Comments on: BY HERESIES DISTRESSED — Snippet 46

By: robert

robert — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:04:03 +0000

Ok. Gotta go read the Torch of Freedom snippet. I think a Weber – Flint collaboration is the best of the best.

By: Randall Rapp

Randall Rapp — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:47:21 +0000

One thing to think about, a quote from another book (don’t remember name or author), is that religious fanatics believe that god is on their side, and so while they will plan for what they can, will usually ignore faults or possible weaknesses, on the basis that god will provide. Just look a John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. He had no real plan for escaping or retreat, because he thought his cause of freeing the slaves was god’s plan, and he would insure their success.

By: robert

robert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:11:54 +0000

@18 Drak, I found it on the very bottom of p. 200. In passing is right! But it does say that most of them (monasteries & convents) are out in the boonies, so that is where St. Aggies is, I presume.

By: Drak Bibliophile

Drak Bibliophile — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:57:54 +0000

Robert, convents were mentioned in passing when Merlin visited the Monastery of Saint Zherneau.

By: robert

robert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:35:08 +0000

@7 Karina, remember the SNARKs. Once the feathers start flying Merlin will know and that is not a ski pole in his hand on the book’s cover. I expect few of Sharly’s jailers (assuming that she is indeed kidnapped) to survive an attack by Merlin.

By: Bret Hooper

Bret Hooper — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:02:41 +0000

@7 Karina: A well-thought-out response; I have to agree with everything in it. Good for you!

By: robert

robert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:07:43 +0000

@14 Maybe snow, maybe not, Peter. There is snow on the Pichincha volcano above Quito, Ecuador, which is just about smack on the equator–Andean and all that. And there is (lots before global warming) snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is not that far from the equator. Depends on how high the mountain is. Plenty of precipitation in Charis–it is raining as we read. DW gives us no elevation data on the map at
http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/entry/Safehold/232/1
so we cannot tell. But they would have a tough time spiriting an Empress out of Charis in any case. Besides, that structure looks like a Balkan monastery. And this is a new one on me: since when are there convents in this religion?

By: Peter Z

Peter Z — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:10:23 +0000

@13 Robert, if St. agatha’s is in Charis, why the snow? Charis is a tropical nation. Mountains are a possiblity, so this convent would be far to the south of Telesberg. Far enough I suspect to be quite out of the way. Sharley has no skimmer or any other modern vehicle so such a visit would require that she be incommunicado for a significant amount of time. An excuse can be constructed, especially if she is pregnant, however, any such excuse would not be one that she would voluntarily accept so long as Cayleb is out of the country during this time of war and the pending arrival of the Chisholmian delegation.

So they must kidnap her first to bring her to St. Agatha’s. It may be that Uncle will stomach the kidnapping but will go no further. Perhaps that’s the plan. Make an obvious attempt to kill her and Uncle foils it but part of the solution is to get her far away. Pressed for time Sharley accepts, thinking that she can return rather quickly. When she discovers that she is a prisoner it is too late.

The Bishop may want to add his own twist on things, which is why we have this meeting. The Bishop may well try to organize the attempt at Sharley’s to succeed. If she dies right away, things can go forth a bit earlier, if she survives Uncle’s plan is given some reigns for a bit.

As I said this is getting real ugly. If Uncle’s role is exposed to Zhan Q. Chisholm, there may well be a powerful movement to abolish/erdaicate the nobility in that nation as well as a thorough repudiation of the CoGA hierarchy. Temple loyalists in Charis may well find their grass roots support has just vanished or even reversed to homicidal levels.

Peter

By: robert

robert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:20:21 +0000

@11 Jeff, it is not always the fanatics. Sometimes it is the power hungry who do not want their hold on power to be loosened or destroyed. I see the churchmen in this story as the latter, with a bit of false or self-delusional godliness thrown in to fool those willing to be fooled.
@5 & @9 This is looking to be pretty straightforward except for the palace traitor–we still do not know for sure it is Uncle, but I must admit that anyone else would be illogical given what we know now. Also it seems that the evil plot is still coalescing with a number of factors to be dealt with.
If the building on the book’s cover is the convent, then OWL has just delivered a rescue party of one. So I was wrong: Merlin will come crashing through the skylight. And then Sharley will have to know everything. And so, Molly, her impregnable (except by Cayleb) undergarments will not save her.

By: Kim S

Kim S — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:23:25 +0000

The end of this snippet has another interesting twist. What if the Empress is told of St Agatha’s and decides to visit before the plotters are ready. Do they spring the attempt prematurely or forego their chance? If the Charisian people find out about the “abduction”, do they take action on their own to rescue their beloved Empress?

It’s nice to rely on main characters but DW has brought the masses into play in other books.

D-Day July 7th. (Delivery Day)