(no subject)

[skygiants]

I waited FOREVER - okay, a month - for The Talismans of Shannara, the last of the Heritage of Shannara books, to come in for me at the library before caving and buying it cheap in a used bookstore.

(I should note that since I was limiting myself to one book, it was a choice between Talismans and a book featuring GOBLINS AND DINOSAURS VS. SHAKESPEARE. And a more difficult choice I have never made! Never fear, Goblin Reservation, SOMEDAY I WILL COME FOR YOU.)

Anyway. Talismans! Having concluded my reread of the series, I am still full of fond nostalgia. Things of especial note:

1. MATTY ROH. I love almost everything about her. No one is surprised by this, given that she is introduced as a snarky cross-dressed urchin who proceeds to beat up our Epic Hero and Bearer of the Magic Sword with a broom. However, objectively speaking, she is pretty much also THE MOST BADASS character in the whole series. And just about the only character who does not angst about killing people! Matty Roh is totally cool with killing people. Instead, she angsts hilariously about her tragic backstory: as a child, she wandered into poison mud and lost her pinky toe. Sorry, Matty Roh, you are no longer attractive to foot fetishists . . .? I can't decide which is awesomer: that time Morgan is all "what happened to the sentry?" and she's like "oh I totally killed that guy," the time she rescues Coll single-handed (okay, Damson is there too, but Damson basically spends the whole scene going "DANG, Matty Roh" while Matty Roh calmly kills five dudes) or the scene when Terry Brooks gives us a look inside everyone's heads right before the final battle, and it looks like this:
WALKER BOH: Oh no, what if we run out of time to save the world?
COLL: Oh no, what if it's too late to save my brother?
DAMSON: Oh no, what if it's too late to save my boyfriend?
MORGAN LEAH: Oh no, what if we all die?
MATTY ROH: Man, am I ever looking forward to killing some Shadowen! It's gonna be awesome!
(RUMOR: Cat! I'm a kitty-cat!)

I also love how she totally does not care about Par Ohmsford AT ALL, which is kind of refreshing given how everyone else runs around panicking over him.

2. Speaking of characters who do not angst: there is totally not enough Coll in the book, but I love how after spending the past book and a half trapped as a Shadowen, once he's fixed, Coll does not spend ANY TIME AT ALL angsting about it. He's just like "welp, that sucked. Off to find Par!" Given the fact that every other character spends chapters and chapters agonizing over their decisions - at one point it takes Morgan Leah half a chapter of sitting around and angsting indecisively to get from Point A: oh look a caravan! I'm totally going to rescue whoever's inside it! to Point B: NOW I AM ATTACKING THE CARAVAN! - this is very refreshing and yet another reason why Coll is my favorite. On the other hand, it's also the reason he doesn't get anywhere near as much page time. Double-edged sword!

3. Terry Brooks really, really loves this trope:

PERSON A: Oh hey, it's a person ambiguously in trouble! THAT MUST BE PAR OHMSFORD. I will rescue them forthwith!
PERSON B: Gosh, thank you for rescuing me!
PERSON A: . . . well, this is awkward. Um. You haven't seen Par, by any chance . . .?

I am okay with this, because the number of times it's repeated is hilarious. (It is especially funny with Morgan and Wren, because of how Wren is just like "thanks for the rescue, dude! By the way I'm Queen of the Elves now and I gotta get back to my epic battle over in the other plotline, PEACE OUT" in the space of about two pages, after multiple chapters of buildup.) This is totally going on my mental Terry Brooks Plot Bingo square, along with SOMEONE/SOMETHING IS CAPTIVE IN TYRSIS and OH CRAP THEY HAVE CREEPERS. (I also find it kind of hilarious how in the first book Creepers are the complete ultimate in scary, and by the final book Wren is like "yeah, me and my pet Tree Squeak just killed eight creepers. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.")

4. littledust is 100% correct: if these books had a fandom, fully 50% of it would be comprised of Rimmer Dall/Par Ohmsford slash. He just wants to guide you, Par! Teach you! Come inside your body and possess it for his own! You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not.

5. Part of me wants to go find and read the next set of Shannara books now. The rest of me is convinced this would be as terrible an idea as reading any of the Valdemar books published post-1996. (Nostalgia covers the ones up to Silver Gryphon, but then you get to Owlflight and it's all downhill from there.)

Comments

[skygiants]

It's amazing how wonderfully unpredictable we are.

Hahahahaha oh man, Gen, I actually just wiki'ed the Firesong/An'desha plotline to try and remind myself of what actually happened, and came across this one-sentence description of the Shin'a'in: "People in the world of Valdemar, capable of with skin like the night sky, filled with stars. In the old language of Valdemar, Shin'a'ian meant, Shiney Skin."

I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL OF THIS. OH MERCEDES LACKEY.

[genarti]

You had forgotten it because it is, in fact, a lie. *cracking up*

Their goddess had eyes like the night sky, but. And I think Shin'a'in means "People of the plains" although I could be wrong.

BECCA WHY DO I STILL REMEMBER ALL THIS.

[skygiants]

- well that would explain it! THANKS FOR NOTHING, MERCEDES LACKEY WIKI. *dying*

That is a question between YOU AND YOUR CONSCIENCE. Alternately, between you and your inner child?

[genarti]

Between me and my inner thirteen-year-old fangirl, I fear. And she is ignoring all my dubious looks in favor of gleefully devouring all information about Companions (and bondbirds and ekeles and everybody's inner paaaaaaiiiin and her desire to be BFF with every awesome character, even the ones she would in fact hate in any real life interaction.)

[skygiants]

I wish I had room to judge, but I totally don't, because my inner thirteen-year-old fangirl absolutely still wants to be a special person who is special and can hang out with other special people because a magical horse tells her so. (You forgot about lifebonds! ANGSTY ANGSTY lifebonds. Lifebonds that DRIVE YOU TO DRINK because they're soooooooooo angsty.)

[genarti]

We can bond! Wait, uh. Maybe we have already accomplished that one.

(I did! But that is because actually I never cared particularly about lifebonds. I was kind of amused when she started retconning herself into "Wait well actually lifebonds kinda suck..." instead of LIFEBONDS ARE SO ANGSTY YET THE AWESOMEST EVER. I have no idea if this coincided at all with getting married and so forth, but I kind of like to think it did.)

[skygiants]

Yes, you are absolutely right! Because what we need is to be more in sync and freak more people out by talking accidentally in unison. *solemn*

(I fell hook, line and sinker for the angsty lifebond in Arrows (oh, tiny self), but at the same time I was also vastly amused by the "wait no actually lifebonds kinda suck!" retcons. - wait, wasn't part of Firebond's angst that he wanted a lifebond and didn't have one? And once again it all comes back to OH FIRESONG.)

[genarti]

EXACTLY. Maybe eventually we can talk like the Hitachiins! Um, with less molestation.

You know, on second thought, perhaps this is a bad plan...

(Haaa! I don't remember, but now that you say that it rings a vague bell. It sounds eminently Firesongish, anyway. OH FIRESONG.)

[skygiants]

. . . Gen, if I was someone else reading this thread, I would be going "YOU TWO SCARE ME" right now.

As it is, I-I am kind of still going "WE SCARE ME." *laughing*

(I might be misremembering and maligning Firesong unfairly! But, uh, I don't think I am.)

[genarti]

>.>

<.<

:D?