P.C. games, like Ray Feist did with his Universe! Wouldn't it be >> awesome to play in Valdemar! > >What? Huh??? I've only heard of Betrayal at Krondor, which was, like, >awesome . Are there others?? > > > -Seanna (who's on lookout for > good role-adventure games...) Anyone who knows of any good role playing games a la Betrayal at Krondor (which is my favorite), please please please send recommendations this way! I didn't so much like Death Gate (based on Margaret Weis' and Tracy Hickman's books because it didn't have the same kind of feel as Betrayal did. Wind to Thy Wings, Staci ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:05:37 -0800 From: Staci Schoenfeld To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Snow Message-ID: <199601112005.MAA25627-+AT+-stealth.romoidoy.com> At 10:13 AM 1/11/96 GMT, Equine wrote: >At 01:04 11/01/96 GMT, Starwolf wrote: >>Snow? That's that white stuff that falls on other cities, that I've seen on >>T.V. right? It just hit the mid-80's again here. Ahh yes, Arizona winters. >>Gotta love em. >> >>StarWolf >> >True the winters are nice, but August isn't that fun. >But I got smart, I'm in Montana now. Snow, Snow everywhere. > (Equine) And yet nothing matches San Francisco for near perfect weather year round. Average temps here between 40 and 70 degrees (F)... It is rarely too hot and rarely too cold. Wind to Thy Wings, Staci ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 15:11:23 -0500 (EST) From: Rosario Holsen-Baker To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Swords and Sorcery (only one sorceress :) Message-ID: Gyrfalcon wrote > > > > PIERS ANTHONY!!!!! > > > > > *Shadow-Lover grounds, centers and tosses a big, oily levin bolt > > > through Jaguar's shields giving her a crispy tail...* Chemstry 101: > > > Lipids will pass through sticky things ;) > > > > > And bounces off the second level of my shields, the mirror part. > > >:) > > *Jaguar looks around from hunting down Gyrfalcon with an annoyed > > glare, prepares an telepathic-disruptor blade, and slams it between > > Shadow-Lover's eyes, disrupting his mental circuits (even more ;)* > > > > Don't mess with a combat telepath. >:) > > Normally we wouldn't, but it's easier with you. On that field of combat > my dear, you're unarmed! > Who says? *Jaguar, getting sick of this insolent bird, bringss out her Christmas daggers, takes aim, and launches one, which promptly thwacks into Gyrfalcon's leg. This is followed up with a rapid barrage of levinbolts, and a psychic knife to HIS brain for good measure.* Just remember, cats *eat* birds. |--------------------------------<>------------------------------| | He screams and screams and pounds his head against the wall until | | wailing phantom firetrucks paces across his vision. | | PAIN. PAIN IS ALL HE WANTS: We shall never forget and never forgive. | | AND NEVER EVER FEAR | |FEAR IS FOR THE ENEMY FEAR AND BULLETS | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:17:18 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: re: Eastern Empire Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Becky Anne Christensen wrote: > > > On Wed, 10 Jan 1996, David J. De Riemacker wrote: > > > Kerry, > > I always got the impression that the Eastern Empire was founded by > > Urtho's people. They are the self-described masters of Gate technology, and > > they also have permanent Gates(IIRC). Along with that, wasn't there something > > in the Storms books about the founders of the EE coming out of a Gate in the > > wrong place. This happened when they were fleeing a great catastrophe of some > > kind, though it had been forgotten. Since magic didn't work very well after > > the Cataclysm, those people had to be fleeing before it happened. Any > > counterpoints? > > Whiteraven. I mean it this time. > > > Well, I think at that time all the grat mages could establish > permanent gates. I remember reading somewhere that Ma'ar had a couple of > permanent gates himself. I could be wrong though. > > (:*BECKY*:) > > No. That was one of the things Ma'ar was after. Permanent gates. He didn't know how to make them. Even as Mornelithe he didn't know how to make a true permanent gate. -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:21:30 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: re: Eastern Empire Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Kerry Mealing wrote: > > David wrote: > > Patrick answered this mainly, but the Empire was founded by Mercenaries.. > I'm just wondering which patrick you meant by this, since my name is also Patrick. -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:29:43 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Firesong---> illustrations Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, James T. Yardley wrote: > >>Side note: Is there anyone else who didn't like the picture of Firesong > towards the end of SR as a limp-wristed effeminate? (I assume it's Firesong > though the chapter pics were only loosely related to the chapter they > prefaced..)<< > > well - i haven't seen the particular picture you're talking about (though from > your description i can't say i'd like it any better than you do) but i > personally would prefer it if the books were without illustrations, or at least > illustrations of people. i would rather have the pictures that i come up with > in my head (which admittedly are rather nebulous) than someone else's ideas of > what people look like. somehow i have found very few pictures that actually > correspond to my ideas. does anyone else have this problem? > > - Meg > > Yes, actually I do. I keep picturing Amberdrake completely different from the picture at the beginning of Black Gryphon (I think that's it). Firesong also seemed different to me. But the worst was the drawings in Winds series and Storm series. They seem quite insubstantial, they lack detail, and they all look too much alike. (JMHO) -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:52:09 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: FW: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, Fiona Graham wrote: > Becky wrote: > > > Hey, no fair! That was supposed to be a MAGICAL attack! > > And where are the sparrows? > > > > > > --Gyfalcon > > > African or European? > > (:*BECKY*:) > > A-HA...and other exclamations of great glee and jubilation..I sense a fellow Monty > Python fan in the ranks.....glad to know I'm not alone (: > as for the recent Snow grumbles, well..you guys have my sympathies....I am fortunate > enough to come from a country where it simply does not snow, but I lived in Eastern > Canada for 5 years, so I've seen my fair share...... > ah well..... work beckons.... > Fiona > > fmg-+AT+-renre.bm > But then again, if she's lighter than the duck, does that mean she's a witch? (Monty Python fan waving from the ranks) (wave wave) -Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 14:37:10 -0500 From: Tammy Harris To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Way off topic! (was Re: Robert Jordan (off topic)) Message-ID: <336662B3BCC-+AT+-medicine.dmed.iupui.edu> On Thurs, Jan 11, Gyrfalcon wrote: > Well... Actually, no I don't. > See, Here in my contract, paragraph 7 sub-paragraph 43 clause 2: And all I got was a postcard. > and in paragraph 45 clause 6: > The member of this list, known here as Gyrfalcon, may, without any > provocation, launch an attack on another member of this list through > the fictional engine of The Men In White (TM). AHA!!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT WAS YOU! THE TRUTH IS OUT! No more claims of innocence!! I'm on to you now, you, you, you Xanthomaniac, you! And now, it's your turn! Get him! > If, at any time, the entity known as Gyrfalcon can be proven irrevocabbly > sane this contract is declared null and void. Hey, look! A new cliche. "When Gyrfalcon is sane". To be used synonymously with "when pigs fly". > BTMIW! That *should* read: BTGIW! Tammy "It's time to ask yourself what you believe" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:58:21 -0800 (PST) From: CHONNI To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Coconuts, Xanth, pics & Re: 1996 ML Message-ID: On Mon, 8 Jan 1996, Julie Vaux wrote: > What I would like to see in 1996 (in the books) > A map of Velgarth I've a better idea; how about a 1997 Velgrath Calender? > Firesong life bond with a certain Kaledain kestrachern who > obviously loves him - well its obvious to the readers! I definately like the idea of Firesong and Silverfox together (I've read SW and SR), and I really like the direction An'desha's life is taking. He's become a strong person who doesn't need to rely on Firesong for confidence, and Firesong is also maturing to the point where he wants a partner, not a dependant or dozens of suitors. > Tremayne lifebond with someone totally unexpected - Solaris? Hmmmm, I'll have to think about that one, but my gut says no. He is a ruler of eastern Hardorn now, accepted by the people (SR), and Solaris has her own nation to run. They both need help-mates, not someone who will compete with them for control. > More hints about Iftel or answers please! We (meaning this list) pretty much decided that Misty was holding Iftel in reserve; to give her something to write about later on. It's a good idea; too many writers burn out because they didn't take the time to allow the idea to grow and mature. I'm willing to wait a year or two between books if it means the author will still be good ten years down the road. > Magissa - Julie Vaux > next: to clarify my position on Piers Anthony, or WHY HE'S SO EASY TO MAKE FUN OF It's not that he's a bad writer; he isn't. The _Incarnations of Immortality_ are wonderfully complex and interesting. His novel _Macroscope_ is absorbing and _Prothos Plus_ has almost adult humor. The _phaze_ and _mode_ books are good too. It's the fact that he pumps out shlock to pay his bills (a skill I wish I had) that makes him ripe for a few tomatoes. Or coconuts.... My Author of the Month: As far as I'm concerned, there are 3 things that make a good writer (in no particular order). Style, characterizaiton and plot. Sci-fi writers tend to only use plot and characterization, while Fantasy uses characterization and plot. Misty is exactly the way she describes herself (Queen's Own, oct or dec issue); a storyteller. Her characters are fantastic, her plot interesting, and her style adequate. She is not a truly great writer; go read some Dickens, Austen and Virginia Woolf, and then re-read almost any sf/fantasy, and you'll notice what's missing; words that you love reading just for the sound of them, nevermind the content. Want to read a book with style? And good characters? and a good sf plot? Try Ian McDonald's _Terminal Cafe_. Sure the first chapter is difficult, when you're not used to reading novels like poetry, but it's well worth the effort. And to all of you who are so willing to sling a few coconuts... what are ya, RICH or something????? Up here in British Columbia, coconuts are pretty darn expensive! Of course, there is an alternative... BEWARE, OR SUFFER THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF OUTRAGED PINECONES! *********************************************************************** * Really good novels flow like poetry when they're actually prose * *---------------------------------------------------------------------* ********************* Herald Chonni Brightwolf************************* ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 13:12:04 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Vanyel and the Vales Message-ID: Thought I'd just bring up something that's been bugging me for a while now. When Savil took Vanyel to the k'Treva vale, how come Vanyel only met with Starwind and Moondance? I didn't notice him meeting with anyone else of the clan. This struck me as quite odd. Later on when Savil goes back to the vale for help, there are gate guardians and everything. So, the true question is: Why didn't Vanyel see anyone else while he was there? Any comments? -Declan -aka Mannaheim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 14:07:26 -0800 (PST) From: "Patrick S. Waterlander" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Firesong, Andesha, and Silverfox Message-ID: On Thu, 11 Jan 1996, SCN User wrote: > > > > > > > >On Wed, 10 Jan 1996, Sanna Koulu wrote: > > > >> Mannaheim wrote: > >> (On whether Firesong will lifebond with Silverfox, An'desha or no > >> one.) > >> > > Well, I think that he won't ever lifebond, and has a strong > >lovebond the An'desha. I remember in one of the books Elspeth talking to > >An'desha and was telling him that Firesong cares for him even more than > >he likes to admit. I can't recall if she said Firesong loved him though. > >There was never that kind of relationship with Silverfox, they just hit > >it off real well. It seems like a "WOW, something new!" kind of reaction > >between Firesong and Silverfox. > > > > (:*BECKY*:) > > Personally, I think that eventually An'desha and Firesong will > lovebond, but I think that before that happens, Firesong has to grow up a > bit. He has trouble coping with An'desha's independance in SB, but I > think that eventually he'll cope with it and find out that he likes > An'desha now better than he did when An'desha was totally dependant on > him, though that gives Firesong less control over his life. > > Just my thoughts... > > Zhai'helleva, > Herald Briana > "Finder of Useless Trivia" > > -- > Herald Briana Kestyl > wc814-+AT+-freenet.victoria > be248-+AT+-scn.org > HeraldBria-+AT+-aol.com > Sorry for the long post, but I have to ask. SB? Is that Storm Breaking? If it is, I'd like to know where you got that since it isn't out in my area yet. (lobbing water balloons) "Feel my silliness!" -Declan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 17:23:40 CST From: "Katherine M. Brielmaier" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: illustrations Message-ID: <73673.brie0030-+AT+-gold.tc.umn.edu> On Thu, 11 Jan 1996 15:44:52 GMT, Jerry Cullingford wrote: >For some strange reason, US covers usually look nicer than the UK ones, but >(in general) UK books usually seem to use higher quality materials. (and >cost two or three times as much, mutter mutter...) > Is it just me, or do books from "Tor" publishing fall apart all the time? What did they do, get a deal on cheap binding-glue or what? It's gotten so I don't even bother to buy it if it's from Tor, since it's just going to fall apart before I finish reading. And re: illustrations...I try to avoid pictures and portraits at all costs. Darkwind, to me, looks *nothing* like any of those drawings, and Elspeth and Skif are even worse! 's e do bheatha Kaatje ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 17:33:54 CST From: "Katherine M. Brielmaier" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Snow Message-ID: <74232.brie0030-+AT+-gold.tc.umn.edu> On Thu, 11 Jan 1996 05:19:32 GMT, Becky Anne Christensen wrote: (after I started a snowball fight) > > Send some snow balls this way! I could use them! Snowballs don't >scare me! I love snow! > > (:*BECKY*:) Oh yeah?! Well take this!! *wham wham biff bang thud smack wham thud wham wham wham!* Nyah Nyah Nyah!! Kaatje "and the man who can do that, can plan my castle-onslaught any day." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 17:32:27 -0500 (EST) From: Rosario Holsen-Baker To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Snow Message-ID: > Becky innocently writes: > >>Send some snow balls this way! I could use them! Snowballs don't scare me! I > love snow!<< > > How about two and a half feet of it? > > - Meg That's not even in the drifts. How about 4-6 feet of it? |--------------------------------<>------------------------------| | He screams and screams and pounds his head against the wall until | | wailing phantom firetrucks paces across his vision. | | PAIN. PAIN IS ALL HE WANTS: We shall never forget and never forgive. | | AND NEVER EVER FEAR | |FEAR IS FOR THE ENEMY FEAR AND BULLETS | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 18:04:08 -0600 (CST) From: Mary Temple To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: Message-ID: <199601120004.SAA08765-+AT+-natashya.eden.com> At 05:49 AM 01/11/96 GMT, you wrote: > >:) > *Jaguar looks around from hunting down Gyrfalcon with an annoyed >glare, prepares an telepathic-disruptor blade, and slams it between >Shadow-Lover's eyes, disrupting his mental circuits (even more ;)* > > Don't mess with a combat telepath. >:) NoxCat steps in, purrs a little, and manipulates everyone's emotions into being calm, happy and "well-balanced". (Hmm, empaths are better than VALIUM!) don't fight in front of a manipulative empath! (BIG, EVIL, grin) >|--------------------------------<>------------------------------| /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Mary Temple I am the cat who walks by Himself, NoxCat and all places are alike to me. Catriona Rowley - Rudyard Kipling ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 18:14:57 -0600 (CST) From: Mary Temple To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: Re: YKYBRTMMLW: Message-ID: <199601120014.SAA09489-+AT+-natashya.eden.com> At 07:35 AM 01/11/96 GMT, you wrote: > >IIRC, here in the US, _The Lady_ is known as _The Carradine Touch_ (or >maybe it's _The Lady_ here and TCT elsewhere?). Never read it though. > Uhm, my copy is The Lady, I'm in Texas. (altho, some people think Texas is another country, and some people WANT it that way.) I got my copy here. So it must be "the Carradine Touch" elsewhere. :) >Mat >accmjt-+AT+-vaxc.hofstra.edu >http://ada.hofstra.edu/~mtimme47/ >I think God invented snow just to annoy us :) > /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Mary Temple I am the cat who walks by Himself, NoxCat and all places are alike to me. Catriona Rowley - Rudyard Kipling ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 19:49:54 -0500 (EST) From: EGLESTON-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk Subject: In Celebration of Lammas Night Message-ID: <960111194954.3372-+AT+-GROVER.BPL.ORG> _In Celebration of Lammas Night_, a collection of short stories based on a song by ML called "Lammas Night" and edited by Josepha Sherman is _on the shelves_ in the US, or at least in Boston. I have a copy in my hot little hands and it includes the lyrics to the song and a short story by ML called "Hallowmas Night". I will now retire to read. Yoicks! and Away! Cindy ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 308 *********************************