Kevin's Watch

After having read the much acclaimed Chapter One of AATE, I am in a funk.

Not that I don't Love the Chrons. Not that I won't read it, and not that it has fallen from the top of the list of my favorite series....

But there are some things I am not Against Ending:

1. Catatonic Covenant: When the newly ressurected Covenant Collapses at the end of AATE Chapter One is oddly reminiscent of TOT when the Elohim closed off his Mind, rendering him with the cognitive and physical prowess of a turnip. We then endured stumbling, drooling, non-responsive Covenant muttering the offhand "Dont Touch Me" here and there until finally Linden does her Mind rape thingy and cracks him free. I rarely re-read these chapters in TOT because I just hate the parts where he is in this state. And I dont look forward to having to go through this again if that is the case in AATE. My fear is is he stumbles around, slobbers a lot and doesn't talk to Linden, it'll remind her of Jeremiah and she'll actually try to keep him that way.

2. Linden in 2-D: - When will she change? When will she grow as a character and get over her own brand of self loathing, her admixture of power and impotence, her constant whining about her raping this or violating that. You worked hard for that Staff -- use it to beat the crap out of people and glory in it! (And yes, your ass does look good in those jeans. )

3. Impotent Covenant: I understand self loathing, the symbolism of Leprosy, the need to choose, and the Impotence of Innocence. But could you just once throw down and beat the living $h!t out of the bad guys with your ring? JUST ONCE! There is healing in destruction.

What are YOU Not Against Ending.... ?

I am Not Against Ending the Plot Device of Giants Re-Appearing Out of the Blue Yet Again.

The out-of-nowhere appearance of the Giants of the Search in The Wounded Land was one of the most awesome moments in a book that overflowed with great moments.

Having Giants suddenly pop out of the woods again in Fatal Revenant just didn't have the same emotional impact, even though I was still happy to see more Giants in the story. It didn't help that the FR giants were somewhat bland compared to the Search in TWL, with the exception of the rampaging Longwrath.

1. Catatonic Covenant: I don't think we'll experience a catatonic Covenant in the same way we did in TOT. I have hope that he'll be semi-functional before long.

2. Linden in 2-D: Linden annoyed the shit out of me in the 1st chapter - it's the first time she's really annoyed me... almost as much as Covenant in the 1st series! I haven't been a Linden hater in the past, but well, I suppose SRD has that talent of extreme characters...

Giants can reappear any way as far as I'm concerned, whether they're bland in comparison to other Cov books or not. I'm REALLY looking forward to AATE - the tension is building to another Donaldson climax!

Agreed on all parts. Especially the reappearance of the giants. Hopefully SRD does some good character development in this book...

I guess I'm still spoiled by Pitchwife, the First, and Honninscrave.

-jay

But there are some things I am not Against Ending:

(Agree with IQuestor's points entirely!)

I add:

- Useless Anele. The wandering, doddering, whiny, useless slobbering old man should have been thrown off Kevin's Watch when the chance presented itself. Instead we have to deal with his constant pissing and moaning.

- Arrogant Haruchai. Yes, the Voice and the Humbled need to be arrogant and act all Master-like. But at what point does Linden just wave the Staff at them and imprison the doubters like Elena did to Bannor? That will shut them up!

- Formication. 'Nuff said. And very puissantly too.

Note about "impotent Covenant": In LFB, Covenant smacked down Baradakas with his own lomillialor and said, "Now why don't you tell me one more time how this thing rejects me." Best. Line. Ever.[/list]

I loved the first chapter and can't wait for this next book.

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think we'll have to worry much about the things you guys listed--except maybe Anele. I fully expect that giants popping out of nowhere is done. They're here now. Covenant doesn't seem nearly as catatonic as TOT. I will enjoy his "resurrection" back into the story no matter how slowly it happens. I dig the tectonic shifts of memory and consciousness.

I like Linden. I think she has changed quite a bit from the 2nd Chrons to the LC, just as TC changed from the 1st to the 2nd, but still had issues to settle. The difference between 2nd Chrons Linden and LC Linden is dramatic and stark. She's no longer paralyzed by her own capacity for evil. In fact, she's just the opposite: almost *too* powerful and ready to use it. It is her actions, not her inaction, which is causing the tension in this series.

It didn't help that the FR giants were somewhat bland compared to the Search in TWL

There were too many of them for us to get a good fix on any of their personalities, plus they were all swordmannir, except Longwrath. In the 2nd Chrons we mainly dealt with just four Giants (Mistweave, coming in later, was never a very focused character, and Sevinhand and Gale were only hastily sketched), and they had very different roles and histories. I suspect most of these Giants will be background characters too, with only a couple being fleshed out as full creations.